Getting Drafty In Here

Just a quick one today, as I was super-busy over the weekend working on a variety of different things. But one of those things was my WIP, and I finally finished a first draft!!

Man, WIP (and I'm still calling it that because it still needs lots of editing) is such a different beast than Novel #1. At 54,000 words, it is around half the length...indeed, I know this is too short for a lot of genres, but for what this is, I think it is right. And in terms of tone and style (and subject matter) WIP was like me going on a big bender after six months of teetotalling.

In total, it took me around 10 months to write the draft, but the truth is, I wrote nearly half of it during the month of August and over Christmas break.

And it was fun. I mean, Novel #1 was fun too, but writing WIP was fun in a more in-your-face way: like attending a wonderful musical production vs. going out and getting totally trashed at some dive bar. And WIP is supposed to be funny, and I find that I like writing funny, and I feel like I'm not bad at writing funny. There was a little funny in Novel #1, but it certainly was not the main thrust.

What's next? Well, WIP goes into hibernation for six weeks, then I come back to it with fresh eyes.

In the meanwhile, Novel #3. Much more like Novel #1 than WIP, as I conceive it now. God, can I tell you people, I've been feeling like I'm bursting to start developing new characters and plotting out a new story? I feel like I've learned a lot from writing Novel #1 (and trying to get it published) and I want to bring that to bear on a new story and new characters. I've also gotten really interested in some of the craft stuff - less on the language side and more on the plot development/structure/characters side. So, as time permits, I am headed down this road next: mostly reading and thinking and jotting down notes, at least at first.

Oh, and no, I don't have time to proofread this post before it goes up, either. So I hope it is coherent.