Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Late night plotting

Well, I got back from camping yesterday. I've been so wiped out today I could barely see straight. I did a lot of nothing most of the day.

My friend, Shawna Williams, on the other hand, has been working her little tail off on her second book because...drum roll, please...she signed a contract with Desert Breeze Publishing to publish her first book, No Other, as an ebook in May 2010. Needless to say, I'm super-excited. She's pretty happy, too :P.

I've been a little jealous--not that she's getting published, because (a)she deserves it and (b)I know we're in completely different genres, so epubbing is a good option for her but not for me. What I've been jealous of is the way the chapters were just flowing out of her as she finished the first book and now has started on the second one.

When I wrote Finding Angel, I became like a woman possessed. I thought of nothing else, plotted in my sleep, in the line at the grocery store, walking the dog, cooking dinner...you get the idea. I had the whole first draft done in three months. Then I began the editing/revising/rewriting process, which took a good year. While waiting on my readers to critique, I started my second book, Seeking Unseen. I was in no hurry, because I hadn't even finished revising Finding Angel.

Well, now I need to be working on Seeking Unseen like crazy, but I hit a speed bump. Or two. The story kind of stalled out. I worked on short stories and essays while I let it simmer in the background, but I was getting a bit frustrated. Wondering if some subconscious fear was holding me back. Or if I just wasn't meant to get another book out of me. All kinds of worries--and excuses--swirled around inside my brain.

But tonight I seem to have jumped at least one speed bump! I got a bunch of plotting done, and tied some scenes together in such a way that the path to the end of the book is coming into focus. Ah, it feels SOOOOOO good!

4 comments:

Shawna K. Williams said...

I wuv you.
Seeking is gonna be great. It will work its way out of you. It would be nice if these things would happen at the pace we want. Silly characters act like they have a mind of their own, don't they? Can't pressure them into anything they're not ready to do.

Kat Heckenbach said...

Ah, I think you've struck on the problem! The characters in this book are particularly rebellious...no wonder I'm having a hard time writing--they don't want to change :).

Hannah Nicole said...

That's how it is for my friend Bekah and I (for the last sentence of your third paragraph). She can just crank out page after page while I get stuck after a bit, even with an established plot. *laughs* I'm changing that now though...hopefully. :D

KM Wilsher said...

Oh boy talk about power houses, I have a friend too - cranking out 7 books in 2 years. Me one one (2 halfs, btw, not 2 full ;)

Kat, I just love your honest vulnerability. It shines thru in your writing too!

I am a Kat fan!

And Shawna too. . .wow, I am so happy for her!!!
Kat you are next!