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I've finally hit the 70,000 word mark on A MAGIC OF NIGHTFALL, the second novel of the Nessantico cycle. Considering that I was at 60,000 words in mid-August, that's not a particularly speedy pace, but my excuse is that I had to do a pair of rewrites on the WILD CARDS story I'd written for George due to some heavy changes in the anthology in which it will appear, and that stole a few weeks of that time.
WILD CARDS stories always have a rewrite cycle: you pitch your idea to George, linking it to the basic plot we've all hammered out for the book. Once George has selected the stories that seem to best fit the overarching plot of the book and appear to work together the most effectively, you write the first version of the story. It won't be the version that appears in the book -- ever. That version will have a rewrite, since George (and Melinda, as assistant editor) have to read all the stories, figure out where the chronologies don't match, or where something needs happen, or just where discrepancies have arisen between what Writer A says vs. Writer B. There will always be some of the problems -- it's the nature of the beast. George then sends out rewrite notes to the authors. That rewrite can be minor, or it can be fairly major, depending on how well the whole book seems to be coming together.
You send in your second version, and George (and Melinda) read them all again. Hopefully, this time everything seems to be coming together nicely, though there's generally a few nits that need addressing. So there's generally a third, polishing rewrite as well, making certain that all those nits are taken disposed of. In writing a 10,000 WILD CARDS story, the author may end up writing 15,000 - 20,000 words by the time it's all done. EDITED TO ADD: though no one ever writes a 10,000 word WILD CARDS story. It's usually more lke 20,000. Or more.
In this case, all the rewrites were decidedly major, involving dumping scenes and writing new ones to accommodate some hefty changes to the overarching plot to make the book work. And that's what I've been doing in the intervening time. So getting 10.000 words on the novel at the same time, while also teaching my classes at school, was about all I could manage without going entirely insane. So I'll take it. Not that I have any choice, of course.
Ah, the romantic life of an author!
WILD CARDS stories always have a rewrite cycle: you pitch your idea to George, linking it to the basic plot we've all hammered out for the book. Once George has selected the stories that seem to best fit the overarching plot of the book and appear to work together the most effectively, you write the first version of the story. It won't be the version that appears in the book -- ever. That version will have a rewrite, since George (and Melinda, as assistant editor) have to read all the stories, figure out where the chronologies don't match, or where something needs happen, or just where discrepancies have arisen between what Writer A says vs. Writer B. There will always be some of the problems -- it's the nature of the beast. George then sends out rewrite notes to the authors. That rewrite can be minor, or it can be fairly major, depending on how well the whole book seems to be coming together.
You send in your second version, and George (and Melinda) read them all again. Hopefully, this time everything seems to be coming together nicely, though there's generally a few nits that need addressing. So there's generally a third, polishing rewrite as well, making certain that all those nits are taken disposed of. In writing a 10,000 WILD CARDS story, the author may end up writing 15,000 - 20,000 words by the time it's all done. EDITED TO ADD: though no one ever writes a 10,000 word WILD CARDS story. It's usually more lke 20,000. Or more.
In this case, all the rewrites were decidedly major, involving dumping scenes and writing new ones to accommodate some hefty changes to the overarching plot to make the book work. And that's what I've been doing in the intervening time. So getting 10.000 words on the novel at the same time, while also teaching my classes at school, was about all I could manage without going entirely insane. So I'll take it. Not that I have any choice, of course.
Ah, the romantic life of an author!
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Just finished book 11, and, you know, that was a really good book. Everydone a very nice job, and it was well-balanced with tragedies and triumphs, sorrow and joy.
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That one was a lot of fun. I especially liked putting together a 'dungeon' for good ole Billy Ray to go through.
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John