Apologies for the gap in blog posts. I started a new novel – Sunk Cost – in October, thinking I’d get “ahead (because I love to cheat) “ on the NaNoWriMo goal of 50,000 words. It worked, I produced 55,000 words by the end of October. When the Muse whispers, I strain to listen and don’t abandon the project for my own created deadlines. Anyway, that’s what happened. Big raw draft; approaching holidays.
In January I faced the music, er, book draft.
I am not a plotter. I am not the writer who creates a perfect outline. I’m just a crazy creative.
My first 50,000 plus words were little more than scenes dropped into a Scrivener file. Completely uncooked, won’t even fit in a pan or whatever you do when you transform raw ingredients into eatable meals.
I wrangle that raw draft into a decent first draft that makes narrative sense. This takes about 40 hours. I timed it rather than count words since this phase does not require nuance, it requires a wrecking ball and backhoe. Large chunks disappear, necessitating larger re-writes. It’s a completely immersive process and frankly, wonderful.
I was able to escape to Maui (Southside) in January to work on this unwieldy project without interruption. The week was, as you can relate, marvelous. Once this draft was done, at now 80,000 words, I needed to take another break to gain some distance from the work. In March I will start up the third draft which will included further narrative cohesion, character motivation and emotions and make sure all the plots make sense.
For instance Kathleen, a new love interest, has a boyfriend who is menacing and controlling, great. Except in the raw and first draft the boyfriend doesn’t appear until the end of the novel. Not great.
The second draft will need more – foreshadowing, relationship clues, substance. I know how it ends, but my character Kathleen, does not.
During an open read for my writing group, I shared what was, at the time, the fifth scene in the book. The writing group members loved it and commented they were excited to read it and look forward to hearing more. Talk about burying the lede! I took their feedback and re-structured the entire first section of the book. Did I mention the wrecking ball? the backhoe? Both were fired up. And such heavy construction takes time. I
I can’t even tell you, at this point, how many more drafts it will take before I abandon the book and finally send it off to Beta readers. But it will happen, I’m aiming for publishing Sunk Cost in October.
If you’d like to be a Beta Reader for Sunk Cost, third in the Sexy at Sixty Series, let me know!
cbramkamp(at)gmail(dot) com