You may have heard the advice to step away from your novel
once you’ve finished. I’ve followed that rule for the last three books and
found the return back exhilarating. I love the fresh perspective gained by
simply getting away and clearing my head. This summer, when I finished the first draft of
UNDER DARKENED SKIES, I immediately shielded myself from the book
and moved on to outlining book four. It was a break away from the book, but not
from the characters—the story continued. After several weeks, I returned to UNDER
DARKENED SKIES and started editing.
Then on Tuesday, August 14th, a new idea came to
me. It was so off the wall crazy that I instantly fell in love with it. I
outlined the entire novel that night and committed to stay awake until I finished
writing the first chapter. Four days later, I have penned 12,000 words with a
goal to finish the novel by the middle of September.
I was feeling good before this week, and thought I was in a
great place in regards to my writing motivation. But then I got involved in this
new story. To say it’s been refreshing is an understatement. I’m different
today, in a good way. Honestly, I’ve
been involved with Rhiannon’s story for three years now and never realized how
much it was affecting me. Writing in first person from a girl is freakin’ tough
for me! While writing this new book, (from a boy’s point of view, by the way) I’m
able to be more like me—I’m a little zany and a whole lot giddy. The experience
these last few days can best be described as me letting the creative monster
loose. I’m not holding back; it’s a “no holds barred” writing experience. No
matter how crazy or out of this world an idea sounds, I’m exploring it—and
having a blast in the process.
I’ve never had this much fun writing. Never. (For the
record, I’ve always enjoyed writing—just not this much.) Anyway, in a month or
so I’ll be back to normal and will be preparing the final details for the
release of FROM RISING FLAMES. I’m hoping to have a cover by the end of
September. Until then, I’m howlin’ at the moon and running with the pack. Let
the creative beast run free. *howls for effect*
(p.s. There are no faeries or vampires or wolves in this
book I'm writing. Only zombies. Yes, zombies. And they’re freakin’ fantastic the way I’m
writing them! If you want a hint, find my post on zombies and you'll see I have a different perspective on that sort of thing.)
Happy reading.
~ Jamie
I love zombie stuff! (I'll go check out your zombie post after this.)
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to step away from a nvl/ms, but it helps. When I do that, my characters still let me know they are there, waiting. Which is a good thing, in my opinion. :D
GL to you and your writing endeavors!
Thank you, Jackie. You're right, the characters will still be there. :)
ReplyDeleteGood for you, Jamie! I'm glad you're enjoying writing this book.
ReplyDeleteI too did the same thing with my current manuscript. After draft #4, I was starting to lose my story. I kept thinking "this sucks," "what if this happens," etc. etc. So I decided to shelve it. I think it sat there for like 3-4 months. Then finally I picked it back up and WOW. Everything just clicked.
Hope you find success with your stories!
Wow, Vicki. 3-4 months? coming back to the manuscript had to feel so refreshing after so long away. Thank you.
Delete