Howdy!
It’s been a very busy week around here. Both UNSTRUNG and the Matt Archer Series Omnibus went up for pre-order and I’m feverishly polishing up the final copies for their releases in October. I’ve wrapped up two brand new short stories for the Omnibus, and I’m working through a middle draft of UNSTRUNG 1.5 (Title TBD). It’s a prequel, told from Quinn’s point of view. I went third person on it (until the Epilogue, but you’ll understand why I changed to first/present then), and I’m a little rusty at 3rd POV. It’s been a good challenge though.
So, now what? Well, I’m going to attempt to take a page out of my crit partners’ processes. Becca and Lindsay both swear by outlining. I’ve tried (and sometimes, sort of, succeeded) outlining my books. I find it works well with my Contemporary YA (I’m working on something new for my editor) but it feels stifling for my SciFi and Fantasy. I don’t know why–that’s a kind of irrational feeling, right? But, with a hardcore weekend writcation (with my crit partners!) coming up in a month, I need to know exactly where I’m going with the UNSTRUNG sequel so I can crank out the words while I have dedicated time. I’m not sure how diligent I’ll end up being, but I’m going to give it a good try. These two ladies routinely write more than 5,000/day. Me, not so much. Now that I’m feeling better, I want to push myself a bit. Who knows…this just might work.
Anyhow, that’s what I’ve been up to. It’s so nice to be back at the keyboard.
How about y’all? Do you outline or go where the story takes you?
My outlining skill is still a work in progress, but when I get it to work, it definitely helps. And woot for hardcore writcations! Can’t wait!