Random Thoughts Upon Finishing Book #16

Yes, I did it. Break out the alcohol, get the parade underway--the book is DED.

R.I.P.
Wounded
Date: August 23, 2010
Time of Death: 4:14 am EST
Final Word Count, Draft One: 102 160
Mourned by: NO ONE

I could have finished earlier, but I took some time to do dishes, bake, etc. For a book I wanted to just die already, I savoured its final, gasping breaths...AND it just feels unnatural to me to end a book before midnight. I did that, once--finished a first draft in the afternoon. I didn't know what to do with myself for the rest of the night. My prime writing time is between 8pm and 3-4am, and I tend to finish a book after a final marathon sprint in the wee hours of the morning. This is a sequel to one I accidentally wrote in the winter; that book, Abandoned, died at around 7am (and no, I hadn't just woken up).

I don't often blog during WIP writing, and certainly not about the process...but I talked about it a bit this time, and figured I could mention a few observations. I guess it's like a memorial and it'll be fun to re-read a few months from now.

- Action scenes quick to write? Check. Arguments? Oh yeah, I'll average 2K an hour. Emotionally draining stuff? Time consuming but doable. Kissing? Uh...

Seriously, people start smooching, I go and do the dishes. I've had people ask why I won't write smut since it sells so well and my first name sounds like I'm a stripper anyways. Um, here's why: this book had TWO kisses in it. Two. One at the 43K point, the other at 99K. An it took me like two hours both times just to get out less than five hundred words of lip-on-lip action. I would have finished the stupid thing much sooner, but I actually came and started this blog post to avoid kissing. That I prefer murder to make-out sessions clearly means I have some serious issues.

- I'm very much a One True Pairing kinda girl. Even though I try not to have fated Twu Wuv or anything like that, it just creeps in. But what I discovered was that I thought I had a very clear OTP/Official Couple in the first book, but now? Now I'm not so sure. As soon as Secondary Love Interest Guy got talking to me (at last), I kinda fell in love with him. Now I'm possibly Team SLIG. Or at the very least, my heroine shouldn't have to choose and should get to keep both. And maybe the third I'm introducing.

- I ended the first book thinking, "Charity really needs a girlfriend" and I'm ashamed to admit she still doesn't have one. I must get her one for the third book. MUST.

- I'm putting off starting the third book until NaNo for two reasons. 1. I jumped right into Wounded after finished Abandoned, got like four chapters in, and then it languished for six months. I like starting fresh, because unfinished stuff is always hardest to get back to. 2. I know how I have to end the third and I'm suffering a severe case of "I don't wannas." So I'm putting off the inevitable, even though my fingers are literally twitching to to start.

- I received some great fan mail the other day and a reader left a kind message on the Catharsis page here about enjoying the book, and it just kinda hit me...you know, I spend 90% of my time talking to other people about their books. I mean, I have to 'cause of my job--I know that. And I'm okay with that because I really do love working with my authors and I'm excited about their work.

But save for my beta reader and my mum, very few people I interact with even ask what I'm working on. In fact, most of the time, "I liked your book" emails come with "Now here's my novel--please publish it." It could be (okay, it probably is) because I'm kinda off-putting sometimes. And because people forget that I actually am a writer (no, really, the rumours are true about that). But here I'm spending every free minute I have writing something I'm insanely excited about, and even people who aren't my authors talk to me in great detail about their books. Save for conversations on Twitter in 140 words or less, I never get that opportunity myself and it's a little draining. I'm so glad I don't take part in any writer groups anymore.

I probably need to give my work to more people to read. Or get an imaginary friend to talk to. (Oh wait, I have those--they're called characters. Problem is that I usually kill them.)

And that wasn't directed at anyone in particular, so don't hate me. Typically the people who drain me aren't the type who even read my blog to start with. It's purely an observation about the nature of writers.

- Things flowed a lot smoother when I let go of the "ZOMG, I'm nearing my word count goal and I'm nowhere near done yet" and just let everything go. I mean, sure, it's 102K words, which is bloody insane for the genre, but...oh well?Who will be reading it in the immediate future? Me, that's who. I'll see what I can trim to help with pacing, but if the book wants to be 100K, it wants to be 100K. I should know better than to argue.

- I used to be able to write 5K even while working and 10K on a weekend. These past two books, I haven't been able to keep up with that pace. I track my daily word count and I average 1.5K in a slow day and 4.5K on a good day. I think this is 'cause I'm actually labouring to write things well the first time around, but I kinda miss being really productive.

- I'm now supposed to hold up my end of a bet--since I was given a brief reprieve while killing the book--and that case of "I don't wannas" is popping up there as well. I think I need some bottled courage...

Anyways, I'm back to the real world now. Gotta catch up on email before everyone fears I died WITH the book and I have a seventeen page contract to re-read and make notes on (FUN). Thanks for reading and cheering me on this past week--FB and Twitter cheerleaders mean the world to me! And sincerest thanks to Judy Bagshaw for always being the best first reader money could buy (if I was buying a first reader, which I'm not--she's just so awesome she could be paid for her services).