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Hello everyone, and welcome back to my newsletter. :) The year has started off with some ups and downs, but it is exciting to see the pieces fall into place as each week brings me one step closer to publication!This month in "A Writing Journey: When Shadows Fall", I discuss the importance of planning ahead when writing a series. Previous newsletters and prior segments of my writing journey can be found here at my website's exclusive email archive. Stick around to the end for a bonus kitty picture! 😊 |
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I didn't remember to include this in my January newsletter, but I thought it would be fun to share some stats from 2022!
Time spent on writing career: 741 hours
Total words written: 237,900 words
I spent more than 170 hours working on revisions, editing, and brainstorming for When Shadows Fall, nearly 350 hours working on the sequel, and over 200 hours preparing for self-publishing, including rebuilding my website, email campaigns, research, cover art, and more.
Although I took a break from writing for the first few months, 2022 has been my most productive year by far. I am both surprised and pleased to see how much I accomplished last year!
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January has been a busy month, though not as productive as I might have hoped. Most of the time was spent working on the maps for When Shadows Fall and trying to get cover art finalized. (More on that below.)
Outside of that, I've gone over the notes from the first of my proofreaders and updated the manuscript accordingly, worked more on the formatting, and spent time doing some additional world-building for the series.
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I started making the main map with a map-making software, but didn't like the final look. I ended up exporting it into my art program and doing all the line work and shading myself, and I'm quite pleased with the results!
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Fun Fact: Because the main character in the story is Larik, the map uses the Larik names for landmarks such as mountains and rivers.
Though I didn't create actual languages for the story, I did make some short vocabulary lists to aid me in creating names. (Eddenran is Larik for great river while Ailo Nim is Turian for coastal city.)
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Cover art has been a bit of an ordeal. Though I had thought we were still in the sketch phase, after a long stretch with no updates I received what was, apparently, meant to be the final illustration instead of an updated sketch. I was quite taken aback that the process had jumped to the next phase without my say so, and unfortunately, I was not happy with the result.
After days of posting the cover to different groups asking for feedback and hours spent on my art program trying to alter the image on my own, I sent my reply asking for more changes. There have a been a few more exchanges back and forth since then.
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Final One: This is the 'final illustration' I received. I didn't like the colouring or the pose/expression of the character, and felt the image was too muddy overall, especially when seen at thumbnail size.
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My Version: I experimented with numerous changes to the concept including different poses/placements for the character and different colour schemes. (I have over 20 variations saved to my cover art folder from this process!) I ended up asking for the character to be removed although I had wanted her there, as this seemed the safest bet. I sent Miblart the following image to be used as a reference:
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Final 2: I received an updated version a few days after, which I felt was much nearer the mark. Though the feedback on it continues to be divided (some feeling adamantly that the cover is too middle grade), I feel that with the right font and a few more changes, this cover can work!
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Hopefully cover art will be completed before the end of the month, which means I can begin planning my release date in more detail. I hope to finish the proofreading and formatting, complete front and back matter, and export the files I need to upload my book to KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) and D2D (Draft 2 Digital).
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Miss the previous segments? |
Part 6:Looking to the Future
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There is a big difference between writing a stand-alone book and writing a series, especially if that series features an ongoing story (versus episodic instalments, where each story is self-contained). When writing a story that continues across multiple books, it is crucial to plan ahead. For some authors, this may mean outlining future instalments, but for a discovery writer like me, the best way to plan my series is to write it!
You may recall the definition of a discovery writer from an earlier segment of my writing journey. A discovery writer is someone who 'discovers' their story by writing it. They don't plan ahead much (or can't plan ahead much!) and often don't know what is coming next until they actually write it.
This makes writing a series challenging, as knowing what to write in book one (and when and how to write it) is often dependant on what will happen later in the series. While I usually have a vague idea of where the story will go in future installments, much of the world-building, character development, and specific plot beats are a mystery to me. And, since all my stories end up becoming series regardless of my intentions, it has become a natural part of my process to start drafting the next book in the series before finishing the first book.
Ideally, I would have a first or second draft written for every book in a series before I start any serious editing, but this makes the long process of writing a book MUCH longer. Usually, I start working on drafts of the sequel somewhere during the editing stage of the first book.
While this is still helpful, it isn't ideal. The more I work on the sequel, the more things I find about the first book that could or should change to allow the narrative to better develop. I discover secrets that need foreshadowing, or realize I haven't left enough room for future character development. And as I spend more time world-building for the sequel, I often find information in the first book becomes out-dated.
This isn't a big problem in the drafting stage when changes are easier to make, but it does get tricky once I've spent a lot of time editing, as this may mean I have to rewrite things I've already spent considerable time polishing. It can also mean the first book never feels 'done', as I keep thinking of more things I'd like to change or update. As such, planning ahead is one of the areas I hope to improve on as I continue to develop my craft as a writer!
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With When Shadows Fall, I was giving some thought to the sequels during the initial drafting stage, including brainstorming and outlining, but it was only after I made the decision to self-publish the first book that I really turned my attention to drafting the sequel. Unfortunately, I jumped to editing When Shadows Fall earlier than I should have, instead of focusing on the sequels and making sure I had all the pieces in place. Because of this, I continued to make changes to the world-building and plot elements well into the editing stage!
A smarter, less impatient me might have waited until I had a solid draft for the sequel and perhaps even a first draft of the third book before pushing the first book into editing. This would have saved time in the long run and made it easier to create the proper build-up in book one. I plan to start drafting the third book before doing too much more work on the sequel, so that I am better able to see how book two needs to unfold!
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Stay tuned for Part 7: The Never-Ending Edits
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I spent so much time working on cover art and maps this month that I didn't have much time for my usual digital art. However, I did add two new chibis to my Redbubble store, and I'm very pleased with both of them!
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Clicking on an image will open the sticker version of that drawing. Scroll down and click "view this design on +(number) products" to see all available products for that design! |
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Reading: I had been planning to start "Cytonic" next, but recently we were learning about owls in grade 2 and I had a sudden burning desire to reread the "Guardians of Ga'Hoole", a middle-grade fantasy series about owls that I adored as a kid. I'm four books in, and it is fascinating to see the story through an adult perspective!
Playing: "Ori and the Will of the Wisps" recently came on sale, and since I played the first game in the series, I thought I'd give it a try. The game has stunning visuals and an incredible sense of atmosphere, so I have been enjoying playing it a bit as I unwind in the evenings!
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Thank you for sticking around to end! Lately, Kaylee has been very interested in my crocheting bag. It doesn't seem to matter where I leave it, she finds a way to crawl inside and make a cozy bed for herself out of the yarn.
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Kaylee making full use of my crochet bag. |
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#11 1305 23rd Avenue, Regina, Saskatchewan, S4S 3S4, Canada |
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