Amanda Ungleich: And now for something completely different

So this week I have been on a writing frenzy, and have finished the (oh so very) rough draft of Book 3 (fist pump!) A friend of mine who is a published author once told me the best thing to do after you finish a rough draft is to let it sit and work on something else before coming back to it. I didn't heed this advice at first because I was so stinking excited about my very first rough draft and just wanted to be with it all the time (think high school crush obsessiveness). But now I have learned the wisdom of letting it simmer before coming back for rewrites.

So, now that Book 2 is in the hand of some first readers, and Book 3 is on paper, it's time to move on to something else.

I started writing a story this past winter that I LOVE, but that I abandoned because keeping up with it and the trilogy I was writing became too much. But ah, now that the trilogy is ripening, we are back to this little beauty.

It's a fantasy genre (what?!?) and I love it. (Still YA, but fantasy YA) I had stopped working on it also in part because I was half way through the manuscript and wasn't sure what I wanted to happen. I mean, I knew my character arcs (how my characters change and grow), but I didn't know the plot to get them there. I'm still working on that, but am oh so excited to get back to this little gem.

This new story involves ideas and themes and things such as this:

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Ah, intriguing, yes? I love this story, but man, it's been hard to put together. Writing fantasy is hard because you create a whole new world, which has to have rules and limits and sometimes coming up with those is hard. Especially since I decided to write a story about people who can travel between worlds. Hello, multiple world building!

This story includes worlds such as this:

Worlds trapped in winter. Craggy mountains, deep valleys.

Frosty mountains, tall trees

Worlds of woods;. Forest floors that muffle sounds and secrets and traitorous deeds.

Deep woods. What lurks behind those trees and shadows?

Ah, and then this. A graveyard. But this is not a typical graveyard, and contains secrets and truths, and will lead more than one of my main character's to do things they never thought they would.

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Ah, and the characters in this book---oh man, I love them. Five main characters (five!) plus a colorful supporting cast. Here's a small sampling:

This is E. She's the main lead character of the story. Guarded. Smart. Knows just about everything and can sense what she doesn't know. Gifted.

Self loathing, but she doesn't know it.

Then there's A. "Feisty" describes her the way "warm" describes July in Louisiana. Committed to duty above all else. More gifted than anyone. Single minded. Purposeful.

Judgmental. Unwilling to compromise. Prideful.