So, I officially have Book Three drafted. It came in at 50,000 words, a good 15k short of my goal. But I ended it today, printed a hard copy, and sat it on the dining room table. Then promised myself to walk away for a while.
Book Three was hard, but also glorifying. I killed my main characters in Book Two. I mean, slaughtered them in some sort of fit of masochistic frenzy.
Book Three was hard to write because my MC enters it at a really hard place. She finally gets back to what she thinks is normal life, only to find that there is a new normal. And the new normal is hard, and not at all what she wants. Book Three is full of this:
 |
| Brokenness. Raw, horrible, nowhere to hide brokenness. |
And this:
 |
| Yearning for closure. And it Will. Not. Come! |
I cried so much writing Book Three. I remember babysitting one night and working on a particular scene and I was sitting at the kitchen table absolutely sobbing, and thinking to myself that the parents would walk in any moment, see me crying, and think I was a loony bin.
But, but, Book Three is also the conclusion. And so with that came a restored ending. Not the perfect one, but a good one (oh, a good one!). My theme for Book Three was something I heard in a sermon once, and that was "The worst thing is never the last thing." Hope can bloom from even the foulest dirt of life. And that's what Book Three is about. Hope.
 |
| Hope |
Hope finds my characters in Book Three and grabs hold of them, despite what they do to shake her off.
Book Three still needs work. But the meat of the story is there. And we move on.
Book Two needs work. It's no longer maimed and bleeding out at the aid station. But it needs some serious physical therapy to get it to a good condition.
And then my fantasy novel...ah, must figure that one out! The sucker is 56,540 words long, and I have NO IDEA HOW TO END IT! I mean really, I must figure it out. And never attempt to write political intrigue again. My brain was not meant to handle things like that. Bless it.
So enjoy your slumber Book Three. I'll wake you up in a month or so and probably tear you apart so that I can completely rebuild you again. And crazy bird that I am, I will enjoy the whole tedious and painful process.
Then all these things I've started will get done and you know what awaits after that??? ALL THE STUFF IN MY HEAD! There are voices in my head people; a cacophony of teenage girls and boys dying to be heard and to know themselves and to kiss people for the love of pete! Sigh....may the Lord bless me to be able to sit and make stuff up for a full time job someday!
No comments:
Post a Comment