Monday, June 26, 2017

Who hit her deadline?

Oh, yeah. This chick, that's who.

I wrote 20,000 words in 3 days, and yes, I hit my deadline. I wrote "The End" on June 13.

I spent a week doing my tedious "over-used words" edit and pared off 3,000 words, so I'm now at 124,000 words. I started in late January, finished mid-June and in there I had a few weeks where I really couldn't get much writing done. I'll pare off another 1-2 words when I do my real edit later this year. I'll let it sit for at least 3-5 months before I go back and re-read it.

Now I'm picking up all the stuff I postponed while I was writing: promo, figuring out conference plans, considering what to do with a book whose rights were returned to me. I'm also doing a bit of reading. I normally don't read any fiction while I'm writing, so this is my chance to sneak in a few books. I usually read outside my genre, so I'll read a Regency book, maybe a thriller. I've discovered the joy of downloading library books to my tablet and reading them that way. So easy!

And I'm working, tentatively, on a new story. It came to me totally out of the blue, but I think it has potential. Quite unlike anything I've done so it's all very tentative right now. I'll decide in a day or two if it has enough to merit a full-time effort. I usually write a mystery in the July-November timeframe, so it's time for me to pick out my next victim (so to speak).

For the next few days, though, it's kick back and relax a bit and work my way through the To-Do list. It's a luxurious feeling to have so much free time ... but that story is percolating in the back of my mind and I may need to do something about it.

J L
(jayellwilson.com)

9 comments:

Jannine Gallant said...

Congrats, JL. You are the deadline queen! Enjoy a little time off.

Vonnie Davis ~ Romance Author said...

Oh, those over-used words. I know them well. Congrats on finishing. Can you really set it aside for months and then go back for a final look see? I can barely wait a week. Bravo for your patience.

Diane Burton said...

Congrats on hitting your goal, JL. 20k words in 3 days? Wow. Your fingers must be numb. I've always heard it's a good idea to let the story sit for a while before sending it off. I can't imagine doing that. I'm always so anxious to get it out there. You have a lot of patience. Best wishes. Have fun this summer.

Brenda Whiteside said...

That ahhhh feeling. Enjoy!

Margo Hoornstra said...

Few better feelings in the world than arriving at 'the end' of a book. Congratulatuins on reaching yours. Love how you immediately mention the next one. Enjoy!

Andrea Downing said...

Congrats JL--well done. I once edited a book where 'fluffy' was used something like seven times to describe various things. Funny what turns up in overused words.

Rolynn Anderson said...

Way to go, JL. I think you're hitting the sweet spot with your word count. Check out Mark Coker's 2017 analysis: http://blog.smashwords.com/2017/06/smashwords-survey-2017.html

Congrats!

Leah St. James said...

Congratulations, JL! That's a major hurdle. Hope you've enjoyed a few days of kicking back and relaxing!

Alicia Dean said...

Yay you!!! That is an incredible amount of words in 3 days. Woohoo!