Monday, November 11, 2013

Another Story Is Written

On Friday, November 8th, I wrote from morning until night. The stars aligned. My children weren't needy. My husband got off work early. He picked up Wendy's for dinner and took care of our kids for the rest of the night. I wove the final 6000 words together of a big tangled web: my young adult time travel murder mystery romance. (If there wasn't such a thing before, there is now.) And I finished my draft!

Up until now, I've written retellings. They always splinter the original myth into something I can call my own, but now I've written something completely original. Consequently, it's stranger than ever--and I absolutely love it!

This story began as a dream. Cliche, I know, but true. Last fall an abandoned carousel in a misty forest slipped into my unconsciousness. That image haunted me. I couldn't put a finger on why it was so disturbing and why I woke up so scared. My writer brain took over and crafted a story around the carousel. Why was it in a forest? What was the mist? Two characters formed almost immediately, as well as the element of time travel. The plot took much longer. (Time travel is a beast.)

After tons of research and months of brainstorming, I finally had a story outlined. In July, I began drafting. And as all my stories go, my characters had to have their say. They threw in wrenches, added subplots, and even made me delete scenes that didn't ring true to them. But, together, we did it.

I've been writing for a few years now. There are so many ups and downs in the process of creating something and the pursuit of publication. But I'll tell you what, nothing beats the feeling of finishing a draft. In that moment, I've defeated so much doubt, I've also traveled the long journey with the characters, and after so many hours, days, weeks, months, we've finally reached the summit and planted our flag. Every new book is another fingerprint I've left on this earth to say I was here, I had something to say, and I did something about it.

Now I can dig into revisions. I'm the weird kind of writer that actually loves this stage. It's my reward!

Last the best of all the game, here's a super excited squeezy hug for my critique partner, Ilima Todd. She birthed her book baby on November 8th, as well. We have twins!

How do you feel when you finish a draft--or complete a marathon or accomplish some other kind of lofty goal? What drives you to keep going?

18 comments:

  1. Congratulations on finishing! Enjoy the revisions. :)

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  2. Yay!! So happy for you! (And can't wait to read it!!!)

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  3. Hip hip hooray for us and our book babies! May they grow healthy and strong and not give their mamas too much hassle, lol. Congrats, Katie.

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  4. CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! :) SO excited for you!!! Let me know if you need a beta!

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  5. You knocked it out the park, Katie! So happy for you. I hope this book is the beginning of all your dreams!

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  6. Woohoo! You know what time it is? It's Party Time! :)

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  7. Twins? Hopefully you two didn't have too much weight gain from the birth of something so awesome!!! Congrats!!!

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  8. Congrats on finishing!! That's awesome! I cannot wait to finish more of my books. There's such a wonderful satisfaction once you're finished!

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  9. The feeling I get from finishing a draft is the ONLY real reason (I kid you not) I keep writing. Nothing else pays off all the hard work like that feeling. It's better than any drug. Congrats on finishing, Katie!

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  10. Oh gosh... it *is* such an amazing feeling, isn't it???? Huge congrats to you, Kathryn! And how funny that Ilima shares a "birthday" with you!!!

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  11. LOL! That's awesome. I hear you on the time-travel complexities, and I write from dreams. Period. So I totally get that. Congrats on creating something that is totally yours, and wahoo for the genre mash-up. Straight genres are for sissies. ;)

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    1. We have so much alike! Glad I'm not alone in this crazy writing world. :-)

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  12. There's definitely a high associated with finishing a first draft. I can't wait to get there with book number four. Congrats on being done and I still think it's super fun you and Ilima managed it on the same night!

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  13. I like the revision process, too! At least for awhile :) Congratulations on getting your draft done! It's such a great feeling. Good luck with your revisions :)

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