I can’t believe I did this, but I finished an 82K manuscript in 2.5 months. How did I do it, you ask? Especially because the last three took, cough cough, five years? I got a big jumpstart when I was on furlough for 35 days and that momentum carried me forward. I also made the time, something I haven’t done before. Anyway, it’s a novel called The Lightning Within Us. It is looking for a home. I am not sure if I will be hunting up a new agent, or if my current one will take it on. I’ll figure that out in the next couple of weeks.
This one was super messy. I didn’t really have writer’s block per se, but some scenes were difficult. I would write random paragraphs and stick them in the body of the document, which made organizing them later a challenge (I don’t suggest doing this). But interestingly enough it all came together. Also, I started it as a first person narrative and then when I was almost done I switched it to third, which made me have to go through the whole thing and change the “I,” “our”, “my.” That was pretty fun. NOT.
I might have two more books left in me, the romance novel and a collection of essays about working as a seasonal park service ranger, but right now I just need to take a break! So, I’ll go skiing.