Then There Was That Time I Finished Frankenovel

I finally, finally, FINALLY finished a workable draft of Odin’s Spear (Livi #2).

Also known on Twitter as “Frankenovel.”

Why? Because it was sewn together with parts. Out of order. I never write like this, ever. I write linear because writing those moments I want LATER are incentive to finish the hard slog, plus even when I know how a book is going to end (Exhumed), the entire tone can shift by the time I get there after I’ve filled in all the gaps. But this book? With this book, I was so eager to grasp a hold of ANY writing I might love, I just gave myself permission to write whatever I fucking wanted to because my words were broken and I was miserable.

The results were disastrous, but, though it’s taken over a year (A YEAR, OMG A YEAR–I normally write a book in 2-8 weeks), the book is NOW DONE.

Of course, this is mostly due to recent MAGIC THAT HAPPENED. The magic being I wrote 23K of Shiva’s Bow in just over a week and was in HEAVEN. And I decided I really should finish the second book before continuing, so that when #3 is done, my beta will be ready for it. Odin’s Spear was fleshed out, gaps filled in, and sent to my beta before midnight last night. This draft came in at 96K. I’m hoping I’ll get a good second draft ready for my mum to read in May.

Oh god, it’s ugly. No structure, the pacing is off, there are inconsistencies, and a bunch of tertiary characters don’t have names. This is not a pretty baby. It’s misshapen and lumpy and likely no one loves it but me, but I’m trusting the beta to see the potential for beauty, like the unpopular girl in the movie who just needs a new dress and to take off her glasses for everyone to realize she’s gorgeous.

Except this girl’s gonna need a bit more work done. But she’ll get there.

This is the twenty-sixth full-length novel I’ve finished. Which could seem odd considering how few books by comparison I have published. Why is that? Do they all suck? Rejected by everyone?

Honestly…I hoard manuscripts.

A lot of projects I really love, I like to hang onto for a while (I have four books of a five book YA series entirely complete and no one but my betas have seen them). I see new writers eagerly querying everything they write and though it’s great to find homes of all your books, the thing no one tells you about being published is how wonderful it feels BEFORE that when the book and world is just yours. I love my work being read, I love connecting with readers, but it does take a toll on me and my mental health sometimes. It’s nice being able to work on books in a series without people requesting pirated copies; it’s nice being able to write something because I WANT to rather than because I feel obligated to; it’s nice just sharing the work with people I trust. So I decided early in the new year I needed to focus on joy again for a few months and not on selling something, which means more manuscript hoarding.

My preciouses.

I hope one day you get to read these books. But for now, I’m going to pick up some celebratory pizza, savor this feeling, and take a few days off before jumping back into the third book.

Bloody hell, it’s good to feel like myself again.