Last night I finished the 3rd draft of TDP-1.
I’ll rewind a moment. Towards the end of  January my CPs returned many pages of feedback to me. I love my CPs, I truly do. They pointed out the parts they loved, and yet told me in no uncertain terms – about the things my story lacks.
After compiling all the feedback and categorizing it between characterization and Backstory/Sensory details. I arranged the points in order of the story’s progression and started my revision.
So many subtle things, small inclusions, tightening, and a few complete scene rewrites. Not to mention darlings axed everywhere I found them.
Of course, I’m scared I’ve ruined it completely. So, I’ll sit here, trying not to chew my nails while I wait for feedback from my 2nd round of betas.
But I will mark yet another thing off my February goal list 😀
Finish TDP-1′s third draft- Plot H
- Write H
Critique for M- Critique for H
-  Don’t take on too many crits
Today, I will tackle plotting H. Hopefully that means I’ll begin writing on Friday. We’ll see how it goes though. Sometimes it takes me a lot longer to plot. In the end, it’s a good thing. Â The more time I spend on my outlining/detailing/plotting process – the less chance I’ll have plot holes to fill. #writemotivation gives me some much needed fire, too.
H has been trying to distract me from TDP since December. Now is the time to hammer out the first draft so it’ll leave me the hell alone.
Overall – I’m happy with how the process for TDP is going. I hope to be able to query in April/May (after I rip my Query letter apart and, you know, make it not suck).
The journey? So many pitfalls. All this frustration. Time like you wouldn’t believe. Hundreds of hours of work. And at the end, there’s still no guarantee an agent will love it. Even if they do, there’s still no guarantee someone will want to publish it.
But you know what? I don’t care. Fixing, polishing and improving my story is like no other feeling. Even if my betas and myself are the only people who ever know how much I love these characters – they’ve helped me grow and I will never regret the time spent.
While I query, I plan on finishing the drafts of the other 2 books and writing at least one or two more. The more I write, the more I practice – the easier it’ll become to tell my stories.
How do you feel about the whole writing process? How do you deal with it? What about the time sinks and the frustrations you meet along the way? Do you ever wonder if it’s worth it?
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Congrats on finishing the third draft! 😀
Thanks, hon <3 I'm so excited!
K.T. You’re an inspiration to us all! I’m trudging through my first round of revisions with my YA. At this point, I’m surprised anyone ever makes it through to publishing!! When I pop into Twitter, I enjoy hearing about your progress, it gives me hope. I just posted on my blog last night about my revision progress, although slow, it is still progress. :))
Thank you for sharing your experiences with us!
Yeah, I have to agree. With the amount of revisions and polish a finished MS needs, that people get published is a miracle. Thank you so much for your kind words and I’m sure your progress will be amazing in the end. I’ll keep tweeting as long as I’m writing – which menas I’ll be tweeting for a long time to come 😉
Great job finishing your 3rd draft and wonderful that you put it back out for another round of reviews.
In the end, I feel it’s worth all the work because of the love I have for the writing. In this e-book friendlier age, I even have the option of going indie if I choose to. So yeah, it’s worth it.
Oh, it definitely needs at least one more round of beta hehe. Might even need another, but I’m sort of hoping not haha. Don’t we all though 😉
I totally agree – writing is something I just HAVE to do. Love it.
If you are enjoying what you are doing and are happy with the final product – it is worth doing! For me, the writing seems to just flow; the characters tell me their story. Unfortunately, not always in the correct sequence or connection to other characters. I get frustrated when my wife (my editor) tells me something doesn’t work. I’ve come to realize that when she, and our additional beta readers, tell me to rework something, it is for the better. Sometimes that is very frustrating, but the final product is worth the multiple drafts that incorporate our editor’s input.
Congratulations on finishing the third draft!
It’s really great to hear people who love to write their untold stories. I don’t think out of sequence is a problem, and I think it’s good you have people who will be honest with you about your work.
Thank you
Congratulations on completing your draft. I know what a big deal it is to get something done. Don’t forget to have a drink or a nice dinner or some chocolate to celebrate.
I’m your fellow campaigner in the Sci Fi category. 🙂
We had a nice dinner haha 😀 I don’t drink, which is odd, I know haha. Also, excellent – Sci-Fi is awesome 😀
You have my full support KT! I hope everything turns out well for your third draft. And I’m happy to see you’re hoping on the old writing train again. It’s a lot easier to tell a story after you’ve spent time critiquing your own material. And just remember, as long as you keep plugging away, and keep your determination to be better, you WILL be published. 😀
Thanks, hon. I rip my first drafts apart, but I think it’s worth it in the end. Hopefully one day, a book of mine will make it 😀
Well done and congrats…. and Oh my gosh… I am awed by your level of prep… it’s amazing 🙂
Haha, thank you so much, hon. Also – if I do this much prep – I save time later 😉
Man, I am so proud of you! I can’t imagine how amazing you must feel right now. I wish you all the best luck in the world on querying and getting it published. I have faith. And I wish you the best on moving forward!
*hugs you lots* You made me happy cry 😛 I still won’t forget that lol.
I do feel great – I feel awesome and now I’m writing again, I feel even better. Stupid editing process haha
New follower coming over to say hello from the Campaign *waves* Good luck with your writing.
Hi Kerri! Nice to meet you.