I'm nearing the end of the first draft to the third novel in the John Ross Boomer Lit series, with more than 53k words on the hard drive.
When all is written and done, I envision the novel to be around 75k words. The first draft should be around 60k, with another 15k (or more) added during the rewrites.
I'm a freestyle writer when working on first drafts, letting the words flow from my plotting brain to my plodding fingers to the plastic keyboard. Many of the scenes, subplots, and even a few characters, will disappear by the time I'm finished with the manuscript, which usually involves at least 10 rewrites.
I do start with a rough draft—thoughts and ideas I want to address in the novel. But as I get into the novel, there are unforeseen changes in the direction the story is going and how some characters are developing. At that time, I'll write a second draft to see where I've been and where I want to go to complete the work.
The new book takes John and Sally Ross for a 10-day vacation to Budapest (one of my favorite cities), a stopover in New York, and back home to Kentucky. For those familiar with the first novel, "Old Ways and New Days," the European trip is a retirement gift from their children, Brody and Chloe.
John and Sally put off the getaway in the second novel, "Darkness Beyond the Light," after discovering that Brody had serious personal problems. And a visit from Sally's judgmental mother, Geraldine, only complicated matters during the holiday season.
When all is written and done, I envision the novel to be around 75k words. The first draft should be around 60k, with another 15k (or more) added during the rewrites.
I'm a freestyle writer when working on first drafts, letting the words flow from my plotting brain to my plodding fingers to the plastic keyboard. Many of the scenes, subplots, and even a few characters, will disappear by the time I'm finished with the manuscript, which usually involves at least 10 rewrites.I do start with a rough draft—thoughts and ideas I want to address in the novel. But as I get into the novel, there are unforeseen changes in the direction the story is going and how some characters are developing. At that time, I'll write a second draft to see where I've been and where I want to go to complete the work.
The new book takes John and Sally Ross for a 10-day vacation to Budapest (one of my favorite cities), a stopover in New York, and back home to Kentucky. For those familiar with the first novel, "Old Ways and New Days," the European trip is a retirement gift from their children, Brody and Chloe.
John and Sally put off the getaway in the second novel, "Darkness Beyond the Light," after discovering that Brody had serious personal problems. And a visit from Sally's judgmental mother, Geraldine, only complicated matters during the holiday season.
I'll be introducing a few new characters and bring back some familiar names from the previous novels. And for those who are wondering, badboy Brody and snippety Geraldine are still alive and well in the series.
Until the next time . . .
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