drafting

Battling the Blahs

This post was originally sent through my author newsletter on August 4th, 2023. To subscribe to my newsletter and receive up-to-date news, musings, and more, click HERE.

Earlier this week, I was feeling a little bit...blah. 

Not because of what I'm currently writing—I am absolutely crushing my drafting deadline, and will finish chapter 20 (out of 20) today! More on that next week...

No, the reason for this week's brief case of the blahs was that, once again, I am nearing the end of my contracted book work. "This happens to you a lot," my husband joked, and he's not wrong! Part of being a traditionally published author is never being sure (unless you are wildly, wildly successful) that you will get to publish another book.

This is why all the authors I know were so obsessed with Leigh Bardugo's recent twelve-book deal: that kind of thing simply does not happen. These days, a lot of publishers are loathe to offer even three-book deals! Of course, Leigh Bardugo is a safe bet for her publisher, especially since the Netflix "Shadow & Bone" series launched. Most, if not all, of those dozen books will hit the bestseller list. Macmillan will earn their money back, and then some. 

To me, the dream isn't just to make millions of dollars. (Though that would certainly be nice!) To me, the dream is...security. A multi-book deal means you know what's on the horizon. It means you have a horizon. Each time a contract comes to an end—unless you have multiple contracts with different publishers at the same time—what's next is up in the air. You're back in the trenches, submitting projects as proposals or full drafts and praying something will land on the right person's desk at the right moment. 

I have a few "possibles" out there now. MarcyKate and I have submitted a proposal for a second and third book in the Science & Strange series, which launches in January with The Thirteenth Circle. I'm hoping to get hired to do more books in the write-for-hire series I've been working on this year. And I do have a few more things of my own up my sleeve. (A proposal for more Class Critters books! A standalone magical middle-grade novel I've been working on for years! Another standalone magical MG idea I have to start from scratch!) 

As of writing this, I'm not feeling quite so blah. Yes, I would love to receive some immediate good news in my inbox! But when I take a step back and look at that list of "possibles," I actually feel quite encouraged. When I started writing fiction seriously, I was a "one book at a time" writer. Maybe I could start brainstorming something new while revising my current project. In general, though, I worked very linearly. 

Now, at any given point, I've got a lot of irons in the fire. Writing books of different lengths has helped. So has coauthoring. And I'm able to alternate projects I've been working on for years with books I must write from start to finish in a span of months. Some things are quickly pushed off my plate; others continue to simmer on the stove. 

All of that means that while what's next might not turn out to be exactly what I'd envisioned...there's more where that came from. More ideas, more works-in-progress, more things I'm willing to try while I wait. 

How do you battle the blahs in your personal or professional life? 

~Kathryn 

What I'm: 

Reading: I read a thriller this week: Andrea Bartz's We Were Never Here, about two friends who travel together...and end up covering up murders (in self-defense, ostensibly) together. It's been a while since I read an adult thriller, and I've added a few more to my library holds list. Now, I'm listening to Ali Hazelwood's Love, Theoretically, the latest in Hazelwood's series of STEM-focused romance novels. 

Watching: Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 3 finally came to Disney+, and I really enjoyed it! But be warned: it does have a lot of flashback scenes of animal abuse (the main plot relates to how Rocket Raccoon ended up the way he is). It's fun and zany, but also about grief and trauma, and I teared up as much as I laughed. Did you like this latest Marvel installment? 

Loving: My summer reading challenge!

Setting Goals, Seeking Accountability

This post was originally sent through my author newsletter on July 28th, 2023. To subscribe to my newsletter and receive up-to-date news, musings, and more, click HERE.

"How are you writing so fast?!" a friend DMed me on Instagram yesterday, in response to one of my daily word count updates. 

I wrote back with a quick explanation: my four-weeks-of-camp timeline, my 10-page chapter-by-chapter outline, my rule that I have to finish my chapter each day before I do anything else (including shower). But really, I wanted to say, "Thank you." 

Every message I get, whether congratulating me for getting my daily words on the page or asking how I'm doing it, keeps me going. That's one of the reasons I've been sharing my word count tracker online for the past three weeks (and will continue to do so next week). At this point, if I miss a day, I think people will notice. 

I have a professional deadline for this project: August 30th. But I've written in my newsletter before about the difference between the "zero-draft," i.e. the very first thing I write, and the "first draft" that I send to my editor or agent. I don't want my publishing team to read the earliest set of words that I basically splat onto my screen. Thus, I have to bake in some time for revisions. This year, the timing happened to work out perfectly: I have this four-week stretch of summer camp to hammer out words, and then three and a half weeks (only one of which is a camp week) before the actual deadline, to polish everything up. 

Perfect timing notwithstanding, I would consider this fast-drafting. I don't usually push myself to get down approximately 2,000 words a day, every single (week)day. When I was writing the Class Critters books, I didn't have to; those books are shorter, and the challenge was to get each chapter to do its job in the fewest possible words (around 500-700). When I was writing my longer YA novels, meanwhile, the deadlines weren't this tight. Plus, I drafted my debut long before working with a publisher. In a nutshell, this particular drafting situation—35,000-40,000 words in under eight weeks—is new to me. 

And...I don't hate it. 

I am someone who thrives under (reasonable) pressure. If I don't have an external deadline, I often give myself one. I like making plans and sticking to them. So, this idea of writing a chapter a day for twenty days naturally appealed to me. I knew what I had to accomplish from the get-go, and I am making it happen.

Why share online each day? Accountability. Like I said earlier, if I miss a day at this point, there are people in my life who would notice. I've put my intentions out into the world. Now, I have to follow through. 

But every book is different, just as every season of life is different. What's working for me this summer might not work at another time of year. I might have more on my plate. Or another book might not lend itself to the kind of outlining that has facilitated my drafting process this time. And of course, with my coauthored projects, I have to factor in another person's schedule and preferences. 

I'm trying to enjoy this productive flow I'm in. I've written 28,607 words in 14 days (as of yesterday), and I have six chapters to go (one today and five next week). Then my schedule changes again: I'll be working while also running "mommy camp" for a week and a half, followed by traveling with my daughter and doing a school visit in my hometown.   

When the stars align, as they did with this twenty chapters in twenty days marathon I'm in now—and when the writing flows, as it has been—this work is so satisfying. But it's also satisfying to find time to do a small, meaningful revision in an otherwise busy day. It's satisfying to add 2,000 words to a growing document, and it's satisfying to delete a scene that isn't serving any purpose, or to replace that long scene with a single, perfect sentence. 

I enjoy what I do, and I'm happy to have the time to do it.

I'm thankful for summer camp. 

And as I enter the home stretch of getting this zero-draft written, please hold me accountable. ;) 

~Kathryn 

What I'm: 

Reading: I just reread Emily Henry's Beach Read, and, serendipitously, her newest book, Happy Place, just landed in my library queue. So, that is what I will be happily reading this weekend. Happy Place is a second-chance romance about a couple that broke up five months ago after an eight-year relationship, only to be thrust back together by their friends at an intimate cottage gathering on the Maine coast.  

Watching: So much "Star Trek." The second season of "Strange New Worlds" is really fun! And with the way streaming services work these days, we have to watch everything of interest to us to on Paramount+ before canceling it again, which means rewatching some of the "Trek" movies... 

Loving: My daughter's summer camp is science-themed, and it has really captured her imagination. I love that she enjoys the experiments, but also gets into the pretending aspect of it—for instance, the week they learned about detective science, she was basically a sleuth 24/7. Her big imagination is one of my favorite things about this age! 

(Here's a new Little Free Library near her camp. Isn't this the cutest?)

My Mini Summer Writing Bootcamp

This post was originally sent through my author newsletter on July 14th, 2023. To subscribe to my newsletter and receive up-to-date news, musings, and more, click HERE.

If you follow me on any of my social platforms, you probably know that I am drafting a new book this summer. It's the second book in my write-for-hire contract, the sequel to the first. (I know you're curious about this project—I really, really hope to be able to share more details soon!) Because I'm working with a relatively tight deadline, and because my kiddo is in summer camp for four straight weeks, I've decided to turn the work of drafting into a mini bootcamp for myself. 

I have never attempted NaNoWriMo. (That's National Novel Writing Month, for those who aren't familiar—each November, millions of writers attempt to complete a novel, or at least 50,000 words of one, in a month.) I haven't abstained from NaNoWriMo because I'm opposed to the idea. Not at all! I've just never found myself ready to write 50,000 new words when November rolls around. I'm either deep in revisions on something, or drafting something shorter (like the Critters books). Maybe one day I will give it a shot! 

But this summer, I'm attempting something close. This new book needs to be between 35-40,000 words. My daughter is in camp for four weeks. By her last day of camp, I want to have a complete zero-draft. (Then, I will have about three weeks to polish up that draft before my August deadline.) 

So, how does one write an entire book in a month? 

The same way you eat an elephant: one bite at a time. 

My outline for this book has 20 chapters. My kiddo has 20 days of camp. That equals a chapter a day. How long must each chapter be? 35,000 / 20 = 1,750. I've set myself a goal of writing at least 1,500 words a day, knowing that most chapters will be closer to 2,000. (In the first four days, my word count total was 7,988, so I am slightly ahead of schedule overall. Woohoo!) 

Now, maybe you're someone who looks at this strategy and shudders. Maybe the idea of breaking a book down into bite-sized chunks doesn't mesh with your writing vibe at all. I have to say, I've written books where this strategy wouldn't have worked at all. Books where I was finding my way as I wrote, or focusing for an hour on a single paragraph because I couldn't move on until it was just right. But for this particular project, having a daily goal and a clear finish line within view has been invaluable. 

I have a deadline and a plan. I enjoy a sense of accomplishment each morning, as I cross off "write a chapter" from my to-do list. I can see my document growing, thanks to the handy-dandy progress bar in Scrivener. I feel confident, and sometimes confidence is the best feeling you can experience when you're working on something completely new. (Also, for me, it's my first time writing a true sequel; the Critters books were each about a different character. So the confidence-boost of getting words on the page is balancing out my uncertainty about crafting a sequel that's as compelling as the first book!) 

I wouldn't be able to work like this without my incredibly detailed outline. When I sit down each morning, I have the chapter's synopsis ready to guide me forward. And yes, things do change from outline to draft. But I have a road map. If I follow it, I'll get to my destination. 

Today is the end of Week One. After today's writing session, I should have approximately one-fourth of a book. That's definitely something! 

And with each day that passes, my momentum grows. I'm more in the story. More invested in the characters. Hopefully, by the time I get to "The End" and circle back to page one to start revising, I'll be so in the zone that I'll know exactly what I need to do. 

There's a quote writers often share: "I hate writing, but I love having written."

To be honest, I love both. Not all the time, but certainly right now. I'm enjoying the process, and I'm looking forward to the outcome of having a finished draft to revise. It may feel a bit like bootcamp, but it also feels like home. 

Are you pushing yourself to work on anything big this summer? 

~Kathryn 

What I'm: 

Reading: I'm currently crossing off the "historical novel set before the 20th century" box on my BookBub Reading Challenge grid! The most recent Newbery Award winner, Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson, is about two children who escape from a plantation and find a new home in a free Black community hidden deep in a swamp. Freewater is home to other formerly enslaved people as well as a group of children who were born there—children who have never known enslavement. This book is lyrically written and lovingly depicts—from many different points of view—a part of history I haven't read about before in children's literature, the free Black (also known as maroon) communities in the south in the 1800s.  

Watching: My husband and I finished "Picard" season 3 this week. I grew up watching "Star Trek: The Next Generation" with my dad, and it was a pleasure to spend more time with the crew of the Enterprise-D in this new series. (If you're a Trekkie, it's on Paramount+!) 

Loving: I took this photo of my kiddo last week, and I still think it may be one of the best pictures I've ever captured. It looks like she's surrounded by magic. 

On Zero-Drafts and Finding Myself Through the Mess

This post was originally sent through my author newsletter on March 17th, 2023. To subscribe to my newsletter and receive up-to-date news, musings, and more, click HERE.

I recently finished the "zero-draft" of the write-for-hire project I've been working on for the past few months. To my surprise and delight, it ended up right at the assigned word count (between 35-40,000 words). Thanks to my very detailed outline/synopsis, I had a solid sense of what I needed to write, but there was no guarantee that it would take the correct amount of words to get it all on the page. Typing "The End" at just over 38K felt so satisfying, like my authorly instincts were on point. 

Of course, this was just a zero-draft. What do I mean by that? 

When you're writing a book under contract, you'll have a due date for the first draft. This will be the first time your editor (and others on the team—in this case, the client) reads the whole book. But ideally, the draft you turn in isn't the very first draft you finish writing. Thus: zero-draft. 

A zero-draft can be full of plot holes. It can have notes in the margins, like, "Rewrite this interaction later" and "What day of the week is it, again?" The writing isn't necessarily polished, or even grammatically correct. Writing a zero-draft is about sketching out the story, start to finish. A zero-draft isn't mean to be read (by your editor or, really, anyone other than you). It's meant to exist, because you can't edit a blank page. 

So, as I said, earlier this week I finished my zero-draft. Not counting the three chapters I'd already written as part of my audition for the project, and then polished up for the "proof of concept" proposal, it took me a little under five weeks to complete. (I am immensely proud of that pace, by the way, considering I've been dealing with a retinal detachment in my left eye!) Now, I'm fixing things. Editing for continuity. Fleshing out two-dimensional characters. Adding connective threads between scenes and chapters. This is the fun part of writing a book: when you can see, with every change you make, that it is becoming better. 

A friend recently expressed astonishment that I have been able to work through this whole retinal detachment situation. I'll admit, it hasn't been easy, especially right after the repair procedures were done, but...being able to work through this has saved me. Meeting—exceeding—my word count goals each day gave me both a sense of purpose and a creative outlet, when the only other thing I could do was nap on the couch. (Believe it or not, one can only take so many midday naps!) Knowing that I'm going to hit my deadline at the end of this month, despite everything—and that I'm going to send in something I feel good about—is incredibly gratifying.  

I'm a person who prefers to keep busy. In general, I like for my days to have a purpose and a plan. And I enjoy writing. It makes me happy. 

I also enjoy vacations—and trust me, it felt absolutely magical to be at Disney World without my laptop for an entire workweek. 

But I'd been looking forward to getting back to work when we returned from Florida, and having to have emergency eye surgery really threw me for a loop. During those first few days post-procedure, I clung to the hour or so each morning that I could spend writing. During those hours, I felt like me. 

It reminded me of when, less than a year postpartum, I was invited to join rehearsals for a dance performance that was being put on by two of my longtime contemporary teachers/choreographers. Even in my first rehearsal with the group, my new-mom body still strange in constantly-shifting ways, I felt like me. As rehearsals went on, it was like stepping back into myself, over and over and over.  

Sitting down at my computer each morning, the past few weeks, has been another kind of stepping back into myself. And yes, I have earned a break after this. Yes, I plan to get a massage (when my eye doctor gives me the okay). Yes, I may take extra dance and yoga classes this spring to make up for these long, sedentary weeks at home. But I don't want to ever stop writing. I can't stop creating, dreaming, building. It's just not who I am.

~Kathryn  

What I'm: 

Reading: Due to my eye situation, I’ve started listening to audiobooks! I finished the audiobook of The Likeness (an Irish murder mystery) and also listened to a short rom-com called Love at First Psych, about two college students paired together for a project on love at first sight for their psychology class. It was cute! 

Watching: We rewatched "The Mandalorian" and are now caught up on season 3. I also can't wait to start season 2 of "Shadow and Bone" on Netflix. The first season of that one was so good! 

Cooking (sort of...): My daughter had green oatmeal and green milk this morning for breakfast, and she was absolutely certain the food coloring made it all taste especially green. 

Loving: Speaking of St. Patrick's Day, apparently my kiddo's teacher read a book about leprechauns yesterday, which inspired her to create her own leprechaun trap. (She was convinced one was going to sneak into her room overnight and steal her pot of gold! Aka her piggie bank...) Here's her chalk diagram of the trap, including disgruntled leprechaun. The pot of gold at the far left is the bait.