Finally finished a first draft!

[Karlin]

It's taken about two years, but finally got a first draft finished. The novel is not really fantasy, more like magical realism. Everything in the book could happen, but a god helps push things along.

Now I have to edit it, first on my own. I know what's wrong: pacing, shifts of tone, unclear geography, stuff that will confuse the reader, plot holes (did I leave anything out?). The plan is to fix what I can, have a few family members or friends read it, and fix it again. Then I'll send it to a professional editor (someone I found on Fiverr, and have worked with in the past). Fortunately I can afford to pay someone to help me with this.

There are months of work on this still. I'll start writing the next one soon, but only after I've finished a first edit.

 

[SamazonE]

It's taken about two years, but finally got a first draft finished.

Magical realism is interesting. Realism has always scared me. It is like a scary mirror. I think it has something to do with meeting new people. In most stories, there is a magical element, that seems like god. So, god pushes it along, does he? That is strange, coming from a work of fiction, but not unheard of?

I have been thinking about writing a book about a boy who enters a magical land in his mirror, all about the fantasy that could happen in his room. I have seen that happen in fantasy, as well, but only in library books. Then, I’m planning a sequel. When he is on holiday, he finds a magical land under his bed.

When I start writing, I have my family look into it. These days, when I ask, they just shake their heads. They have become more distant, since I started a family. Though, I have passed on the talent to my daughter, and she has finished her first draft, and we plan to self publish. Just for reference, she is only in year four, and homeschooled.

Editing has always scared me. It gets to the point where I am looking for magical creatures, in every single sentence, and that makes it difficult and illegible. However, I do have a good memory for plot, and a knack at catchy names and places. I just have to just keep plodding along at my own pace, the race is on, between the tortoise and the hare.

 

[Gurkhal]

Well done! Keep up the steam!

 

[pmmg]

Congrats on finishing your first draft.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

That is fantastic! There are not too many things that feel better than typing, "The End." Congratulations! That wasn't easy, what you did there. <3

 

[skip.knox]

Congratulations! That's is a milestone.more to come, but that one is huge.

 

[ThinkerX]

Congrats!

My advice: Set aside for a month or three and start work on the next project before any editing or revisions. When you get back to it after that, it will 'read fresh,' with both the good and the bad clearly apparent.

 

[Prince of Spires]

Well done on getting to the end! It's a huge milestone and something to be proud of.

Enjoy editing it (some people, like me, do).

You can ideed set it aside for a while. That's fairly common advice. I never follow it though and jump straight in. Since writing the thing always takes me more than 3 months, the beginning is already fresh. And I know what I need to fix, so I just start doing that. Find what works for you.

 

[Saigonnus]

Congratulations!

 

[Penpilot]

That's great. Keep on truckin'

 

[Karlin]

I won't allow myself to start my next project until I've done at least a first edit. The new project is always more attractive than fixing up the old, so I need some self discipline here.

Once it's good enough for family members or to send to a professional editor, I'll feel more comfortable about charging ahaed with the next one.

 

[minta]

Congrats on finishing the draft!

 

[xena]

Congratulations!