The End in Sight

It would be a lie to say that writing a first draft is always fun.

Of course, I’ve written longer pieces before, but none of those projects were undertaken with the same intensity or purpose as my current draft. This piece is one I’m incredibly passionate about, and I hope it will be my first published work.

The draft has been tedious at times, and I wonder if it is the same for all authors that tackle the project of a series. I’ve planned five books, three of them in meticulous detail, and plot strands that will not come to an end for at least another 500,000 words are being spun into place now. The initial work of creating the world and the peoples that inhabit it was more fun than I can possibly describe, but getting them along from Point A to Point B has not always been so glamorous.

It is so hard to maintain pacing with a character whose fate has already been decided. It is difficult to maintain the seemingly random story arcs that will eventually play out as the series comes to a close. Writing this buildup and beginning exposition in a way that still encourages reader engagement has been tedious at times, but now I can feel it all coming together.

As I near the end of my first draft, I know that the book is far from a finished product. I have revisions and editing to do several times through before anyone else even sees the manuscript, but at least now the story is picking up. As I write through the first major climax of the book, I have trouble stopping to save my work and call it a day. Often I wage a staring war with the clock, wondering if the face staring back is lying as to how late the hour has become. In the end, I’m forced to blink first, conceding defeat for one more day, knowing that the word count and the plot are trudging closer to that important finish.

I hope one day to share the world of Cestre and its peoples with all of you. Until then, I’ll withdraw for one more evening, defeated by the hands of time for one more day.