I’ve laid down the rough draft of Six Train’s sequel. The beginning has gone through 6 rounds of revisions as I work. The end is clunky. It’s only been through 1 round. The hardest part is the emotional arc. I’ve got to feel my way through it all. That’s how I write. It’s me down on the ground in the muck with my characters. Every thing they say and do has to come from their inner struggles.
And if it doesn’t feel authentic to me, I rework it. Sometimes I spend days asking myself what is really going on. Because there is so much unsaid in each scene. I have to dig deeper. Even if it doesn’t end up splashed across the page, I have to know the inner inner workings of my characters.
So that every action makes sense. It’s not me thinking this would be cool, but me knowing this is what Kai would do next. And so the book evolves. Changes. Becomes something of it’s own.
I should have the first draft revised by mid December. Then it’s a couple months away from it to let it breathe. Allow things to percolate. And then a serious round of major revisions before it goes to betas in May.
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October was a good month for sales. I sold 76 copies online and at events. One of the best months I’ve had all year. Thanks to everyone who bought a copy!
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I’m off to Miami this week. I’ll post to Facebook while I’m at the Miami Book Fair and the Readers’ Favorite International Book Awards Ceremony!
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