This past week I had the great pleasure of turning in the draft of The Starseekers to my editor. It closes out a writing marathon I’ve been undertaking since October in which I worked on the final draft The Improvisers, the draft Secret Project #1, the first draft of The Starseekers, and got them all turned in and sent on their merry ways.
I’m a little tired, but overall very pleased with myself. Out of the trio only one had a hard deadline (Improvisers of course!) but the other two I wanted to wrap up in a timely manner. I’ve been itching to start write something new, and after a short break I will dive into the wonder of new a story. Starting a new story is one of the reasons I made effort to stick the deadline I set for myself. I’ve been editing and revising for a while and starting a new draft is exciting. I also recognized the signs of when I needed to stop working on a story.
Knowing when to stop with a story is a key skill writers need to develop to avoid getting stuck in the quagmire of editing. I’ve been there often with previous stories, where I just kept poking and prodding and never quite finishing. It’s by finishing and letting a story sit, that you can better see what needs to be done - usually with fresher eyes.
How to develop such a skill is best done by having the habit of giving yourself deadlines. When tackling a project I give myself a date that I’d like to have the work done by. They’re always reasonable deadlines, and I give myself the grace to adjust the deadline as needed. I also play around with what a deadline means. Sometimes a deadline is a full stop of work and to move onto other work. Other times it is a checkpoint to see my progress so far. Having a date to reach allows me to see how much work I’ve gotten done, reflect on how it’s been going so far, and gauge how going forward will look. Every story I work on slightly different, and I change how I stick to deadline as needed. But no matter what I choose to do, I pause, I take a break, and I start planning the next big thing.
The Improvisers officially has a date! Look for it on November 5th. It’s already starting to pop up in all the usual suspects like Barnes and Noble, Bookshop, and Amazon. Look for more information in the coming months. No cover yet but I do have some snazzy art of the main characters: Velma, an intrepid pilot and magical investigator and Dillon a nosy reporter who’s along for the ride for the mystery. It’s my magical take on 1930s with high flying adventure of magic, murder and more.
It's cool that you use finishing something as a goal to allow yourself to start something new. That could apply to a lot of things in life, especially bigger projects. Thanks for sharing that :0)