Writerly Wednesday: Eleanor Book 4
I wrote book 3 of the Eleanor Morgan series in the fall of 2014. It wasn’t until I started looking at it after publishing The Waning Moon that I realized book 3 was actually two separate books; books that needed a great deal of work to make them acceptable.
I split it in half, but not evenly. What became book 3 was well over half of the original manuscript, and I spent most of July and early August writing in new scenes and rewriting the older ones. I have been informed by reliable sources that it’s not the worst thing I’ve ever written, and gods willing, the feedback that should start trickling in from my beta readers over the next week will give me the information I need to strengthen it even further before I send it off to my editor extraordinaire.
What that left me with was approximately 40,000 words that needed to encompass the last two gates and close the first major arc of the series. Instead of taking the tack I took with what ended up being The Ruby Blade (rewriting around what’s already there), I decided to start from – if not scratch – something as close as makes no nevermind.
Over the weekend, I finished my outline of Eleanor book 4 and got started writing. I’ll take some of the passages in part or in whole to add into the story, but it’s going in a slightly different direction than I’d imagined three years ago when I wrote the first draft.
I’ve also started my Pinterest board for this story, and you can see who I see in my head when I talk about Finn, Emma, Isaac, Petrina, Marie, Raj, Florence, and Eleanor. You’ll get a glimpse of the landscapes I’ll be writing in (and, in November, you’ll get to see photos I take as I do a location scout!), the characters you’re getting to know and some new ones that are coming along.
I’m hoping to release book 4 in late February or mid-March (to be honest, I think mid-March is going to be more likely as I may or may not have just purchased plane tickets to Ireland and points beyond for late Feb/early March), but I’m still a bit uncertain. It depends on how well this first draft comes together. I’m only about 6,000 new words into it so far, but it’s really coming together. I’m so excited about this project (at this stage) and believe that it’s probably going to be one of the best things I’ve ever written. (Of course, when I’m doing the 2nd draft of it in a few months, I will be convinced that it’s the worst thing I’ve ever written, and will hate myself and everyone until it’s over.)
The August newsletter drops tomorrow (sign up in the side bar!), and with it, the latest Raj chapter, some news on recent/upcoming releases from members of the Illuterati (my author coven), and general news about my writing plans and release dates. (Psssttt…newsletter subscribers not only get access to my Raj serial, but will also be the first to see The Ruby Blade’s cover!)
This is how I assume my characters see me…
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