I expect to finish my rough draft today. And it's very rough. The final word count should be just over 70K. For this draft. I tend to expand a lot when I revise. Does anyone else do that?
I've been fighting this 'pressure' to make my sequel longer than the first book. The first book, at last revision, was 97K. I know some things will get cut (still), but I know other things will get added. (Like setting. I'm horrible at it and I'm sure my editor is going to make me go back through and describe things.) So I really think it'll stay around 97K. Yet it seems like every series I pick up, the second book is longer than the first. Or at least just as long. Is it ever shorter? Is that even allowed?
I don't like to write for the sake of writing. Obviously, we write our story until the story is done. No fluff, no senseless rambling. My story might, quite simply, be done at 80K. As a reader, would you think it very odd that the second book was that much shorter than the first? Or would you even notice?
But anyway. So today I will finish up the villain's POV, add one more scene from the MC's POV, and then wha-la. It's done. Then come the revisions. Totally exciting! I love revising. It's like when you pick up a book and think, "If I were writing this book, I'd phrase it like this. Or I'd make this happen. Or change it to this." And I can do those things, because I did write the book!
And then I read those things I wrote and get giddy inside, and wiggle my toes and think, "This is good! Everyone will love this!" Except we all think that about what we wrote. It remains to be seen if everyone will love it.
Sequel Stats:
today's goal: 68,953
actual: 68,982
tomorrow's goal: 70,982
7 comments:
No worries, chica. I doubt it's a problem! I mean, it's not like your first one is 45K and the second one is shorter! Your first is 95K! That's a lot! Honestly, the first book in the trilogy I just finished is longer than the second. The first just has more story! And even when both of them are revised, the second one will probably still be shorter. I wouldn't even worry about it. Now, if #3 is shorter than the others, I always find that a little strange. I trilogy I just finished reading had a third book that was shorter than the second, and I was a little put off by it. And rightly so, because the third one sucked. But I wouldn't worry about it at all.
All right. so as long as #3 is longer...:)
and you're right. #1 covers about six weeks of story. This one resolves itself in about three.
So exciting! I finished my book yesterday...it was a manuscript I'd started over the summer but had to put aside...so it was a good feeling to finally be able to put The End on it. Even better, to finally be free to write something NEW! It'll be the first new manuscript I've started since early summer.
Good work, woman! That's a lot of words to have written in so little time.
Keep up the good work. I have 17,000 more words to go on my WIP. I hope to finish by mid-October.
I don't know if there should be a set limit to how long the book should be. I think it needs to be as long as the story needs to be. Whatever needs to be told, should be included. I've never published or even finished a book before so I don't know how these things work, but to me, there's not such thing as a book being too long. =)
I can't get away from writing short stories. The only way I got into the novel arena, is that my short story could go a lot farther, and during revisions it got longer and longer. But for me, long is 50,000 words. And I am having a hard time not dipping below that.
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