Writing Update: Four WIP's

When I was in school, I told myself I was never going to become a teacher. I had several motivations, but the main one was that someone once said when they became a teacher, they didn’t have the energy to write. Ouch. Why would I want to do a job if it meant giving up writing?

Long story short, now I’m a teacher and a writer. Ha! Not today, discouragement.

Over the last couple of years, I’ve changed jobs, schedules, number of projects, you name it. Usually, I tend to write about two novels a year. Whether I stick with that project or not is another matter entirely. Lately, though, I have two projects in the editing phase, another I just finished writing, and a fourth one that I’m outlining.

Four whole works in progress. So many!

 

Novel 1: Edge of the Solar System

Genre: adult sci-fi, mystery
Stage: Draft 3

Cory Bailey is used to working alone. When the Interspecies Investigation, a cross-cultural agency, offers her a position as a linguist, she jumps at the chance to work in her field, even if it takes her halfway across the Solar System. Now she has to figure out how to work as a member of a team if she’s to survive. But meeting with the Tchotovoroc, an alien species resident to the colony outside Neptune, isn’t quite what she expects, and the greatest threat may just be the humans closer to home.

Oooooh! I’m so excited to share this one with you guys! I’ve gotten some feedback from my critique partners and soon I’ll be looking for beta readers and sensitivity readers. Then it’s off to querying literary agents.

 

Novel 2: Water Sprite

Genre: YA contemporary fantasy, poetry
Stage: Draft 3

Astor Foster doesn’t plan on making any new friends during her last year in Germany. Not since her best friend moved back to the States last December, and not when she is going to move soon. Nobody is more surprised than she is when a family outing leads her to hang out with a girl at the local pool. But there’s more to her new friend than her strange name—Sturm. There’s also her ability to breathe underwater, and Astor wants to know how.

I had a hard time settling on the plot for this story, but once I turned it into a novel in verse, it really took form. I just need to find some more critique partners… It’s a trickier to find people who are willing to read a novel in verse.

 

Novel 3: Not-So-Secret

Genre: YA sci-fi
Stage: Draft 1

I started using Campfire Writing to outline my books, and had a lot of fun developing the story even before the writing process. I just finished the rough draft. Like any first draft, it’s a mess, but that’s a good thing. I’ve got plenty to work with, and I get the feeling I’ll enjoy rewriting it come summer.

I’ve been experimenting with style a lot lately, and it’s been lots of fun!

 

Novel 4: Secret

It’s a little early for me to share much about this one because it’s so new. Even if I were to tell you about it, that info would likely change by the time I get around to writing it. I’ll just say it’s a fantasy.

 

Blogging

Because I’m working on so many books, I’ve decided to step back from my blog for a while, posting once a month instead of once a week. I haven’t yet decided whether I’m going to share poems or book-related posts. Maybe a bit of both. We shall see.

Until next time, happy reading!

 

Let’s chat! Fellow writers, what kind of projects are you working on? What’s your favorite genre to write? Do you have a preferred writing style?

 

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Similar posts: Campfire Writing, Writing Update: To Sequel or Not to Sequel?, and My Latest Writing Desk

Writing Update: To Sequel or Not to Sequel?

Hey, guys! It’s been a while since I posted a writing update, so here I am to talk about some of my latest projects. I’ll try not to get too in depth, especially since some of my projects with great aspirations never made it past the querying stage… *looks longingly at two novels I set aside*

That being said—stories! I love ‘em. The fun thing about being a writer is that you don’t have to stick with one story. Once you’re past the proofreading stage, it’s time to move on to the next project. The main question then becomes, what next? And of course, should I write a sequel or not?

 

 

WATER SPRITE: Definitely a Sequel

The title is not going to stay, guys. It’s just the best I have right now. I decided to rewrite this book as a novel in verse and completely fell in love with the style. I hope my critique partners like it as much as I do. Speaking of critique partners, if anybody’s interested in helping me tear this novel apart, I’m looking for readers (see 7 Facts about Critique Partners and Current Stories for more info).

As for the plans for a sequel, it won’t be so much a sequel as much as a companion novel. Technically, if you look at it chronologically, it would be a prequel. Why would I be writing this one second? I’m not. I once tried my hand at this companion novel before, and it was a complete flop (I tried writing the novel by hand and hated every second of it). So I set it aside, wrote a different story, and now I’m coming back with a completely different approach.

Even though my current writing order is book 2, book 1, book 3, I particularly like these stories because each one has standalone potential. It’s not so much a trilogy as a collection of books with some crossover.

 

EDGE OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM: Probably a Sequel

I still hate this title. Especially since it’s something that carried over from draft one but no longer applies to the latest draft. *shrugs* Titles are hard.

Anyway, whether or not I write a sequel depends on two factors: 1) how I end the book and 2) whether or not I can find a literary agent to represent it. Now you might be wondering, you already sent it off to your critique partners, shouldn’t you already know how you’re ending the book? Hahahaha! No. These things change.

Also, yes, I can totally write a sequel without a literary agent, but from a career standpoint, I don’t want to spend 2-3 years on a project that will never see the light of day when I could be working on something else that might have better success at getting published. Besides, even if the first story does get picked up for publication, it will probably undergo even more changes.

But how do I know what will happen? I don’t. That’s why I want to wait and see.

 

THE CHOSEN ONES: A Sequel?

Hey, wait a second, I’ve never talked about this story before. It’s still in the writing process. Keep it secret! Quick! *cue screaming*

Since this spring, I’ve been trudging my way through a short story with a twist on one of my least favorite tropes: the chosen one. Can I pull it off? We can only wait and see…

 

There you have it! A glimpse at what I’ve been working on and what I plan to be doing in the future. Some of it depends upon the publishing process, but not all of it. I always look forward to future stories. There are so many plot bunnies out there just waiting to be written.

 

Let’s chat! Readers, do you prefer standalones or series? Writers, which do you like to write? What’s your least favorite trope?

 

 

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Similar posts: “Would You Rather?” Writing Tag, How to Balance Multiple Writing Projects, and Writing Update: Between Publications