It’s been a month since The Things We Do was released. This sci-fi dystopian novella revolves around Lone Honora a 20-year-old. Having just been convicted of theft from her workplace she is sent to prison and once there has to deal with the memories of her childhood. It is here that she has to confront her past so that she can have a future. 
Tag: new adult
The Things We Do: 7th draft done
I’ve gotten back into editing 🙂 It’s been months and I had no idea when I’d get over my burn out. I think this story is almost done 🙂 I will be aiming to have it out by the end of the year at the lastest. But I want it out sooner.
I’m no longer doing big edits, just little ones like single words and the occasional sentence change. Maybe it’ll be complete in another few edits.
Draft 6 of The Things We Do
Today has been very productive. I’ve just completed another draft of The Things We Do. I’m doing line editing and pretty much just zoomed through it. I know I need to do like two more drafts at least.
It’s 25,646 words and 42 A4 pages long. I’m classing this as a novella instead of a novelette because I think it’s too long. I think novelettes are more on the cusp of 20,000 and under.
What is the point of Jumpstart? (Tune Trilogy)
Jumpstart is the prequel novelette to the yet to be completed novel Tune In. Honestly, I began the sequel before pausing and thinking that maybe I needed to introduce the main character Odine King and give her the appropriate backstory.
This is because I am trying to create a realistic character and she may not come off as that without this novelette. I’m also using this story as a means of garnering attention for the series. I’m also thinking of making this free so that it’ll entice more people to find me.
The whole point of this story to show Odine as she starts her journey into delving into the world of the paranormal. It is also to show that her talents are still not set in stone and she still has to learn how to control them. Please note, Odine’s powers are limited to communicating with the dead and sensing the nature of a person through touch.
I’ve also set this story in a fictional world of aliens and space exploration. In my head my storyline makes sense, but I’ve have had someone tell me that the two do not go together. Maybe, maybe not. I’ll see how it ends up.
This is my third attempt at creating a series. My first one was a Young adult trilogy from when I was 19 and the second is a dystopian science fiction from my early twenties. At the time I didn’t quite have the skill level as I do now to create something so large and all-encompassing. But I intend to go back to them one day. I have a lot of admiration to JK Rowling for her Harry Potter series. I think this time around will be the one 🙂
5th edit of The Things We Do
I’m currently in the 5th edit of this novella and the message of the story is starting to really come through (at least for me anyway). Not only that but the words become and became are starting to blur into each other.
I’m at a point where I’m only doing line edits. YAY!!! I think that after this edit I’ll get a few people to look at it and see what they find 🙂
I’ve done this before and a few have mentioned that they are interested in what happens to the main character, Lone, after the book ends. And I’m not really sure. I hadn’t really thought too much about a sequel, but I’ve got some ideas of what might follow. But it’s not enough for a story yet.
I’m not sure when this will be available, but I’m thinking of putting it on KDP select for the first 90 days and then Smashwords after that. I’m curious as to how it goes being on that platform will affect my sales.
The Things We Do (4th draft done)
I just finished the last 10 pages of this novella. It just seemed to go on and on 😦 At 25,000 words it’s not that long, but I’m impatient and with my goal of 10 books by the age of 30, I need to push myself.
Even now as I look back to my first book Feet or Fins, I did like 14 or 15 whole manuscript edits. It was twice as long and I don’t think I was this fussy about the whole process.
know first drafts are supposed to be terrible, but I was thinking that I was getting a lot better at writing because of how much I have progressed. I’m just wondering how many more times I’m going to have to go over this story.
Fourth draft of Jumpstart completed
Yesterday I finished another edit of Jumpstart. It’s a prequel novelette for this sci-fi and paranormal adventure story I thought of some time earlier this year. I haven’t even worked out where the book will end or what the next one in the series will be about, but I’ll work it out later.
The series was going to be called Odine King’s Big Space Adventure, but I changed that a few days ago to the Tune Trilogy.
The premise revolves around a young woman who has the ability to communicate with spirits, hence the tune references (get it? Tune into the spiritual world). She is also fluent in a second alien language, Dalradian, that she uses as a means to escape her homeworld and go off into space for an adventure and employment prospects. She is employed as a private translator for a business ship that has the goal of setting up independent trade relations with the Dalradian race.
But her psychic abilities are growing and they alter her interactions will everyone. She has to decide what course of action she is going to take. Use it for her own gain and the gain of her employer or keep quiet and ignore it. But in the end, it might not matter.
Jumpstart Update
I’ve finally gotten around to finishing the end of Jumpstart. For months I’ve been distracted with other stories or have been not writing at all. When I opened the word document I saw that I had last saved it back in August, which to me seems longer than it actually is.
For some reason, it’s been torture to get back to editing this thing and I do not know why. I like the novelette a lot and I’ve already got some ideas for the next story too. But I seem to be clouded editorially.
Futurewise I think this story might be a few more drafts away from beta readers and publication. I’m thinking of having this story listed as only $0.99 because it is only around 22,000 words and the small intro price will create an audience for the next book. Tell me what you think of the blurb for this story in the comments below. Thanks.
2nd Draft of The Things We Do is complete
I’ve managed to complete another draft of this novella today. I am able to do the entire 42 A4 pages within a day 🙂 At just over 25,000 words I think this story will be ready within a few months time 🙂
I’m also in the process of deciding what genres to place it in. I’m not sure if it meets the requirements for a dystopia, but it might as the world is quite authoritarian and harsh, though the people in it are not.
It has war and post-war settings, but it is also leaning towards it being a political drama. As the individual involved is both affected by and can affect the outcome of the civil war and unrest around her.
First draft and cover image done for Jump Start
Yesterday I completed the first draft of my prequel novella Jump Start. It is around 20,000 words and today I’ve made up a cover image for it.
Stephanie Haggarty 