Monday, May 16, 2016

First Draft: DONE.

As of 8:22 PM Pacific time tonight, Monday, May 16, 2016, I completed the first draft of the new book.

...I am so tired.

But I'm very pleased to say that I don't hate it.  That's always a worry, you know - it's happened to me often enough that I've finished something only to immediately close the file and never open it again.  What remains to be seen is if, when I open it again, probably at the start of July, I read through it and decide if it's worth putting through the editing process and pursuing publication.

I think this one's going to be.  This thing was a hell of a lot of fun to write.  I got to visit seven different worlds, deal with a crew of six where only two of them are humans, and put these people through more kinds of hell than I've put characters through in a long time.  Seriously.  I think the only one who comes out of this thing physically unscathed is the wargolem, and that's because it's hard to scathe someone who's made of such a hard metal.

Yes, 'scathe' is a word.  And everyone gets their share of mental hardship.

It's a weird kind of relief to have this thing done.  I've been hammering away on it every night for exactly a month (started it on April 16), and I wrote fourteen pages of it this weekend, as I wanted to plow through the third act and get the thing done.  I don't know why I suddenly felt like pulling time and a half on my writing sessions, but it worked; the book's endgame played out pretty much exactly like I had it in my head, and if it actually is as good as I think it is, I'll be very pleased.

The final word count comes out to 91,748.  This is quite a bit less than I thought it would be, but I know that's going to change in editing.  I tend to overwrite, but I've also been considering adding some scenes to give two characters more time in the spotlight.  Adding these scenes would also throw in a brief jungle adventure, complete with lost ancient temple, and really, who doesn't love a jungle adventure?

For anyone who thinks that 91K words in a month is a lot: I started planning this book nearly two years ago.  I developed the basics of the magic system in a hotel on my way to my new home in Washington, back on February 28th of last year.  So while I might get through my first drafts with some speed, I don't think it quite counts when it takes me so incredibly long to develop the plot and get it to the point that I can start writing the thing.

As for the story itself, I discussed it a little in this month's IWSG entry - it's a fantasy space opera about a crew of mostly non-humans and their interplanar spaceship, and they're in a world-hopping race/scavenger hunt.  It's heavily influenced by two things.  The first is the TV series Firefly and its accompanying movie Serenity, a sci-fi western that I'm willing to believe most of y'all reading this already know about.  The second is the anime Outlaw Star, which came out in the late 1990s and also features the adventures of a greatly mixed cast on their damn cool spaceship.

This is a book that wears its influences on its sleeve, so I decided to give it a title befitting that.  Both of the above series are named after their spaceships, and the book follows in that path.

The name of the book is STARWIND.

08/19/2016 edit: I added the jungle adventure.  NOW the book is done, three days later...  The final first draft word count is 98356.  Yeah.  ^_^

16 comments:

  1. Ctarl-Ctarl empire! For some reason, the thing that sticks in my mind the most about Outlaw Star, was when Gene pointed to his hair and said he wanted the ship that color. (And don't tell, but I have a cat girl in my current WIP because I enjoyed Aisha Clan-Clan so much.)

    I think the story sounds pretty cool. I've been a fan of Firefly and Outlaw Star for a while now. Looking forward to it!

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    1. I didn't check my grammar before I posted. Please forgive the comma between Outlaw Star and was.

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    2. Bwa ha ha! I didn't expect to find another Outlaw Star fan among my readers. Yay! It was one of the first anime I ever saw, so it's got a special place in my heart.

      And you never need an excuse to add a catgirl, c'mon. :P

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  2. Congrats on getting done! That is a lot of words for a month, but I say that more with jealousy than concern. Sounds like a fun manuscript, and if it was that fun to write, that's always a good sign.

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    1. It does seem like a lot, but I always worry that I'm leaving important stuff out when I go that fast. >_< Editing will hopefully fix that if that's what I've done.

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  3. That's awesome!! Yes, I do think that's a lot of words. Then again, I type 350 words an hour on a good day.

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    1. I think the only reason I can go that fast is because I've had it all plotted out in advance. If I had to figure it out as I went, I'd be going a lot slower.

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  4. Awesome! Congratulations! I hope you still love it again when you get back to it in July!

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  5. Congratulations! No matter how long you spent planning it, I still think 92k in a month is amazing! I just finished the first draft of my WIP last week. It took me 7 months.

    Of course, it's also the most panstered thing I've ever written. So that's probably why.

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    1. Thanks! And as I said above, having it planned out is the only reason it went so quickly. I think all that time spent plotting it and then waiting was worth it, though.

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  6. Wahoo! Way to go! I love that moment when you sit back and get to bask in the awesomeness of a completed first draft. Here's hoping you get to live in the delusion of its perfection for a satisfactory amount time. You totally rock to get 91K down in a month!

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    1. Thank you! And I think "live in the delusion of its perfection" is the best I can hope for right now. I already know one significant thing I need to fix, and I've hardly even looked at the thing since I finished it.

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  7. I really like that name: Starwind.

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    1. Thank you. It's a shout-out to Outlaw Star, as it's the main character's last name. I had no idea what the book's title should be until I realized I should go with the ship's name.

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  8. Congrats! And what a cool title! Here's to hoping that you love the book as much after revisions are done. Whoop!

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