Well, partially done, at least. Last night i finished the first draft of Knight Moves, book 3 of The Black Knight Chronicles. There are some spots in this book that are darker than the two that have gone before, but I think there’s still enough humor in there to avoid becoming too gloomy. I introduced a bucketload of new characters this time around, some of whom will be around for several books to come, and some of whom die horrible, grisly deaths by the end of this books.
And in other related news, I have an overwhelming desire to spell whom “whome” today for some reason. I’ve typed it incorrectly every time I’ve used the word so far.
So now I plan to let the book percolate for a week or two, then go back through and start work on my notes. I made some notes to myself as I went along, things I wanted to flesh out in a second draft, a couple of scenes that need to be added in, that kind of thing. So I might give myself tonight off, then work on another project for the rest of the week.
It really should be Return to Eden, but to be honest with you, I’m a little afraid of that book. It started so slow that I’m afraid no one will stick with me for the payoff. And if no one is going to read it, why should I spend the time writing it? I know that I’m 10,000 words into the book and very little has happened as yet. A couple of creepy encounters, but no major fights. No magic, no supernatural occurrences, just people trying to figure out how to live in a world that’s changed pretty dramatically overnight.
I know, 10K words isn’t that much in this world of 100,000-word behemoths, but that’s a long time for me to go without a fight scene, or at least something going horribly wrong. The tone of the book is also very different – it’s a very serious book, and given my long-cemented status as a raging smartass, it’s hard to write serious stuff. But I like the overall concept of the book and series, and everyone I’ve told about the book seems to think it’s a neat idea, so I feel like I owe it to myself to at least write the thing. And hey, if it sucks I don’t have to publish it.
Okay, Mission Talk Myself Into Writing the Hard Parts accomplished. Wish me luck! And for the writers out there – is there a book or story that you want to write but it scares you? What scares you about it? What are you going to do about it?
