Play Time

I figure I've got at least a couple weeks before I hear back about the rewrite of From the Ninth Wave (formerly Beyond the Pale), so while I can, I'm going to play.

My first love in writing was epic fantasy, and I still have half a book to write in order to finish the third book of my Oantran Triad. So while Bob's reading the UF rewrite, I'll be cranking out more scenes for Shifts of Perception. Here's my logic:

If Bob says Ninth Wave is ready to go out this time, then I'll need to start thinking about what new book I'm going to write next. I already have an idea for a second Brenna book, which of course will be UF like the first. If the rewrite's okay, then I should start doing my scene cards and figuring out an outline of events for the second Brenna book, just in case we get a nibble on the first one.

The first two books of the epic fantasy trilogy haven't sold, so the third book is dead in the water without a publisher's contract for the prior two. If Ninth Wave sells, then assuming it does okay in the market, the publishers are much more likely to want another Brenna book than to take a chance on the Oantran Triad. And if I'm suddenly busy (let's hope so!) cranking out Brenna books, then Shifts will never be finished--I won't have time for it. By the time I do have a chance to finish it, my voice might be different. I want the third epic fantasy to fit with the other two, so I need to finish it now, while I can still remember the characters' voices. And somewhere in there, if there's time, I'll go back and try to revise the first book one more time to see if I can get it shorter. I'm wondering whether its length is what killed it. Unless Bob hasn't told me about the brutal rejections, none of the publishers hated it. From what he said, many liked it but couldn't find a place for it. Just wasn't in the right place at the right time, I guess. That's the roulette wheel any book faces. Sometimes it's all in the timing, and if the timing just happens to be a day or even an hour wrong, it's a no go. So...if I want to finish Shifts, now's the time to do it. It's a narrow window, but I'll take it.

I had fun jumping back into it. I wrote half a scene last night from the villain's perspective, and my next will be from the POV of a different but good minor character. I'd forgotten how much fun it is to change POV characters with each scene. This'll be good, harmless fun to keep me from bouncing off the walls while I wait for the verdict on my rewrite.