New Year, New Fictional Problems

The words were flying over the page, my fingers racing on the keyboard to try and keep up with the scene playing out in my head. Characters broke free of their prison cells, some friends were reunited while others were torn apart, the villain’s eyes glinted darkly as she disappeared into the shadows where she would lurk until the next adventure.

Quick, quick, quick, I told myself. Get it all typed before you forget!

“Shannae, are you ready for lunch?” My Mum hovered over my shoulder as my Dad packed up his computer. After an entire morning of working on our individual projects in the quiet library, we were all ready for a break.

“One minute,” I told her, still typing furiously. “Just need to write three more sentences.”

Her eyes widened. “Are you…almost done?”

I grinned and kept typing, finally letting the main character taste the freedom she’d worked so hard for and coaxing the next hero to life on the page. Her fictional problems were just beginning, but that was a story for another book. Just one more sentence, and…

My fingers came to a rest. I beamed up at my Mum.

“I finished,” I whispered. “I’m done!”

The first draft of Book 1 in my first book series was completed.
 

Project Silver is Fully Drafted!

Folks, I am so happy to announce that Project Silver is officially drafted! The process of drafting this book has been unlike any other, which has made it both more painful and more fun

I drafted my first two novels when I was 14 and 15, and each draft took about 3 months to complete (drafting for 5 hours a day, 5 days a week). But my life has changed quite a bit since I was 15. I’m now attending university and more involved with my church and social groups than ever before. Managing my health has also become more unpredictable, which means it has also become more time-consuming.

As a result, this draft has taken me an entire year to complete.

This was my first time writing a series. All of my other novels have been standalones, meaning they are their own complete story with no loose ends or sequels. Project Silver, however, is the first of three planned books. Therefore, this writing experience was very different to my other novels, but I also learned more about myself and my storytelling process than I ever expected.

Writing this book brought me so much joy, and I’m very proud of myself for finishing the final chapter before Christmas!

Onward to Edits!

I took a break from writing over Christmas and New Year to allow myself to rest (and enjoy family celebrations and good food!). But now that I’m back, I’ve been making my new goals for the year and I’m ready to dive into edits. So, here’s the plan —

1. Begin self-editing Project Silver and make as much progress as possible before University resumes in February and I’m forced to focus on that
2. Acquire beta readers to read Project Silver and give me feedback once I’m finished with self-edits
3. Work with my writing mentor to create a list of possible literary agents to pitch to once I’ve implemented my beta readers’ feedback

This last point is very exciting. A literary agent works with authors to obtain book contracts, navigate the publishing process, and is basically the liaison between the author and the publishing industry. They help you put your best foot forward when asking publishing houses to take on your book, and many of the larger houses will only accept authors who have agents.

My goal is to start pitching to agents (asking them to work with me) sometime this year. But in order to do that, I need to show them I am a good writer who writes quality stories. Hence, the edits on my novel!

Project Silver aesthetic

Authors sometimes use pictures to help them visualise the tone of their story world. This is a sample of the ones I used for this project!