Alright. Okay. So I think it's finished.
After very almost two years, I have finally written those last little words for Bad Apple Bone; The End.
It's a strange feeling. I've been fiddling about with it this afternoon, thinking "That bit needs to be moved. Need to take that out. There's a little bit missing there..." but I've come to realise that these are all editing issues, things that can be polished and fixed in the redraft. The important thing is that I've come to the end of the story for William and Noon, and it's time to let it be for a while. The book needs to rest. I need to rest.
I'll probably leave it alone for, roughly, around 4 or 5 months; it's vital to get a bit of emotional distance from the bugger before I begin the painful process of chopping and slicing and making the whole thing make some bloody sense. During that time, I will be enjoying the novelty of researching a new project, and the beginnings of a new book. As well as looking back on what I've learnt, which I hope is an awful lot. When I started writing Bad Apple Bone I didn't even know I was writing a book, and had never really contemplated that underneath it all, what I really wanted to do was make stories. I know that for certain now, and if nothing else ever comes of my first proper full length novel, I'll always have that marvellous little epiphany.
And one last big thank you to all the people (you know who you are!) who have provided endless encouragement and a cheering section when I was flagging, or feeling the terrible urge to go and do something else; you've all been excellent, and are truly very hoopy froods.
sen xxx
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Well done, Miss Williams! You've only gone and wrote a bloody book ,so you have! Blimey.
ReplyDeleteHuzzah for Bad Apple Bone :D
Completely awesome! Well done - yep, as Marwood says, that's a book, an actual novel, so you can now quite honestly say you are a novelist.
ReplyDeleteLike, you know, a novel, what you get in bookshops. Those big papery things that Neil Gaimen writes. Yeah, you've just done the same thing he has.
If you want go slightly insane, get your draft printed by Lulu like I did, so you've got a nice editing copy for later in the year. I tell you, it's a particularly odd feeling to have that sitting on the shelf!
Well done and congratulations!
Now, enough back-slapping and fizzy wine quaffing. Forget Bad Apple Bone. Book number two requires your attention, starting tomorrow. Another 100,000 words await.
Go!
Well done sweetheart. You've done it!!!!
ReplyDeleteTOTALLY AWESOME!!!
I'm really proud of you for getting to the end hon and for being realistic enough to take a break from it before you start editing.
You rock!! Now go get a glass of wine!!
Congratulations on scrambling your way up to the dizzying heights of novelist. If you peer down far enough you can look at me frantically trying to reach the same height and laugh ;P.
ReplyDeleteThanks for lovely words, guys. :) Without you lot saying groovy things, especially over the last few months, I don't think I'd have got here at all!
ReplyDeleteReally looking forward to working on the new thing now, especially the whole research/planning/chapter layouts part of it, which I completely missed out on with Bad Apple Bone (until around half way through, anyway). Sadly quite excited by it.
Adam, I may well be tempted by Lulu! Think I'm gonna wait until I actually start looking over BAB again though- if I have a copy that looks like a proper book I'll get all distracted from the new one. ;)
Skoot- I still wanna see your blog update on your book! ;)
ReplyDeleteLady Scribbles- Excellent advice! *slurp*
Is that what you were doing? Writing a bloomin' book?
ReplyDeleteBlimey...
(oo, I'm well proud of you, you clever bint!)
Just a word about research - don't stop writing for it. Give yourself a day or two off (but make notes if you want), then start writing on day 3. The research can be concurrent. If you stop for research and planning, you'll find three months have gone by and you haven't started.
ReplyDeleteAh good point. I know it will be tempting to procrastinate forever on the research, and I don't want to get out of the habit of writing every day. I just wanna get enough research under my belt to get a decent plot outline on the way, and then I'll be throwing myself in.
ReplyDeleteI am so jealous of your achievement lady; well done! I seem to have the opposite problem of most writers who get ideas - I actually would love to write down words but the idea hasn't floated around in my head for a bit first like it seems to have done for you guys. In fact, there are no ideas there which is quite a problem for me since I used to write down stories from a young age and my brain now refuses to work for a living . Do any of you recommed inspiring novels or factual books for my delectation?
ReplyDeleteI only went and mis-spelled a word! My pedantics demands I apologise - sorry.
ReplyDelete*Hangs head*
Pft! I'm sure I've mispelt loads of things in this blog, and that's along with some extremely dodgy grammer ;)
ReplyDeleteOn Writing by Stephen King is an interesting book. I may have a few issues with King and his writing nowadays, but he writes very engagingly about writing itself. Dave Devereux recommends it as a good read, and he get paid for writing! Clever old stick.
Teach Yourself: How to Write a Novel is quite a nifty book too- says lots of very obvious things but get you thinking about it. I kind of wish I'd read it before I started Bad Apple Bone, cos it might have saved me a few headaches.
Really though the best advice about writing is this painful and glorius fact; the only way to be a writer is to write. It's horribly, hideously true. :s I spend a lot of time thinking about how great it would be to be a writer, only to realise I'm wasting time not doing it. Because I'm a bit rubbish like that. Get writing about anything at all and you'll find it starts to come easier, and then the ideas will begin to pop up all over the place. Honest, it's true.
Argh! So many typos! It's like I had to prove myself right...
ReplyDeleteI'm so proud of you and so excited about the book! I can't wait to read it! :D
ReplyDelete