You hear singing from the other room, “It’s November~~ And I haven’t written an update yet~~!”
Heyyyy~ How cringe can I make this opening so that I can laugh about myself later?
What happened last—oh yeah! Found out I needed to cut my word count. Well, I finished draft 9 of Selenia Ki: Rising Storm, and it was not short enough. Surprise! So, I tossed and turned in the mud of my own making and finally convinced myself to do something that I knew would benefit me in more ways than one for years, but I was so stubborn and the required action seemed so cumbersome that I oop. (She says through gritted teeth.)
I finally cut a subplot. This subplot was written in during 2009/10 and mostly because I thought it would help my story appeal to what was trending at the time. Then I decided that that’s a silly thing to do and changed it to make my own, uh, spoiler thing, out of the addition. I also did my best to tie it down so that it was essential to the story and can’t be removed. 😀
Silly me. For the more recent drafts, this subplot was one of my main issues to make work. It really didn’t make sense to have in the first book since it mainly foreshadows things that happen in the next book and lays groundwork for things that happen in the third/forth book. And my word count is too high for the first book and too low for the second book? Come on! The obvious solution has been screaming at me from beneath the pillow where I’ve tried to suffocate it.
Anyway, so yeah. I took a giant bite out of the middle of the book and plan to shove it into the beginning of book two instead. I’m actually kind of excited for the change now. No. Wait. I’m just excited for the character development that already happens in the subplot. I’m still not sure if I like it happening later rather than in book 1, but I think it works so far? Grumble grumble.
EITHER WAY, this brings draft 10 of book one’s word count down to 96K words, as of right now. I’m still working on cleaning up the mess of blood and cookie crumbs left behind from my giant bite. There may also be loose threads now that I need to find and consume. Probably get a beta reader or two to help make sure I found them all. My goal still needs to be 75K words. Wheeee~
So, yeah! That’s my November update!
I…may do another post soon to talk about what just happened in the U.S. where I live. It’s…not good. For now, just make sure you are hydrated. Cold season is here. ❤
N. K. Valek: Author 