Thursday, September 17, 2009

Laying out the plans

One thing I’m not lacking for is ideas. As I’ve mentioned before, I am an outliner. That doesn’t just apply to a single book, it also applies to the Big Picture. I’ve sketched out a rough outline of what I want to write, what I want to accomplish, of all the ideas I’ve got a solid plan for.

It’s a lot.

If I reached the prolific speed of a novel every three months (a goal which I do think is achievable, I should say), then I would be finished writing them all by… Autumn of 2031.

Wow, that’s sobering to write out that way.

While long-term goals are important, I need to work the short-term goals far more. And, fortunately, the short-term goals line up with the long-term goals.

The long-term goals involve, essentially, six potential series (there’s that scary word again.) The short-term goals involve writing those first standalone books of each series. And with those first books, kick my foot into the door with every ounce of persistence I can muster until I have an agent and have a book in print.

Here’s where I currently stand on each book*:

  • Crown of Druthal (Book 1 of Crown of Druthal series): Finished third draft, though aspects of it need rewriting.
  • Thorn of Dentonhill (Book 1 of Veranix series): Finished third draft. Currently shopping to agents.
  • The Fire Gig (Book 1 of Holver Alley Crew series): Rough draft 95% done. Anticipate finishing by next week.
  • From Star to Star (Book 1 of USS Banshee series): Awful, unoutlined, half-finished draft tossed. New outline written.
  • Between Them and Harm (Book 1 of Vanguard series): Full outline written.
  • The Mage Murders (Book 1 of Maradaine Constabulary series): Full outline written.

*- Of course, the title of each respective book is a work-in-progress placeholder. I keep changing said titles all the time.

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