Year two of faking it, because reality is just too darn expensive and messy.
I had a post already in the can that covers this very topic, but after realizing that four page handwritten blog post would total nearly 800 words on the computer screen, thus putting people into a zombie-like trance, I spun on my heel to write a shorter version. A reverse twist on the popular T.L.; D.R. by calling it T(oo).S(hort).; D(id). R(ead).
Due to circumstance completely within my control, I was struck with a drive-by female canine slapping of the incredibly obvious: I couldn't delay working on the all import draft #2 of my fantasy series "Sister v Sister" until late Spring 2026. I needed to push up the start date January 2026.
Why? It's simple if you boil it done to a bone broth: the self imposed deadline I gave to myself shortly after writing the proverbial The End, has mostly imploded, leaving remnants of good intentions gone sour.
Out of three tasks that I had assigned to myself for the majority of 2025:
- Let the entire series marinate until next year, which I mostly did save for some front-to-back-to-front editing;
- Publishing another book;
- Birth a new novel.
The reality was a bit sobering. The first item was partially accomplished, as I started developing a serious case of 'what in the tarnation am I dong' when it came to item number three; item number two was accomplished earlier this year; item number three....
Number three....involved at least four attempts spread out over three different stories, in which each attempt flamed out spectacular, spectacular. First I tried expanding on a short story, unsuccessfully I might add, on two separate occasions before giving up the ghost; 3rd attempt was dragging out a 1/2 to 1/3 completed novel that I had originally gave up the ghost because...GASP!...I literally lost the plot.
The fourth and final attempt drove me to my slushie pile, where I found the beginnings of two stories that were written sometime in the early 2010s. So I took a good look at them, saw they were fantasy stories, then sat down to write.
The first sticking point with them is that I had to remind myself that I was not writing a prequel for one my characters in my recently completed series. The other sticking point, which ultimately became victorious, was I started to really loathe what I had written, so as soon as I transcribed both chapters, it got pitched into my slushie box.
The one issue that all three of the stories had in common (besides fantasy) is that in order to them justice, they needed the type of complex writing that I had to perform for my recently completed series (see this post for a deep dive that will hurt your head) that I was unwilling to devote one to three years of my life to.
The other issue that drove me to distraction and ultimately got me to focus on thee heavily packed forest and not the scorched earth in front of it, was the nagging cerebellum tap reminding me of the series that I had sitting in a giant milk crate next to my computer.
I did briefly silence that tap as I decided to finish up the multi-chapter synopsis before officially putting the series into hibernation. That involved writing up the last twenty-five chapters (and summarizing all the characters that appeared in the series) and it took me about a month of solid note taking, which was followed by a week of transcribing.
So for better or worse (the worse is not what you think), we have come to the decision to work on the second draft of my fantasy series. The scary thing, at least for me, is that the easiest part of this ginormous task was actually making the decision to do so. Because I had decided when I had first made the decision to create this series, I was going to a thorough job of acquiring everything that will be needed to properly write the 2nd (and others) draft.
As a former supervisor of mine would often state, it's never simple. But one way to make it simple, is to continue bringing everyone along on my journey to salvation by publication.
Have a fantastic week everyone!
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Lay it on me, because unlike others, I can handle it.