Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Finito


I've finally finished the first draft of novel 2 and have emailed it to Lovely Agent.

Now the nail-biting, email-watching waiting begins again. If she doesn't like it I'll bloody shoot myself. Not really, but let's say I'm more realistic about the whole process this time round, and not quite as giddy with excitement as this time last year.

I'm going to miss my characters, though I'll no doubt be revisiting them in the edits. I've almost started to believe they were real.

I didn't realise there was an underlying theme to my story until I'd finished, which means I'm either a terrible writer or a wee bit simple, but nearly all my characters have dysfunctional parents which has affected their adult relationships.

It's nice to know there is a theme, and that it's not just a Very Silly Story - though it is that too of course.

Anyway, hello real world - I've missed you.

A bit.

37 comments:

Anna Scott Graham said...

I find unplanned themes all the time in my writing!!! So glad to know I'm not the only one this happens to. Good luck and congrats!!

Queenie said...

I often spot my themes late in the process too. Congratulations on finishing, and very best of luck for the next stages.

DAB said...

I rather like dysfunctional characters! :) Good Luck. Tommox

Ann said...

Well congratulations on finishing and sending it off. And sure aren't we all a tad dysfuncional! Why should our characters not be! Best of luck!

Kari Marie said...

Congratulations on finishing! I hope your agent loves it.

Jan Jones said...

Congrats, Karen! Go you!

CL Taylor said...

Wow that feels fast! Wasn't it just a couple of months ago that you wrote that you were 30,000 words through? Feels like it anyway.

And bloody well done!

I think it's good if the theme only becomes apparent after you've finished as you've obviously worked it in subconsciously. Trying to write to a particular theme, consciously, is never a good idea as it can feel forced.

Crossing everything that Maddie loves it. I'm sure she will x

Lane Mathias said...

Well done!

I love a bit of dysfunction. All the more interesting.

Best of luck that LA loves it. I'm sure she will.

Kat W said...

Well done on finishing the 1st draft of book 2!

Kat :-)

HelenMWalters said...

A brilliant achievement. Well done.

Deborah Carr (Debs) said...

Congratulations. I can't wait to be able to read your books when they come into the shops!

Anonymous said...

Ah brilliant news Karen congratulations! I can only imagine how good it feels because, as usual, you are about a month ahead of me! ;)

I'm sure Lovely Agent will love it! x

Lorna F said...

Congratulations, oh industrious one! Let's hope that not only the Lovely Agent likes it, but a Lovely Publisher and millions of Lovely Readers (like us!) ... x

Sherri said...

Fabulous! Well done!

I can only say you must be a wee bit simple, as you are most certainly not a terrible writer. (Pity those were the only choices you gave, but there you are!)

Much Luck with lovely agent. xx

Nicolette said...

Congrats on finishing. I tend to find that as I near the end of a story, I suddenly find things from the beginning that tie in really nicely, that I hadn't realised as I was wriitng them, just how important they'd be. I knew I'd put them in for a reason, but it was almost subconscious, if you know what I mean. Hope you don't have to wait too long to hear from your agent.

broken biro said...

Yay! Congratulations. You are neither a terrible writer nor simple - your subconscious is always adding in the extra layers, but they come from who you are and what you know and understand about the world. You'll probably find other people see more underlying themes in your work depending on theirsubconciousnesses - at which point you just nod wisely!

Dumdad said...

Well done!

PS My blog has changed.

Amanda said...

Congratulations Karen. Now onto novel 3 - ooh, did I say that out loud? x

Anna May said...

WELL DONE and I wish you exciting times ahead.

Anna May x

Cheryl said...

Congrats on finishing - such a great feeling and I look forward to the day I get to read both :)

Anonymous said...

Well done and good luck.

    "Now the nail-biting, email-watching waiting begins again."

Why not write something else while you wait? Amanda is right.

Anonymous said...

Great to hear from you and congrats on achieveing your goal good luck with it. It sounds great that the theme developed organically in your story. :O)

Fran Hill said...

That must feel good, sending it off. But, as you say, now the waiting begins. As everyone's been saying, best to get on with the next thing ...!

Jen said...

WAHOOOOOOOOOOOOO! The real world is all the sparklier now that you're back in it :0)

Kath McGurl said...

Yay, well done, and good luck!

Jean said...

Congratulations, and well done. Sounds like you've got lots of potential readers chomping at the bit for when you get a publisher. Can't wait to read your work.

Karen said...

anna - Weird how I didn't realise until the end though! That happened last time too :o)

queenie - Thank you - I've got everything crossed. Except right now, obviously, or I wouldn't be typing!

tommo - They can certainly be interesting. Does not liking gnomes make me dysfuncional I wonder? :o)

ann - Exactly! They'd be a bit boring otherwise :o)

kair marie - Thank you, I hope so too :o)

jan jones - Thank you!

cally - The story took on a life of its own once I got going - whether it's any good remains to be seen.

Funny thing the subconscious but you're right - if I'd tried to write a particular theme it probably wouldn't have worked :o)

lane - Thank you - I'm hoping LA likes dysfunction too!

katw - Thank you :o)

helen - Thanks - my eyes are still spinning actually!

debs - I really hope that day comes - preferably in my lifetime!

kerry - Ooh, exciting that you've almost finished too - best of luck :o)

lorna - Oh I do hope so, but hardly dare get my hopes up this time!

bernadette - That made me laugh. Definitely a bit simple as I couldn't think of any other choices!

nicolette - It's kind of reassuring to know our brains are ticking away in ways we don't even realise!

Waiting is the hardest bit ...

brokenbiro - That's a good point, and I shall practice my nodding just in case :o)

dumdad - Thank you! I have added your new address to my bloglist :o)

amanda - Well I have got a novel that's a few thousand words in, so I'll be dusting that off very soon!

anna may - Thank you - I'm just cautiously excited this time rather than bouncing off the ceiling :o)

lilys - Thank you - I'm looking forward to that day too :o)

captain black - Thank you, and yes I'll be cracking on with the next thing soon as I can't bear to just wait around for goodness knows how long!

madeleine - Thank you :o) They do say organic is best (but not always!)

fran - Indeed. I'm just psyching myself up by reading lots of blogs and doing housework!

jen - Aw that's nice :o) It's a short visit mind, there's only so much reality a girl can take.

womagwriter - Thank you :o))

jean - I need to let the bloomin' publishers know that! My agent tells me to be patient, so I guess that's what I'll have to be :o)

Lydia said...

Congrats Karen. Hope good news comes soon and keep blogging in the meantime because we all love reading. Thanks for stopping by my blog so often too - makes me feel I'm not ranting to myself! Fingers crossed for you. x

Jumbly Girl said...

Well done Karen, and Good Luck!!

Karen said...

lydia - Thank you and you're welcome, your blog is lovely :o)

jumbly girl - Thank you - just been asked to be patient though as LA is 'up to her ears' at the moment!

Alison Pearce Stevens said...

Hi! I wanted to introduce myself as a fellow crusader. Congratulations on finishing the novel! Themes are funny that way, aren't they. Dysfunction definitely makes for more interesting stories, though.

Karen said...

alison - Hi and thanks for dropping in. Yes, a bit of dysfunction is always welcome - in fiction anyway!

Debs Riccio said...

SO exciting, nerve-wracking; I'm impressed, a lot envious of your LA, and I can't wait to see how your story evolves... funny how the sub-plots kind of write themselves, isn't it? Congrats on such wonderful achievements!

Susie Vereker said...

Brilliant, Karen. Look forward to reading yr books when published.
I had a friend who often saw hidden meanings and themes in what I wrote, most comforting since I hadn't seen 'em myself.

Suzanne Ross Jones said...

Congratulations on getting the draft finish.

XX

Karen said...

debs - Thank you :o) I'm still waiting to hear something - it's not doing my nerves any good!

susie - Thank you. I suppose as long as we take something from what we read, the author's done a good job :o)

Karen said...

suzanne - Thank you! I expect there'll be a few more to go. IF she likes it. *Chews nails anxiously.*