Novel In Progress - Update

I am so excited to share some fantastic news with all of you. Last week I finished the first draft of my novel. I thought this would be the perfect time to reveal the title and perhaps set up some important goals for myself.

This rainbow appeared Wednesday while I was closing
at work. Hopefully a good omen!

If you have been following my journey, you know that this is technically not the "first" first draft, but actually closer to a third or fourth. The drafts have had some significant changes in their theme and plot, so I therefore refer to this as a first draft. 

I have been using a title for the past year and would love to keep it. I am aware there are other works with this title including a game and a non-fiction book about genetics, but I do not think this will impact my choice.

Title:  Altered Fates

I kind of want to share my premise, but I am not quite ready yet. I would like to save that reveal for right before I do my next round of edits, in case my current revisions change anything (crossing my fingers they do not). 

The draft is not quite as long as I intend the finished project to be, but I wanted to cover the bones of the plot first. The current word count is just under 70K and I want to be over 80K. That goal is within my reach since I am now working to make my settings and character arcs really shine. The first few attempts I made at creating a novel I focused on worldbuilding and making my characters and settings feel real. Unfortunately, this left my plot really unorganized and uninteresting. So I kept this to a minimum and focused on telling the story this time.

Thanks to my writing coach, I was able to take my ideas and create a structure. The experience of being part of my writing group has been priceless and my coach is fantastic. And I cannot say enough about the Insecure Writers Support Group because it all started there. One year ago, I moved across the country, started a new job, and picked up my old writing journal. We are still trapped in a tiny apartment, my job is constantly busy, and my writing adventure continues.

A glimpse of the beauty that awaits me.
Our house plans are under review with
the manufacturer.

Thank you for visiting and for your continued support of my dream to be an author. Because of this blog, I am soon to be published, and plan to have my novel available within the year. I can make it happen!