Why Writing is Like a Glacier

Book two is nearing the end of its second editing pass, book three is about half-way to draft, and I just can’t seem to write fast enough! Jumping back and forth between revisions and writing a draft is really, really hard for me, although it is nice to be able to include elements from book 3 into the book 2 revisions.

Writing a first draft is like biking downhill… you can write whatever scene you want to! New characters! New places! Hilarious dialog! Climax without build-up! Sub-plots galore! Strange scenes that will only ever make it into backstory notes!

Revising edits is like fixing a watch. Every word agonized over! Every change carefully followed into every chapter to find all the new knots it has created!

I have a very defined mind-set for each type of writing. I listen to music when I write my first drafts. I need silence for revisions. Even contented dog snoring is too much. I write new prose in the morning, freshly high on caffeine, when the mind is free to take its time sprawling around in a long, satisfying, idea to explore. I revise in the evenings, when creativity is dry and the mind is satisfied with small, carefully planned and executed accomplishments.

Trying to do both at the same time is like pushing two magnets together. But I am doing it!

I have fallen into a routine of letting a chapter of book three pour out while waiting for the edits from a chapter of book two, then pouncing on those edits to revise. Then back to book three, armed with fresh knowledge of how a plot in book two will now effect something in book three.

Oh, I also wrote some chapters that I think will go into book four. Ridiculous, right?

314,000 words currently in process! And they are all headed your way. A lot like a glacier, I know, but they are coming!