Tomorrow, I’ll be 28. The first draft of my novel is complete. Happy birthday, me!
. . .
So what’s next?
I must admit, my current situation feels a bit like Wile E. Coyote running off the cliff; if I look down, I’ll fall. I deliberately left much of my calendar and schedule blank in the anticipation of never reaching this point anyway, so what was the point of planning? Little did I know.
Surprising myself, I feel grateful. The thrill of a blank slate compliments the rush of finishing a major project well. At this point, I’ve internalized much of the writing habits I sought when I restarted this journey in 2017 (the absurd length of my novel speaks for itself).
I guess this is what they call confidence and motivation. To that end, I have three projects lined up to follow on the heels of completion of THE DARKEST FATE (for which editing is ongoing).
The first is obvious; as the cover states, THE DARKEST FATE is merely Book I of the VALE OF TEARS, a fantasy epic to be chronicles in six further volumes. I have done extensive outlines and excessive notes for each book in the series. As such, the second novel is ready for me, whenever I should choose to dive back into Elmaya.
The second is a movie script to diversify my resume. I’ve written short films in the past but never a feature screenplay and that seems an appropriate goal to knock out now. Scripts typically range in the 90-120 page range, with a heavy emphasis on dialogue. Beyond being freed up to write a different story in a different genre, the simple structure of a script appeals to me after writing a dense book of prose. I plucked an idea from my files that I’ve been fascinated with and that too is ready to begin.
The third and final project is more practical, business-wise: get published. Of course I’ll be pursuing publication for my novel all the while, but what I mean here is to still try my hand at short stories that can be wrung out of me in a day or week. I have a backlog that I have not nearly marketed to enough outlets. There could be money on the table, who knows? I won’t until I buckle down and find out.
At the outset of this new phase to my authorial quest, I’d be remiss to not thank at least a few of the people who provided much-needed help and guidance:
Emily Votaw, who read countless chapters and offered her sweet wisdom.
Marty Spang, who read a chapter a week with me for the past year and it’s been a blast.
Nick Lewarski, who has given me literary advice since I was in grade school, continues to do so today as sharp as ever.
John Vitale’s taken time out of his life to lend his immense artistic talents to an official rendering of the map of my fantasy world.
And of course my fiancée Angela Straw, who supported me through the ordeals before, during and, now, after the writing. Real talk, there is no THE DARKEST FATE without Angela Straw. She is the novel’s spiritual mother. I love you, Angie.
Well, I could go on and on and on – but I’d rather save my words. There will be more opportunities. More writing. More that I cannot plan for yet look forward to all the same.
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