This is my first update of how Hero’s Calling Book Two (HC-2) and about 15% of the rough draft is complete. Kaelyn and Talar have headed to Kardesh and are enmeshed in the desert culture and politics. Meeshmaltok continues to manipulate Reynold, strengthening his control of the capital city, and Wyndham and Mac return to the Northern Clans to meet Wyndham’s treaty-bride.
Please note the new Project Statuses section in the sidebar. I’ll try to update it every week so you can follow my progress.
You may be wondering how I know I’m 15% into the manuscript when I’m still working on the rough draft. And the short answer is that I’m a Plotter. Most writers fall somewhere on the Pantser – Plotter continuum. A Pantser is someone who writes a book by the seat of her pants. She likely has a vague idea of how the book will start and may or may not know how the book will end. She certainly doesn’t know what happens in the middle. A Plotter is the complete opposite. She meticulously plots out her book and knows every scene that will happen.
My style isn’t that of a complete Plotter, but it’s pretty close. I make a list of scenes – some more detailed than others – and then I start the book and see what happens. Sometimes everything goes as planned. Sometimes I realize things don’t make sense, and make adjustments And sometimes, my characters stand up, tell me how the story is supposed to go, and then head in that direction.
If you also write, it can help to determine where on the continuum you fall. Understanding how you work can help you be more productive (and/or less stressed) There is no right or wrong way to write a book – and sometimes different books develop in different ways.
