Monday, July 11, 2016

Is It Manic or Maniac?

Well, since LAST week, I put another 20k words on my latest WiP. However, with that comes uncertainty, sore shoulders, and swollen ankles. I've been writing like a maniac in manic mode, or maybe I should say panic mode.

This could be Henry
Panic because I just want to finish this damn book. You can't even know how much I want to. Finish. This. Book. If I could just finish it, I could start the next one. I know, I know, and then fight the same battle with the next one.

I've gotten through all the backstory. I pushed past the first of several hurdles for Catherine and Henry. I initiated the final climax. And I can see the end in sight.

The problem is, I'm not sure where to stop. Do I stop at the climax and leave a cliff-hanger ending. Or do I wrap it all up? It is a series after all, but the books do follow each other in sequence, so in essence, each book is a cliff-hanger. (See, panic. How did I create such a mess?)

I don't know. And I won't know how this first book ends until I get there. Perhaps today. (Wouldn't that be nice?)

Also, I realize this post is fluffy, and I only wrote it so I can have 667 posts in my feed. I had 666 posts written since I started this blog, and that number always creeps me out, so that's why I wrote this post.

Anyway, I hope you have a great week. I'll be writing. What about you? What are you doing this week?

Anne Gallagher (c) 2016

8 comments:

Laurel Garver said...

Personally, I really hate cliffhanger endings--they often feel lazy or manipulative on the author's part. Others may feel differently. I like series with either a whole series arc in addition to the individual book arcs (like Harry Potter) or that grow a character over time (like Anne of Green Gables) or that cover linked characters, each with his/her own perspective and a complete arc.

I'm trying to get into a deeper writing groove too, because I expect to have way too much freelance editing in August to have any energy left for my own projects! (But hey, the income is nice.)

Keep up the good work and yes, avoiding the inauspicious 666 seems like a good reason to blog. :-) Have a productive week!

Bish Denham said...

I'll be preparing for my latest book launch... Does that count as writing?

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

I laughed out loud about your #666 creepiness. I would feel the same way. Congrats on getting so many words down. That is a little manic but good on you.

Stacy McKitrick said...

My daughter has no issues with 666. Yeah, I wonder about her sometimes.

As for what I'm doing this week: judging and revising. Like you, I feel like I'll never finish. At least the story is on the page. I just have to make it BETTER and that is taking me way longer than it should. Too much other crap going on. Like judging. I should learn to say no. :)

Anne Gallagher said...

Laurel -- This is part of my problem with this series, there's an overall series arc with Henry and Catherine, character arcs for each book, and linked characters from the previous series. It's a mess. Right now. But I can sort of see light at the end of the tunnel. I'll just take it one day at a time.

Bish -- What book are you publishing? Yes, it certainly counts toward writing. I'll shoot you an email.

Susan -- A little Manic. And it was Monday. And the 666 has been driving me nuts until this post posted. Thanks for stopping.

Stacy-- I should have learned to say no a long time ago. And judging is sooo hard. Revising is always fun. I dread those days. I get to read the whole manuscript at one time. Usually 12 hours. We'll see.

Dawn Simon said...

I'll mostly be revising. Congrats on your rising word count! Impressive! And yes, I absolutely know how badly you want to finish! :)

Have a great week, Anne! Keep going!

Anne Gallagher said...

Thanks Dawn -- I try and revise as I go along. Review, write, revise, write, edit, rinse, repeat. But just to know that it will be "finished" is all I really want. then I can move on to the next. Who am I to fight the power of the muse's mojo.

J.B. Chicoine said...

Sounds like we've been writing at the same pace! Can't wait till we can exchange manuscripts!