Out of One Story and Into Another

As a writer, I always struggled with longer stories. Staying committed to one plot, one set of characters, one turbulent, disgustingly-bad draft for over 300 pages drove my inner perfectionist crazy. Multiple ideas have been started and discarded, and when I first started Ice Roses, I thought it would be like any other. The story wasn't as close to my heart as others I cannot wait to write (but which must wait for me to catch up to their Big Plans), but God knows best.

Writing Ice Roses, I fought against uncertainty and doubt. Through this novel, as rough as it may be, I learned to PERSEVERE. Tackling things head-on and plowing through them even when you want to give up and weep is what finishes a novel. God taught me to embrace the tough times and get through them. I know the lessons I've learned writing this book will not only help me with future projects, but also when facing difficulties in my personal life.

Already I feel more mature and ready to take on my next writing project. Already I feel a little bit less like a child and more like an adult (believe me, these feelings have been a long time in coming).

So with great joy and bafflement and wonder, I am pleased to announce that I have reached one of my New Year's Resolutions: I finished the first draft of my first completed novel. Ice Roses ended up being around 92,000 words; roughly 350 pages in my word processor. And now I am going to write another novel, and hopefully get close to finishing it by the end of 2013. I have a feeling 2014, Lord willing, will be the Year of Revisions!


***While I wish I could take credit for the title of this post, it is pulled from a line in The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle, I believe--such a beautiful, melancholy little fantasy novel. Honestly, it has the depth of an allegory and the bittersweet beauty of a fairy tale.