Where It Started
Today I completed the first re-write of Olimpia Valley. At the moment the book stands at 358 pages, and 201,000 words in length. It's a long book.
In a way this has been one of the easiest re-writes I've had to work on. I've literally changed about a dozen words - and most of them have been typing errors that needed correcting. There is nothing wrong with how the book is written. I think the writing is good, I think it suits the feel of the book. I think the raging hormones of the teenage characters is a constant throughout, and I hope I have achieved a sense of realism to the characters and their actions that I don't think I always get with my other books. Probably due to the fact that in my other books there are usually a lot of fantastical other-worldly characters who don't need to act true to life, because they're not truly human in the sense that we know.
But in an other way this has been an extremely hard re-write because of the conflictions I feel about the project. I adore the setting of the book. I am absolutely in love with it, in fact. I like the characters - they're sassy and cute, both good and bad. I think my only problem with the book is that it's not how I usually write. I nearly-always write a book from the perspective of a male gay/BI character. No, the books are not about being gay but for some reason I feel connected to my male gay/bi characters. I suppose that's the reason I write in that genre. This book has one male gay character and his role in the book is quite small. As much as I may adore my main two characters (bisexual girls), it has been strange to write and now read a book that isn't my main interest in literary.
What I have to realise is that that doesn't make it a bad book. It just makes it a story that I'm not used to writing. If I do go onto write another book in the series the lead character will be both male and gay. This first book was originally written when I was finding my feet with my writing, looking for the genre I was comfortable with. By the time I got onto writing the second book I knew what I was comfortable writing about, what excited me and drove my interest to write. I know I rehashed the book this time round and therefore could have inserted a male gay character into the story but, to be honest, there really wasn't room for one. The book just didn't need it.
"Olimpia Valley" is not quite ready to go onto the shelf yet. I need to work on it a little longer. Mostly I need to edit it down a bit, and get it perfect. But now that I've figured out my problem with it I know I'll be able to work much better.
Working on "Olimpia Valley" will be my side-project, as I am going to start work on "Soul Mates Volume V" next week. Re-writes make me lazy with my writing. I want to get back to writing a proper novel already!
In a way this has been one of the easiest re-writes I've had to work on. I've literally changed about a dozen words - and most of them have been typing errors that needed correcting. There is nothing wrong with how the book is written. I think the writing is good, I think it suits the feel of the book. I think the raging hormones of the teenage characters is a constant throughout, and I hope I have achieved a sense of realism to the characters and their actions that I don't think I always get with my other books. Probably due to the fact that in my other books there are usually a lot of fantastical other-worldly characters who don't need to act true to life, because they're not truly human in the sense that we know.
But in an other way this has been an extremely hard re-write because of the conflictions I feel about the project. I adore the setting of the book. I am absolutely in love with it, in fact. I like the characters - they're sassy and cute, both good and bad. I think my only problem with the book is that it's not how I usually write. I nearly-always write a book from the perspective of a male gay/BI character. No, the books are not about being gay but for some reason I feel connected to my male gay/bi characters. I suppose that's the reason I write in that genre. This book has one male gay character and his role in the book is quite small. As much as I may adore my main two characters (bisexual girls), it has been strange to write and now read a book that isn't my main interest in literary.
What I have to realise is that that doesn't make it a bad book. It just makes it a story that I'm not used to writing. If I do go onto write another book in the series the lead character will be both male and gay. This first book was originally written when I was finding my feet with my writing, looking for the genre I was comfortable with. By the time I got onto writing the second book I knew what I was comfortable writing about, what excited me and drove my interest to write. I know I rehashed the book this time round and therefore could have inserted a male gay character into the story but, to be honest, there really wasn't room for one. The book just didn't need it.
"Olimpia Valley" is not quite ready to go onto the shelf yet. I need to work on it a little longer. Mostly I need to edit it down a bit, and get it perfect. But now that I've figured out my problem with it I know I'll be able to work much better.
Working on "Olimpia Valley" will be my side-project, as I am going to start work on "Soul Mates Volume V" next week. Re-writes make me lazy with my writing. I want to get back to writing a proper novel already!