AP2 DRAFT 6: COMPLETE!

I love it when a book draft gets to this point. I mean, it’s only happened TWO times now but it’s still exciting! Now every re-read from this point on will go at top speed, with very little downtime spent altering content.

As far as the book content is concerned, there is still one ‘problem’ I haven’t yet figured out how to solve. Either I’d better come up with a solution SOON or I’ll kick the can down the road to the next book. I’d rather not do that—but hey! If I put all my brain power into one problem it can’t be too hard to figure out.

Now on to the Stargate stuff.

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AP2 Draft 6, Chapters 20-28: COMPLETE!

Once again, it feels good to be able to move quickly through the chapters. I can experience the flow. Pacing, as I’m told it’s called. 😅

In the early drafts there is very little flow. I always have to stop and shuffle paragraphs around. Then I go backwards and read things again. It’s like I’m stuck in a time loop, and I’m changing the past to alter the present.

But now the timeline is complete and I’m cruising straight through the book’s climax! Continue reading →

AP2 DRAFT 6, Chapters 8-19: COMPLETE!

Ah, it feels good to be blazing through these chapters so quickly. Low on problems, high on entertainment! About the only thing slowing me down at this point are good, OPTIONAL ideas.

I will have to go backwards a bit to implement one good idea, but it shouldn’t take long. This ‘new thing’ is actually a solution to something Kim complained about a while ago. She thought a character’s behavior was boring and that I had to do better. I thought it was fine at the time, but gosh, working on the same book for years really gives you an opportunity to think. 😁

Okay, here’s what I’ve been watching/playing. I took a break from Mewgenics, but I’ll be back for more later, just like Guillotina. 😅 Continue reading →

AP2 Draft 6 – 1-7 COMPLETE!

Okay, I got back to work. Things are picking up.

I’ve been using Google Docs and I recently noticed a little ‘notes’ tab on the right side of the page. So I’ve been making notes with helpful things on the OFF CHANCE my iron-clad memory fails.

Y’know, stuff like what each character is wearing for every day of the book. Mean has quite a few outfits in this one, and fashion isn’t exactly my strong point. It was easier in the first book since there weren’t as many characters, but now there are three times as more. And zounds, even Dark might change up his look this time. 🤯

Otherwise I’m making good progress. The chapters aren’t taking me too long to go through, and I’m not seeing any major problems. Things are flowing well, and I’m enjoying the near-complete work. I just love that feeling of being surprised and moved by something I wrote myself. (Okay so maybe my memory does fail sometimes.) Continue reading →

Oops, I didn’t do any book writing this month. Part of it was because of the Christmas season, and part of it was because I was waiting for Kim to read draft 5 before I started the polishing process.

But she didn’t read it, so I’ll just go on without her after I’m done with this post. Sorry, Kim; Abandonment Party 2 must be finished and released. It’s amazing, and my millions of fans shouldn’t have to wait another year. I must not disappoint them! 🤩

Okay, so here are the shows/games I’ve been watching/reading:

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AP2 DRAFT 5: STILL COMPLETE! BUT EVEN MORE SO!

I made a list of details and events that NEED to go into the book somewhere. “XXXX needs to witness XXXX happen at some point” for example. Or like “Add a scene where the mechanics of hex doors are completely explained.” And when I finished draft five, I notices that there were still about eight things on the list. 😅

And I added it all in. I searched the whole book for JUST the right place to put all of these vital ideas. Eh, except for one. I might need Kim’s feedback first. (It’s the part where I’m trying to decide if a character dies or survives the book.)

I did send the draft to Kim, but I haven’t heard back from her about it yet. Gosh, I should check to see if she actually received my email. It might have gotten sent to her spam inbox. Totally unintentional, I’m sure. 😑

Okay, I drove to her house after I got done writing this post. She did get it, but didn’t look at it yet. I’ll just send her this updated version then. I also taught her how to buy games on Steam. Continue reading →

DRAFT 5: COMPLETE!

Yes, ALL OF IT. Exciting, right? Final chapter and epilogue are DONE. Now what should I do next? I think Kim, editor supreme, wanted to look at it again. She’s two drafts behind at this point and she needs to see how I implemented her suggestions.

There wasn’t too much to change in this final part of the book. It’s about half wrap-up for book two and half set-up for book three. The set-up isn’t so difficult since I have one draft of book three done already.

So I’ll keep going through the book to polish things up, while Kim looks at it. There are also a few details and interactions that I forgot to add this time. I really should write them all down in one place; right now they’re just margin notes scattered around on my Google Docs manuscript. 😅 Continue reading →

AP 2, DRAFT 5: CHAPTERS 28-35 COMPLETE!

Yes, eight chapters! I made up for my slacking last month. To be fair, some of these final chapters are a bit short in order to highlight the intensity of the events. But still! Just one more chapter plus epilogue and this draft is DONE!

Most of the changes here are due to everything I’ve altered in the rest of the book up until now. One of those changes is a character death. You see, I changed the state of this character from either alive to dead, or dead to alive. See what I did? No spoilers!

This character will not be in the finale either way, but whether they’re dead or alive affects everyone else and some of their dialog.

And, honestly, I might change my mind about it again. Wouldn’t be hard, but I’m kind of wanting to keep it the way it is now. But which is it? Alive? Or dead? And WHO!? Continue reading →

AP2 DRAFT 5, CHAPTERS 26-27 COMPLETE!

What!? Only two chapters in September? And the blog post didn’t get done until October!?

I was previously doing five chapters a month! What happened?

Well, these two chapters are more complex now. In earlier drafts all the characters were together in one spot as the finale unfolded. Kim thought this was a problem, since some characters were just kind of reacting to things instead of participating. Y’know, like Krillin in Dragon Ball Z.

I was resistant to change these chapters, since splitting up the characters is what I did in the previous book. I don’t like repeat performances. (And it would be a lot of work, too.) 😄

But change it I did! Now there are characters in three locations, all dealing with different challenges. It’s a better way to do things, but it isn’t easy. All three groups eventually need to converge again, so I have to space things out PERFECTY. It would be silly for one group to finish their challenge and then take a nap until it was time to meet up. URGENCY! 😱 Continue reading →

AP 2 Draft 5, Chapters 21-25: COMPLETE!

Y’know, I’m beginning to notice that this book is a bit longer than the first one. The first book has 27 chapters. This one currently has 35. (Not including prologue and epilogue.)

It’s not because Abandonment Party 2 has tons of filler; I wouldn’t waste time writing unimportant chapters. This book is longer because I know you’re READY for it. I know you’re HUNGRY.

The first book was introduction. That’s why it’s ‘short.’ But now that you know how magic works and who the characters are you’re waiting to see how it all takes off from here.

‘What happened to this world? Why did everyone die? What sort of wild story is behind it all?’

Now you’re ready to be rewarded for your patience and experience it for yourself. You’ll be like ‘eight more chapters than the original? HELL YEAH!’ Continue reading →