Welp. I did it. I did it earlier than expected, too. Coming in at a total of 88,620 words (383 pages in Word), my sci-fi zombie foray is complete. At least the first draft is complete. There’s obviously more work to be done. That’s kind of what this update is going to focus on; what to expect next.
Obviously, I’m on a high from completing another book. It feels really good. What I don’t want is for that high to push me to start revising immediately and burning out again. That would be disappointing. So, I’m going to take the next month or so to do other writing things. It won’t be other projects though. Mostly just prepping for draft 2. I’m going to sit down and read that physical copy I’ve been printing out chapter by chapter over the past several months. I always like to sit down and read what I have like an actual book while trying (and mostly failing) not to nitpick each paragraph and page. I’ll take notes on what needs to change and additions that need to be made, which brings me to the next portion of my plan.
I’ve started a chapter-by-chapter edit tree in excel with each note I made during the first draft on important story and detail points that need to be brought up/fleshed out earlier (for instance, there is mention of a neural interface with Di’s suit halfway through the book that just hasn’t come up before then). Since I half discovery write each chapter, I came up with cool, fun ideas throughout the past year and a half, and I need to make sure it flows from beginning to end.
I also (in a separate excel tab) started a timeline to give myself approximate time lengths each chapter takes. There is one or two mentions in the book about time (I haven’t spoken to you in hours, etc.) that I want to double check on. It’s mostly just for myself and my near-crippling OCD.
Next, I also want to organize my various notes and research into a more cohesive and comprehensible world-bible. I have a bunch of pages in OneNote with points on the research I did on Enceladus, effects of subzero temperatures on blood, the hypothetical requirements for a space elevator, etc (not a few of which have probably put me on some kind of watchlist). I also have details on each character and their backgrounds, a general history of the world and mankind between present day and when the story takes place a couple hundred years from now, and other fun little tidbits. Most don’t make it into the book other than maybe a brief comment here and there, but they do often affect how a character acts or responds to a situation. It’s important to keep track of to make sure characters are consistent. As one example, one of the first things mentioned about Di (on page 1, no less) is that she has a habit of tucking her hair behind her ear when she starts to get nervous. That was something I didn’t put down in her character sheet, and that nervous tick is never once mentioned or hinted at again. It’s a very small detail, but to me it creates a problem with consistency that needs to be fixed. I’ve already added the hair tick fact, among many other things, into my edit tree to make sure while I’m working on draft 2, I know what needs to go where to make sure everything aligns properly.
Finally (and probably most important, at least to me), I’m going to figure out a title for this thing. I’m sick of calling it ‘sci-fi horror book’. It needs a name for draft 2, and that’s what I’m hopefully going to come up with next.
This has been a bit of a crazy ride. This book took me way longer to write than I expected, but I loved doing it. I’m excited to get my ducks in a row so I can start on draft 2 and shape this story more into what I envisioned from the start.
See you next month!