WiP Wednesday: Feeling My Way

I came back from the SCBWI conference a week ago yesterday and in that time I have managed to write almost 20,000 words in the new draft of my WiP.

And this is not cut-and-paste. These are original words.

Phew! I'm in shock at my own fruitfulness.

But I can't take all the credit. This version seems to be writing itself. If I keep up this pace (which is highly doubtful), I may still be able to query before our new baby comes in January.

(I told you I'm incredibly optimistic, sometimes to a fault, right?)

This version of my WiP is going to be much shorter. I'm shooting for 50,000 words, because it's a low-YA (young adult) or an upper-MG (middle grade). The plot is much more straight forward. It's character driven, my favorite kind of novel to write, and my MC, Heather, who was formerly sixteen is now fourteen, which suits her better.

Another weird thing is that one of my characters from the old draft, who should've technically survived into this new draft, just wilted up and killed herself. Not literally. There's no suicide in this book. It's just the character hasn't shown up in the first 20,000 words, which basically means she won't show up at all. *sniff*

So, for those of you who have read the old version, say goodbye to Rosa Park. She doesn't exist anymore. She's been sort-of replaced by a guy named Pick, who is pretty complicated. He has greasy hair and no friends. Because of the pace of this book, my main character is getting to know Pick at the same time I am. It's an interesting journey.

I heard something comforting at the conference: Not every published author outlines their novels before they write them. (Sigh of relief!) A lot of the authors who spoke use the aforementioned method where they stick a one-sentence synopsis up on their computer screen and dive in to their drafts, not really knowing where the adventure will take them.

However, everyone who followed this method shared another common practice: They knew what their resolution would FEEL like.

This makes me excited about my draft and I think that's what's driving me toward the finish. I know what my resolution FEELS like, and I'm excited for my MC to get to that point, where she can accept herself, accept her new life, and find peace with her circumstances ... and her mother.

So, how are your projects going? I'm slowly catching up on blogs. Sorry if you haven't heard from me for awhile. But I am reading your posts, I promise. In between late-night writing binges. Take care and have a happy, productive Wednesday, everyone!