Final Draft Complete

I just put what I hope are the finishing touches on Skies of Madness. The journey to outline, write and edit this has taken longer than 3 months. The first time I wrote this story it took me almost 6 months just to write it and another 6 to get it edited. There were a lot of plot problems with the old one that I didn't like so when I rewrote it, I was determined to get it right. I think I have.

Now that I've finished it, I've got to move on to the sequel. There's also the short stories bumping around in my head. Better to have too many ideas than not enough.

I'm faced with the sudden frustration of realizing that I have a very common name. So many Daniel Smith's already on Amazon where I plan to publish that I have to either choose a pseudonym or stick with my own name. I'm going to settle for Daniel J. Smith. The only other author on amazon with that name has published 2 children's books. My fantasy books will be easily distinguished from his so there should be little to no confusion. I hope.

Final Edits

Well, my edit of Skies if Madness is finally over. Whew! I put it off for far too long. This makes it exactly 3 months since I penned the first word. Hopefully the sequel won't take so long now that I've got the ball rolling.

I'm having someone else edit it for me as well as to catch things I might have missed. Once I've read over their suggestions, I'll make the necessary changes. Then it will be truly finished (I hope).

I think I'll take a week off before I start writing the sequel. It's exhausting.

Rising to the Challenge

As I go through the process of revising and editing, I'm faced with a few dilemmas. What do I keep? What do I get rid of? Is this part slowing the story down or is it necessary information? If it is necessary, am I writing it in the best way possible? Is dialogue better than info dumping? Should I just have my character observe all these things? I have to answer all these things so that the story will be the best that it can be. Not just for me, but for the people that will read it. Someday I hope that number will be a million, but for now I'll settle for anyone that I haven't met in person. (That means you Kyanna Kitt!)

Each time that I rewrite this book it seems I have more to learn from the process of what makes a good book. I suspect that each time I write a book in the future that I will learn a little more. It's a good thing. Every writer should always be challenged and learn new things even if he/she are writing in the same genre for decades. It's a comforting, changing consistency.