Progress

This morning I finished my first draft of epidemic. I started it with only a vague idea of length. I knew it wouldn't be a novel, but I did have more events to put across than my shorter works. It has ended at 16,902 words. Now that is done I'm putting it aside for a big revision once my novel 'Seeker of Truth' is edited.

Epidemic is the story of the slightly antisocial Jon:

A paranoid microbiologist returns to his hometown, suspended for scaring staff about the impact of an outbreak, unfortunately he's right and must protect his town from the disease and the diseased.

Jon is a little rougher round the edges than my usual protagonists. He speaks his mind, and has no problems if feelings are hurt in the process. I've fallen a little in love with his egotistical ways, so he is being put away until maybe October or November when I can put aside the time to make his story really shine.

Next up for shining is 'Monster', the short horror story I mentioned in my last post. This is the story of Honey, a girl struggling to keep her humanity when the government lock her up for being a newly turned vampire.

It's 3.5k words long, and does contain some blood and gore. If anyone wants to beta, feel free to contact me.

Starting editing lesson four of Holly Lisle's course

When I finish this lesson I'll be 19.05 percent through editing this novel. Yes, I'm working out percentages now. That happens when you edit things - or at least when I edit things. It's just nice to see the progress.

I've also decided that this poor novel needs a name. It's had some nicknames: 'Apate' (greek god of deception), and 'Forced Smile'. I think for now I'll call it 'Seeker of Truth'. That may end up having too much of a fantasy ring to it though, and this is a crime /sci fi novel, but I'll deal with that bridge when I come to it.

So for now Seeker of Truth is being torn apart nicely, keeping the bits that I love, because there are a lot of parts that I love about this book. I'll be able to tell you more about it as I edit it, because then I'll have a better idea of which parts I'll be taking out and which parts I'll be keeping in.

My novella 'Epidemic' is still being built. It's coming up for 16 thousand words now, but I sense it'll stop growing soon. I'm on the last scene. This is always an incredibly sad and happy moment for me. I know how it's going to end, but getting it out on paper (computer screen) with the same amount of vividness as it holds in my head is always a challenge - but a good challenge.

I'm going to try and get another short story published on amazon by the end of June, but I'm not letting it go until I'm happy with it. So that idea is more like a goal than a set in stone plan. I'll keep this blog updated.