Corrosive Knights, a 2/27/18 update

This is one hell of an exciting day.

After far too long, I’ve finally, FINALLY finished up the fourth draft of Book #7 in the Corrosive Knights series.

This is a very big thing and a huge step forward.

The first three drafts of the book were far from complete, missing as they were a lot of elements which I was putting in with each subsequent draft.

With Draft #4, I had almost everything put down and almost everything that was left, I hoped, I’d be putting in this draft.  While there still remain a few missing elements, they’re minor compared to the big chunks of material added in this draft.

What does this all mean?

I’ve mentioned this before, that there are several stages to writing a book, at least for me.  First I have a concept and, often times, I have a strong beginning and end envisioned and I have to then work out the middle sections, connecting everything together in a way that makes sense and, hopefully, is original and entertaining.

In the case of Book #7, there was the added work involved in wrapping up all the various plot threads into this conclusion.

At certain points I feared the book would prove too long and that I’d have to break it in two.  I realized, much to my relief, that I could finish the book without breaking it apart.  Nonetheless, the book now runs to 147,148 words over 288 single spaced pages.  This is easily the longest of any of my novels, which often ran around 110,000 words, give or take.

So, what’s next?

I’ll print this behemoth out and its on to draft #5.  Here’s the thing: I’m now moving from creating new scenarios and scenes and going into revision.  At this stage, I’ll be looking into the writing itself and making sure the grammar/spelling is good.  I’ll also be streamlining any things that need to be streamlined while expanding whatever requires it.

The beauty of this is drafts will be completed far more quickly now that I won’t be as focused on creation of new material.

The big question: When will the book be ready?

While its impossible to offer a solid release date, suffice it to say today’s completion of Draft #4 brings me a HUGE step closer to getting the whole thing done.  I’ve long felt this book could be ready later this year and, so far, there’s no reason to change that (admittedly vague) prediction.

Regardless, I’m moving along so for those who are waiting, have just a little more patience… Book #7 will be here before you know it!