After one year and five months; 94,255 words; 368 pages; two protagonists, three sidekicks, and one villain; and endless weeks of blood, sweat, and tears (mostly from the characters), I finally finished. I typed the final five words of the first draft of my manuscript of 'Til the Last Star Dies. And it was SO SATISFYING.
Don't get me wrong, I loved writing it, but I also really, really enjoyed finishing it. I'M DONE. (Hahahahahahahahahaha, because not really. There are sooooo many edits to be done. But let me celebrate first. Hush now, inner editor, you'll get your turn.) Endings are some of the hardest things I've ever had to write, for several reasons. Especially since when I started the book, I had a clear ending in mind. For a good 70,000 words, every scene I wrote was propelling my characters toward a predetermined fate I'd picked out for them. There were a lot of explosions involved. And probably tears. From me and the characters. It was going to be awful, but I just thought in terms of "those poor characters" awful. Then my inner editor, Difficult Dan, woke up from his hibernation to slap me and say, "Bad, author. Don't you see how terrible this is?" and then I fixed it. It's much, much better now. Thank you, Difficult Dan. But still, it's not the ending I'd expected to write, which meant I only had two months of planning it rather than, say, a year and a half. Up until the last minute, I was second guessing myself. I had no clue what I was doing. I had a vague idea of something about shooting stars and a sunrise and maybe some sort of monologue from a character and there could still possibly be blood and destruction? It was a weird experience piecing together the last chapter at all. I didn't even know which character would be the one to tell it (although I am happy with my final choice). So yeah, not at all what I expected. I usually like my bittersweet, ambiguous endings with a hopeful tone. It was a lot more sweet than it was bitter, but still ambiguous and hopeful, so I'm pretty okay with how it wrapped up. UNTIL THE WARNING BELLS WENT OFF.
What if it was too sappy? Too cheesy? Too predictable? Is this really how I want to leave things? Does it leave the reader with a good taste in their mouths? What if I should've done something totally different? What if it dragged too much? What if it ended too quickly? ARE MY POOR CHARACTERS GOING TO BE OKAY? (Hint: Probably not, but they can dream, right?) Then, in an extraordinarily rare moment of kindness, Difficult Dan pat me on the head and told me not to worry and it would all be okay. Then he revealed his gasoline and box of matches and said he had plans for most of my book anyway and it'd be so much better once he was through with it. I hate agreeing with him on anything, but he's probably right there. A lot of writers like to ask published authors when they know it's time for a book to end, and every answer I've heard has been "when you're sick of it" and then they laugh to make it sound like a joke. But if you look closely, you can see the memories of bags under their eyes and crumpled chocolate wrappers and bruises on their foreheads from the number of times they've done a face plant onto the keyboard in frustration.
This answer is surprisingly wise. You don't want to let the book continue forever, but if you think you might be getting close to the end and you're sad about missing your characters once you get to that last page, you're probably not done yet. I knew I was going to miss my characters no matter what I did, but there came a point when I knew the book just had to end. I wasn't clinging to the ankles of my characters, I was just kind of misting up a little as I waved goodbye. They'll live on in my mind, but it's time for them to tell their own story now. One where I can't terrorize them anymore. Kidding, kidding. (Sort of.) So this rambling post of me in a post-novel haze with my caffeinated beverage barely kicking in is to say that I FINALLY FINISHED MY FIRST DRAFT, YOU GUYS.
Revisions, here I come.
What are your thoughts on writing endings? Do you love them, hate them, or feel somewhere in between like I do? Leave a comment!
I entered a contest through Inkshares with my YA fantasy romance novel, 'Til the Last Star Dies. If I win, Inkshares will help me through the entire publishing process so I can get my book out in the world with Geek and Sundry's logo of support printed on it as part of the marketing. Exciting, right?!
The way the contest works is by collecting pre-orders on your book. Whoever gets the most pre-orders is the winner. If you spend $20 on a pre-order and my novel ends up being the winning one, you get:
-A signed paperback copy of the book
-An ebook
-Access to drafts and updates from the author (me)
-And free shipping in the US
I would absolutely love and appreciate it if you could help me by pre-ordering my novel. Even if you can't, just spreading the word on social media or talking to your friends and family about it can be a HUGE help! The best way to get the word out about a book is by talking it up to people you're close with.
I do ask that you kindly refrain from violence when spreading the word. It can do serious damage to the book. Oh, and, you know, the human being hit by it.
If you do pre-order (and thank you thank you thank you if you do), don't worry, you'll get a full refund on it if 'Til the Last Star Dies doesn't end up winning.
To see if you're interested, here's what it's about:
Lila is a witch. One of the firstborn, to be exact, which makes her powerful. And dangerous. And in demand. The demon Angelique has a plan for the world, one that involves cities devoured in flame and dying stars. If Angelique can convince Lila to join her army, the universe will have reason to quake in fear.
But there’s another complication. Melody. Lila’s fallen for her, and if there’s anything Lila can do to protect her, she’ll do it. This means Angelique will have to find another way to get Lila to succumb to the darkness. And Melody is the perfect bargaining chip . . .
I also have a cover and some concept art from my Pinterest board related to the novel:
I know this is grammatically incorrect, but I wasn't the one who made it, so there wasn't a way to fix it.
If you want to get a sense of the tone, you can check out the playlist I created for it HERE.
Any questions you may have about the book or the contest, I'll do my best to answer! :) Thank you so much!
So since writing 50,000 words of a single project in a month tends to get me burned out on whatever I'm writing, I've put Ms. Holmes aside for a while. I'll finish it up eventually, but for now, I'm super excited to work on my newest project. It's a YA paranormal romance called 'Til the Last Star Dies. (Thanks to my friends Sammy and Charlie for giving me that creative spark to write this!)
Here is my (very rough) synopsis:
Lila is a witch. One of the firstborn, to be exact, which makes her powerful. And dangerous. And in demand. The demon Angelique has a plan for the world, one that involves cities devoured in flame and dying stars. If Angelique can convince Lila to join her army, the universe will have reason to quake in fear.
But there's another complication. Melody. Lila's fallen for her, and if there's anything Lila can do to protect her, she'll do it. This means Angelique will have to find another way to get Lila to succumb to the darkness. And Melody is the perfect bargaining chip . . .
Although it definitely needs a lot of editing, at least you have the set up for the story. Now let's get to the fun stuff!
Meet the characters
Lila Evangeline, one of the main characters. Tough as nails and with power to spare, Lila has an equal amount of light and darkness in her. She's careful to keep herself in control so she doesn't end up hurting those she loves, something most witches don't bother to do. She has a strong personality, but she isn't unfriendly. Most everyone can count on her for a drink and a good laugh. Being in the middle of a crowd is where she feels right at home, mostly because she has the ability to make people move out of the way without even trying when she's weaving through a large group of people. Something about the confidence she carries helps her maneuver through the chaos, turning heads in a way that shows she doesn't care in the slightest if she does or not. Lila very much believes in the power of positive thinking and that the universe will reward you for it. She doesn't necessarily believe in a god, but some kind of higher power, a force you can't see.
Melody Ryan Foster, the second of my main characters. Having been abused by her older brothers and orphaned for a good portion of her life, Melody has trust issues. She's hesitant to let many people in, but Lila gets her guard down. Mel's a sweetheart. Kind of quiet, but totally willing to give you the clothes off her back without you even having to ask for them. This makes it easy to take advantage of her, but she can ultimately get along with anybody. Melody calls herself a realist, but her outlook on things in life in general is pessimistic, largely because of her hard experiences. She believes things happen for a reason and that's that, no way to explain them, nothing you can do about it.
Angelique "Angie" Victoria, LaLaurie, aka the big baddie of the novel. Despite being short, her imposing personality makes her seem taller. Angie also constantly changes her appearance and persona to avoid detection from the humans who try to track her down. She's smart and powerful and willing to sacrifice anything and anyone (excluding herself, of course) to get what she wants. Her longing to destroy and conquer comes from a deep-rooted loathing of humans after they killed her twin sister, Juliette. Once she learned the hard way just how despicable they could be, she went full-on demon. Now she believes the only way to cleanse the planet is to rid it of all humanity until only witches and demons remain.
Jordan James, best friend to Lila. He's insanely protective of his family and friends and would literally fight to his last breath and die if it meant saving them. He tends to keep his feelings to himself, choosing instead to mask his pain with jokes and sarcasm and well-practiced smirks. It works for the most part, though sometimes he finds himself breaking down in front of Lila or Toni. He carries guilt with him like weights on his shoulders and takes on more than he can chew, though he'd never admit it. Though he may be rough around the edges, his heart bursts with love for everyone he's close to and would do anything for them. He's extremely smart as well as being great at fighting against the demons and witches that attack him during his travels. He's kind and funny and always available to be a shoulder to cry on.
Antoinette "Toni" Yvette Moreau, girlfriend of Jordan's. Toni usually tries to hide her emotions behind a smile and a joke or a quip, but sometimes her temper just sort of blows up. Her way of showing that she cares about a person is to try to protect them, despite how it effects her. Her selflessness is probably what drew her to Jordan in the first place, seeing as they're so similar. She cares more for other people’s happiness than her own and is a fantastic cook, in addition to being totally witty. She never fails to make the others laugh.
Elizabeth Rivers, "little sister" to Jordan and Toni. After showing up on Jordan's doorstep, covered in blood and with nowhere else to go, the two took her in. She's tiny, but she’ll kick anyone’s butt if they’re standing between her and her family. She’s bubbly, funny, helpful, kind, stubborn, and always smiling. She’s extraordinarily clumsy and a terrible cook, always burning things, setting appliances on fire, making a mess, and just ends up breaking things in her general vicinity. When she sets her mind to it, though, she can be completely focused and coordinated in combat, and has lots of fight in her.
Location, location, location
After a randomtotally professional "close-your-eyes-and-point" method, I decided the perfect place to set the story was in Sterling, Colorado. Here are a few glimpses at the town.
(Granted, I'm not sure that mountain is actually in Sterling, but the characters do go on the run at some point, so it'll show up in the story eventually.)
(You can see more pictures of my characters and setting and many other things on my Pinterest board!)
Music, Maestro!
I am in looove with this soundtrack!! Anytime I hear one of these songs now, I get all the fuzzy feels because it just fits with the story so. perfectly. But I think I'm making "Favourite Colour" the ultimate theme song since I can't picture anything else but Lila and Melody when I hear it.
"She Waits" -- Louden Swain
"Slip" -- Elliot Moss
"Home Sweet Home" -- Mötley Crüe
"I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" -- Aerosmith
"Dream" -- Imagine Dragons
"I Don't Wanna Love Somebody Else" -- A Great Big World
"Can't Help Falling In Love" -- Ingrid Michaelson
"Favourite Colour" -- Carly Rae Jepsen
"End of the World" -- A Great Big World
"Mars" -- Sleeping At Last
"Jupiter" -- Sleeping At Last
"Pour Some Sugar On Me" -- Def Leppard
What I'm most excited about
The budding romance between Lila and Melody. The sarcastic quips tossed back and forth involving Lila and Jordan. Seeing Melody break out of her shell. Lizzy being a klutz. The ending. All of the characters being adorable and kickbutt all at the same time. And much, much more. What I'm curious about
Although I have a pretty good outline for the story overall, I never know what exactly is going to happen. I'm along for the ride as much as my characters are. So I'm interested to see how certain things turn out, such as Angelique. I'm almost positive I know how she's going to be, but 99% of the time my villains surprise me. And judging from how the story's progressing so far, I have a feeling Lila and Melody's relationship isn't going to go as smoothly as I thought (not that it was going to be smooth in the first place, but it's less like mint chip and more like rocky road now). I guess I'll have to wait and see . . .
Your turn! What project are you working on right now? What are you most excited for/curious about? Leave a comment! :)
