Update from the writer’s desk
Hi y’all! Now that things are starting to ramp up on my book, I thought I’d pop in and give you a little update.
These past few weeks and months, I’ve been:
Finishing the first draft of Book 2. I finally typed ‘The End’ last week, and gosh. BIG relief. This was my first experience writing under a deadline, so I was going in with a lot of doubts. Can I write that fast? Will it be good? Will I get writer’s block? Will I have a nervous breakdown and start speaking in tongues?
For now, my sanity remains intact. And I kind of love this draft! Maybe it’s because I wrote a lot of it down at the authorial cabin, in semi-hallucinatory 5,000 word chunks. But when I reread it, there are whole sections that I don’t remember writing, and I find myself just reading along, enjoying the twists and turns. That must be a good sign. I hope it is.
With that said, I still actually have a lot to do. My drafting process is best described as ‘freight train with no brakes’ – so if I’m writing and I realise I’ve left something out, or didn’t foreshadow something I should have, or forgot to introduce a character, then I just keep going. Toot toot! The end result is that there are a whole bunch (about 20,000 words worth) of chapters and scenes I need to go back and write before I start the revision process. Still—I now have a draft that makes sense from beginning to end. That’s a win.
I’ve done a lot of admin stuff for Book 1. I handed in my acknowledgements and dedication, and did some workshopping of cover concepts. I’m 100% sure I sounded bonkers with all my stipulations (literally: “I don’t like it when there is a texture effect applied to the title; I only want a colour block or a gradient.”) I can’t help it. I’m obsessed with aesthetics. Nothing to show you guys yet, but I have a feeling it’s going to look great. (With my 10,000 point list of likes and dislikes and requirements, how can it not?)
We’ve also settled on a TITLE for Book 1. This took a while to pin down, but we finally hooked a winner. I’ll share that pretty soon.
Book 1 copyedits are expected back this week. Yes, I’m super excited. Editing is like remedial massage for my words. They’re about to become FIGHTING FIT, and I personally can’t wait. After that, I have a little under a month to get through all the suggested changes before I go overseas. Buckle in!
I’ve read a bunch of books recently. I just finished Samantha Shannon’s The Bone Season for the first time, after being introduced to her earlier this year via her supermassive dragon-fantasy tome Priory of the Orange Tree. I think The Bone Season was her debut, which is crazy to me. It’s so good! I also caught up on Holly Black’s Children of the Air series. The third book, Queen of Nothing, is coming out in November and I’m pumped. Yass, queen.
As I mentioned, I’m also going ABROAD to the UK and France. I plan to deliver some nice meaty travel content via Instagram, so you should follow me if you don’t already. My handle is @itsbonniewynne (same on Twitter).
Most importantly, though, I STRONGLY suggest signing up to my mailing list list. Plug your email in below, because next month I’ll be able to share some more crunchy details about my upcoming projects. There’ll be exclusive stuff that only subscribers can see. And I’m also going to give away some sweet loot. Everyone likes sweet loot.
Until then, happy reading!