After a December push, the first draft of the new novel is complete. At Our Own Pace is now ready for editing before heading to my editor for the true and final edit before submitting it to the publishers.  I find the trilogy of A Stag-Vixen Journey to be an interesting perspective of family drama and the trials and tribulations of starting a new business. 

First Draft of the New Novel Complete

This is the first novel where I started with a complete outline. I hated, and I mean hated, taking the time to lay out the entire novel before writing the first paragraph.  I’m a plotter by thought, but a pantster by action.  I get a general idea of the plot. I have a few scenes in mind. I then come up with the start and move one section at a time through the book.

This time it was different. I spent most of the month of September coming up with the plot for the story, using the 7-Steps as laid out in Plotrr.  I’ve read the books describing how to do it several years ago.  I found a few Master Classes that walked through it all. But then I found one that showed me how to do it from the end, then to the hook, and then move systematically through the Plot and Pinch points in an order that didn’t make sense at first.

Starting at the End

It seemed counter intuitive to start the plot at the end, but then it made sense.  If you know exactly where you are going, then it is easy to understand where to begin.  Setting the hook is a different story, but you have to understand the journey. Making the start, the opposite of the end is a good way to understand the character arcs you must create.

This is an erotic novel about the difficulties the main characters have in establishing a new business in the midst of the Stag-Vixen journey. In this novel we see most of the story from Helen’s point of view. Knowing where she is at the end, help tie in the start of the story.

Creating Tension

It was important to start at the end of First Tentative Steps and keep the overall plot moving.  Helen’s struggles in the first book set her up nicely for the second book.  The question I faced in writing this novel was: What is Helen’s new arc.

We need to see Helen grow in this book, to get both her and Mike ready for the challenges in book three. The antagonist in this book begins to come alive and we see his actions.  Now the challenge is to create the proper tension to keep the reader turning pages for more than the erotic interludes that must be present.

If I did my job right, and remember my editor is going to be brutal about making sure I succeed, the antagonist will make you hate him. Even better, if you truly hate him, you’re going to wonder why he is the way he is, and why he is doing such things to our main characters.

Editing Process

I did this novel differently.  Now that I have the first draft of the new novel complete, I’m ready to edit the first scene.  In my first book, First Tentative Steps, I edited as I went along.  I had to, because it was imperative that I maintain plot continuity. If I made changes during an edit, I would have had to chase it all over the novel to fix it.  This time, the plotline was done, all I had to do was stick to it.

Now I’m going to listen to every scene, edit the scene, and then listen to it again. I find that using the read aloud function in Scrivener and in Word, really help me detach myself from the story and catch mistakes I’d miss otherwise.