Now that The Marked Lord is out there and done, a friend called me to ask what I was working on now, or if I would write anything else.
The truth is, I’m always writing something.
I keep to a pretty intense writing schedule (if I don’t I find it very hard to get the words flowing again) and try to churn out 10,000 words a week (term time only, because I’m a Mum and I actually do like to see my children from time to time).
So, from 10-12 Monday to Friday I write without stopping. And then when my kids are in bed I write again, from around 9pm-midnight.
10,000 words sounds crazy on paper, but please remember that of those 10,000 words, around fifty percent will eventually be unusable, or require copious amounts of editing to resemble anything close to good English.
I’m also a multi-writer, which means I tend to have 3-4 works on the go constantly. I like multi-writing, it means whenever I’m not feeling one story I simply delve back into another. And then after a few days I’ll go back to the other story, remembering why I love it.
I’m also a sucker for tropes. Arranged marriage trope? Sign me up. Guardian-ward relationship? More please. Marriage of convenience? I’ll eat that trope for breakfast. Secret baby? Lock the doors and turn down the lights, because that trope gets me every time.
So when I start plotting a new story, I go through my list of tropes and find the one that appeals the most at that point. So right now, I have four different stories on the go. One is a ‘reunion romance’ (because I adore Jane Austen’s Persuasion and love writing stories where a couple who are clearly so right for each other get it horribly wrong, before finally getting it right- what can I say? I like to break hearts before putting them back together again). The second is a regency caper, because historical romance is my favourite, my one true love, and I’m always writing something set in the past. The third is a psychological romance, where I’m not even sure what’s going to happen, and sometimes, what’s even going on. While the last is a sweet novella about love at first sight, which has been an absolute joy to write.
I’m tidying up the novella to send to my editor next month, and I’m hoping the regency will be ready in January. After that? I’m leaning towards a marriage of convenience novel, simply because I’ve never attempted one before. I’ve read plenty, but never actually had the courage to start one- as a person who is generally crippled with low self-confidence (I’m the kind of girl who never felt pretty enough, clever enough, or outgoing enough) I would read the great romance novels of the past and feel like my words always came up short. But with the support of my husband and friends, I’ve been pushing myself recently to try those things I never thought I could. And I really, really want to write a marriage of convenience novel.
But I’m going to update this blog weekly from now on, so my WIP word count might drop. But any writing, whatever the subject matter, is good for an author. And my WIP word count for 2018 is standing so far at 265,986 words, a number I’m very happy with.
I’m off to the RNA Winter Party on Wednesday so hopefully I’ll be back on Thursday with some pictures to share and stories to tell!
Until then, happy writing.