Post-Manuscript FAQ

YAAAAAAAYYYYYYYY—

Oh hello. Sorry, I was just celebrating. After two-and-a-half months and a little over 91,000 words, the first draft of my latest YA/sci-fi manuscript is complete! The seed that started as a foray into NaNoWriMo has blossomed into a massive, slightly ugly flower that still has a few more inches to grow.

If it’s any help at all, here is an FAQ I’ve put together so you know my post-manuscript plans. I call them FAQs even though nobody has actually FA’d these Qs of me, really. Oh well. Maybe they can provide some guidance into your own post-mortem—*ahem*, I mean post-novel plans.

·       What’s the title?: I’m not telling you yet. Just know that it is a legit, kick-*** title that I had from Day 1; it was the first word I wrote on the document, and it has stayed unchanged since. I will tell you, though, that the title is NOT:

o   “Another Young Adult Science Fiction Book”

o   “Taserface”

o   “Reflections on Bronte’s ‘Wuthering Heights’”

o   “Reflections on How I Can’t Tell the Bronte Sisters Apart”

o   “Marshmallows”

·       What’s the genre?: Dude, I told you at the beginning of this post. It’s YA sci-fi.

·       Then why is it so long? I thought most YA books were shorter than 91,000 words.: BECAUSE THE STORY IDEA SEEMED SHORTER IN MY HEAD, OK??? I’ll try to cut back in revisions, but I make no guarantees.

·       What’s the plot and setting?: Sorry, I’m a little cagey about those things as well—at least at this stage.

·       Was it inspired by the Hunger Games?: NO. Now go sit in your corner and stop accusing me of such horrible things.

·       Was it inspired by Twilight?: NO! Go to the corner where I left the “Hunger Games” person, who is now free to leave now that you’ve spoken such blasphemy. Besides, that’s fantasy/romance/YA garbage! What gave you the idea I’d go for that?

·       Did you know the whole plot when you sat down to write it?: Yes. No. Sort of. I knew enough of the plot to know how to begin, and I knew how I wanted the story to end, but I’ll admit some stuff shuffled around and changed in the middle as I got writing. I like writing non-set stories; it gives me a little creative wiggle room—and helps me dodge any sticky plot points.

·       What computer did you use?: I wrote a lot of my manuscript during breaks at work, so…*sigh*…it was an Apple. Now I’m a die-hard Windows/Dell fan, but I write for a living anyway (journalist), and writing my manuscript over breaks helped me stay sharp.

·       What’s the last word in the manuscript?: You mean, aside from the word “END” that signals the termination of the story?

·       Duh!: “Gate.”

·       What was your regimen while writing it?: During NaNoWriMo, I wrote 2000 words a day—got me to 50,000 words about a week before November ended. After that, I toned it down to 1000 words a day. Hey, I write a LOT for a living. Yeah, yeah, if you do the math, I missed or under-wrote for a few days after November. I have excuses for those days, a lot of them I can’t remember (aside from the one where I got engaged that day).

·       What are your plans now?: I’m going to hide my manuscript draft under a pillow and not think about it for a month or so. Maybe between now and then, I’ll edit another of my manuscripts or write a short story or something. Heaven knows it’s been a while since I’ve written a short story. (Really, 91,000 words! I’ve never written a story that long before! What happened?) Maybe I’ll just play some Halo. Maybe I’ll do all of the above. After that, then I’ll go through it with my fine-toothed comb that’s missing a few teeth.

·       What are you most looking forward to in your revisions?: I hope I wrote a lot of cool stuff in there that I can find again. I love the (rare) feeling of coming across something you wrote that gave you the creepy fuzzies—which you forgot, so you get to have that feeling all over again. I also haven’t divided the book into chapters yet, so that’ll be fun.

·       What are you least looking forward to in your revisions?: Finding the MANY, MANY ERRORS that necessarily lurk within the pages. I’ve found so many by just glancing back at previous chapters, especially within the first 50,000 words from NaNoWriMo when I was writing at full speed…then there are the creative (a.k.a. “made-up”) words that I know have switched-around letters or changed spellings halfway through…hoo boy, I’ll be trying not to think about those for the next month-ish.

·       What are your feelings about the manuscript and story overall?: AAH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! YAAA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!...

·       Sorry I asked. That’s not a question. Go to the corner.