I reached an important milestone on my work in progress this week:
After around nine months of work, I wrote ‘The End’ on the first draft of my latest book, currently titled MOVING ON. It’s a young adult fiction novel about 17-year-old Breanna Banks, who finds herself not only unexpectedly dead, but recruited to join the Attendants, who help the dying as they transition from one plane of existence to the next. It’s a job she very much does not want, but with a global catastrophe in the near future and Attendants in high need, does she really have a choice? Between working with the limitations of ADHD in a place where there are no meds, trying to satisfy her demanding mentor, developing a crush on a living boy who will literally never know she exists, and desperately missing her family and friends, Bree must find a way to fit into her new role before disaster strikes.
This is a story that made me cry real tears, in a coffee shop of all places, while I was writing it, and while that might sound pretty grim, I’ve actually enjoyed every minute I’ve worked on it. Reaching ‘The End’ feels bittersweet, to say the least.
But! A first draft is only a first draft. There’s editing to do, and filling in missing bits and things I made note of to add later. And if I can tell you a secret, I enjoy editing and revising even more than writing. I have so many ideas for how I can improve the story in the hope that others will love it as much as I do. It may be ‘the end,’ but that’s only the beginning for a writer. Stay tuned! I can wait to share with you all where this story goes.