Chronicling The Craft: Draft #2 Is DONE!

March 10, 2016March 9, 2016 / saraletourneau / 37 Comments

**What’s Next for The Keeper’s Curse, Plus a Final Excerpt for Your Feedback**

“Chronicling The Craft” is an article series where I share my experience with working on my YA fantasy novel THE KEEPER’S CURSE, starting with the first draft and now into revisions. Each article contains a progress update as well as writing / revising tips and excerpts from the updated draft. Today’s installment celebrates finishing Draft #2 of THE KEEPER’S CURSE.

Well, the title gave it away – but guess what happened this past weekend?!?! 😀

Annnnnnnnd that's a wrap on Draft 2!!!!!!! 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 #amrevising #amwriting #TheKeepersCurse

— Sara Letourneau (@SaraL_Writer) March 7, 2016

I’m still stunned. When I sat down to work on revisions last Friday, I was convinced it would take two more weekends, bringing me to Saturday, March 12th / Sunday, March 13th. But that was before the “end-of-WIP” adrenaline rush kicked in… and on the last day of Draft #2, I plowed through the entire final chapter. My initial reaction? “Uh… Did I really just do all that in one day?!”

But hey, I’m not complaining. This story is another step closer to where it needs to be. That calls for a celebration!

Hogwarts Hats

So, what’s the final word count for Draft #2 of The Keeper’s Curse? What are my plans for Draft #3? And, how can YOU help shape the next round of Chronicling The Craft? Plus, I’ll share one more set of excerpts for your comparison and feedback. Let’s start with…

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Chronicling The Craft: Draft #2 Revisions – 80% Complete

January 26, 2016January 25, 2016 / saraletourneau / 47 Comments

Revising for Deep Point of View, Plus Another Excerpt from The Keeper’s Curse

Well, this Chronicle is a bit overdue. XD I had hoped to post this when I reached the 70% percent mark for Draft #2. But between the December holidays, my 2-week blogging hiatus, and delays in drafting this post, we’re celebrating not 70% or 75%, but 80%. That’s not such a bad thing, though… because you know what it means, right?

Yes… I think I see it, too, Jack… 😀

Yes. I’m on the home stretch. I’ve reached the point where I can safely say, “I’M ALMOST DONE – AGAIN!!” (*fistpumps*) Honestly, the thought of closing in on the finish sends thrills up and down my spine… Yet it’s also overwhelming, because it means I’ll need to start thinking about Draft #3 soon.

Wow. I think I just deflated my own balloon of happiness. Anyways…

Considering how close I am to the end, I think this will be the second-to-last Chronicle for this go-round. So, the next time you see a Chronicling The Craft post, Draft #2 will be FINISHED. 😀 In the meantime, let’s get to the 80% progress report, followed by Today’s Tip and a new excerpt for your feedback.
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Beautiful People, Vol. 11: 2016 Writerly Goals and Resolutions

January 19, 2016January 18, 2016 / saraletourneau / 41 Comments

Beautiful People is a monthly blog meme hosted by Cait @ Paper Fury and Sky @ Further Up and Further In. Every month they pose 10 questions for writers to answer about their writing and give readers the opportunity to learn more about the writer’s characters.

This month’s Beautiful People isn’t so much about our stories or characters. Instead, it’s about the writers themselves! We’ve been asked to share our writing-related goals and resolutions for 2016. I sort of did this already for my Happy New Year post. However, the following questionnaire will reveal more details for those plans, as well as other insights such as beta readers and critique partners, which character I’d like to get to know better, and which craft book I want to read this year. So, let’s get to it! 🙂

(Visit the Beautiful People category page to catch up on past BP posts.) Continue reading →

Chronicling The Craft: Draft #2 Revisions – 50% Complete

October 26, 2015October 26, 2015 / saraletourneau / 14 Comments

Tips on Killing Off Reducing Your Cast of Supporting Characters, Plus a New Excerpt from The Keeper’s Curse

First things first: Draft #2 is halfway done!!!!

I still can’t believe with how quickly the revision process is moving. That doesn’t mean it’s had its challenges – and it certainly has – but let’s compare it to the drafting process. I started Draft #2 about 6 months ago, just after Easter. At my current rate, I could finish it in April 2016, for a total of 1 year – half as long as it took me to write Draft #1 (about 25 months, or just over 2 years).

Of course, one never knows what can happen in 6 months time. But the point is, things are moving along, and I’m pleased with how much closer Draft #2 is getting to where this story deserves to be. That’s what counts most. 🙂

(Just a reminder that my thank-you giveaways end at midnight EST on October 31st! Click here to find out how you can win free tea, a free book, or a critique of your WIP’s first chapter.)

Let’s start with a progress report, then get to today’s tip and a new excerpt of TKC for your feedback.
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Chronicling The Craft: Draft #2 Revisions – 30% Complete

August 15, 2015August 15, 2015 / saraletourneau / 31 Comments

Six Steps to Saving Your Self-Edits for Later – Plus, a New Worksheet and Another Excerpt from The Keeper’s Curse

“Chronicling The Craft” is an article series where I share my experience with working on my YA fantasy novel THE KEEPER’S CURSE, starting with the first draft and now into revisions. Each article contains a progress update as well as writing / revising tips and excerpts from the updated draft. Today’s installment celebrates 30-percent completion of Draft #2 of THE KEEPER’S CURSE.

Huh? It’s been 2 months since the last Chronicle?? *blinks* I guess that shouldn’t surprise me. Summer tends to be my slowest writing season, since I’m more motivated to get out and enjoy the nice weather. But that’s OK. It prevents me from becoming a hermit, right? 🙂

Originally I was going to post updates for every 20-percent milestone (20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, and 100%). However, since gaps between those updates might be lengthy, I’m changing the frequency to every 10-percent milestone. Here’s what I’ve done since mid-June:
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Chronicling The Craft: Revisions 20% Complete

June 17, 2015June 15, 2015 / saraletourneau / 27 Comments

Practicing Patience with the Revising Process – Plus, an Excerpt from The Keeper’s Curse!

“Chronicling The Craft” is an article series where I share my experience with working on my YA fantasy novel THE KEEPER’S CURSE, starting with the first draft and now into revisions. Each article contains a progress update as well as writing / revising tips and excerpts from the updated draft. Today’s installment celebrates 20-percent completion of Draft #2 of THE KEEPER’S CURSE.

I’ve missed this series! It’s been 2 months since the last Chronicle, when I began revising The Keeper’s Curse (TKC). But since May was insanely busy, this gap between postings meant one less thing on my plate last month. Now I’ve reached the 20-percent milestone in Draft #2, and I’m thrilled to have an update for you. 😀

This new round of Chronicles will feature a similar format as the Draft #1 round. I’ll start with a Progress Report, covering what I’ve worked on since the previous Chronicle. Next will be Today’s Tip, where I offer craft-related advice on novel revisions. Finally, the new third section… well, I’d say it’s a surprise, but the subheading sort of gives it away. 😉 Continue reading →

Chronicling The Craft: Time to Start Revising / Draft #2!

April 10, 2015April 7, 2015 / saraletourneau / 18 Comments

“Chronicling The Craft” is an article series where I share my experience with my YA fantasy novel The Keeper’s Curse. Each article contains a progress update as well as writing tips and advice. Today’s installment marks the beginning of revisions on The Keeper’s Curse (a.k.a. Draft #2).

Where has the time gone?? It still feels like March began yesterday, and I had just finished the first draft of The Keeper’s Curse. Now it’s April 10, 2015 – which means, according to the plan I outlined back in February, it’s novel-revising time! And about time I created a logo for the series, too, right? 😉

Before I start talking about the immediate future, let me recap said plan and how well it worked over the past 6 weeks:

Sara Letourneau

Poet. Freelance editor and writing coach. SFF enthusiast.

second drafts