I've Finished the First Draft of My Latest Book!

This Christmas morning I woke up in a very creative headspace. I brewed my morning coffee, as I always do, except for the addition of a touch of eggnog, which I did, and I headed back to bed. I could feel my creative juices flowing, and I could just feel and taste the end of my book just around the corner!

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Yes, I have been writing this delightful, Christmas romance with a magical twist, since December of 2021. Every fall I pick up this unfinished story and get to work. As Christmas comes and goes, I put it down until I'm seasonally inspired the next year, consequently, it has then taken me 3 years to write.

Generally, this is not how I write a book, that is, over the course of many years, in spurts, generally, I get fully into it, with the book drawing me in to write it to the end. Sure I take life breaks now and then, but mostly keep at it while I am fully immersed in my story line. Then, when I complete the draft of a book, I let the story and editing simmer for a while. It is often advantageous to put your work down and then take a fresh look at it after a spell. This is my process.

So, I am sharing with you, that as of Christmas Day 2024, I have finished the first draft of my magical story! Thirty-six chapters and I'm delighted that it is now completed! Whahoo! Now comes the process of rereading, editing, and fact checking.

I have printed off the entire book draft, and have placed it in a binder. I have designed the working cover for the book (using the wonderful pic I have shared with you here), for a inspiring visual, and then divided the binder into 2 parts, my character notes and story details, and, in the second section, the main body of the book. Next, I create my chapter synopses and then go back and see how the story flows and unfolds, and then I check my characters for inconsistencies, and look for mistakes in the plot time line.

As I know that it is not advantageous to release a Christmas-themed story line after Christmas, I will most likely just begin the editing process now, until I might decide to put the book down until next fall. I am only inspired to work on my Christmas stories leading up to Christmas, and not so much afterwards in the new year. (It is part of feeling the magic of the season!)

In any event, I am over-the-moon happy with the way the story has played out, and it is a huge accomplishment to have finally finished it! I look forward to the day I can share it with all of you...

Cheers! Lise

*photo courtesy of aaron burten on unsplash