Certainly one of the better feelings is when you finish the first draft of a manuscript. Extremely happy that my 1st draft is finished. I realize that this only the beginning. But you can’t finish a book that you haven’t started and you can’t publish something without getting through the first draft.
Writing in the genre of Medical mystery/thriller has been something that I dreamed about for many years. I’ve started and ended a few different writings. This time, I found something that really fit with who I am and what I love writing about. Ameteur sleuth is such a fun area because you character can make mistakes and get into problems. Using the police or such can be a main priority or a peripherial aspect.
So, when I first started writing this series – I started with some flash cards, trying to get my idea, background, and the histories of my characters into place. It was a good way to get some ideas into place. This is my first book that I’ve finished that I intend on publishing, so I wanted to get things in place both in my mind and on paper.
Soon I became excited about this medical thriller and it took over my writing life. A mind of its own I’ll tell you! Last night, I finished the first draft. It took me just under 4 months to finish this book and today I’ll start the dreaded editing process. I’ve learned so much during this time both in the area of writing, the industry, and the market of medical thrillers. There are some heavy hitters in the author and publishing industry and they have made this genre a powerhouse.
My initial goal for this book was to write 80,000 words in six months and finishing two months early was a good feeling. However, the editing process will be rigerous and I’m not sure what to expect. There are several different characters and I think I have some common names. I think I will need to change some of the names, places, and such. I am worried that I might not be as gruesome as other novilist and will have to consider changing this.
I hope that my writing has improved during this first draft. I’ve been apart of some writing groups and they have helped me see things in a different way. Adverbs were overused but also some of my sentance structure and dialogue needed improvement. It is a work in progress as is everything else in my life. Hope to give an update of editing in the next few weeks.
