Weekly Writing Wrambling - The State of the Novel, Part One

I originally meant for Weekly Writing Wramblings to partly be about writing, and partly about my writing--that is, the current book that I am working on and trying to get published. That being said, though, I haven't done anything about my current book. There are a few reasons for this--well, okay, one. I am very protective of it. I mean, you put in all of this time and energy, and after a while the book is just part of you. It's like a little sliver of my soul in a Word document. Showing it to people can be downright terrifying, unless I know them well.

One of the few times I let people read my novel...I cried.

So now I'm just typing a lot in hopes of buying time and not needing to tell about my novel. If this keeps up, I'm going to be a wreck if/when publication happens.

So: the current working title is The Demon Hunter's Inheritance. I had been playing with The Guardian Inheritance, but it sounded slightly corny, and actually explaining what Guardian meant seemed to help with that. The basic gist of the plot is that three teenagers (Matt, his cousin Sarah, and their friend Jake) get involved in the world of demon possession and hunting after Sarah's brother dies. All three of the main characters get a few chapters from their POV, as they all individually discover what Sarah's brother was up to and how it now involves them.

I had been toying with the idea of demon possession for a while before I wrote this novel--since 2010, really. I started writing the story back in March 2012 and finished in December, and have been revising and editing for the past two years. Sometimes the revising is fun; sometimes it is a pain in the butt.

But we have reached the point where I look at the book, and I make a few changes, but it really is remaining the same. There are a few minor changes still to be made, but it really is about done, and certainly ready for me to start showing people...and agents. It is really time for me to start trying to publish this book. It is scary to get to that point. Every time I think about that, I just start listing problems with it in my head--but then remember that those problems are just me panicking and not actual issues. It really is about done.

So we are now in the Polishing and Querying phase. I'm picking out agents and sending off queries. I have sent off queries before, but that was back when I was a teenager. Now I'm adult. I could be published, I could sign the contract, I could easily go to visit agencies and publishers, I could actually accomplish this dream. It is all possible. I have given up a lot in the pursuit of becoming a published writer, and this time next year, it could all be worth it.

So that is the state of my novel. Here is to an exciting update next time!