4th and Final “Rumbling Heart” Book Underway
What will the next book be named?
17k words into the final book all while I still have Emily Martin in editing. The final book in the series is already turning out to be much more than I’d first anticipated. Within the first chapter, the characters have already gone through something completely different than any of the other books. Several lines will be crossed and already they’ve done that. Expect much more craziness from this book as all the madness will come to a climax and I promise an ending that will both satisfy, shock, and make your heart beat a little faster.
As I’ve stated in previous posts, I have held back EM as I wanted to be sure that I was able to get in all the information I wanted to and so that both books will tied together nicely. That being said, EM should still be out hopefully no later than early to mid October, maybe sooner depending on how much more I feel I need to do with it. EM was last sitting at about 170k words. I expect the 4th and final book to be slightly larger; perhaps 185k. As with EM, the final book will have different perspective and views, but in the end, it will ultimately go back to John, the original narrator. He started it so he should be the one to finish it, but not before a couple of others have their say. I am breaking the book down into 4 parts and as it stands, I’m not too sure as to which part will be the largest. Probably the 4th and final part, but who knows. Often times I find while writing I tend to go off into a different direction and toss in a few smaller, subplots before getting back and delivering the main point. Any extras will only further develop the characters as I don’t really like to toss in too much unneeded fluff.
The overall diction will remain middle to high as far as narration with the occasional lowering for certain plot elements. I’ve toyed with the differences between narrators, but with just a few adjustments for characteristic play, I doubt much of it will change.
I look forward to getting more feedback from all my readers and as always, thank you all so much for your continued support.
Amazing First Draft of Chapter One
Just finished the first draft of chapter one of my new work and I have to say, I’ve learned quite a bit from all the editing I did on RH. I am painting a much better picture than I did with the first draft of the previous chapters I’d worked on and its making me think i won’t have to do nearly as much revising as I did before. I am happy so far and the story has a nice, decent flow. I am trying to make it a work in itself so that it will not have to rely on RH too much. I am giving some background and details so in case someone just picked it up off the shelf, they could still read the work and get a good story out of it. Going to take a couple of days break now as I already know what chapter 2 will be. As I have practiced before, I always stop writing when I have a good idea going. It helps me by keeping writer’s block at bay so when I go back to work, I can just pick up right where I left off without so much as a hiccup.
2nd Revision on All Chapters – Complete
In what has seemingly been a marathon of revising, I finally finished going through all chapters and finished making major corrections. Those chapters in the master document, which already had a third look, are about to get a forth as I was able to see a few errors I somehow managed to miss in the revision which placed them in the master document. While I have no plans on tearing apart the master, I do think going through all of them one last time would be a good idea.
I am getting a little anxious now as I realize that the finish line is definitely in sight. While it will not be released to any real praise or fan fair, I will finally be able to say that I worked on and completed a true novel, 100% on my own. All I can hope for is that I will make a modest amount on its sales. I have no real expectation money wise, thinking I will just be thrilled to be read at all. I don’t expect people to like the book cover to cover, but i hope the story will touch them in someway, if even for a moment.
Chapter 2 Editing Complete
All done. Easy as pie. Not nearly the train wreck chapter 1 was and I completed it in about an hour. Chapter 3 will be easy as well. Most of the story from here on out will just entail a few seeds and plot twist fixes so I can make sure they all mesh and fit together. As has become my MO, I did my best work in the middle of the night so I should try and get some rest seeing as how today (its now about 7am) is Super bowl Sunday. Was figuring I could at least try to catch the game. Either that or worl on chapter 3 and get my reading for English class done.
Chapter 28
In an epic all night writing performance, I was able to finish the final chapter of my book. The last chapter took much longer than I first anticipated and it went a lot longer than I thought it would, but it was worth the time and effort to get it finished. So to say it simply, the first draft of the book is in fact finally done.
Editing will begin in the next couple of days as i am sure a handful of chapters could definitely use it. I am currently creating PDFs as I have a few people who are excited to take a look at my work. I hope they aren’t terribly disappointed as I know my first draft will not look all that pretty. The main idea, characters, story, plot twists, are all there, but there might be a few minor loose ends that i forgot to tie up…which is why i am happy to have readers willing to do a little proofing for me.
Having been up for way too long, now I will rest.
Chapter 25
Was difficult at first, but I was able to end this chapter on a very funny note. In fact, if I wanted to, I could simply end the book here and just go back and fill in the plot holes. I mean the ending to this chapter is solid and entertaining, but I think one more (or maybe two more) unforeseen twists will need to happen to really make this thing remarkable. I already know what I want to write, it’s just a matter of getting it down. I am going to write at least two more chapters and see how they turn out. If they end up being trash, no big deal. I don’t think they will though as they will just add another level to the overall story which to me looks both heartfelt and enthralling.
The end is near and I must admit, I am getting a little teary eyed as I know this journey of story writing will soon end. As some other writers do, I’ve grown attached to these characters and I wish I could keep writing about them, but for the sake of their legacy, their story will definitely end here. I know that sounds a little harsh and who knows…maybe a few years from now these two characters will have experienced more and have something personal to say. If that day comes, maybe they will get a loving update. However, once published, I have no intention of changing the story.
Chapter 22
Doesn’t get much faster than that. It was a shorter chapter, but I got the characters in the position I needed them to be in. Now comes the huge explanation from her and he will remain mostly silent as she tells the tale. I am most excited about this chapter as I get to fill virtually every plot hole with a single chapter. There are really only 2-3 questions that will not be answered in this chapter so it will be a good one.
Rumbling Heart 