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It’s Gonna Be Huge #AmWriting

Posted on October 11, 2017 by Loni Townsend

I mentioned last week that one of my goals was to map out all the scenes I’ll need to get to The End. I did it! I ended up with 12 pages of scene notes and summaries, 114 scenes, which should finish out the story at a total of 73 chapters. That number includes the prologue and epilogue. So, if the book is currently sitting at 150K, and I’ve completed 30 chapters, that means… Yeah, this book is gonna be huge.

Before anyone (else) suggests it, I’m not going to break it up. It would break the story and theme if I did. Besides, I tend to write long and reduce during editing, so I’ll probably cut down the end result by 20%. And it’s not that I can’t write short. One of my things with the Cera Chronicles was that I know not everyone digs sweeping epics, so I set my goal with the Cera Chronicles to be quick and direct. And hey, I’ve got a few short stories out there, one coming out in a couple of weeks. But my big books are going to be big because that’s what the story needs.

But now that I’ve got all my scenes planned out, I’ve been knocking out little stuff, like merging two chapters, updating chapters for consistent voice, cutting out parts that created confusion, and sprinkling details throughout the earlier chapters to foreshadow events. I had a day off on Monday and I plowed through a number of my tasks.

I’m making progress. And I’ve got a scenes dancing in my head, just waiting to get out. That means, as soon as I get my list done, I’ll have enough mental imagery to make a significant dent in word count with my next push. Though I did my scene summarizing for NaNo, I probably won’t be waiting until then to start. And by the looks of it, I’ll still have plenty to go off of when November hits.

Are you doing NaNo? Do you have a plan? Do you ever make task lists for what you need to do in your story? Do you typically read big books, or do you prefer something short and sweet instead?

25 thoughts on “It’s Gonna Be Huge #AmWriting”

  1. CD Gallant-King says:
    October 11, 2017 at 1:16 PM

    Holy Crap, that’s a lot of words. I tend to read (and write) much smaller affairs, but big props to you to be able to keep it all together. I’m struggling right now to write a couple of short stories.

    Reply
  2. Natalie Aguirre says:
    October 11, 2017 at 3:36 PM

    That’s great that you can outline so many scenes. I have a general outline of my story and outline as I go. I tend to have too long word counts and am trying to avoid this problem this time. Good luck with your writing. Hope your outline makes it go faster.

    Reply
  3. Juneta says:
    October 11, 2017 at 3:55 PM

    Wahoo, congrats on the progress. I set up my profile for NaNo but have not decided if actually going to do it this year. Great Job!

    Reply
  4. Alex J. Cavanaugh says:
    October 11, 2017 at 4:05 PM

    You make it as long as the story needs to be!

    Reply
  5. C.G.Coppola says:
    October 11, 2017 at 5:50 PM

    I don’t mind length (tee-hee! Ignore me–I’m mentally 13) but as long as the story is good, that’s all that matters. And besides, not all stories conform to the 90K-120K word bracket. Some stories are meant to be BIG.

    Reply
  6. Liz A. says:
    October 11, 2017 at 6:49 PM

    Looks like a good plan. Good luck with NaNo. I never do NaNo. Not the way I write.

    Reply
  7. Aldrea says:
    October 11, 2017 at 9:14 PM

    Yesss, join me in the big book section.

    And no, I won’t be doing NaNo this year. Got me a book to ready for publication! Might try and see if I can finish a little add-on scene for IPaB, though.

    Reply
  8. Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor says:
    October 12, 2017 at 6:24 AM

    I haven’t decided on NaNo yet. It worked well for me last year, but not sure I have the time for it this year.

    I like to read varying lengths – some books need to be long given the story and level of detail, others can be short and sharp if that’s what works. I guess it boils down to doing what works best for your story. And it sounds like huge is it 🙂

    Reply
  9. Elsie says:
    October 12, 2017 at 6:27 AM

    I don’t mind a long book. I feel as long as it’s moving at a good clip and keeping my interest, I don’t want it to end! Keep on truckin’ 🙂

    Enjoy the rest of your week!
    Elsie

    Reply
  10. Sarah says:
    October 12, 2017 at 10:45 AM

    I’ve never done NaNo. I really don’t want to try, either. But I’m in awe of those who do. Glad you’re getting some writing done. I admire the fact you can write epic and still kick-ass short stories. I tend to only write shorter pieces-flash, short stories, novellas… You do you. Cheering from the sidelines. 🙂

    Reply
    1. Sarah says:
      November 22, 2017 at 9:44 AM

      Ah. THIS map. Got it. Hmm… I need to get more organized.

      Reply
  11. Roland Clarke says:
    October 12, 2017 at 1:26 PM

    I will read a long book if it is well written, immersive and well-edited – I tackled Lord of the Rings in a long weekend.

    As for NaNo, I attempt it most years and usually get 50k done in time. I wasn’t going to do anything this year as I had too many WIPs. However, I’ve decided to draft Book 3 of the mystery series I’m concentrating on at the moment.

    Reply
  12. HR Sinclair says:
    October 12, 2017 at 5:47 PM

    I read long and short as long as it good. ? And according to Smashwords, longer is “in”.

    Reply
  13. Madeline Mora-Summonte says:
    October 13, 2017 at 7:29 AM

    Yeh for progress! And it’s awesome you’re so ready for NaNo. I’m still planning and prepping but I’m getting there. 🙂

    Reply
  14. M.J. Fifield says:
    October 13, 2017 at 9:50 AM

    There’s this author I know who, every single time we talk, suggests that I break my two big novels up into six smaller novels. He does this every time, even though every time I answer that I understand where he’s coming from, but that’s just not what I want for my series. It gets exhausting after a while. So I’m totally with you on making the story as big as it needs to be. You’re putting the epic in epic fantasy.

    Hooray for being able to map out all the scenes you’ll need (no easy feat!) and for making progress. I had hoped to do NaNoWriMo this year to help jump start Book Three in my series, but I really don’t think I’ll be able to devote the time to it. Too many other projects with too many delays requiring too much attention. Best of luck to you!!

    Reply
  15. Jeri says:
    October 13, 2017 at 12:47 PM

    Way to go! Since I don’t read much fantasy, I don’t read many long books. The 60-90k word-range is probably my sweet spot as a reader, and I love anthologies of short stories and essays. I did NaNoWriMo once and nearly made the word count, but it was by working on various unrelated short pieces. If I NaNo again, I would definitely do into it with a detailed outline.

    Reply
  16. Elizabeth Seckman says:
    October 14, 2017 at 8:44 PM

    I need to take a pause in my latest story and map it out. I have a general idea of where the plot will go, but I find it’s much easier to have a plan.

    Reply
  17. Melissa Maygrove says:
    October 15, 2017 at 11:29 AM

    I don’t NaNo. I can barely find time to check my email these days.
    I am, however, the queen of lists. LOL

    Reply
  18. Mason T. Matchak says:
    October 15, 2017 at 8:39 PM

    Sounds like a hell of a thing, and that’s awesome. ^_^ I love reading giant books, so I see no trouble at all with something that’s working its way toward and past 200K. Hope it continues to go well.

    Reply
  19. Joleene Naylor says:
    October 16, 2017 at 3:34 PM

    I’ve made plans before – each book is kind of a different animal. The last one had to have a lot of planning since it was a series end, in order to wrap everything up.

    Reply
  20. The Blue Grumpster says:
    October 17, 2017 at 11:23 PM

    I’m seriously impressed.

    Reply
  21. Patsy says:
    October 18, 2017 at 10:45 AM

    If I’m enjoying a book, I don’t think it can ever bee too long … well, not unless it was too heavy to lift.

    Reply
  22. Julie Flanders says:
    October 18, 2017 at 11:04 AM

    Wow congrats on getting this done!! Sounds like you are really on your way. I just decided to jump in and do NaNo. I have no plan at all but I hope winging it works for me like it has in the past.

    Reply
  23. Arlee Bird says:
    October 18, 2017 at 9:52 PM

    I don’t know about too long, but I’d say go for it if that’s what feels right. Some stories are meant to be epic.

    Lee
    Tossing It Out: It’s About Time

    Reply
  24. Jay Noel says:
    October 23, 2017 at 12:43 PM

    That’s a biggins!

    My books usually end up around 130K or so, but I slash like Zorro to get it around 100K

    Reply

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