My Current WIPs

WIP: work in progress

I sometimes post my word counts for the day on Twitter, but the other day it occurred to me that I don’t really post about what I am writing. So, I thought I would tackle that today. I haven’t posted anything on the blog since Nanowrimo 2016 ended, mostly because I have been writing a lot of other stuff.

I will probably post a comprehensive list of all the things I am working on, once they finally have a name and are published. For now, I will give some insight to what those projects are.

First, I have been working on a Science Fantasy serial that is in it’s last leg of the editing process and on it’s way to having a cover. I submitted the first serial to a bunch of publishers in the beginning, and while it received mostly positive feedback there was a lot of discussion about the length. There aren’t many places that seem to be looking for novella length items, so I decided to move on. In this serial I have written two books, one during Nanowrimo and the other before that, and I am currently working on the second in the serial. The one I wrote during Nanowrimo occurs before the serial takes place and was partially a world building exercise. My current plan for the serial is to self-publish them. Once I get it back from my editor, I am going to post the first serial chapter-by-chapter on Wattpad as well as self-publish, so you will be able to read the entire thing for free if you’re not sure about the serial. So, look out for that!

Next, I have a Fantasy series that I originally submitted to Inkshares last year, in the hopes of crowd-sourcing it into publication. That didn’t work out, so I decided to work on the story some more. I sent it out to beta readers and received a few different 20-40 page documents back and they weren’t positive. I considered the feedback and decided that I would rework the story and tear apart all 84,000+ words, but I haven’t done it yet. The main issue was that I really didn’t want to make it a trilogy, so I just used all three plot points in the first book. This left readers unsatisfied because they are forced to continue their journey even past their original goals, and there is so much plot shoved into a fairly short (for a Fantasy novel) book that there isn’t enough room for much character development. I’m still passionate about the project, but I know it’s going to take me a while to do plot it and rewrite the whole thing. Once I finish the first Science Fantasy serial, this is my next goal.

Third, I have a children’s trilogy that I have written the first two books in and I plan to traditionally publish. I have started submitting the story to publishers and I can’t wait to finish the third in the series. I know what will happen in the third book, I have just been so focused on finishing the serial that it has been on the backburner. I will continue to submit the books to agents and publishers, though many have very long response times so I won’t know for some months how it is doing.

Fourth, I have been working on a paranormal romance novel in between projects when I get burned out. It’s about an old woman that falls in love with a ghost and the characters amuse me, so it can be nice to just sit down and write a few chapters in it. I don’t have any plans for the book, since I don’t really write romance in general, but it’s an entertaining premise and if I ever finish it, I will probably submit it.

Lastly, I still write and submit poetry. I don’t write poetry every day anymore, though for about three years I was consistent about it. I have had one poem published, though the website doesn’t seem to be active anymore (this isn’t an affiliate link and it was an unpaid submission, so I won’t make any money if you purchase the above book) I don’t expect to make money off poetry, since that just isn’t realistic, but it is a passion for me and I have started to submit poetry again. I have a backlist of poetry that takes up boxes in my house, so it would be nice to do something with them. Most poetry submissions are unpaid, but it is nice to get your name out there once in a while.

Today, I finished 1600 words in the second book in my serial and a little over 800 words in this blog post. Hopefully, I’ll have a chance later to finish another 1500 words or so tonight.

So, if I post my word counts I am probably talking about one of the projects above. Four different genres, five completed manuscripts, and nine in the works. It seems daunting when it is put that way, but it helps to remember that the serials and the children’s books aren’t very long.

What does your WIP list look like?