Ok, well, yes, a very interesting (if totally unproductive) month April was, added a total of around 1,000 words to the manuscript. Not even enough for a new progress graphic really, so no graphic there is.
Why?
Well, a week or two back I felt like I was in a slump of sorts, so I decided (in my infinite stupidity) to re-read the entirety of the draft to date to try and ignite my muse (or at least put a rocket up her). Bad, bad mistake one part of me thinks, best idea I had in ages the counterfactual in my head retorts because, once I had read through it, I decided then and there it was crap. My Musk’s Folly posts from the period give you an idea of my mental state.
Naughty boy, Ish, language and negativity in a world of upbeat social media tarts? It will never do, everyone’s supposed to be great, powerful, happy, charging forwards … bullshit. I honestly had the whole thing in my arms, heading outside to the BBQ and fuel tin when my better (read smarter) half stopped me in my tracks and talked some sense through my thick skull. So, after a severe talking-to from her, the draft’s now back in it’s box on my desk (and the backup drive saved from formatting) awaiting its fate.
It isn’t dark enough for me and, as I discovered, either my characters hi-jacked the story line to a brighter, sickening future or my subconscious was reacting to all the stuff happening in the world and decided to fight back through my pen with some amazingly damn-awful saccharine constructs that made Mary Poppins look like Friday the 13th. Not going to happen, this series is about destroying humanity until … oh, bugger, a bit of a foretaste there, can you forget I said it?
Anyway, the plan is that I keep on writing the drafts (with my mind switched onto the task at hand) and add it to the pile until I have the first final done. Then I invest in a red ink company and get to work with what promises to be the mother of all editing jobs. I think it could be at least 12 months from finishing the draft to where it’s ready for beta readers so, perhaps, two year on, but that’s the way it goes.
It’s a salutary lesson. Yes, I have to concentrate. Yes, I should listen to my wife. Yes, flammable materials and incendiary devices need to be kept well out of the way of Ish’s little grasping paws. But seriously, the lesson is to stay true to what you want to write, and in the manner you want to write it, and to always cast a critical and harsh eye over your work to make sure it’s the best it can be.
And never, never rush it. If it takes another two years then fine, it takes another two years. You get one shot at it, make it your best one.