Everything is moving along!

Well, instead of the up to ten business days, I’ve been assigned my ISBN numbers and have my account.  That was fast!  A single business day?  Really?  This is getting more real now...

My first ever reader loved the story.  Soon I do my final edits, then prep the book for publication.  There’s both the ebook and the paperback to get ready, but that’s okay.  I’ve decided what names to publish under, as well, I think.  

Best of all, my outline is nearly done for the sequel, and I’ve begun writing, even as I edit and prep other books as well.  This series is just flowing out of me in draft form.  While I still take care to edit it and make it the best I can, the characters have their own lives already and want to go on more adventures.  I can sit down for an hour on the martial arts book and get 1000 words out, but I’ll sit for 1 1/4 hours on the sequel and 2000 words flow in the same time.

I always remind myself - write the book you want to read.  It helps me plot and plan.  It gives me characters I love.  It gives the story meaning to me, and lets me write about themes I love, like friendship and loyalty, struggling against adversity, and personal triumph.

Also, I need to let myself write the way I do it best, which means jumping all over the place and writing out of order.  I can fill things in as I go, if the important scenes get written first.  

He’s getting me a journal for this series.  I need to start recording things about the characters, places, settings, items, and so on.  Things need to remain consistent through the books.  Being able to open a journal and look at the information quickly will make everything go better and more smoothly.  There’s also something about hand writing that really appeals to me.  My gratitude journal and my personal journal are hand written for a reason.

They say that unless your goal scares you it’s not big enough.  I’m not sure who they are, but this definitely is a little scary.  I’ll be putting myself out there, even with a pen name, and opening myself to criticism.  I don’t care so much, though there’s still an element to fear about it.  There’s so much to learn and so many steps.  That’s okay, it’s a journey every bit as much as what my characters go through.  A labour of love, if you will.