This year, I’ve spent most of my writing time editing the manuscript for Viral Agents. In this post today, I’ll walk you through my editing process, making note of the rationale behind each step of the approach. This is still a work in progress, of course, so I will refrain from spoiling anything in the story. Plus, since the novel isn’t actually published yet, I can’t say that this approach has been successful from the perspective of actually producing a work fit and capable for public consumption. But, the process is underway, and I stand by it for now. Let’s get going.
Viral Agents
Project Announcement: “Viral Agents” – A Science Fiction Novel
Since about 2015, I have been keeping jottings on various creative writing projects. Some are probably best suited to short stories, but I felt that others had a good chance to become full-fledged novels. In November of 2017, I wrote the opening scene to one of these projects in a fit of inspiration and creativity. Then I set it aside for almost four years. Partly this was because I wasn’t prepared to focus on it, and partly because I knew I needed to learn a lot more about plotting, writing, and everything else that comes along with turning a blank page into a complete work. I read books on writing (a post for a different day, I’m sure). I plotted out my story. I developed my characters and themes, and at some point the only thing left to do was write.
National Novel Writing Month 2022 – a NaNoWriMo Victory Tale
For those of you not in the know, November is National Novel Writing Month, or “NaNoWriMo”. Created by the nonprofit organization of the same name, NaNoWriMo promotes creative writing throughout the world by sponsoring content, providing tools for writers, and hosting platforms for writers to record and share their progress towards writing 50,000 words in the month of November.
This year I participated, and now I have the first draft of my first novel to show for it.