So… if you’ve been wondering why I haven’t posted a WIP Update for The Dream since August, here’s the inside scoop… writing has been absolute dumpster fire since then.

Yeah. It’s kind of a long story.

Writing was going okay up until I started gearing up for The Crush‘s release, which all seriously started in about June or July. According to my word count records, July was one of the last semi-productive writing months I’ve had. Ever since, the words have pretty much been at a standstill.

Granted, I needed to allocate more time to The Crush to prepare for its release… but now I’ve realized perhaps I spent too much time in certain areas that didn’t provide as much ROI as working on The Dream would have.

And then there’s the reason we’re gathered here today… I hadn’t peeked at the first draft of book two of The Ballad of Emery Brooks, The Fall, since I finished writing it in February 2020.

You may recall from past posts that The Fall was the fastest written draft I’ve ever penned, taking only a little over seven months to write, and ending up around 65,000 words long. Even though it ended up being 15,000 words shorter than book one, The Crush, I wasn’t too concerned… until I read The Fall for the first time in November. Yikes.

The draft wasn’t bad per se, but I can definitely tell it was fast-drafted. While writing The Dream, I had already determined that a new character who was introduced in The Fall needed more development, but I didn’t realize how choppy some of the scenes and transitions were.

So, since November, instead of continuing on writing The Dream based on The Fall‘s first draft and thus creating another mess of a manuscript, I’m focusing on revising and adding scenes to The Fall. My gameplan has been as follows:

1) Write down scenes to add, scenes to alter, and any increased character/story development needed

2) Go through the list (2 typed pages, front and back, if you’re wondering) of revisions and implement them

3) Once the draft includes the changes and reaches around 80,000 words, read it again. If the overall story is satisfactory, resume work on The Dream. If not, continue reworking The Fall until the story is solid.

Through the last couple years, I’ve aspired to become the kind of author that can both write a couple books a year while releasing a book every six months, or at least once a year. But, at this point in my life, I’m unable to do so. I work full-time. I’m planning my wedding. I’m trying to keep stress at a minimum and strengthen my relationship with God. Though writing is one of my greatest passions, I don’t want to become a slave to it. I don’t want to pump out half-baked manuscripts for the sake of publishing faster; I’d rather marinate in the story and produce the best work I can for y’all.

This may mean longer wait times between books, but please know I’m doing my best. The Ballad of Emery Brooks and many more standalones are waiting to come to life in the horizon, but for now, it’s one step at a time. Thank you for your patience. ❤

Talk to Me, Arrowheads!

If you’re a writer, how is your current WIP going? If you’re experiencing frustration with your work in progress, how are you dealing with it?

Aim high, stay strong, and always hit your mark.

-Allyson 😀