Whew! The first draft of Circus Galacticus is DONE. I love the mad rush to the end of the book, when all I want to do is just writewritewrite until I have it out, but it sure is tiring. I normally shoot for 1000 words a day when I am drafting, but in the three days on CG I added over 10K. No wonder my brain still feels like mush.

I think the universe must be paying attention, though, because it has been raining and raining and raining, giving me excellent opportunities to try out my cool new boots, which were my reward-aka-bribe for finishing the draft. I love them! Not only are they keeping my toes dry, they’re also inspiration for my hopefully-next writing project, which involves ghosts, pirates, Maine, fiddles, mermaids, and tragic, star-crossed romance.

But first, there’s still plenty to be done on Circus Galacticus: I have two characters to rip out (one forever, since the role I thought he would fill was taken over by someone cooler. The other character will show up if I get to write a sequel) plus several events that need better setup. And there’s the usual cleanup where I realize I’ve said “He grinned” a bazillion times and every character is raising her eyebrows and flashing his smile constantly. But now I have something solid to work with. And I am already really eager to dive back in. I hope that’s a good sign, since often I have the opposite feeling: I finish the draft and just want to walk away for a few weeks (or even years). My plan is to not touch it for two weeks or so, then go back and get it fit to be seen by beta readers.

In the meantime, I have a ton of reading to catch up on, and brainstorming to do for the new Ghost Pirate book. I’m also giving my very first “talk” at Lithgow Library in Augusta ME this Wednesday (the 17th) at 6:30 PM. I’ll be talking about writing Fortune’s Folly, and about fairy tale and myth-based fantasy novels in general. I’m making a handout with a list of other MG and YA novels that include fairy tale or mythic elements so if you all have any favorites please comment to share them. I’d love some more suggestions!

Those of you who have an interest in Victorian Fantasy and Steampunk might be interested in this recent post by author R. L. LaFevers on The Enchanted Inkpot. I personally am really looking forward to Scott Westerfeld’s forthcoming Leviathan. Here’s the description from Goodreads: In an alternate 1914 Europe, fifteen-year-old Austrian Prince Alek, on the run from the Clanker Powers who are attempting to take over the globe using mechanical machinery, forms an uneasy alliance with Deryn who, disguised as a boy to join the British Air Service, is learning to fly genetically-engineered beasts.

And today on the Inkpot I invite people to post about unwritten and imaginary books they most want to read. Please stop by and share your answers!

If you’re interested in hearing about my early prejudice against first person and why I write fantasy, check out this interview with me on Cynsations, which is part of author Cynthia Leitich Smith’s ongoing New Voices series of interviews with debut authors. If you have any interest in YA and kid’s literature, I highly recommend reading Cynsations for news, reviews, and other resources.

In other news, I’m plugging away on my current project, aka The Circus Book. I’ve finally finished revising/rewriting the first 40K so that I can continue on and write the rest of the book. I know some writers can keep going on a draft even when they realize there’s something significant that needs to be fixed in what they’ve already written, but I just cannot make myself work that way. I hate the feeling that I am building a house on a bad foundation. In this case I’ve been struggling with nailing down the voice of the main character. It’s gone from first person past tense to third person and finally settled on first person present tense. It’s also taken me some time to really figure out what the core motivations of my main character are, and to get that feeling that she’s a real person living in my head, so that I instinctively know what she will do when the going gets tough (the answer is ‘hit things’, heh. She’s definitely the most physical character I’ve written so far!).

My hope is that I can now steam through the last 20K or so and have a rough draft before the end of June. To help me stay focused, I’ve told myself that I will get myself these cool rain boots when I finish the rough draft. They’ve got stars and roses on them! And a mermaid! And dice! And daggers! (Though I must say these boots are also tempting). What would I do without bribery?