Writing

At lunch last week, I promised Herbie Brennan that I would tell him when I began to 'officially' write People of the Great Journey, as opposed to making notes, blocking out chapters, doing research etc. But just a short while ago, I realized something. I am already writing my book. This is how I write. I am like an acrylic painter. I work in layers. Right now, as I block out the chapters, inserting all the material I have to date and making a few more notes as I go, I am laying down the first layer, the very foundation of the book. The chapters themselves are not solid. When I write more in future layers, future drafts, the chapters will grow in size and birth more chapters. Sometimes I write up to seven or eight drafts before the final polish which goes off to the editor. Then there is yet another draft in response to the editor's remarks and my own cooler view of the manuscript after a time away from it. Because this is the way I write, it was 'easy' (I use that term loosely!) for me to do the major revisions on The Chronicles of Faerie. For me, I was simply writing another - if very intensive - draft.