Blog Chain: My WIP

First blog chain round of 2013!!! *dances* This time around, Katrina asks the following:

Write about your next writing project. What is the genre? Is is one you've written before or is it a new venture? Do you have it all figured out or is it just a germ of an idea? What did you learn from your latest writing project that will make this one even better?

I've talked about my WIP already, but that's more of an origin story post. This one will be a bit more technical. My WIP is a YA epic fantasy. I have changed its title, and now it's called WE ARE THE DARKNESS. Like I said in that previous post, this is a project I steered clear from for three years. I got the idea in 2009, but sat down to write it in 2012. I'm currently working on Draft 2, so I guess it's an old venture. My hope is to have it finished and ready to query later this year. 

*crosses fingers and toes*

Right now, I have an outline that I'm adhering to, but not at all. I have the beats figured out. Those won't change much. What might change are the dots connecting each beat to one another. Even though I have a thorough outline of what's meant to happen, I often ignore it. I just write an outline in order to feel prepared and less freaked out during revisions. Which is RIDICULOUS since I love revisions more than the drafting process. But there you go.

My last WIP was a YA contemporary with a male POV. I absolutely love it, even in its horrendous, embarrassing first draft state. The voice is what gets me every time. I do plan on editing it in the future, but I don't know when. As for what it taught me, that genre is notoriously tough to pull off. How do you make the ordinary extraordinary? What's so compelling about this character and his problem? Does he sound like a real guy? I had so many doubts about myself while writing that book, you guys. SO many doubts. 

But I also had a blast.

And if I could tackle the contemp genre from a dude's perspective, I could tackle anything.

Tacking it successfully is another story, though. We won't get into that. *weeps* 

My previous WIP taught me that taking risks is the only way to go about things. I've come to the point as both person and writer where I crave new things. Especially the kind of new things that FRIGHTEN me. This epic fantasy? Totally crippled me for three years. I kept writing other stuff in order to avoid facing it. I wrote things I'm proud of, but not OMG obsessed with.

Now? Yeah. I'm totes obsessed. 

Thank you to Katrina for the awesome topic! Make sure to check out Cole's take on it, then stay tuned for Margie's tomorrow!