September 2022 Newsletter: When the Words Add Up! 📗📚
Hello Readers, The first draft of the sequel to my crime thriller, Sandusky Burning, is finished! According to the statistics collected from my word processor, it only took me 7.5 days to write it! That is, if I labored for 7.5 days (180 hours) straight, which I certainly did not. Coffee is a miraculous product, but I don't think it could prop me up for that duration... My novels have been the cumulation of numerous small writing sessions. While I have enjoyed a handful of inspired 3,000+ word efforts, most only produced a few hundred words. Some days, just a paragraph or sentence. After the last word of the final chapter was written, I found I had over 90,000 words! The graphic at the top of this newsletter features some of the ones most relevant to the plot. Before I wrote my first book, the endeavor appeared daunting. Sitting down in front of the keyboard on day one, the prospect of writing tens of thousands of words seemed overwhelming. However, chipping away at it consistently provides surprising results! Full disclosure: the 180 hours don't include research. Tasks like researching the meanings of foreign words, weapons characteristics, rescue diving procedures, the application of stitches, hospital burn unit protocols, and Sandusky weather patterns and moon phases in June 2015 are a consistent part of the writing process. As a result, my online search history tends to look a little shady! The sequel does have a title, but I can’t reveal it! The cover is still being designed and I need to get the book trademarked, so I don’t wish to share it quite yet… Finishing the story was the easy part. I characterize it as "easy" because I enjoy creating. The story unfolds as I write it, which is exciting. What isn’t easy or exciting is editing. The book will undergo multiple edits by me, a professional editor, and as many willing readers as I can find to give it a read and provide me with feedback. Soon, I will be giving several of my newsletter subscribers who have read Sandusky Burning a chance to be beta readers for the new novel, so stay tuned for more information on that! Take care, Bryan W. Conway