The Oak and the Moon progress

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TOATM Update – August 15

Here’s a quick update for all you people drumming your fingers and/or tapping your feet. Especially now that I’ve spilled the cover. The COVER!!! *dies* Am I right?! :)

Last round of edits will be completed in the next week. Proofreading of unformatted file begins August 31. That should take about a week. Then the file goes to my formatter. His turnaround is usually a couple weeks, depending on how many changes I need to make. The last step of formatting is a final proofread. Another few weeks for that. Final changes then get sent to the formatter (fingers crossed there will be none). He’ll need a few more days to get things squared away, and the cover artist will need about a week to design the back cover and spine.

So, let’s pencil in a November 1 release. Samhain. A perfectly witchy time of year.

Progress of THE OAK AND THE MOON
First Draft: Complete (160,627 words)
My revisions: First round complete, final round complete (161,377 words)
Professional editing: Nearing completion
Proofreading: Begins August 31
Formatting: Not started
Final proofread: Not started
Cover art: 50% complete

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TOATM Update – First Draft Complete

I wrote the last lines of THE OAK AND THE MOON last night just before midnight. Fifty-five chapters, one epilogue, and 160,627 words. This first draft is the longest one yet. I start my edits immediately–or, I should say, I resume my edits. I’ve already edited the first 128,463 words. They’re ready for my editor. The remaining 32,164 should be a breeze due to the care I took with the initial writing.

For the past couple weeks I’ve been sifting through five and a half years’ worth of notes. Most were used. Some were discarded. Others were saved for books 4 and 5.

And you won’t believe this: only ONE F-bomb. Hard to believe, I know. But you’ll understand why when you read it. You’ll also understand why this book is so long. More on that later. :)

Progress of THE OAK AND THE MOON
First Draft: Complete! (160,627 words)
My revisions: In progress (79% complete)
Professional editing: Starts mid-July
Final Draft: Not started
Formatting: Not started
Proofreading: Not started
Cover art: Not started

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TOATM Update – April 26

First draft of THE OAK AND THE MOON is sooo close to being finished. I’m thinking three more chapters will do it, maybe four. I won’t waste time blabbing about it when I could be finishing it, so here’s a quick status. Now I’m off to write the end of this thing.

Progress of THE OAK AND THE MOON
First Draft: In progress (151,178 words and counting)
My revisions: In progress
Professional editing: Starts mid-July
Final Draft: Not started
Proofreading: Not started
Formatting: Not started
Cover art: Not started

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TOATM Update – March 4

Lots of recent progress. The end is near. Being home during the day with a sick child allows some editing by hand with the child vegged on the couch with back-to-back DVDs of SpongeBob. After one full DVD I thought it would be wise to take a break from all the Krabby Patty drama. Bevan/Moore drama is a nice change of pace.

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Progress of THE OAK AND THE MOON
First Draft: In progress (131,973 words and counting)
My revisions: In progress
Professional editing: Not started
Final Draft: Getting there slowly…
Proofreading: Not started
Formatting: Not started
Cover art: Not started

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TOATM Update – February 15

IMG_9373Fifteen degrees Fahrenheit last night with 20 mph gusts of wind. Here’s where I was, working on THE OAK AND THE MOON.

It was more of a wrap-my-head-around-it session than a get-words-on-the-page session, but I got back in the forward motion of it right before I started nodding off. It should be easy to pick back up tonight and get a lot down on the page.

I bought myself a present yesterday. Sometimes you’ve just gotta splurge on the hardback.

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Progress of THE OAK AND THE MOON
First Draft: In progress (125,282 words and counting)
My revisions: In progress
Professional editing: Not started
Final Draft: Getting there slowly…
Proofreading: Not started
Formatting: Not started
Cover art: Not started

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1744 More Words, Barefoot

All day Monday was spent writing—in pink fuzzy socks, not barefoot like the title suggests—and I’m 1,744 words closer to the end. Not a big number for an entire day of work, but I’ll take it. I’m finally past a scene I was dreading and I’m proud to say I DID NOT CRY while writing it. Nope, I didn’t. NOPE! MY EYES DID NOT DAMPEN ANY MORE THAN USUAL EVERYDAY DAMPNESS AND THAT IS MY FINAL WORD.

I’ve started the read-aloud edit phase from page one during my weekday commute, so I’m both writing the end and editing the beginning now which is a great use of time but also kind of scrambling my brains. A once-a-week night off from books helps, especially when I’m lucky to see yet another great movie…
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My husband briefed me on Barefoot, and at first I said, “Sounds really Manic Pixie Dream Girl tropey. Pass.” But as he scrolled past it online, I caught the words “bad boy” and I was like, “Wait, bad boy? Okay, sold.” LOL

Usually the MPDG trope is used alongside a geeky, stuffy, downer of a hero, with the MPDG heroine’s one and only dimension being used to teach the hero how to lighten up and live again. A “Wish Fulfillment from stir-crazy writers” as the article says. Add a bad boy though, and it changes the formula. (And who can turn down a bad boy hero? I mean really.) Barefoot might have contained hints of the MPDG trope, but the heroine was fleshed out enough to make it mostly disappear. The reasons for her MPDG qualities made sense to *her* story, so she became a real character to root for and not just a stand-in for a trope or a convenient motivator for the hero. Reviewers say it’s a knock-off of Tangled (another slight MPDG done well enough to avoid being tropey, in my opinion). I see that now, but I didn’t while watching it.

Another well-written, believable love story. Sweet but not cheesy, unpredictable enough to keep my interest. Good writing, good acting, good everything. Maybe not as good as In Your Eyes, but good enough to recommend.