First post on here. Thought I'd do a bit of forum searching as I'm finally getting close to my first draft being done. I'm guessing it will be done by about 250k words, and it is epic fantasy, but this is my first novel so I know I can't publish it as is.
I'm just hoping for some tips and tricks, maybe resources to get me going to get this book from first draft to ready for publication. The novel follows 2 main characters, sticking almost completely to their viewpoints. My magic system is very much based in science, and to be honest I like how it is quite a bit so far, though it needs a few tweaks. The setting is fairly typical fantasy setting, both characters around 17 years old and starting to make their way in the world. Something bad happens and they end up having to fend for themselves. There are a lot of races and cultures, as well as many mysteries in the book. I think it is a good framework on the whole, but it still needs work.
As for drafts, I am thinking that draft two will end up increasing the size of the book, as I realized while writing it that I missed a ton of little things to make the world more rich. Essentially, I didn't have a clear enough understanding of the world, my characters, and the plot, and because of that everything is a bit lacking in details, or the character interactions aren't quite how I want them. Hence, I'm planning to spend a month on world building, character building, etc, and then only after that do the second draft. My expectation is to have draft 1 finished by late Feb/early March, world building done by april, then draft two done by June or July.
I'm also hoping to find a group of individuals that I can work with - serious writers who are also trying to get published. I would like to be able to give and get feedback on writing, as I want to become a better writer, and I feel like I'm living in a vacuum right now. I have had little to no input on what I've written, and I'm worried that what I have done so far isn't good. I think it's decent, that the ideas are there, the writing is mostly solid, and the characters are okay, but I really don't know. I think a writing group would really help me get to the next level so I could publish something great. Or, worst case, it would help me get this book finished and then try for something shorter that a publisher will actually want to publish
I'm just hoping for some tips and tricks, maybe resources to get me going to get this book from first draft to ready for publication. The novel follows 2 main characters, sticking almost completely to their viewpoints. My magic system is very much based in science, and to be honest I like how it is quite a bit so far, though it needs a few tweaks. The setting is fairly typical fantasy setting, both characters around 17 years old and starting to make their way in the world. Something bad happens and they end up having to fend for themselves. There are a lot of races and cultures, as well as many mysteries in the book. I think it is a good framework on the whole, but it still needs work.
As for drafts, I am thinking that draft two will end up increasing the size of the book, as I realized while writing it that I missed a ton of little things to make the world more rich. Essentially, I didn't have a clear enough understanding of the world, my characters, and the plot, and because of that everything is a bit lacking in details, or the character interactions aren't quite how I want them. Hence, I'm planning to spend a month on world building, character building, etc, and then only after that do the second draft. My expectation is to have draft 1 finished by late Feb/early March, world building done by april, then draft two done by June or July.
I'm also hoping to find a group of individuals that I can work with - serious writers who are also trying to get published. I would like to be able to give and get feedback on writing, as I want to become a better writer, and I feel like I'm living in a vacuum right now. I have had little to no input on what I've written, and I'm worried that what I have done so far isn't good. I think it's decent, that the ideas are there, the writing is mostly solid, and the characters are okay, but I really don't know. I think a writing group would really help me get to the next level so I could publish something great. Or, worst case, it would help me get this book finished and then try for something shorter that a publisher will actually want to publish