It's hard to answer a question like this without knowing more of the specifics. Is there an antagonist or is there not?
No longer freaking out. Thanks guys!
So I had my first book all outlined and plotted. I'd set my targets and gone for the gold.
I woke up this morning determined to write 5k words and I got about 4k through them when suddenly, I found the end of my first book.
I am in panic mode.
I just realized that the scene I just wrote would make an excellent ending to the first book, followed by an excellent epilogue.
And that I'm 77k words in, barely halfway through my outline, and that the story, if I complete it as originally planned, would be probably twice that long. (150k likely)
I realized that the part I've written so far has a full character arc with huge development and plenty of plot, but I'm not sure if it has a solid antagonist*.
And that's the only point that holds me back from feeling this might be the end of book 1 of the Dakota Shepherd novels.
*The Antagonist of my first book if left here is less a particular outside entity and more to do with the character's internal conflicts.
Is that allowable?? Is it okay??
Because the rest of the book included my original antagonist that has been seeded into the first half of the book very subtly, but hasn't really reared their head yet.
And now I don't know if I should continue with the original plan of the book or cut the book in half and call it book 1 and 2.
I have a few more scenes I need to go back and write in that would probably drive this to 80k-85k, maybe maybe 90k.
But now I'm so freaking out. I'm afraid if I cut it now, it might be too short, and might not have a proper antagonist?
I'm afraid if I don't, it's going to be too long and really have two plots going on.
Do I cut my original book into two books? Do I not? How do I tell if I should or not?
I don't even know what to do.
I woke up this morning determined to write 5k words and I got about 4k through them when suddenly, I found the end of my first book.
I am in panic mode.
I just realized that the scene I just wrote would make an excellent ending to the first book, followed by an excellent epilogue.
And that I'm 77k words in, barely halfway through my outline, and that the story, if I complete it as originally planned, would be probably twice that long. (150k likely)
I realized that the part I've written so far has a full character arc with huge development and plenty of plot, but I'm not sure if it has a solid antagonist*.
And that's the only point that holds me back from feeling this might be the end of book 1 of the Dakota Shepherd novels.
*The Antagonist of my first book if left here is less a particular outside entity and more to do with the character's internal conflicts.
Is that allowable?? Is it okay??
Because the rest of the book included my original antagonist that has been seeded into the first half of the book very subtly, but hasn't really reared their head yet.
And now I don't know if I should continue with the original plan of the book or cut the book in half and call it book 1 and 2.
I have a few more scenes I need to go back and write in that would probably drive this to 80k-85k, maybe maybe 90k.
But now I'm so freaking out. I'm afraid if I cut it now, it might be too short, and might not have a proper antagonist?
I'm afraid if I don't, it's going to be too long and really have two plots going on.
Do I cut my original book into two books? Do I not? How do I tell if I should or not?
I don't even know what to do.
1 - 20 of 25 Posts
My advice is to have someone read the new shorter version and get their perspective. Do they feel it's finished? Were they satisfied with the conclusion?
What's the genre? 150K is a high word count in many genres.
What's the genre? 150K is a high word count in many genres.
There is an antagonist, but I would say that the external antagonist is secondary to the internal conflicts.ShayneRutherford said:It's hard to answer a question like this without knowing more of the specifics. Is there an antagonist or is there not?
Thank you. That's probably the best advice. Tea sounds good right now.carinasanfey said:Arshness, you are the only person who can answer these questions, no-one else can tell you with certainty what is the best thing to do. You're panicking, and you're only going to work yourself into a tizzy. Leave it for today, sleep on it, and take a fresh look at the whole thing in the morning.
I would suggest finishing the entire book, as you had planned it, and THEN leaving it for a week or two, reading it and looking at these issues in a fresh light. It will be much easier to figure these things out when the first draft is completely finished. You'll have a much clearer idea of EVERYTHING when you have the whole thing down on paper, and you'll be able to leave it for a while and then go back and look at it somewhat objectively, bearing in mind the possibilities you raise in your post.
Meanwhile, calm down and have a nice cup of tea.
Yes, I might have to do that.KGGiarratano said:My advice is to have someone read the new shorter version and get their perspective. Do they feel it's finished? Were they satisfied with the conclusion?
What's the genre? 150K is a high word count in many genres.
Urban Fantasy. So 150k is high-ish but not too high.
Dresden Files started on a 70k novel. He's up to over 150k now, maybe close to 200k at this point.
Books are as long as they need to be. There is nothing wrong with that change in length if it tells a good story.
Person vs. self is one of the four classic conflict types (the others are person vs. person, person vs. nature, and person vs. society), so if you have a full story arc, you're probably fine, but like others have said, get a couple people to read it and tell you if it feels like a complete book.Arshness said:*The Antagonist of my first book if left here is less a particular outside entity and more to do with the character's internal conflicts.
Is that allowable?? Is it okay??
It's ALL allowable and it's ALL okay. Write the story it wants you to write!
Two questions:
What is the primary conflict of the story as you've been writing it so far? (In other words, what is the main story question, the big thing the protagonist needs/wants?)
Is that conflict resolved? (Has the protagonist done/achieved what they needed/wanted?)
If the answer to the second question is yes, then what you've written so far is a complete story. Don't worry about length; 77k is a good length; so is 150k, or whatever it takes to tell a complete story, long or short. The part that comes next can be the next book.
If the answer to the second question is no, or if you aren't sure, then write this scene and continue with the rest of the story as planned. Then, when it's done, you can step back and look at the overall shape of it, the overall story arc, and decide if it's one book or two.
(I kinda have the opposite problem; a lot of times, I get to the ending I planned only to realize that isn't the right ending. On the other hand, with book 5 of my current series - which was supposed to be the last book - I realized it needed to be two books because the original ending wasn't right for the ending of the series, and to get to the right ending for the series right I needed to write another story that was separate from the story in book 5. If that makes any sense.)
What is the primary conflict of the story as you've been writing it so far? (In other words, what is the main story question, the big thing the protagonist needs/wants?)
Is that conflict resolved? (Has the protagonist done/achieved what they needed/wanted?)
If the answer to the second question is yes, then what you've written so far is a complete story. Don't worry about length; 77k is a good length; so is 150k, or whatever it takes to tell a complete story, long or short. The part that comes next can be the next book.
If the answer to the second question is no, or if you aren't sure, then write this scene and continue with the rest of the story as planned. Then, when it's done, you can step back and look at the overall shape of it, the overall story arc, and decide if it's one book or two.
(I kinda have the opposite problem; a lot of times, I get to the ending I planned only to realize that isn't the right ending. On the other hand, with book 5 of my current series - which was supposed to be the last book - I realized it needed to be two books because the original ending wasn't right for the ending of the series, and to get to the right ending for the series right I needed to write another story that was separate from the story in book 5. If that makes any sense.)
I'm so saving this somewhere.Kyra Halland said:Two questions:
What is the primary conflict of the story as you've been writing it so far? (In other words, what is the main story question, the big thing the protagonist needs/wants?)
Is that conflict resolved? (Has the protagonist done/achieved what they needed/wanted?)
I was going to say exactly this. I have an expectation for each book I write, but I don't think I've ever actually hit that expectation. As long as there's a complete story there, it doesn't matter.JRHolmes said:Books are as long as they need to be. There is nothing wrong with that change in length if it tells a good story.
And for the antagonist issue, like others have said, that can be anything. For example, I have a few set "rules" for every project I start. They're rules that I have to follow to keep the story consistent. One of the rules I have for Lay of Runes is that none of the stories are allowed to have a "good guy" or a "bad guy." There will be differing points of view, and conflicts arising from that, but there's no evil overlord, or any black and white morality. The Norse gods were all jerks, so that's where my conflict comes from. I think of it in terms of PvP and PvE. Rather than two characters battling against one another, the main character has to figure out for themselves who around them is right and who is wrong, and what they're supposed to do about it. And sometimes, they don't always get it right the first time.
Sometimes it takes a book or two to really suss out the antagonist. I know, I have an antagonist like that as well.Arshness said:So I had my first book all outlined and plotted. I'd set my targets and gone for the gold.
I woke up this morning determined to write 5k words and I got about 4k through them when suddenly, I found the end of my first book.
I am in panic mode.
I just realized that the scene I just wrote would make an excellent ending to the first book, followed by an excellent epilogue.
And that I'm 77k words in, barely halfway through my outline, and that the story, if I complete it as originally planned, would be probably twice that long. (150k likely)
I realized that the part I've written so far has a full character arc with huge development and plenty of plot, but I'm not sure if it has a solid antagonist*.
And that's the only point that holds me back from feeling this might be the end of book 1 of the Dakota Shepherd novels.
*The Antagonist of my first book if left here is less a particular outside entity and more to do with the character's internal conflicts.
Is that allowable?? Is it okay??
Because the rest of the book included my original antagonist that has been seeded into the first half of the book very subtly, but hasn't really reared their head yet.
And now I don't know if I should continue with the original plan of the book or cut the book in half and call it book 1 and 2.
I have a few more scenes I need to go back and write in that would probably drive this to 80k-85k, maybe maybe 90k.
But now I'm so freaking out. I'm afraid if I cut it now, it might be too short, and might not have a proper antagonist?
I'm afraid if I don't, it's going to be too long and really have two plots going on.
Do I cut my original book into two books? Do I not? How do I tell if I should or not?
I don't even know what to do.
I agree also with anyone who suggested getting a beta reader involved at this point.
I wonder if it would make sense to continue on writing what you have outlined, and then when you're finished read back and decide if you'd like to keep it as one book or split it into two books? I don't think you need to decide now. You could make the decision once the entire outline has been drafted.
You could always finish it as one long book and then decide if you want to split it, then you could release both books at once.
My first novel has one large plot, then three subplots. It's switches POV for each of the subplots, and in the end, they all three weave together to resolve the main plot.
The second novel has two plots, and again toward the end, they collide to resolve at the same time.
This is hard to do, with lots of twisty turns, but the readers love it if you can pull it off.
Genre is Romantic Suspense.
The second novel has two plots, and again toward the end, they collide to resolve at the same time.
This is hard to do, with lots of twisty turns, but the readers love it if you can pull it off.
Genre is Romantic Suspense.
I'm with this guy ^^JRHolmes said:Books are as long as they need to be. There is nothing wrong with that change in length if it tells a good story.
My first book (not published) is like 115k words right now and the one I just published is 77k both are fantasy books and they are those sizes because that is what it took to "tell the story" so to speak. Writing just to meet a word count, imho, isn't really telling a story the way it should be told.
Just my opinion but I think it's good you asked.
Best of luck and keep us posted!
SM
First of all, don't freak out. Take a deep breath, take a walk, watch your favorite TV show.
I wonder--you are almost at the end. Is it possible you are afraid of finishing? That could be why you are jumping to this shiny new idea.
Take a step back and think about the bigger picture of your story. You're the only person who can decide if you should change it or not.
The thing about writing decisions is--there isn't usually a right or wrong answer. There are pros and cons to everything.
I wonder--you are almost at the end. Is it possible you are afraid of finishing? That could be why you are jumping to this shiny new idea.
Take a step back and think about the bigger picture of your story. You're the only person who can decide if you should change it or not.
The thing about writing decisions is--there isn't usually a right or wrong answer. There are pros and cons to everything.
I would disagree with this, actually. My first drafts are horrible, and little more than dialogue and who said it. Sometimes, people do things. My second drafts tend to grow several times the size of the first. It's the third sweep where I cut out the unnecessary bits.Steven Hardesty said:Met a pro who said every first draft can be cut by one-third.
G
You should write the complete book, and after it's done figure out whether to split it or not.
Sometimes the story writes itself.
You have something in mind and you start writing and then the story takes over and you have to listen.
After you have the book done, you'll have something - perhaps a really long book. However, it'll be complete and done. And then you can step away and analyze and think. If you think too much about length etc. right now you're interfereing with the story.
Also, readers generally like long books.
THIS: Books are as long as they need to be. There is nothing wrong with that change in length if it tells a good story.
Sometimes the story writes itself.
You have something in mind and you start writing and then the story takes over and you have to listen.
After you have the book done, you'll have something - perhaps a really long book. However, it'll be complete and done. And then you can step away and analyze and think. If you think too much about length etc. right now you're interfereing with the story.
Also, readers generally like long books.
THIS: Books are as long as they need to be. There is nothing wrong with that change in length if it tells a good story.
1 - 20 of 25 Posts
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