Drafting A New YA Thriller! | WRITING UPDATE

Hi i want all the deets on this new book *peep eyes*

What do you think about writers groups? Are you part of one?

You give me hope! I have to celebrate my 250 word sprints cuz that's as good as it'll get for me lol.

So happy for you! Here's hoping writing is an escape to the chaos of 2020.

I'm outlining a YA Fantasy Retelling right now. We will see how it goes, Fantasy isn't actually something I want to write in the long term so I'm not sure if pursuing publishing on it is a great idea. I don't want to get trapped into writing fantasy. It will only be my second completed novel though once finished, so I also don't have high hope's for it even getting that far? I want to write a thriller next but I can feel that I need the practice in writing. A re-telling has it's own challenges of making it different enough and interesting, but it also is easier in that I'm following an already established plot.

I've been working on and off for a year on completing the first draft of my first complete novel. Much of it has been spent learning about the craft. The amount of detail you provide has been so helpful, especially in your videos on fast drafting and filtering.
I always knew where my story begins, but I could never flip the off switch on my perfectionism long enough to get a better sense of direction. Your videos really changed my perspective on what a draft can be. Now, I know my ending, and I can finally start filling in the middle.

Working on draft in two ways. One short story. I so envy you, living in a place in lockdown as opposed to a place making national news for the stupidity of our public officals. Hi, from Cherokee County, Georgia!

A few weeks ago I finished a first draft of a dystopian coming of age type novel (the first in a duology). I hit 104k words and printed the entire thing! Now I’m taking a break from that project before I revise/edit and work on a second draft. In the meantime I’m working on a new project, a YA book about young villains in training in a sci-fi type world. I’m only in the planning/outlining stages but I’m very excited to keep working on it!

Yay!!! So awesome that you're working on a new YA. About a month ago I got some contract work, writing two short puppet shows, which was super quick and super fun. And now? I just started drafting a new book this week! My goal is to complete my first draft in 6 months... because I'm just on the "note-taking" phase right now. If it's anything like the last book I wrote (didn't get picked up, decided to scrap it and start something new). I spent 2 months on notes and then 4 months writing it. Exhilaration. That's my only word for my inner experience of drafting a new book. 😁

I have a handful of readers going over my first finished book. From the limited feedback I've gotten so far I already see some of the future edits. I feel like it will take 1000x to get it professional enough :( But I have to remind myself that it's my learning book.

I'm 15-20k words away from finishing the first draft of my sci-fi romance novel. It's the first novel length work that I've (almost) completed. I started it in June and I'm really happy with my progress. I already have so many ideas for revision and rewriting, including an entirely new opening scene that is 100% better than the old one. At first I was dreading revising a work of this size, but now I'm really excited!

I just got a bunch of critiques for my finished manuscript I've been working on for a loooong time. I'm taking into account said critiques and making my writing better :)

Love your shirt, by the way

Yay for inspiration and energy on a new project! I am working on plotting a thriller and it is a lot for me. I am not a discovery writer and it takes me a lot to solidify a plan to not feel overwhelmed by the sheer size of the project. I've be re-watching a lot of your videos on thrillers and they have been SO helpful. I was a little stuck before. Thank you so much for all that you share. :) Can't wait to read The Ivies!

I'm glad to hear you're back into the writing drive and I hope you continue enjoying your book.

I'm finishing the edits for my MG Dark Fantasy about a child who enlists the help of the Tuatha De Danann to save his father who was kidnapped by goblins. I hope I can get it done by pitchwars since I no longer have an agent.

I've honestly been feeling down since I separated from my agent even though it was amicable... how did you deal with the feeling of failure after you left your first agent?

I'm also writing in a genre that I've not written in years. Any advice? Is dark fantasy even a good genre to write in MG anymore?

13K into a new wip, an adult scifi. It's actually a rewrite, but aside from the protagonist, his bff and the setting, the story is completely overhauled from previous drafts. Hoping to finish this version by Halloween.

I'm 18k words into drafting my first manuscript and my goal is to complete it by the end of 2020. I won't go into details because I'm nowhere close to querying but it's an adult contemporary/literary fiction from the perspective of a chef who works at a Michelin star restaurant made famous by a reality cooking show (think Hell's Kitchen). The novel centers on his journey of rediscovering his self worth and love of cooking outside of the highly competitive and demoralizing fine dining circuit.

Love your videos! I would love if you had litfic authors/aspiring authors on one of your live chats. I know that it's not your thing lol but it has been tough finding reliable information on the literary side of publishing. A lot of the authortubers and subreddits (r/writing, r/pubtips, etc) I follow focus on commercial fiction

Woo hoo for drafting time!

Side note: Sometimes I look at these sprint word counts and wonder. I’m an expert in a non-fiction subject and my typing speed is pretty fast so I timed myself writing comprehensively everything I know about that subject in a given timeframe. That then became my goal word count for fiction. That would mean that I knew exactly what came next at every moment. Yet there are word counts on these sprints that vastly surpass this goal word count and I wonder, how much of the work is productive and not free association. Is that the point of sprints for some people? Is that why the word counts drastically differ?

I'm so grateful you share this behind the scenes information about writing. It's super helpful for when I get back into writing.

I wish I were in drafting mode, but I've only been able to edit, recently, save one short story I wrote a month ago.

I actually really enjoyed your writing/ revision vlogs! I would love to see more should you ever feel like making them!

I totally understand your break through and wanting know your main characters, especially victims. I'm working on another thriller myself and am still in the outlining beat stage, but making characters and knowing about who they are have really helped figuring out the rest of the story. Mine is a small town boarding school mystery.

Love your updates! I am currently 40k words into my first draft of a YA contemporary about an identical twin her finds her voice...plus a cute boy, southern gothic vibes, and a mission to save her step-dad!

I'm really enjoying binge-watching all your videos. They've been an absolute sanity saver in lockdown 😊❤️

I'm plotting a YA mystery/thriller. I've finished another novel but I'm frustrated by revisions so it's resting right now.

Yay! Your new project sounds fantastic. I am starting first round edits on my second MG fantasy while drafting an adult feminist historical fantasy. Also brainstorming some ideas for my MG option proposal, which will be due in Feb or March.

I'm working on two projects and revising another, good luck with your thriller!

if you write pen pal letters to killers in prison, you'll save a lot of mental torture.

I’m at 38k and stuck. Maybe it’ll come to me in a dream.

I'm on my 3rd re-read now, ca. 93k words in and now I'm just working on dialogue and character development

I'm still working on my draft. I'm at 55k words now, so it's coming along nice. It's a YA Fantasy story about people called Peters and Wendy's who are hidden in society, because of their powers. There we follow the story of Sarina who is destined to be the new ruler of Healidan, once they find a Peter... Because these people can only have everlasting life if they get married. She obediently does what she is told, until she gets kidnapped, which changes everything.
Your videos have been very helpful for my writing. Thank you so much!
Also, I'm so curious about your writing, want to buy one of your books soon. Though, the Ivies appeals the most to me, but for that I will have to wait :/

Still outlining my first novella (?). Yikes! So much to figure out, but I always find your videos helpful and entertaining.

I love how upbeat you are! I'ts giving me a bit of motivation to get on with finishing my current project.

I'm on my first draft of a YA fantasy story steeped in magic, battles, mythology and royal shenanigans. I'm very excited about it, but it can be hard when you hit a writing block. So, at around 90% through it's great to have a little motivation injected back into me.


I can't wait to read The Ivies, and this one you're working on sounds great too!

At any time now I'll start drafting a contemporary fantasy set in Puerto Rico. I just need to make sure I have my outlining ducks in a row so I can just focus on writing the story. Work is sort of slowing down so it helps with being less stressed about it. Hopefully, I will have this book ready for Author Mentor Match (fingers crossed).

I'm trying to finish up editing one of my projects but I've had a new idea that I'm really intrigued by and want to get it down. Honestly, I think that is partially because I do not like the editing process so much. I know there are changes to be made but unsure on the right direction to take with some of the changes. I'm trying to do a speed edit so that I can have some time to get to the new idea.

Your morally gray character sounds really interesting; I'm pretty curious to find out what she did that would make someone want to kill her!

Alexa, I am so happy that I found your channel and I’ve been trying to immerse myself in as many of your vlogs as I can in a short period of time. The main thing I am trying to work on right now is a story about my grandmother in the life she had growing up in rural Texas in the very early 1900s in a newly immigrant family. The main piece of her story is how she was forced to become independent. Her father died young, she married young and was left a widow with three small children just as she was going into the Great Depression. I am hoping to turn this into something compelling that someone might want to read. You are truly a great inspiration!

Hi, love you and your channel, just wanted to say. I am looking for where you posted about critiquing TWO pages of our manuscripts. Was I imagining? I don't think so. Could you repeat that post? Thank you!
Shirley

I want to write a novel, but I kinda want to stop. Since I don't know what to do after I finished writing it.
There's a few publishing company in our country, and literally few writer here ( I am talking about those who is not a wattpad writer, you probably get it )
The only chance you have is to be a famous wattpad writer. And I'm a wattpad writer but not famous and never will be. So I don't know.
Self pub, I don't know about that.

I love thrillers 😍😍

Working on the first draft of a new adult high fantasy! Super excited for it, it's a lot of fun but also a tON of work. I also have a literary fiction on the side of this, when I need a reality check from fantasy haha. Good luck with the new book!

I am currently trying to finish all of my started fanfiction as fast as possible. I hate leaving projects started and not completed and finding it hard to work on original writing while I know how many started fanfic stories I have. Making great progress with completing things and not starting anything new.

Working on a bit of a mystery with a scifi element. A journalist wakes up naked on the lawn of a city building in a rural town where she is investigating the misgivings of the local sheriff. She has no memory of how she got there. She last remembered falling asleep in her bed at home. She rushes to the aid of a local antique dealer to help, but upon calling home learns that her husband believes she's there with him now and thinks it's a prank call. The plot thickens from there. Who is her imposter? How can her imposter look and speak so much like her she can fool her husband? Why would anyone want to take over her life? Just how deep does this go?

Your videos are so helpful, whenever I hit a rut your videos always help. I was wondering if you have any videos on character introductions? I mean more along the lines of non POV characters, first interactions with them and the like? Great video once again!

Excited for you, Alexa!

Currently writing the first draft of my teenage dark fantasy novel about two kids who are forced to kill each other in 30 days or be executed

Hi Alexa! can you do an updated version of save the cat beats/ story structure beats. I’m in the process of outlining a book and i’d love to get your advice on how to structure a book. Thanks you’re awesome💙

I missed these kinds of videos! :)

I tried delving into my second novel, but I had to step back because I was getting in over my head. I decided to work on a short story instead. But I think my next novel requires more planning than I usually do, so that will take some adjusting.

I've discovered a lot of local writing associations with short story contests. I'm on my 4th one this month, and it's due September 1st 😬

I just put The Ivies on my Goodreads want-to-read list. I’m excited to get back to drafting, too. I had such a delightful, disturbing thriller idea that I’m not sure I can wait for NaNo. (I have no shortage of revision to do in the meantime, though.)

I'm with you on the word count thing! I'm always a super slow writer, so hearing about other people's word counts is always like O.o I'm glad to hear you're creative again!