A Cauldron of Cats - Day 8

How to wrap up a novella?

Short answer: For me, it’s a bit of a struggle. I want the ending to be just right.

So, no standard 45 minute writing sessions for me today. I just kept coming back to Cauldron to have a go at the ending one more time. I finished the dang story yesterday, after all. Just wasn’t happy with the final touch. I wanted the release, the denouement, to be an “ahhh, that’s nice” moment. And what I’d written wasn’t quite working for me.

Therefore, I did my final read through to get to the emotionally right feeling of those last few sentences.

I’ve mentioned previously that I edit my own manuscripts and I don’t believe in over-editing. I write the best I am able the first time, pushing the story forward, fixing things as I go (Pass #1). Then I cycle read and edit. That is, I go back to what I’ve written, reread and push forward, making corrections or slight edits as needed. (Pass #2)

Then I read the story one final time, start to finish (Pass #3) and call it good. During this final read through I fix some typos, change a duplicate word or two here and there (I try to use my thesaurus, lol), but I don’t substantially change the story or edit content. I figure if the story doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. I’ll publish it and move on and let readers decide if they like it.

So how many words did I add today?

One hundred.

For the win!

That puts the novella at 21,200 words. In eight days. Let’s make that nine, since I’d already written the prologue and part of chapter 1 last year (about 1,800 words). That’s about 2,300 words a day. Very doable. Well, of course. I just did it. (grin)

Oh, plus I added an afterword of 600 words that explains the connection between my two magical cat series. I’ll share that in the next chapter.

So, it’s a wrap.

Spent the rest of the day formatting the ebook, adding hotlinks to the chapters, and sending my final version out to my beta reading team. If they find any glaring mistakes or have huge questions, I’ll fix those. Otherwise, I’m done and happy with the end product.

I hope you are too, if you get the chance to read A Cauldron of Cats. I think it works as a stand-alone, but if you really want to get into the series, start with Cat Potion No. 9. These two novellas really do form a two-novella story arc.

In a month or so, I’ll be starting Book 3, Cats in a Cradle. This episode will continue to follow the antics of our feline crew, of course, but will be a true stand alone. I think. We’ll see! Maybe I’ll blog about my daily routine for that novella as well and turn it into another short e-book. Tempting!

Until then, thanks for reading, for your interest, and for your support.

Today's Writing Tip...

Work on getting your opening lines and your story’s ending just right.

Progress...

Writing: A Cauldron of Cats by Lyn Perry
* Introduction - Becoming a Full-Time Writer

* Day 1 - 2,400 words, story is at 4,200 words

* Day 2 - 3,400 words, story is at 7,600 words

* Day 3 - 3,800 words, story is at 11, 400 words

* Day 4 - 3,600 words, story is at 15,000 words

* Day 5 - 1,000 words, story is at 16,000 words

* Day 6 - 3,100 words, story is at 19,100 words

* Day 7 - 2,000 words, story is at 21,100 words

* Day 8 - 100 words, story is done: 21,200 words

~*~

Follow along each day as I post my progress in writing A Cauldron of Cats, Book 2 in my Mister the Magical Cat Series (available for pre-order now; affiliate links used throughout). You can also "Tip a Buck & Get a Book" and I'll send you Book 1 now, Cat Potion No. 9. 

Lyndon Perry is a speculative fiction writer living in Puerto Rico. He's a former pastor and current husband, father, coffee drinker, and cat-wrangler to Charlie, a 19 year old orange and white tabby who serves as the inspiration to Mister the Magical Cat. You can find him a variety of places online. Check out his various Linktree Locations and say hello!