Sweat Equity

When we extended the Science Novel into a trilogy, we wrote books two and three all in one big push. These are not small books, and by the time we wrapped up the last one we were completely drained. Recalling those last couple of weeks is unpleasant, because we felt so burned out.

It’s possible that we’re slow learners, because we are now doing the edits on those same books all in one big push. (Maybe. We might break it up.)

Considering that we know we were not at our best when this writing was done, we had some worries about what we’d find when we returned to it. Jack Torrance staring out at us? But, it’s really good. There are no telltales in the prose to indicate that the author was on mile 26 of a marathon.

There is, of course, editing to be done. We aren’t suggesting that total burnout is the secret to flawless prose composition. But there were no obvious placeholders or even scenes that felt sketched-in. It’s all fully fleshed out, the events are in the correct order, the pacing is good, the tension rises to the finale, and there are plenty of sparkly sentences. We’re really quite pleased.

And in a year like 2020, it’s really nice to have something work out better than expected. A writing partner is someone who will celebrate the little victories with you.