by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner
For the first time for this massive project I’ve been working on for about four years now, I’m finally — finally — working on a solid second draft. I think a number of things have contributed to this being possible.
The first is I’ve made this second draft as tight as possible chronologically. Second, this story is far more Mare of Easttown than it is The Girl Who Played With Fire, so I’m dealing with something I’m pretty good at — detailing the human condition — rather than having to live up to the potboiler expectations of Stieg Larsson.
But things are moving fast. I have a pretty stable first chapter now and am going to work on the second chapter today. My first draft was stable enough and good enough (in my opinion) that revisions are going pretty smooth. Unlike previous versions of this process, things haven’t fallen apart the moment I review what I’ve written.
So, I think I’m well on my way to start querying as part of the fall querying season of 2022. And, as I’ve said, if it gets pushed into the spring season, then I will have several other books in this series finished and I can try to sell them as a series.
Hopefully, however, I won’t drop dead of a widowmaker heart attack like Stieg Larsson. Go, me!
