The writing never stops
Weird thing, writing a novel. Novels, really. The more you’ve written, the further away the end seems. At least, I’m currently at that point in Arpia volume 2 (I’m starting to wonder whether the two volumes shouldn’t be offered to publishers as one, with the option to divide it in two within the book).
Volume 1, currently entitled “Arpia, Flight of Dawn” (FoD, vol. 1), is 90.000 words long (some 190 A4 pages). And while I believe “Arpia, Fight of Eve” (FoE, vol. 2) will be as long, I’m now at 110 pages completed, or 53.000 words.
It’s strange though, because I’m managed to do an awful lot over the past three weeks (thanks to my first holidays devoid of studying and of travelling in years), and yet I feel like I’m going nowhere: the ending is still very far away.
At least, I’m beyond the 50% mark of FoE well before its birthday (I apparently started to truly write vol. 2 on the 31st of August 2007, though of course most of the story had been in writing for well over a year beforehand).
I guess I’ve still got a year ahead, in any event. Tough job, writing, especially when you’ve got other things to do during the year (exams, papers, … – I love university).
Perhaps the literary agents I’ve already contacted will have completely forgotten about Arpia by then, and I’ll be able to re-pitch the idea to them in a new, 180.000-word package, instead of the “90.000 plus 90.000 planned” package I offered over the past months (without success, unfortunately). It might make a difference (it’s bigger than most Harry Potter volumes, to illustrate, though I’ve read that for some reason, fantasy novels are generally allowed to be longer than sci-fi novels).
Or perhaps in general the Arpia idea doesn’t interest literary agents and I’ll end up putting it online 
But I’m still some time away from that, it would seem. In the meantime, I’ve got to finish writing about a certain someone’s reaction to the death of that someone’s friend. And then some writing about The Other Big Enemy of Arpia and about the impending doom of the human race.
24 August 2008 at 02:38
Any idea why they don’t want it?
)
I’d buy it (with my parents’ money, of course
But it’s the thought that counts…
Anyhoos, maybe I’m just biased… OK, scratch that, I am biased, but FoD was one of my favourite sci-fi novels since… I’m tempted to say THHGTTG, but I dunno if that counts… OK, it’s my favourite sci-fi novel ever (barring THHGTTG, of course, if that counts)
And I’m not even into sci-fi
I think…
If it’s got a well-respected guitarist’s name over the front, followed by “Biography”, or “Autobiography”, I’m more likely to buy it, but, back to my original point, I’d buy the arpia books instead…
Unless I could just get them off you on the pretext of checking for mistakes in your English (It happens… One example springs to mind… I can’t remember it exactly, but it went something along the lines of “Auntie Fiona, there’s the eglise across the road from where we live”. Hoever, I only have my Mum’s word on this… Ooh! if you don’t know it, remind me to tell you about Ali and JohannesBurg)
I apologise for the inconvenience (hehe THHGTTG in there) caused by my abnormally long message, but I have less than 42 hours (ANOTHER ONE!) till school starts again on Monday, so I’m going to go to bed and stop typing.
-Your cousin (and probably murder victim one of these days), Richard the geek
P.S. Will I ever stop typing?
P.P.S. Yes
P.P.P.S. When though?
P.P.P.P.S. Soon
P.P.P.P.P.S. How soon?
P.P.P.P.P.P.S. Now.
24 August 2008 at 04:15
Fah, I know second hand how hard it is to get a book published, no matter how good it is. (My sister is into writing fantasy) It’s not what you know, it’s who you know in many circumstances; I’m afraid most agents really don’t have a good eye for a good book. Hell, sometimes you’ll get a rejection email 10 minutes after you’ve sent them the darn thing. A pleasure doing business with you!