I'd like to finish this last (huge) revision of my epic fantasy novel.

It's been quite the journey writing this baby. It feels like I've written not one but five books. I learned so much since starting it. I guess I could have abandoned this WIP for other projects, but that initial idea turned out to be sticky.

By a huge rewrite, I mean HUGE. I don't know if six weeks will be enough. But I've been sitting on this project for so long that I can't take it anymore. Some pressure will hopefully help me get it done.

I'm itching to start working on something new.

Milestones:

Finish revision of Part 1 by July 4th

Finish revision of Part 2 by July 18th

Finish revision of Part 3 by July 30th

Reevaluated Milestones after 1st week:

Ok, I realized that filling in extra worldbuilding and back story takes a lot more time than just fixing plot problems. This is the first time I am revising a WIP in this way, so my time estimation was off. It takes longer. Plus, for various practical reasons, my priorities have changed. I would like to have finished the first round of revision of a novella by the end of the Write-a-thon because I will have the opportunity to send it to some beta-readers in August. So, new milestones:

Finish revision of Part 1 of novel

Finish novella revision

Reevaluated Milestones after 2nd week:

Right! I learned some about time management and setting realistic goals. So new focus:

Focus on the revision of my novella.

Finish up a couple of short pieces and make them submission-ready.

June 17th: I just finished an elaborate revision plan. Now, I need to get on with the revision itself.

June 27th: I started the scary revision of my novel this week. That's an achievement in itself because I had trouble even starting, so overwhelmed I felt. Now, the monster doesn't seem as hairy. I'll be happy if, in the next two weeks, I manage to revise the 1st part of my novel. That would be about the first half.

July 5th:  Of course it's taking longer than I thought. But this Write-a-thon has been an excellent exercise in time management skills. This last week I decided to turn my attention to the novella so I can let it rest and reread it before sending it off to beta-readers. When the novella is resting, I'll turn my attention to my novel and see how far I get done before the end of July. I hope to be finished revising my novella next week.

July 13th: I am now done revising about a quarter of my novella. I have also been working on the synopsis of my novel (so helpful when rethinking the plot) and worked on a few short pieces. I will now try and keep distractions from other projects to a minimum and focus on my novella.

July 20th: Doing good. I'm now over the halfway mark in revising my novella. I also revised an essay and polished (obsessively) a short story. Onward!

July 27th: Last week was a thinking week. I head to learn about gas lasers, bimetal coils, and other nifty things to solve a problem with my world-building. I solved the problem! Hoooray! But didn't do much writing. Still, had to be done. Now let's see where this week brings me.

August 2nd: Done! I finished revising my novella. It had quite the brush-up. Needles to say, I'm super happy!

I'm a Bulgarian writer of speculative fiction. I have a Ph.D. in molecular biology and have worked as a science editor. I live in the beautiful Black Forest region of southern Germany with my husband and our three children. I'm an associate member of SFWA.

I write fantasy and science fiction, both short stories and long-form.

The mountain said
A poem, Offshoots 15, Geneva Writers’ Group, 2020

Bread and Iron
A short story, Short Édition, 2019

Tonight, on the bus
A short story, UnSung Literary Magazine, 2018

Clara
A short story, Electric Spec, 2018