Clarion West Write-a-thon 2021

Adriana Kantcheva

June 7, 2021 12:00am - July 31, 2021 11:59pm

Welcome to my Write-a-thon page!

My Writing Goals

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.

Writing Progress

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!

About me

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.

What I Write

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

Publications List

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

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  • Anonymous June 2021 $5.00
  • Lynette Van Steinburg Go Adriana!!! June 2021 $10.00
  • Lynette Van Steinburg Go Adriana!!! June 2021 $10.00
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