To quote Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth, “Good news, everyone!” The first draft of BESIEGED is finished! Writing 118,477 words was a lot of work. But now, I need to shape them into something special, and the real work begins: the editing.
(And yes, I’m referencing Kool and the Gang.)
Though the first draft is like a block of marble, as I’ve previously said, once it’s finished, I’ve always thought of it as a bit of a Frankenstein’s monster in its earliest form (yes, I’ve used that analogy before, too). The story is alive, which is the important thing, but it’s still lurching around with bits hanging off, grunting incoherently, and knocking over the furniture. BESIEGED exists. It moves. It breathes. But it is not yet ready to be introduced to polite company.
The first edit is where I start reinforcing the stitching on the loose parts and getting the story to walk in a straight line. The second edit is where my little monster goes to finishing school. There, it learns a little refinement, a dash of culture, and how not to terrify everyone at the dinner table. By the third edit, the beast is combed, dressed, and looking like a respectable novel.
So that’s where I’ll be for the next several months. Instead of giving word count updates every newsletter, I’ll keep you posted on how the editing is going and how my little creature feature is progressing. But of course, BESIEGED isn’t just a creature feature; it is also a ghost story, a splash of another upcoming series I have planned, and much, much more. Though I love the writing aspect of novelling, rolling up my sleeves to do some serious editing is the other part I thoroughly enjoy. Then, by the time I get to the end of the editing, I’m more than ready to start writing my next book. Thankfully, I won’t be short of ideas when that time comes, because I have at least half a dozen novels planned over the next decade, and more after that. CLAW Retribution will be next on the operating table once I get Lively Deadmarsh’s BESIEGED out the door.
Speaking of creativity, that’s one thing that has always fascinated me, both as a writer and as a naturally curious person. I love learning about how the mind works, where ideas come from, and what makes some people feel, like I do, compelled to create. That sort of thing never stops being interesting to me, probably because I spend so much of my life trying to coax things into existence.
Creativity is the common thread throughout my life. When I’m not writing horror-thrillers, I’m still wrapped up in my creative cocoon playing one of my numerous keyboards, or reading about a variety of topics, some of which might surprise you. I love horror, and I always will, but when I’m deep in my own creative work (which is most of the time), I tend to read other things. Lately that has included books about creativity and the mind, and even some science and string theory. Though I enjoy wandering into strange and engaging territory both mentally and musically, one of my biggest guilty pleasures is cookbooks.
If you were to have a peek at my Kindle library, you might expect to see rows upon rows of horror novels. Instead, amongst the psychology and sociology books, you’ll find cookbook after cookbook after cookbook. All Amazon has to do is wave a $1.99 cookbook under my nose, preferably with lots of colourful pictures, and I’ll promptly hand over my credit card and say, “Yes, please.” I have cookbooks for almost everything you can imagine, and I genuinely enjoy flipping through them and, of course, acquiring more. Along with my writing and musical interests, cooking seems to scratch the creative itch in a similar way. I’m still making something from nothing; only the process is quicker, sometimes contains chocolate, and is usually quite tasty. As you can see from the cartoon, sometimes I toss out the cookbook and take a shortcut.
Though Thanksgiving has already happened in Canada, it’s yet to occur in the USA. So, I’m including a poster I made in honour of one of the funniest movies of all time centred around that holiday. After all these years, it is still such a relatable film. And I must say, Nibbler and Fry have never looked better.
Now, just like always, it’s time for our monthly audiobook draws. The two lucky winners this month are kryssta.riley@XXXXXX.com and flash_cxxi@XXXXXX.com. Thanks for being a Katie Berry Insider subscriber, and I hope you both enjoy your awesome prizes! To see if you might have missed a winning notification, you can check out the previous winners on the list here: https://katieberry.ca/audiobook-winners/. To subscribe for your monthly chance to win a Katie Berry Audiobook of your choice and also get some free short stories, join the newsletter here: https://katieberry.ca/become-a-katie-berry-books-insider-and-win/
Thank you for reading this month’s Insider Newsletter. I hope you enjoyed it, and that you’ll join me over the coming months as BESIEGED makes its shambling, awkward journey from stitched-up story-beast to respectable (and thrilling) novel.
Until next month, good health and great reads to you all.
-Katie B