I have arrived at an interesting point.
During the course of my editing I came across a part of the story that I wrote quite some time ago. When I opened the file I discovered that it was far too large for a single chapter and proceeded to edit it into two chapters (as I have been doing of late). It was during the second of these ‘divided’ chapters (entitled “Drawing in the Horns”) that I first felt the change. As I went through the last few pages it suddenly occurred to me, “what if this is the end?”
I have a lot of material following the chapter in question but it suddenly seemed ‘right’ that the story should end there… at least for the first book. The material that exists after that point would then form the bulk of a second book. Of course, I would need to add new material to it in order to expand upon the themes detailed in the first book. I stopped editing and spent the weekend thinking about the possibilities. The ideas I have for material to be included in a second book are sound and would fit nicely with what I have in mind for the story. It also ties in with the synopsis I have for the final instalment which would be book three. Suddenly, I have a trilogy in the making.
If this was the case, then I will have actually finished the first part of the story… the first novel. I will already be half way on the road to completing a second with a third already down on paper in a rough outline. It is amazing how the order of events have changed so rapidly and unexpectedly. In truth, I find myself a little suspicious of it all. What am I missing?
Since I am still hesitant to suddenly suggest that my novel (the first anyway) has been completed, I am going to spend a couple of weeks going over a few things in the earlier chapters that I know need to be altered slightly. Nothing drastic, just a few minor corrections here and there that bother me (I am a perfectionist when it comes to dealing with niggling errors). Then I shall put all of the chapters together and build the final document into an e-book. This e-book I will then send out to a select few friends so that they can preview the work and give me some feedback on what they think of my plan. I will publish the feedback on this blog at such a time as I receive it. Depending upon the outcome, I shall then decide whether it is the right time to start looking for a literary agent or publisher.
Fingers crossed… these are exciting times indeed!
