Writing Milestone: Twenty Completed Novels

I completed the first draft of my latest novel, tentatively titled Riders on the Storm, a couple days ago. I'm guessing it took a while to process the fact that it was really done, which is strange given how many novels I've already written. I didn't share anything about it on Facebook until last night, and it hadn't even dawned on me until now that perhaps I might share this wonderful milestone here.

Counting collaborations, Riders on the Storm is my twentieth completed novel.

Just for fun, here is a list of them all:

Published
1. Myths of Gods
2. The Private Sector (World-Mart)
3. World-Mart
4. Aftermath (World-Mart)
5. Finding Poe 
6. Cast in Blood (Revelations) -- cowrote with Jaime Johnesee and Christine Sutton
7. Cast in Fire (Revelations) -- cowrote with Jaime Johnesee and Christine Sutton
8. Cast in Shadow (Revelations) -- cowrote with Jaime Johnesee and Christine Sutton

Backlisted
9. Blood and Coffee (The Darkness and the Night)
10. Cosmic O (The Darkness and the Night)
11. Twins of Darkness (The Darkness and the Night)
12. Lust in Space (Pandora's Hope)
13. Pandora's Hope
14. Love in Space (limited printing sold on the Home Shopping Network)
15. The Hidden Valley

Never Published
16. The Nightcrawlers -- co-wrote with Erin Barker (manuscript long lost)
17. Cinderella Eyes
18. Digital Paige (good idea; just couldn't execute it right)
19. Agoraphobia -- currently querying
20. Riders on the Storm

All together, this adds up to roughly one and a quarter million words I've written in novels alone, which I think is pretty damn cool. Writing has always been the one activity that has followed me throughout my life, the one thing that has defined not Lisa the Twin or Lisa the Wife, but Lisa the Individual. No matter what has gone wrong or right in my life, the good or bad choices I've made, through the successes and failures, writing has been where I can turn to ground myself. It's also the best way I can think of to communicate the ideas constantly building in my mind. I'm an introvert, a thinker. I express myself best through the written word. Writing is a big part of who I am.

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Some things I've learned so far:

1. Not every novel you write will be good. (You might even write a couple of stinkers.) If you write a flop, dust yourself off and get started on something new.
2. Write the kind of fiction your gut tells you to write. If your heart's not in it, why even bother?
3. The more critique you can get, the better. No one enjoys getting a list of what isn't right with his or her book, but if you take critique seriously and put forth the necessary effort to address it well, your writing will improve just as much as the story will.
4. Celebrate every milestone. I usually give myself a pat on the back for every 10-25k words I write. I'll often treat myself to ice cream or a nice dinner to celebrate a finished novel.
5. If you're an introvert like me, you might not get out much. If you can go to a writers convention, do it; you'll find that a whole new you comes out when you are among your tribe. Make connections, even if they remain strictly online. Share what you know and learn what you can from those who have more experience than you.

I mentioned in a recent blog post that this most recent novel (which still lacked a title at the time) was notably different than the bulk of my other books. The subgenres I'd chosen to work with had put me way outside my comfort zone, and I wasn't really sure at first if I was even going to be able to complete a draft. By the time the story and characters began coming into their own, however, I could see series potential. I love the world, and as difficult as it has been to write, it's been every bit as enjoyable. We'll see where it goes....

Thank you for letting me share this milestone with you! Hopefully, I'll have more news to share about Agoraphobia and Riders on the Storm very soon.