So am I back on track now? Time will tell.
Saturday, I sat down and wrote 2120 words. That’s the most I’d written on Keeper of His Soul in a really long time. This book has been the bane of my existence lately. Not because I don’t love the story; I really do. But for some reason, I’ve been afraid of it. I’ve been experiencing really bad “page fright”.
Here’s what I think is going on. I wanted this book to be a novel since it’s a sequel to Soul of a Vampire, which IS a novel. So then when the story moves a little too fast, I panic because it won’t be long enough. But what I need to do is let each story be what it will be. Some are meant to be novels, some are meant to be shorter. When I first talked to Susan Bischoff about this story, she even said she thought it would make a better novella than a novel. But I wanted it to be longer. When I try to force a story to be longer, though, I end up with words I don’t really need. I tend to write lean. I write short and to the point. I like things to move fast. That’s the way I like to read, too. So that’s why I do better with novellas most of the time.
Right now, this book is at about 35,000 words. It’s getting close to the last scene of the story. So it’s going to be a long novella or a very short novel. (There’s a lot of controversy about what’s considered a novel. I say 50,000 words. I’ve been to conferences where they say 40,000.) At this point, I’m going to stop worrying about it. I just need it to be long enough to warrant making a paperback. At about 35,000 is where I kind of draw that line. I know some people will do shorter paperbacks. I’ll just see how it goes. At least I worked on it a lot Saturday and again at lunch today. I’m kind of back on the horse.
I hope all of you are doing well and are enjoying this holiday season. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s is like one big fun time for me. Maybe it’s all the Christmas movies. And the food. Yeah, the food. 🙂
lauralynnelliott.com 
You try to make your stories longer but can’t, and I strive to make mine shorter but can’t. LOL How ironic. 🙂
I’m excited to read Keeper of His Soul! I bet it’ll be a relief to have it done.
I don’t mind calling 40K words a novel. I heard people say 50K is still a novella, but I see anything from 15-39K a novella. I guess it all depends on our preferences. I prefer to read novellas because my time is so limited.
Hi Ruth! I got your email. Your reply did show up as you, it just had to wait for moderation since this is the first time you posted with this email address.
I think we need to stop worrying about the length of our stories and let them be what they will be. Yours are still shorter than a lot of books, so they certainly aren’t too long. Yours are always the perfect length for the story.
It will be a BIG relief to have this done. Then I can work on the next book under my other pen name. That one is SUPPOSED to be a novella.
I like to read novellas, too, for the same reason you do. However, I prefer longer books when I’m listening to audiobooks in the car. I usually listen to other things besides romance on audio, and they are usually longer. My son and I are both on a David Baldacci kick right now.
Hi Lauralynn! Glad to hear you’re back writing again. In my ‘proofreader’s bible’ I have a note that gives the word count for novels, novellas, novelettes, and short stories. According to that 40,000 and up = a novel. Have a Merry Christmas and all the best for 2017. Here’s hoping it’ll be a better year for all of us.
Thanks, Renee! And I’m glad you told me about the 40,000 and up. I did hear that at a conference, but then someone online recently said even 50,000 was still a novella.
Wonderful to hear that you’re writing and making such good progress, Lauralynn. I agree with you that a story will tell itself and it’s hard to force it to a certain length. I’m glad you’re “back on the horse” and moving ahead. Part of writing is a psychological game we play with page fright (like an actor has stage fright) and it sounds like you have put that hurdle behind you. Congrats!
Thank you, Mae! You are always so supportive.
🙂 Back at you, Lauralynn!
I say, write the story that needs to be written. Figure out exactly what you’ve got when you’ve finished.
I embarked on a novella series that turned out to be shorter-for-me novels, at about 65K apiece…ranging, with five drafted and a sixth in progress, from about 58K -72K. At first that bothered me, but then I realized each story needs to be its own, at its own natural length.
May you finish soon, and it’s good to see you back! =D
Thanks, Shan! I’m going to start letting things flow more naturally.
Hooray (beleatedly!)