It's Not the Length

A few weeks ago I posted about the length of my WiP. When I wrote that post, I had just upped my word count goal again, and I was worrying that this book will wind up being too long to sell. I typed out my woes and put the worry to bed for a little while, but in the time since Husband Guy and I returned from vacation, that woe has re-awoken. The other day I upped the word count goal to a whopping 180,000 words. Typical guidelines for my genre say that 115,000 is pushing it, and so yesterday's productivity was halted while I brooded.

Thank the stars I have the support network I do, because if I didn't have them, my own worries might cripple me.

Husband Guy, bless 'im, told me I should stop worrying because the story sounds great, and that's what's important. The ladies in my writing group told me much the same, and one of them asserted that she would much rather read a great story with a lot of meat than the same story watered down for the sake of length. And they're all right: length is a concern, but not nearly as big a concern as I've been trying to make it.

My running theory is that since I'm happy with the writing, my brain has decided to pick something else to feel insecure about. My brain is kind of annoying like that.

To combat this mess of insecurity, I've done a little something. I looked up the word counts of each book in The Lord of the Rings and A Song of Ice and Fire--two series by two authors who have helped define and mold my genre. The shortest on the list is The Return of the King, at 131,000 words. The longest is A Storm of Swords, at 424,000 words.

Really, my current goal of 180,000 doesn't look so extreme compared to that. I've copied the numbers down and I have them pinned on the cork board beside my desk, as a reminder of what my writer family has told me: it's not the length, it's how you use it.

'Til next time,
J.

Review: QUEEN OF SOMEDAY, by Sherry Ficklin

Well, I'm back. We made it home last night, and I spent all day today sleeping and recovering from the drive. During the downtime in our short vacation, I managed to read QUEEN OF SOMEDAY, by Sherry Ficklin. Since it's still technically Wednesday, and therefore a blog post day, I'd like to offer up a review.

First, in the spirit of full disclosure, I received a free digital ARC from the author, for the purposes of honest review. 

Now, for the honest review:

Catherine the Great is not somebody I know very much about, so I can't evaluate the novel from a historical perspective, but the story was right up my alley. I devoured the book in just a few short hours, and I would happily both recommend it to friends and read it again myself. It had nearly everything I love: political intrigue and court struggles, false friendships, dangerous affairs, vicious power plays, and so much more. I found each character equally compelling from the beginning, and I found Sophie, the main character, very relatable. Her desires and struggles realistic and complex. In my opinion, she was the perfect balance of strong, independent person and young girl who still gets in over her head and needs help. She was strong without being unrealistically flawless, and I would gladly read about her exploits for days.

I feel I also must commend Sherry Ficklin on her novel's positive portrayal of sex as something that can be enjoyable for women, not just men. The sex is by no means the focus in QUEEN OF SOMEDAY, but when it is discussed, it is discussed tactfully and in a positive manner. That is definitely something I would love to see in more YA. Not only are there extremely positive portrayals of strong women, these women are portrayed as having real desires--sexual or otherwise--and are never reduced to hurtful tropes or stereotypes.

Overall, I found QUEEN OF SOMEDAY a great read. I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys stories with political intrigue, historical glamour, and court life. I would also suggest QUEEN OF SOMEDAY to anyone who enjoys Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire, but who would like something smaller in scope that is less violent and sexually explicit. Sophie may not have been vying for the Iron Throne, but her struggle is no less thrilling.

'Til next time,
J.

Vacation's All I Ever Wanted

Last night I wrote an entire chapter, and I'm proud of myself. I've gotten a lot more done this week than I thought I could, and that's a good thing--because tomorrow my husband and I are going on vacation! I haven't seen my family in ages, and so we're going to go visit them over the 4th of July. I'm looking forward to it immensely, and it makes me even happier that I can indulge myself with a week of no productivity without feeling like I'm slacking on my word count.

I've also snagged an ARC of Sherry Ficklin's QUEEN OF SOMEDAY, which I will be reading and reviewing here. Hopefully it will make the 12+ hour drive go a little faster. I've been looking forward to reading this book for ages, and I can't wait to share my thoughts.

Other than that, I don't have much to say today, other than I'll be back in a week. Have a good 4th, everyone!

'Til next time,
J.