Draft 2

Like taking a deep breath and sticking your head under water, the 2nd draft has now begun.

And to think I hesitated.

I’m at my best when I’m writing. When I take a pause I feel aimless, wandering from one project to the next, not really focused on anything: work, family, or buying Christmas presents… The Secret War apart, my enthusiasm for other things tends to evaporate quickly. For me, writing is a drug – it gives my imagination that adrenalin rush, and inspires. I feel more alive after writing one thousand well crafted words than at any other time.

So I’ve started the 2nd draft after feeling the loss too keenly, and due to requests from my publisher. Already I’ve completed chapter 1.b, and this week I begin chapter 2.b. Chapter 1 is largely unchanged, but Chapter 2 will be a complete re-write.
After looking at the first version of the book, I’m looking to redraft around half of it – that’s not a conservative estimate either. Several chapters will be scrapped, pruned, extended and altered in such a way that pace will return to what is essentially a bloated story. That’s the beauty of drafting – the ability to take a step back and look at something objectively and make the necessary changes. Some writers get too close and cannot do it - being protective of their work - and had I fallen into that trap it is doubtful The Secret War would have ever been published. The final draft of The Secret War is very, very different to the first draft I began all the way back in 2001. And again that draft is very different to the version I started way back in 1992 under the title “Metallica Demonica”.

Sometimes you have to make a cut here, and an incision there. I’ll be just as ruthless with the new book.
I can’t afford not to be…

…You see, there are no guarantees that Macmillan New Writing will take my second book, regardless of whether it is a sequel to The Secret War or not. As I’ve discovered recently, not all the MNW published authors have had their second book accepted, and most of us are feeling the pressure to produce a second book worthy of the first.
I guess for me, it’s not an uncomfortable pressure. MNW will like the follow-up or they won’t. The book is what it is, and I’m not going to waste time trying to second-guess what my publisher wants to see. Afterall, The Burning Sands of Time is a direct follow-up to The Secret War, so I’m not deviating from the style or theme. I guess I’m not taking a risk with my second book at all, but then the plan was neither to take a risk nor not to. It was just to write three books in all, and this is the middle one.
(That’s not to say I’m feeling complacent either. I’m writing this book with a view to it being at least as good as the first).

Amongst the changes for the 2nd draft, is the title. I’m not so sure about “The Burning Sands of Time”. It doesn’t quite work for me. So there are various other titles I have scribbled down that include:
The Lords of Fire (a.k.a. Lords of the Fire var.);
Mhorrer’s Horde (a direct reference to the object of the story); or,
The Reign of the Rassis (reference to the diabolical cult who serve as guardians to Mhorrer’s Horde).

(Before anyone comments on any of these, please remember these are titles for books that are “historical fantasy”. They’re not meant to be literary, but like The Secret War, should describe exactly what the book does!)*

I can see the 2nd draft being a hard draft – one of choices, and one of firm decisions that make or break the story. If I haven’t nailed the plot in the 2nd draft then I’ll know the story isn’t good enough.
For the record, I think it is. I think it’s a better story than The Secret War and I guess like most artists, I’ll be content if the new book surpasses the first.


*And if you really want to see whether a title of a book translates into a bestseller, just follow the link here! By the way, Lords of the Fire scored 55.4% on this!