How to write a First Draft in 56 Days

By MJ Compton

Guest poster

MJ Compton grew up near Cardiff, New York, a place best known for its giant, which inspired her to create her own fiction.

Although her 30-year career in local television included such highlights as being bitten by a lion, preempting a US President for a college basketball game, giving a three-time world champion boxer a few black eyes, a mention in the Drudge Report, and meeting her husband, MJ never lost her dream of writing her own stories.

MJ still lives in upstate New York with her husband. She’s a member of Romance Writers of America and Central New York Romance Writers. Music and cooking are two of her passions, and she enjoys baseball and college basketball, but she’s primarily focused on wine . . . and writing.

How to Write a First Draft In 56 Days (While Working a Full Time Day Job)

Omega Moon Rising is the third book published in my Toke Lobo & the Pack werewolf series. The hero, Luke Omega, is the drummer for the country band featured in the series, so he makes appearances in the two previous books. But Luke’s story wasn’t meant to be third. Oh, I had notes on his heroine, a couple of index cards with plot ideas, and the title back in 2004. But Omega Moon Rising was supposed to be book four, not three.

Except the third book (Restin’s story) wouldn’t come together. I would put the manuscript away for months at a time. Then I would plug away it for a few more months. And the plot simply wouldn’t work. Plus I kept getting the feeling that Restin’s story should actually be the final book in the series.

One day in either late May or early June, I decided to write Luke’s story. He and Abby had been knocking around in my head for over a decade. It was their turn. I hunkered down. Fifty-six days later, I had a first draft. Now, maybe that doesn’t seem like a quick draft to some, but I also work a full-time day job. I wrote every moment I could spare. One day, I pounded out twelve pages in the waiting room while my husband had oral surgery. (Thank goodness for AlphaSmart!) I spent the rest of the summer revising. I sent the book to my publisher Labor Day weekend (first weekend in September).

HOOK:

 One desperate woman intent on escape.

One brash werewolf determined to deny his DNA.

Until his destiny becomes her deliverance.

Here are the three keys I used to expedite this book:

·           Portability & Flexibility: AlphaSmart on the patio to enjoy the summer, but still be productive; AlphaSmart in bed before going to sleep; lunch hour writing sprints.

·           I have friends who host writing weekends and writing retreats; I took full advantage. It’s astounding how creative energy surges when a group of authors gather to work in the same space.

·           BICHOK. (Butt In Chair Hands On Keyboard)

Thank you, MJ. For those of you who like me, never heard of AlphaSmart - It's a small portable keyboard which functions like and electric typewriter. It had a long lasting battery. I saw some on Amazon available for 3rd party sellers. 

Omega Moon Rising

 Abigail Grant has a secret . . . and a plan to keep her younger sister from suffering the same fate. Her strategy would have worked if she hadn’t been seduced by sweet-talking musician Luke Omega. Suddenly she’s plucked from the life she wanted to escape, but her new circumstances only expose her to a different danger—or is it her salvation?

Luke has a secret, too. He believes he can change his destiny through willpower—and a little blue pill. When he inadvertently gets mixed up in the Grant sisters’ troubles and his pack alpha orders him to marry Abigail, his family insists he tell her he’s a werewolf. But Luke claims Abigail is not his life mate. She doesn’t need to know what happens to him on the full moon.

Until he accidentally stumbles across her secret. Then all bets are off.

Sounds amazing. You can find MJ all over the web. But the best place to find her links is on her website Comptonplations where you can also find her delightful blog.

Thank you for being here. MJ is giving away a copy of the second book of the series:

AND JERICHO BURNED

Lucy Callahan will do anything to save her sister, even if that means marrying a stranger. Even if that stranger is an undercover government agent out to destroy the cult holding her sister hostage. Even if that stranger is a . . . werewolf.

BLURB

Lucy Callahan will do anything to rescue her sister from a cult, even marry a werewolf she’s just met. But the werewolves are working undercover for the government, and Lucy fears a confrontation between the agents and the cult could be deadly.

Stoker Smith longs to be the best thing that ever happened to his human mate. He wants to take her home, start their family, and compose his music. And although his pack’s treaty with the government says he doesn’t have to work undercover now that he’s mated, he promised Lucy he’d get her sister out of the cult’s heavily armed compound. Lucy’s sister is now family and to a werewolf, family is everything.

But Operation Jericho quickly turns ugly, thrusting Lucy into the middle of her worst nightmare, where she must choose: her sister or the mate she’s grown to love.

If you love paranormal romance, werewolves, suspense, enter below to win below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Read More →