Today's post is a little different from normal and is courtesy of the amazing Madeline Dyer and the process of how she wrote her debut novel UNTAMED. Madeline is doing what I dream of doing and reading about her experience is so inspiring. I hope you guys enjoy and go check out UNTAMED - thank you so much to Madeline who took the time to write this post - I really appreciate it.
Writing Processes: How I Wrote UNTAMED
So, “How did you write a book?” is a question I get asked a lot. And when I say “a lot”, I mean a lot. It’s usually one of the first things people ask me when they hear that I’ve just had a book published, and I love talking about my writing processes.
We’ll start at the beginning. UNTAMED was the third manuscript that I completed—and if I hadn’t had the practice of writing two manuscripts beforehand, I don’t think it would have been any good. It certainly wouldn’t have got me four offers from publishers. Writing my first two manuscripts (a 137,000 word urban fantasy manuscript when I was 16, and a 70,000 word sci-fi fantasy when I was 17), really helped me improve as a writer. Writing these books—even though I doubt they’ll ever see the light of day—was invaluable experience: they set the foundations for UNTAMED. I can’t stress how much I learnt. And you know what? It’s okay that nothing’s going to be done with these first two manuscripts. I don’t want people to read them! They’re mine.
So, I was eighteen when I wrote UNTAMED. I’d already taken part in NaNoWriMo the previous November, and I’d discovered that hammering out a first draft in a month worked really well for me. So, it was in June 2013 (alas, not a Camp Nano month), when I set myself the challenge of writing a new manuscript in a month. In the last few days of May, I was mind mapping like crazy, trying to come up with an idea. I knew I wanted to write a dystopian book of some sorts, and I wanted family loyalty to play a big part. I also wanted to experiment a bit. So far, I’d only ever written in past tense. I wanted to change things up a bit. So I thought: present tense, here we come! But other than that, I wasn’t exactly sure what else I wanted in this book. And I definitely didn’t have a premise at that point.
But by June 1, I did—thanks to a very inspiring scene from a music video.
Throughout June, I was busy writing. I aimed to write at least 3,000 words each day, and tried to write the scenes in a chronological order. I had a playlist ready to go, and everyday I plugged my earphones in and kept writing. At this point, I didn’t know if my idea would be any good, or what it would evolve into. But the more I wrote, the more invested I became in the characters, and the more I began to understand this new world I’d created.
Within a week, I had a very loose outline written at the bottom of my Word Document regarding how the rest of the book would go, and I was constantly referring back to that for foreshadowing purposes as I was writing earlier chapters.
I was seriously excited writing this. It felt different to my other manuscripts I’d written. It felt new; it didn’t take me long to realise that in writing in present tense, I’d picked up a completely new style. I was focusing on the main character’s internal sensations a lot more, and working in body language too. This made the characters seem more real to me, and so I couldn’t wait for each writing session of the day.
By June 24th, I had completed the first draft of UNTAMED. It stood at 70,000 words, and I could not contain my excitement. Nor could I let these characters go. From then on, I dove straight into the first draft of Untamed book 2, and then book 3. I even started book 4. I could not write quick enough.
But, by this time, it was the end of August. I was due to start my first year of Uni in a few weeks, and I realised I likely wouldn’t have a lot of time to edit and revise UNTAMED during term time. So, for the last few weeks of the month, and the start of September, I got feedback from beta-readers and edited UNTAMED. And, wow, did I do it quickly. UNTAMED was, by the end of this stage, just over 100,000 words long.
I think having already written rough drafts of the next books in the series really helped me when I was editing. I knew for certain who these characters were having spent so much time with them, and was able to correct any dialogue instantly that didn’t feel quite right. The same with scenes; I could tell pretty quickly if a scene needed more work, which ones needed to go, or if another scene was needed. I was on fire!
By mid September, I’d polished UNTAMED, written synopses of varying lengths, and was sending out queries. In the coming months I eagerly awaited responses. Being young, I didn’t realise just how long editors and agents can take to get back to you, so in December 2013, when I saw that a twitter pitching contest was being held, I took part.
And I got requests from editors who wanted to see the partial manuscript! I quickly sent the desired number of chapters away, and waited with baited breath.
A few weeks later, requests came in for the full manuscript. So far, so good.
In January 2014, two things happened. A small press made an offer, and another gave me an R&R (revise and resubmit) option. After much thought, I decided I wanted to do the R&R option; the editor had sent me all her thoughts on UNTAMED as it stood then: things she didn’t like and ways in which it could be made better. And I could see exactly where she was coming from.
I spent the following month (working around uni work!) revising UNTAMED. I came up with a completely new beginning, per the editor’s comment that the old one threw the reader too far into the action with no space to breathe—and this was a comment that was now regularly making its way into my inbox, thanks to that first round of queries. I also added in a new subplot. I worked to improve my writing, getting rid of as many instances of passive voice as I could find.
And then I sent this new version back. Although this editor didn’t acquire my book in the end, I now had a much stronger manuscript.
And I kept working on it. I had new ideas of things that needed to be improved and included. I worked a lot more body language in, developed my writing style and voice. And I learnt a lot about guns. Firearms play a huge part in UNTAMED, so I spent days and days researching them. I added in the little details that would make it authentic, realistic.
By March 2014, I had a manuscript that I was really proud of it. I began to query this new version. Three months later, I had three more offers on the table from different publishers (as well as the offer from January which was still standing). And, at the end of June 2014, I made my decision. I signed with Prizm Books, the YA imprint of Torquere Press. In August, I heard that Prizm Books wanted to release UNTAMED on May 20th 2015. I had a release date!
But that wasn’t the end of it! Oh no! Prizm Books assigned UNTAMED to one of their fantastic editors, Deelylah Mullin. And she had so many great ideas of things that were already in UNTAMED that could be developed—as well as a few scenes that were redundant (and this was a good thing, as the word count needed to be reduced somehow). She also spotted quite a few things that needed further explanation too, and we sorted out any unwanted ambiguities in the manuscript. During these editing rounds, we worked together until we were both really happy with the manuscript, passing it back and forth—Deelylah giving me her comments, notes, and edit letters, and me responding to these comments, notes, and edit letters with a lot of rewriting and editing. By this point, UNTAMED was about 92,000 words—though we did decide to put in Chapter One of book 2 at the end, making the whole book 95,000 words. (See, it was a good thing I’d already written first drafts of the next books, as I only had to edit this new chapter, which didn’t take that long!).
This took us to around March 2015. Then all that was left to do was proofreading and galley checks. Around this time, I also the cover for UNTAMED!
In short: the time whizzed by, and then before I knew it, it was 20th May 2015: release day!
After two years of writing, editing, revising, and more editing, my book had been born!
UNTAMED by Madeline Dyer
UNTAMED, BOOK #1 IN THE UNTAMED SERIES
About Untamed…
As one of the last Untamed humans left in the world, Seven’s life has always been controlled by tight rules. Stay away from the Enhanced. Don’t question your leader. And, most importantly, never switch sides, because once you’re Enhanced there’s no going back. Even if you have become the perfect human being.
But after a disastrous raid on an Enhanced city, Seven soon finds herself in her enemy’s power. Realizing it’s only a matter of time before she too develops a taste for the chemical augmenters responsible for the erosion of humanity, Seven knows she must act quickly if she’s to escape and save her family from the same fate.
Yet, as one of the most powerful Seers that the Untamed and Enhanced have ever known, Seven quickly discovers that she alone holds the key to the survival of only one race. But things aren’t clear-cut anymore, and with Seven now questioning the very beliefs she was raised on, she knows she has an important choice to make. One that has two very different outcomes.
Seven must choose wisely whose side she joins, for the War of Humanity is underway, and Death never takes kindly to traitors.
Published by: Prizm Books, the YA imprint of Torquere Press.
Genre: YA dystopian/fantasy/science fiction
Word count: 95,000 words
Pages (paperback): 314
Pages (kindle ebook): 301
Find Untamed:
Praise for Untamed:
“From the first line, Untamed pulled me in. This is the sort of book that is incredibly difficult to put down, the kind of book you can fall into and forget the world, forget you’re reading words on a page. Our narrator is a true heroine in a tumultuous futuristic world in which the [Enhanced] Ones are “better, faster and stronger than you.” The premise is unique and engrossing, and by the end of the book I was left wanting more (good thing – it’s a series). As a person who rarely reads fantasy/sci-fi but grew up with it always on the nightstand, Dyer’s book reawakened in me a buried love for the genre.” – Jen Knox, author of AFTER THE GAZEBO.
“Seven is a satisfyingly human main character, whose strength arises not from athleticism or fighting prowess, but loyalty and tenacity, in the face of wobbly self-confidence and the powerful attraction of a superficially attractive lifestyle that’s there for the taking. The other characters are recognisable and individual in their particular failings and weaknesses, and occasional redeeming strengths. The action is plentiful and the pace high as the Enhanced close in – there’s not a lot of stopping to smell the roses. The ending managed to twist and turn [and] left me with no idea of how things might pan out, so I look forward to future instalments in Seven’s journey” – Matthew Willis, author of DAEDALUS AND THE DEEP.
“I really enjoyed this book and look forward to the rest of the series. […] Seven was really a heroine I could root for – she was imperfect, conflicted, and real. I could identify with her struggle to choose the easy way versus the way that meant more work and pain. Something almost everyone struggles with at one point or another. […] I’d recommend this book to anyone who likes young adult sci-fi/dystopia” – Samantha, Amazon Review.
Madeline Dyer is the author of Untamed, a YA dystopian fantasy novel from Prizm Books (May 2015). She is currently working on book two in the Untamed Series, as well as a new dystopian trilogy for adults. Aside from writing, Madeline enjoys reading, painting, and inline skating.
Madeline can be found at:
Los Angeles. It’s been five years
since the events of the Mortal Instruments when Nephilim stood poised on the
brink of oblivion and Shadowhunter Emma Carstairs lost her parents. After the
blood and violence she witnessed as a child, Emma has dedicated her life to to
discovering exactly what it was that killed her parents and getting her
revenge.
A COURT OF MIST & FURY BY SARAH J. MAAS (ACOTAR #2) ~ Feyre survived Amarantha's
clutches to return to the Spring Court--but at a steep cost. Though she now has
the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can't forget the
terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin's people.
THE RAVEN KING BY MAGGIE STIEFVATER (RAVEN CYCLE #4) ~ All her life, Blue has been
warned that she will cause her true love's death. She doesn't believe in true
love and never thought this would be a problem, but as her life becomes caught
up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure
anymore.
HEARTLESS BY MARISSA MEYER ~ Long before she was the
terror of Wonderland — the infamous Queen of Hearts — she was just a girl who wanted
to fall in love.
Amy
Gumm’s mission to take down Dorothy Gale is not going according to plan.
Dorothy has found a way to bridge the worlds of Oz and Kansas, and if the
power-hungry dictator of Oz has her way, Kansas will be destroyed forever. Now,
Amy has to team up with the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked to save her home,
restore the balance between the magic and non-magic worlds, maybe get the
guy—and kill that not-so-sweet Kansas farm girl once and for all.
