The Chapter Book Challenge ends officially today, and I completed it. I have completed the first draft of my as yet untitled story. The file is saved as “Sam’s Story” but I know I need a better title than that! I have also started the edits.
I’m going through chapter by chapter and am much happier with the first chapter now than when I first wrote it. Currently I’m working on chapter 2. There is still a lot of work to be done, but it’s coming along, and there are a lot of bits left on the cutting floor as well as extra details being added to make it a much richer story.
A few things I’ve changed so far include:
- made Sam, my main character a year younger
- changed the pet name her mother calls her
- changed the name of the primary school
- included a bit more of her back story
As well as changing the wording of some parts so they read better.
I’ve gone back to re-read a number of the blog posts from the Chapter Book Challenge guest posters and I already know some parts that need to be changed. I’m sure that this process will improve the overall story and make it stronger. If you are interested in writing chapter books, be sure to read them as there are some awesome tips there.
I have also been working on my character descriptions – now that I know Sam and her friends. This is also helping me to be clearer of the story and make improvements as well as being consistent throughout the story. I admit that I struggle writing these before I write the story, however writing them after my first draft as part of the editing process is a huge help.
This is a story that I’m loving and I have an idea for second story with Sam and her friends… but I’m using writing that as my reward for getting the editing done!
