TeenageTells- Emerald Process

Every book is different. Especially if you’re writing as a teenager. I wrote my first book at 13, and my second one at 15, and the experiences were very different. With one, I had no clue what I was doing, and with the second I had some clue.

Why was Emerald different?

It wasn’t my first rodeo. I already had an idea with where I was going with the series and what I wanted my future in general to look like.

And the process was…. well, great to compare and contrast, to be honest.

Firstly, I planned Emerald more. I drew out character emotion arcs (from happy->sad->insane) and drew a little ‘map’. Then, in November 2024, I tried to write it in 30 days, for NaNoWriMo. It wasn’t bad. I got to 32,000 words. The book is now 52,000. But all those extras came through in editing.

And the first draft was in my notebook, so which was a massive switch from Amethyst. So, I also had to type it all up. Which, if I had little space or I was in bed or on the couch was annoying. I loved writing in the notebook, as it made it accessible, and felt less like ‚work’, but more like a little passion project. But if I’ll write in a notebook in future, I’ll need to reassess the method, because the spiral notebook wasn’t too useful in that department.

Emerald took a lot more time. Maybe because it was longer, and I had more school stuff in between. Amethyst took almost 10 months from start draft->publish. Emerald took just under 19. That’s almost double! I’m not upset I took time to prepare it, but in future I want to make sure if I’m working on writing then I’ll actually be actively working on it, not staring at a screen.

Something which was the same for both was editing on paper. As in, I printed my half-way edited manuscript and went at it. Editing, crossing out, grammar, post-its and extra pages of more scenes to work in. It’s often a mess after this process.

Finally, even receiving the proof copies was different. Almost everything was! I ordered Amethyst… late. It arrived about a week before publishing. For Emerald I did two proof copies. Plus I had the new cover for Amethyst. The further you get into writing, I realised, the more you actually have to invest. I luckily have my parents to help and money from my previous book, but others I imagine it’s tough. Personally, I’m glad I invested in both my books. I was able to afford myself a laptop after publishing Amethyst which was useful in writing Emerald, etc.

When I printed the drafts it was a lot of paper. So, I made crafts. Which has turned into more crazy crafts. I made a little silhouette of Amethyst on a backdrop of text from the book, and I’m planning to make a TIME AND TIME AGAIN ‚poster’ on the wall of the text.

The most consistent thing was how pleased I was whenever I worked on my books or when someone showed interest. Writing isn’t always easy (it’s fun but not for the weak of heart: lots of criticism you have to listen to) but for me it’s been rewarding. And I hope it’ll continue to be rewarding.

Thank you for reading! Remember to preorder Emerald on Amazon, like this post, share it, subscribe to emails. All of it helps to support me and show me what you enjoy. See you next week!