Something I like to do as a memento for myself is take a picture of the words “The End” and the date on a blank page for whatever first draft I just finished writing. Since I write all my first drafts longhand, those notebooks make great keepsakes of the time I spend with each story. All of my film scripts were written this way, too. As much as I don’t enjoy transcribing, I feel a certain magic that I can’t live without when I touch pen to paper that I don’t get from a keyboard. There’s an interesting experiment with this that I tried recently, and I’ll blog about it soon.

As for the sequel to “Monster Girl“, this has been a tough one to get through. I hit a snag around the middle of the book, and it was tough to keep going, but I was determined to finish the story. However, by the time I got to the resolution, I didn’t like where it had ended up. It wasn’t true to the story and it wasn’t true to Viki. So, after rewriting the last half, I’m happy to say that the first draft of “Monster Girl Book 2″ is finally in the can!

That’s film speak for “the movie has been shot”, and now I’ve got my work cut out for me over the next few weeks as I revise and edit, but I’m excited to see this first BIG step accomplished. It’s always a huge relief when I get that initial telling down in print. I’m a fan of the school of thought that believes there are three drafts, or steps, to telling a story:

1. tell it to yourself (first draft)
2. tell it to your reader (second draft)
3. tell it well (polished final draft)

I don’t know who came up with that, but it’s genius. It also reminds me of filmmaking, as movies are made three times: once in script form, then during the actual production, and then in editing. As I said, it’s a relief to see this first step completed. The first draft, or vomit draft as I like to call it, is always the hardest. Self doubt and all sorts of negative thinking creeps in while writing it. My internal critic can be such a nuisance. So, it’s invigorating to get that first draft completed, and it always lights a fire under me to get to the next step of re-writing so that it can get out into the world!

I’ll be announcing the full title as well as a contest to win an autographed copy soon! Go here to be notified!

And if you haven’t read Viki’s first adventure, it’s available in both paperback and for the Kindle. You can also sample the first chapter FREE.

Thank you for the continued support!

Val O. Morris

Val O. Morris likes to pretend the monsters aren’t real. She is a filmmaker turned author who writes Urban Fantasy, Horror, and YA. A Monster Kid since birth, she loves all things ghosts, goblins, slashers, demons, monsters, zombies, madmen, werewolves, vampires, and freaky little kids who live in the corn. She invites you to come for the monsters and stay for the story.

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You may have noticed a little change around here. After much debate, I’ve decided to rebrand my author website to an idea I originally had – and talked myself out of. Live and learn!

Welcome to the new “Verbs & Visuals”, a place for me to showcase not only my published books but also my filmmaking and photography.

I’ll be adding content from my movies and photos to combine with my book writing soon. It will allow me to branch out and share more of myself and my interests. I’ve been making movies and practicing photography for over 7 years now. I hope you’ll enjoy this redesign as much as I will!

Val O. Morris

Val O. Morris likes to pretend the monsters aren’t real. She is a filmmaker turned author who writes Urban Fantasy, Horror, and YA. A Monster Kid since birth, she loves all things ghosts, goblins, slashers, demons, monsters, zombies, madmen, werewolves, vampires, and freaky little kids who live in the corn. She invites you to come for the monsters and stay for the story.

Get Your FREE Book!