I’m in a strange and jarring place at the moment. Having finally typed The End on the first instalment in my Middle Grade fantasy/adventure series, I’m letting it rest.

The thing is, I miss it already.

I miss the feeling of sinking down into the chair every evening – fingers poised, urgently typing the bursts of ideas and thoughts that came to mind throughout the day. I miss staring vaguely at mounds of soapy bubbles, seeing through to the interactions and landscapes taking shape in a world of my own making.

For this work, I converted from a pantser into a semi-plotter – taking a story I had written for my eldest son and completely rewriting it to become the book I wish I had been able to read when I was a kid. It has gone from a suburban school drama, to a world with layers, characters, an Academy set in a mysterious castle. It combines technology and mystery, suspense and scientific possibilities to set the scene for a group of nine children who become caught up in it all.

It has been enthralling to write.

But now I’m caught in the ‘what do I do next?’ space. Do I dust off another manuscript that I abandoned for this one? Do I continue plotting out the intricacies of the universe I’m devising, writing background supporting material to stretch out my own knowledge for depth later? I have been tinkering with all of these things, along with deep diving into reading with renewed vigour and recording the contents of my dreams each night.

It is hard to see, though, how all of this is progressing. When work can’t be measured by word count, what measure does one use?

For anyone in the same boat at the moment, I have collated a list of some articles that have helped me over the past little while – even if just to reconfirm that yes, I should be letting the work rest and the magic will still be there when I return.

Fingers crossed…

What to do when you’ve finished the first draft

10 Things to Do Before Editing Your First Draft

So you wrote a first draft – Dear God! What NOW?

6 Reasons Why You Should Love Your First Draft

What did you do while waiting for your manuscript to settle? Any advice is very much appreciated! Or are you in the same boat as me? I would love to hear about your journey!