Morgana Tremaine, FINISHED

Taking advantage of what I refer to as "the writer's prerogative," also known as "rampant procrastination," I gave myself a two week deadline following the end of August to finish Morgana Tremaine.

And I did.

At midnight on Wednesday (I.E. Tuesday night) I wrote my last few words and squealed, bounced, and considered screaming for joy. I have editing left to do, though not as much as I might have ordinarily, given that I edited some as I worked along, but Morgana Tremaine is finished.

I worked on a tough subject, as discussed in my previous post, but hopefully managed to do it well. Time, editing, and some feedback will tell.

Given the recent scandals regarding gay YA, I'm feeling a little bit of fear for when I want to send it to agents, etc. Not that there are any gay characters in Morgana Tremaine, as it stands, and yet.... The thing is. Well. A few things. So, in the agent's rebuttal, she says that everything in the original post is untrue, and that she wanted to cut all romantic relationships/suggestions/etc. to make it for middle-grade rather than YA. I, personally, don't believe that all hints of romance, crushes, and sexuality should be cut from middle-grade fiction, since they're certainly present in middle-grade life. Outright relationships, perhaps. Rampant sex-talk, perhaps. But sexuality in general? Gah. Sexuality is generally established pretty young, even if the person doesn't know it yet. That being said, one of the characters in Morgana Tremaine is gay. I'm not saying who, yet, and that character isn't even "out" yet in the book. But that character is the one thing that I refuse to back down on. The thought that just because Morgana Tremaine is intended for twelve-year-olds could mean that I would have to cut that character, who is easily one of my favorites.... Well, I think that's one situation where I put my back to the wall and stand my ground. Not to say that whatever editor/agent I hopefully get WILL suggest for me to cut the character out, but I think this is just a situation that a lot of people, including me, are very passionate about. So even the thought makes me angry, frustrated, and sad.

I think I'll stop on that subject here; no point in adding to the conversation, since I think everything that can be said by this point has already been said.

So now I enter editing land, with the hopes of finishing edits by the end of September (hopefully!) and then sending it out. This means it will probably be done by my birthday at the end of October, though if I could have an agent for my birthday, I would probably cry with joy. :)

Ah, life is good, when you've finished your novel.