The Golden Heart, the third book I have ever written, is unlike anything else I have ever created. While my process for it has been much the same as it has been in the past, now it feels more streamlined. While there are many, many flaws in this first draft, I am proud of my little monster (I say that with all the endearment in the world). In this post, I will work to break down the major things I have learned from this first draft, what I did and didn’t do well, and my overall thoughts.

Synopsys of The Golden Heart

Montoya has been searching for the golden heart since he could read English. What started with childhood captivation fueled by support from his father has divulged into obsession. The heart, rumored to heal all that wears it, would be proof of an ancient society that has long since been lost to time. 

It would also be Montoya’s big break — a chance for him to cement his name in 1920s archeology circles.

When Montoya gets locked into a deal with the Devil, gets shackled to a partner who wants nothing more than riches, and when his arch-nemesis is biting at his heels, he realizes that archeology is much more than a dig site. Twist after turn, Montoya gets thrown on an unforgettable adventure through the jungles of South America.

Will he be able to find the golden heart and return to New York City in one piece, or will he be lost to time like all those who searched for the heart before him?

The Golden Heart is the first book in The Misadventures of Montoya and Rose series.

Stats

Started: July 14, 2021

Finished: November 24, 2021

Total word count: 60,587

The average number of words per day: ~ 456

Page count (8×11): 176

Number of chapters: 45

My Major Strengths

Characters

The biggest thing I’m proud of with this book is the character arcs. And while right now, a day after finishing The Golden Heart, I can’t say if I’ve done it well, I most certainly put forth the effort to have all (or at the very least most) of my main characters change. Montoya and Rose have gone through an allies-to-enemies-to-allies-to-friends arc and it was a blast to write. 

I decided to include more side characters—make them matter—and I did it! I’m so proud of myself for hitting that goal that I set for myself. And now, I understand what other writers mean when they say that side characters can steal the show. I’ve fallen in love with so many of the side characters in The Golden Heart, and I feel the value of having appealing secondary characters — they make my novel richer (wow, really? No way!). 

I can’t wait to refine the work I’ve begun with these characters and see where they’ll go. 

Perseverance 

The Golden Heart was my NaNoWriMo project this year, and I not only hit my goal early, but I also finished the book (obviously). 

I changed my daily routine to include writing. I woke up at six, and by seven I would have my butt in the chair, drafting. By doing this, I have been able to consistently add in 500-700 words, even when it would turn out to be a hectic day. By starting my day out with my project, I would have it in the back of my mind, quietly working on it, while I focused on other tasks.

Oddly enough, I didn’t hit too many roadblocks while drafting The Golden Heart, which I attribute to my better understanding of story, but when I did, I shoved my way past them. No, I didn’t deal with them gracefully, I just put my issues into brackets and pretended to solve them. 

My Major weaknesses

Pacing

The pacing of this novel has and will continue to keep me up at night. While drafting, it felt as if I was overwriting and adding in too much detail, but now I look back on it, I don’t think I added in enough… well, everything. There isn’t enough action, there isn’t enough “adventure”, there isn’t enough exploration; you know, the stuff that this book is about. 

I joke that I wrote a classic novel disguised as an adventure story with all of the conversations and navel-gazing in the prose. And while that can work, it’s not what I’m going for.

Traveling to get to the temple where the Heart is located takes up 97% of the book while being in the temple takes up maybe 2% of the book and the ending is 1%. Not the ideal story structure, I must admit. 

Beyond that, while I am happy that character arcs exist, they aren’t padded out throughout the story, and most of the development is jammed in at the end.

Hanging Threads

I brought up a facet of the worldbuilding to which I never brought resolution. A handful of side characters are left hanging in thin air. An entire side plot is just… unresolved. This is to be expected from a first draft, and a first draft that was written by the seat of my pants. Still, it bothers me. 

Gaps in my knowledge 

I had (and still have) many gaps in my knowledge about the 20s, which is a terrible thing considering the setting of the book. There is only one way to remedy this.

It truly shows in the way that the characters speak, the way that they get around, the way that they treat societal norms, hell, even some of their viewpoints. I am the most ashamed to admit that there are so many cut corners in terms of history, but I will do better about it in future drafts. 

This is the thing I feel the most ashamed about, but I know why I didn’t do more research before I began: I didn’t know what to research. Now that I have a better understanding of where and why the characters travel where they do, I can hone in on what I need to learn and fix it.

What I’ve learned

People are willing to listen to you ramble about your book even if they haven’t read it.

One of the biggest things that separate The Golden Heart from my previous novel writing projects is that I talked about it while writing. I never shared the entirety of the first draft, but I rambled on about it on my Instagram page, and people were incredibly receptive. It’s heartwarming for folks to seem just as enthusiastic about your work as you do. I know there are some major pitfalls to sharing a project this early, and I’ll just need to see where this takes me (and remain cautious).

I assumed that only myself and maybe one or two others would be invested in my characters, but I was wrong. So very wrong. And I’m thankful to be wrong!

Having genuine enthusiasm about your work, sharing that enthusiasm, and being earnest about your passions (in the right community) will generate love and support for that project. 

So much is gleaned from diving into your story

How effective pantsing is will vary from writer to writer (and even within the writer!), but I know for certain how much depth I can get from characters and setting when I simply start writing. It’s amazing. 

In my mind, when writing fiction, I need to get hands-on with the novel to get what I need from the story. 

Miscellaneous Thoughts

I adore the adventure, the banter, the action, and the dialogue between characters. I love Montoya and Rose with all of my heart, and I can’t wait to see where they’ll go from here! 

I know there is possible years’ worth of work ahead of me with this book alone. I am ready to face it—just not right now. Eventually, enthusiasm will ebb and grit will have to take its place, but right now I’m riding the high of the honeymoon. 

I’m thankful to get away from the grind of drafting a novel, and I’m looking forward to working on smaller projects. 

How The Golden Heart compares to my previous novels

It was less difficult than Heaven’s Hellions (you can read the post about my first book here) but more difficult than my Romcom (which I started and finished earlier this year). The adventure, historical, and magical components of the story put me out of my comfort zone, but not too much so that I floundered. At this point, I’m finding my groove with my drafting process. 

I think that it’ll be far more difficult to edit than my previous books. However, I can’t say for certain. 

Thank yous

As always, thank you Emily for being there through the highs and lows of The Golden Heart’s creation. Thank you for being a receptive ear, and excellent person to bounce ideas off of, and for being one of the greatest people I have ever met. 

Thank you, Meg (@meg.the.author on Instagram) for being an amazing cheerleader and friend and giving me an extra push when I needed it. 

Thank you, Athena (@author.athenagrey on Instagram) for always being someone I could rant to about my book, and for mutually wanting to stab Victor with me. 

Thank you to everyone who has supported my many, many posts about The Golden Heart on my Instagram page. Thank you for being invested in my work and cheering me on as I crossed the first draft finish line. Thank you for listening, thank you for being there, and thank you for your time. 

And thank you, dear reader (now this is a callout) for getting to this point on the post, and being invested enough to read to this point.