Writing.Com General Discussion

Hi all

I've written a fantasy adventure for children aged 9 to 12. I deliberately wrote the first draft to have everything in it bar the kitchen sink. This was so I could get all the ideas I'd had out of my head and on paper. Of course this first draft was bloated and dripping with waste products coming in at a ridiculous 250,000 words, many of those words were not good. During the next few drafts great chunks were re-written as I began to discover exactly what it was I was writing, what the core of the story was about, so to speak. After this process the story was over 140,000 words, far too big for a first novel. And so I started what I hoped was my final draft. Many 'scenes' were cut and held over to be used another day, hopefully on sequels. Even so this version was 92,000 words, still too long I think for that elusive first novel. Then I had a portion of the novel critiqued. One of the points made was that certain elements in the story needed fleshing out. Had I at times gone too far with the editing, am I trying too hard to squash what is an epic story into one novel bursting at the seems with blistering energy that will leave the reader exhorted trying to keep up? Do I in fact have enough for a trilogy, each book between 35,000 and 45,000 words? I think I do, but here's the rub. Would publishers be interested in three books where the first two end with a cliffhanger, with the resolution in the third book? The trilogies for kids that I have read may have a story arc that straddles the series, but usually there is a resolution to each books story. There are pitfalls in anything we write and knowing the market is tough. Anything is possible but am I heading for a fall even before I begin? Advice on this would be gratefully received.

Cheers