New Year is traditionally a time to take stock. To look back on our successes and failures and think about what steps we can take to fulfil the goals we have yet to reach.
Every January, I say that this will be the year I pen that novel.
And every December, I wonder where the time went and why I haven’t got past the first few chapters.
That is not to say that I haven’t been writing at all. In previous years, I have promised myself that I will follow my dream and do what I enjoy. This has yielded some success but not in the direction that I originally planned to go. I have had many articles published and until recently was the Editor of a parenting magazine. I have edited, ghostwritten, proofread and polished all kinds of manuscripts for other people.
But I have yet to write that novel.
I have started many times. I have spent long hours slumped over the computer dreaming up plots and breathing life into characters who, for a time, become my imaginary best friends. I have written synopses, detailed plans and sample chapters and on one occasion, even got so far as to approach prospective publishers. I am an excellent ‘starter’ but I have yet to complete a book.
Which brings me to the purpose of Novelist in the Making. Last year, I was asked if I would write a blog for a parenting website and, after much deliberation, Mum in the Middle (http://muminthemiddleblog.blogspot.com) came into being. At first I found the idea of an online journal that, by definition, had to be updated regularly, rather daunting but it has proved to be a valuable learning platform. Having a blog has taught me the discipline of writing on regular basis, the value of keeping a notebook in which to jot down thoughts and ideas and, possibly the most useful lesson of all, how to write for an audience. Knowing that other people are going to be reading your work and commenting on it makes you think much more carefully about the content.
Blogging is a public domain and if your blog is to be successful you need readers and, in that respect, it is perhaps not so very different from being a novelist (or indeed any other kind of writer). For me, the main purpose of this blog is to keep me motivated. Having publically announced my intention to finally write that book, I will be much more likely to keep going. And if I ever feel tempted to give up and forget the whole, crazy, hare-brained scheme, I will (hopefully) have a whole online community to help me get back on track (or else face the shame and humiliation of failure).
So, here it is - a blog about the process of writing a novel from inception to publication (now there’s a dream). I may not be the first and I definitely won’t be the last but with your help, I might just get to finish that book.
Kim Kimber
As another aspiring novelist who has random paragraphs on a computer but always gets to the end of a year thinking "I have not written it yet!" and beating myself up for that fact, I wish you really well on your journey.
ReplyDeleteI suspect you will not only write the novel but also get the journey itself published.
Wishing you well and looking forward to seeing how it goes
Hi - I followed you here from British Mummy Bloggers. I'm a published novelist and fiction writing teacher now breaking into journalism w/ a blog (reverse order of what you're doing!). ADVICE: No matter what, just write it. Finish it. Even when you think it's crap: write it. On a day when words just aren't coming, keep writing. Keep at it, even when you hate it. What will happen if you do all this? You will finish your novel. When you're done, set it aside. For a LONG time. Then, re-read it. You'lll instantly see, with clarity, what you need to improve, and can dispassionately go about setting it write. Then, you'll have a second draft - something ready to be seen by others. All the best. I mom blog at http://motherblogging.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteHiya
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by my blog. I agree with what you say about learning from a blog. Its so different from a journal where you can write any old tosh which spills out, being in public means that if you want the readers you have to write what they want to read.
Good luck with the novel. Like you I have several aborted attempts sitting in a folder but thanks to completing two years of NaNoWriMo, I now have two almost completed first drafts. My challenge to myself this year is to edit at least one of them into shape (not for the faint hearted)! But I found the discipline of setting myself a daily wordcount and plugging on whether I thought it was rubbish or not got me to the end. We shall soon see the effectiveness of this though when I come to edit!
Keep going and you'll get there in the end.
Linda
Thank you for taking the time to write to me and for all the encouraging comments. Your support is appreciated and invaluable.
ReplyDeleteGood luck! I'm still battling with my first book, yet also loving it! Looking forward to following your progress during the year.
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