I am working on my second novel and try to get lost in it as much as possible. which can be difficult sometimes. My ability to write well is not at the level I had hoped it would be because I started late. But the fact is I do wake up every morning and if I can arrange to get lost in it enough, I can probably have a first draft done mid October. After that, the challenge for me will be to write, edit and revise the first draft again and again until it is ready to be sent for professional editing. My first novel has not been read by many people and the 2nd and 3rd ones might not be read by many people either. But it is better to give one's best effort and keep improving as much as possible with each book. And, may it be so, mission accomplished, I will have written a novel or three that each, that I like and enjoy, and that I wanted to write.
I tend toward the “I love having written” end of the spectrum. I’d love to be a writing workaholic, but instead I’ve had to develop a few techniques to overcome the resistance to sitting down at the keyboard. For me, inspiration comes during the act of writing, not before—although once the novel is complete and I’m doing the fine tweaking, that IS addictive.
Yeah, the resistance is always there! And I totally understand that feeling of the inspiration coming when you're inside it, not before you've started.
I also set a rule no Netflix on weekdays. Try to write 1,500 words or a chapter in a day or every other day for the first draft. So in 45 days or so, could have 60,000 word first draft. The in-between is the most difficult part. It's amazing how if one doesn't get overly worried, things can more easily work themselves out. Had an idea for a 4th book in San Diego but it wouldn't take place in India so I moved it to the 2nd largest Indian Navy port on the east coast of India where the weather is similar to San Diego. It is fantasy but need to put as much reality to make the fantasy more believable. The easy part of a 2nd book is knowing one can write one. The difficult part is to make the 2nd better than the first. But learning by doing is a wonderful thing. And the more flexible and elastic one can be brings out the best or better writing problem solving. Steady as she goes is good sailing and writing advice.
Oh, no Netflix...that's a good idea. I need to do that! I watch Netflix on the treadmill so I can "justify" watching a whole movie on a weekday, even if I'm walking at 2 miles per hour, lol
There comes a moment when you realize -- you are not writing this story. This story is writing YOU. You will just have to fit the rest of your life around it as best you can.
A really good example of this is "Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties" by Tom O’Neill, published 2019. He spent over 20 years completely in the grip of this story, missing deadline after deadline, losing jobs, basically losing his whole life to the quest. It's worth reading just as a tale of a writer having his life totally taken over by a project. In the end, he never finds the single great smoking gun he was looking for, linking Manson directly to the CIA or something like that. And yet this makes the book even more compelling: along with the author, you now just *know* that there's something lurking under the surface...
This reminds me of Michelle McNamara, who spent many years researching the Golden State Killer, and whose compelling book I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer, was published posthumously.
I figured out my itch to become a traditionally published author isn't a fluke when I started typing out words on the weekend afternoons this year for a good four hours at a stretch without the need to take breaks in between. Previously, I had this idea that I could think clearly and write only in the mornings. Later part of the days made my writing sound terrible and sloppy. But this year I took a firm decision to materialize my aspiration for real- write a novel. To keep that promise, I started writing irrespective of the time and days in a month. My novel is now standing at 45K words and every day my attention and craving drifts to showing at my desk no matter how busy my schedule is. I only distance myself from the projects when things don't click and feel the need to take a break from my writing sprints so that the flow state emerge naturally. It does wonders to my creative energy.
The most difficult part is believing it could or can be untangled. And then through bold, continual and persistent action, one miraculously untangles it.
I am working on my second novel and try to get lost in it as much as possible. which can be difficult sometimes. My ability to write well is not at the level I had hoped it would be because I started late. But the fact is I do wake up every morning and if I can arrange to get lost in it enough, I can probably have a first draft done mid October. After that, the challenge for me will be to write, edit and revise the first draft again and again until it is ready to be sent for professional editing. My first novel has not been read by many people and the 2nd and 3rd ones might not be read by many people either. But it is better to give one's best effort and keep improving as much as possible with each book. And, may it be so, mission accomplished, I will have written a novel or three that each, that I like and enjoy, and that I wanted to write.
I tend toward the “I love having written” end of the spectrum. I’d love to be a writing workaholic, but instead I’ve had to develop a few techniques to overcome the resistance to sitting down at the keyboard. For me, inspiration comes during the act of writing, not before—although once the novel is complete and I’m doing the fine tweaking, that IS addictive.
Yeah, the resistance is always there! And I totally understand that feeling of the inspiration coming when you're inside it, not before you've started.
I also set a rule no Netflix on weekdays. Try to write 1,500 words or a chapter in a day or every other day for the first draft. So in 45 days or so, could have 60,000 word first draft. The in-between is the most difficult part. It's amazing how if one doesn't get overly worried, things can more easily work themselves out. Had an idea for a 4th book in San Diego but it wouldn't take place in India so I moved it to the 2nd largest Indian Navy port on the east coast of India where the weather is similar to San Diego. It is fantasy but need to put as much reality to make the fantasy more believable. The easy part of a 2nd book is knowing one can write one. The difficult part is to make the 2nd better than the first. But learning by doing is a wonderful thing. And the more flexible and elastic one can be brings out the best or better writing problem solving. Steady as she goes is good sailing and writing advice.
Yes, so true about things kind of untangling themselves if you allow yourself some space!
Oh, no Netflix...that's a good idea. I need to do that! I watch Netflix on the treadmill so I can "justify" watching a whole movie on a weekday, even if I'm walking at 2 miles per hour, lol
There comes a moment when you realize -- you are not writing this story. This story is writing YOU. You will just have to fit the rest of your life around it as best you can.
A really good example of this is "Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties" by Tom O’Neill, published 2019. He spent over 20 years completely in the grip of this story, missing deadline after deadline, losing jobs, basically losing his whole life to the quest. It's worth reading just as a tale of a writer having his life totally taken over by a project. In the end, he never finds the single great smoking gun he was looking for, linking Manson directly to the CIA or something like that. And yet this makes the book even more compelling: along with the author, you now just *know* that there's something lurking under the surface...
This reminds me of Michelle McNamara, who spent many years researching the Golden State Killer, and whose compelling book I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer, was published posthumously.
I figured out my itch to become a traditionally published author isn't a fluke when I started typing out words on the weekend afternoons this year for a good four hours at a stretch without the need to take breaks in between. Previously, I had this idea that I could think clearly and write only in the mornings. Later part of the days made my writing sound terrible and sloppy. But this year I took a firm decision to materialize my aspiration for real- write a novel. To keep that promise, I started writing irrespective of the time and days in a month. My novel is now standing at 45K words and every day my attention and craving drifts to showing at my desk no matter how busy my schedule is. I only distance myself from the projects when things don't click and feel the need to take a break from my writing sprints so that the flow state emerge naturally. It does wonders to my creative energy.
The most difficult part is believing it could or can be untangled. And then through bold, continual and persistent action, one miraculously untangles it.