It’s done. Finished. At 85,953 words, the first draft of my first novel is complete. And I feel so incredibly strange now that I want to jump right back in and get back to writing. But I can’t. I have to step back, take a few—many—deep breaths, and just let it sit. My wife is… Continue reading Writing My Novel: The First Draft is Complete
Tag: Writing My Novel
Writing My Novel: The End?
My novel is drawing to a close. In fact, I’ve written one version of the final scene and just have to go back and fill in a few chapters in the middle I realized could use a little expansion before I decide if that’s the ending I really want the book to have. And that’s… Continue reading Writing My Novel: The End?
Writing My Novel: A Well Deserved and Much Needed Break
May 2010 was the first time I ever actively pursued my dream of being a novelist. I always said I wanted to be a novelist, and I even started some novels over the years. But I never actually put forth the effort it took to actually make that dream a reality. I would write 500… Continue reading Writing My Novel: A Well Deserved and Much Needed Break
Writing My Novel: Posting Fiction Online and Other Projects
As I round the final bend of the race that is finishing the first draft of my novel (~70,000 words and counting), I find that I want to branch out a little creatively. I have a lot of ideas, and one of the foremost is putting various short stories online for my readers to help… Continue reading Writing My Novel: Posting Fiction Online and Other Projects
Writing My Novel: The “Aha!” Moment
I’ve always heard some authors say that they don’t plan out their novels. That they instead create their characters and their worlds, and then they write what happens to them…as it happens. That the story tells itself, and they just happen to put it on paper. Until very recently, I thought that was a load… Continue reading Writing My Novel: The “Aha!” Moment