I heard you should never tell anyone you’re writing a novel...
This November I’ve done just that and I’ve also admitted I’m trying to achieve it in four weeks.
Small talk for me now consists of the following:
“How’s the book going?”
“Err…”
“What happened to that other book you were writing?”
“Cough, cough, shuffle, shuffle”
It’s ok; I’ve spent so many hours writing I haven’t left the house often enough for the difficult conversations to get me down. And although I joke, my own personal cheerleading squad of family and friends does keep me motivated.
It also helps me stay in denial about what happens when I hit 50,000 words. Because 50,000 words does not a novel make. It’s not even a complete first draft. Once I’ve finished handing myself the ‘well done’ stickers, I need to get back on the laptop and write the other 20 – 50%. And after I’ve awarded myself the ‘you tried hard’ sticker, I need to take that daffodil bulb and gestate it for a month before editing it over and over again.
I don't always finish things quickly but I do eventually get them done. It took me five years to write my non fiction book Seidr: The Gate is Open. So long, in fact, my second book was published first. I shudder to think how many words I actually wrote with all the edits and rewrites. In fact I still have a chunk of text sitting on my hard drive ‘gestating’ for another day, another lifetime. With that book I had my publisher waiting in the wings, gently reminding me every now and again I’d promised her a manuscript.
There’s no publisher waiting for me to produce Martha’s story, but somehow that doesn’t matter. Martha is driving me through. She’s whispering to me in my sleep, telling me her secrets, offering glimpses of her beloved reindeer people. I owe it to my story to do everything I can to encourage it to poke through the soil and see the light of day. Not to mention the friends who’ve really taken my premise to the hearts.
So how is the book going? I finished the week just scraping 35,000 words. Still on target but nothing remarkable, especially when so many people have already reached the big fat fifty. In regards to the plot and flow, I’ll leave you with this quote:
“I owe my success to having listened respectfully to the very best advice, and then going away and doing the exact opposite.” Gilbert K Chesterton
It’s not what I envisaged, it’s not even close - but it’s so much better and I’ve already started plotting out the sequel. Will it make it to Waterstones? I’m not sure. It might not even make it to Amazon. But an artist needs to love what they create, right? Well, I’m in love with this story. Let’s hope the editing process creates something others can fall in love with too.
If you want to watch me panic day by day during the final week follow me on Twitter @thebirchtree
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