The Stages of Writing a Novel
1) Post Book Blues
You've completed your latest novel and slide into a pool of despondency. Life feels stagnant and empty. You try to distract yourself with books or TV, but you're acutely aware that the number one thrill - working on a creative project - eludes you. Like a break up, you know your book is out in the world somewhere, out of your hands. And if it gets a bad review or disappears down the back of the Amazon sofa, you're expected to grin and bear it. It's not like anyone's died, though it may feel that way to the more emo among us.
This phase may last anything between a month and a year. If you're an indie author, it's imperative you publish on a regular basis or you'll be forgotten.
2) Smitten
Your new idea appears in all its glory, whether you're at work, commuting or (as happens to me surprisingly often) going around M&S. (Perhaps I should buy shares). You scuttle home and start writing while the breath of inspiration is upon you.
The early days of writing a novel are strikingly similar to a new love affair. You want to spend every waking moment with your WIP and resent interruptions. It pops into your head at inopportune moments, forcing you to abandon whatever you were doing. You're so caught up in what you're writing, you don't even care if it's any good. You're simply overjoyed to be creating again.
3) Reality Check
A few months into writing, you come down to earth with a bump. You realise you don't have a coherent plan, you've just been scribbling as and when - meaning your book is a big, sprawling mess. What is the point? Where is the plot? Will anyone care?
To continue the relationship analogy, it's when it dawns on you that you can't live in perpetual bliss, bonking and whispering twee pet names at one another. You need to live together, carve out some semblance of adult life. You have to accept your beloved owns every season of Castle on DVD - and, what's more, has no shame.
4) The Crunch
There comes a point in every writing process where you start to wonder if this is worth it. Maybe it was a rebound novel; maybe the characters have failed to come alive. Perhaps somebody's pipped you to the post with an identical premise and they're better known than you'll ever be. (Bastard).
You may decide to go on a break, a la Ross and Rachel. Does the book call to you, implore you to finish? Do you suddenly hit upon the solution to that snafu in Chapter 10? If so, it's a keeper.
But if you find you don't miss it and you're happier without it, cut it loose. Perhaps it was never meant to be.
5) Ever After
There might have been potholes along the way, but here it is, your finished MS. You behold its beauty, marvel at its perfection. Well, apart from the occasional typo, the various times you've substituted the heroine's name with your own, or the fact you urgently need a compatible piece of software that won't convert your prose to Wingdings or (horrors!) Comic Sans.
Congratulations! You've written a book!
And now the cycle begins all over again.
You've completed your latest novel and slide into a pool of despondency. Life feels stagnant and empty. You try to distract yourself with books or TV, but you're acutely aware that the number one thrill - working on a creative project - eludes you. Like a break up, you know your book is out in the world somewhere, out of your hands. And if it gets a bad review or disappears down the back of the Amazon sofa, you're expected to grin and bear it. It's not like anyone's died, though it may feel that way to the more emo among us.
This phase may last anything between a month and a year. If you're an indie author, it's imperative you publish on a regular basis or you'll be forgotten.
2) Smitten
Your new idea appears in all its glory, whether you're at work, commuting or (as happens to me surprisingly often) going around M&S. (Perhaps I should buy shares). You scuttle home and start writing while the breath of inspiration is upon you.
The early days of writing a novel are strikingly similar to a new love affair. You want to spend every waking moment with your WIP and resent interruptions. It pops into your head at inopportune moments, forcing you to abandon whatever you were doing. You're so caught up in what you're writing, you don't even care if it's any good. You're simply overjoyed to be creating again.
3) Reality Check
A few months into writing, you come down to earth with a bump. You realise you don't have a coherent plan, you've just been scribbling as and when - meaning your book is a big, sprawling mess. What is the point? Where is the plot? Will anyone care?
To continue the relationship analogy, it's when it dawns on you that you can't live in perpetual bliss, bonking and whispering twee pet names at one another. You need to live together, carve out some semblance of adult life. You have to accept your beloved owns every season of Castle on DVD - and, what's more, has no shame.
4) The Crunch
There comes a point in every writing process where you start to wonder if this is worth it. Maybe it was a rebound novel; maybe the characters have failed to come alive. Perhaps somebody's pipped you to the post with an identical premise and they're better known than you'll ever be. (Bastard).
You may decide to go on a break, a la Ross and Rachel. Does the book call to you, implore you to finish? Do you suddenly hit upon the solution to that snafu in Chapter 10? If so, it's a keeper.
But if you find you don't miss it and you're happier without it, cut it loose. Perhaps it was never meant to be.
5) Ever After
There might have been potholes along the way, but here it is, your finished MS. You behold its beauty, marvel at its perfection. Well, apart from the occasional typo, the various times you've substituted the heroine's name with your own, or the fact you urgently need a compatible piece of software that won't convert your prose to Wingdings or (horrors!) Comic Sans.
Congratulations! You've written a book!
And now the cycle begins all over again.
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Lol! ;-)