Insight
Insight
I’ve been working on a novel for almost three years now, and I feel my readers deserve an explanation as to why I’m taking so long.
It’s not that I’m lazy or unmotivated. The manuscript that I’m currently writing is about several generations of my family. As a consequence, it is part biography based on genealogical research and part historical fiction because so many details have been lost to time. While writing, I frequently encounter aspects of history about which I am ignorant, i.e. the early twentieth century passenger ship boarding process in England. Obscure issues such as this may sound trivial, but one can’t tell a story well without a thorough understanding of the characters’ experiences. At such times, I’m compelled to leave the writing of the narrative and research the unknown issue, sometimes for an hour, or even longer if the subject is complex.
It’s not unusual during my research phase to discover some interesting historical fact concerning another aspect of the story. Once again, I interrupt what I’m doing to cut and paste my discovery into a resource document. Then, concerned that I will mistake the pasted text as my own words at some later date, I immediately set about re-writing the account to avoid plagiarising someone else’s work. Having done that, I title the piece and file it away in my “resources” folder, before returning to my research. Once I’ve acquired an understanding of the previously unknown “boarding process,” I return to the manuscript. Now, with the passage of time completely indifferent to my progress, I begin writing again, only to discover within a few lines that a map or other image is needed to augment the narrative.
Off I go again, searching for a suitable image or putting together a map, explanatory diagram or chart. These distractions are so frequently encountered that it seems as though every hour of writing entails several hours of supplementary tasks.
It’s important to me that the finished book accurately represents the lives of my ancestors, but I also hope to ensure that the narrative fits comfortably into an historically correct backdrop. Is it any wonder the work progresses slowly?
I’ve been working on a novel for almost three years now, and I feel my readers deserve an explanation as to why I’m taking so long.
It’s not that I’m lazy or unmotivated. The manuscript that I’m currently writing is about several generations of my family. As a consequence, it is part biography based on genealogical research and part historical fiction because so many details have been lost to time. While writing, I frequently encounter aspects of history about which I am ignorant, i.e. the early twentieth century passenger ship boarding process in England. Obscure issues such as this may sound trivial, but one can’t tell a story well without a thorough understanding of the characters’ experiences. At such times, I’m compelled to leave the writing of the narrative and research the unknown issue, sometimes for an hour, or even longer if the subject is complex.
It’s not unusual during my research phase to discover some interesting historical fact concerning another aspect of the story. Once again, I interrupt what I’m doing to cut and paste my discovery into a resource document. Then, concerned that I will mistake the pasted text as my own words at some later date, I immediately set about re-writing the account to avoid plagiarising someone else’s work. Having done that, I title the piece and file it away in my “resources” folder, before returning to my research. Once I’ve acquired an understanding of the previously unknown “boarding process,” I return to the manuscript. Now, with the passage of time completely indifferent to my progress, I begin writing again, only to discover within a few lines that a map or other image is needed to augment the narrative.
Off I go again, searching for a suitable image or putting together a map, explanatory diagram or chart. These distractions are so frequently encountered that it seems as though every hour of writing entails several hours of supplementary tasks.
It’s important to me that the finished book accurately represents the lives of my ancestors, but I also hope to ensure that the narrative fits comfortably into an historically correct backdrop. Is it any wonder the work progresses slowly?
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Books
Books are more than mere pages of text. They are places we have yet to explore; people we have yet to meet; and emotions we have yet to feel.
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