So You’re Still Working on That Book?
View all responses[image error]Pexels.com" data-medium-file="https://colourswordspaper.files.wordp..." data-large-file="https://colourswordspaper.files.wordp..." src="https://colourswordspaper.files.wordp..." alt="" class="wp-image-197" style="width:306px;height:auto" srcset="https://colourswordspaper.files.wordp... 1022w, https://colourswordspaper.files.wordp... 150w, https://colourswordspaper.files.wordp... 300w, https://colourswordspaper.files.wordp... 768w, https://colourswordspaper.files.wordp... 1880w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Photo by Suzy Hazelwood on Pexels.com“Don’t tell me the moon is shining, show me the glint of light on broken glass.”
― Bernard Cornwall
Writing isn’t just about putting words down, it’s about getting them in the right order. Yes, the first draft is about writing the whole story out so you can start the real process of editing.
If you are serious about writing to a high standard, and are wanting to stand out from the crowd you won’t want to rush. Yes, I understand if you have a deadline breathing down your neck or you have to produce seven novels a year then the way I work won’t be for you.
Like all writers, I’m sure, I want my writing style to be original. I want my readers to know they are getting a well-thought-out story, an original tale. This all takes time. Ideas don’t come fully formed, but come slowly, step by step, word by word. I don’t like to leave threads dangling. Anything added at the beginning of my story must have a place at the end.
You don’t actually have to write anything until you’ve thought it out. This is an enormous relief, and you can sit there searching for the point at which the story becomes a toboggan and starts to slide.
– Marie de Nervaud
I need a thinking time when my mind is free to develop the storyline, create characters, etc while I writing. I’m not a plotter. I have a basic idea of where the story might go, who the main characters are and a timeline. i.e. is the story taking place over an hour, a week, a year or ten years. If my last story is told from a female’s point of view I like to swap to a male’s point of view next time. I like to keep it interesting for myself when I’m writing.
I don’t believe that a writer ‘gets’ (takes into the head) an ‘idea’ (some sort of mental object) ‘from’ somewhere, and then turns it into words, and writes them on paper. At least in my experience, it doesn’t work that way. The stuff has to be transformed into oneself, it has to be composted, before it can grow into a story.
– Ursula le Guin (October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) an American author
Of course, there are elements to writing that non-writers don’t understand. The constant flood of questions the author is answering in their head as the words flow. The back and forth of writing and rewriting sentences as you move forward in the process of telling the tale. How you can write five hundred words and then deleted two hundred and fifty because they don’t say what you want them to say.
The scariest moment is always just before you start.
– Stephen King
I like to keep my writing tight and my telling to the minimum. I prefer showing my readers the moon glinting off the broken glass, rather than telling them the moon was shining. Writing a novel is hard work, and there are moments when you are sure you are writing utter rubbish, and no one will want to read it. All those long hours spent trying to write to the best of your ability were time wasted. The problem with writing a novel is you can’t show someone halfway through and ask their opinion. You have to edit, rewrite, edit, and write until you have reached the point when you think it’s as near to damn perfect as you can get it.
[image error]Pexels.com" data-medium-file="https://colourswordspaper.files.wordp..." data-large-file="https://colourswordspaper.files.wordp..." src="https://colourswordspaper.files.wordp..." alt="" class="wp-image-1565" style="width:335px;height:auto" />Photo by Suzy Hazelwood on Pexels.comThe problem is it never is perfect or finished. Most authors have learnt there’s a point where you have to step away. As soon as you have submitted it, you discover there was a point one of the characters was meant to make or an error you didn’t correct. I have learnt never to reread a Ms after you have submitted it. If it is rejected then reread it before submitting it again. If the novel is accepted the editor will be working with you, and they will want you to make changes.
In answer to the question, So you’re still working on that book?
Yes, I am. You do know they don’t just fall into my head fully formed, and I just write them down word by word? 
