For the last 15 months or so, *lowers voice to a whisper as PM is well aware that there is nothing unique in a blogger making the following announcement* I have been writing a novel. I'm not going to lie to you; it's been stop/start. I haven't really concentrated on it, not at all. Real Life has insisted on getting in the way, dammit. I would have a couple of weeks when I powered through a couple of chapters, followed by months of inactivity when it gathered metaphorical dust in a metaphorical filing drawer, waiting to be noticed and added to.
I wasn't really bothered by this as I figured I had plenty of time. I would get round to it - eventually. But time moves on, and so do our lives. It's become clear to me that it may be now or never on the novel-writing front (and no, this does not mean we have imminent plans to move back to the UK - just that - well, who knows what's around the corner?). Something had to change, I decided. So this is what I posted on fb last Sunday:
'This week I am going to write 10,000 words. (I'm hoping that by making such a public declaration of intent, I will be too embarrassed NOT to do it...).
Oh. And not on the blog, twitter or fb, by the way. (For a change).'
And in the last 5 days, I did it. I wrote 10,000 words. Nobody is more amazed than I am at the fact that I actually managed it. But you know what has amazed me even more than the fact that somehow I was able to carve out the time and find the impetus to do it?
How much better I feel for having achieved this. What I've written may well be rubbish. It may never see the light of day. But I'm about half way through what could feasibly considered a decent length novel, and it feels good. I may even repeat the experience again next week...
*Billy Crystal in 'Throw Momma from the Train'. Yes, I'm showing my age.
I wasn't really bothered by this as I figured I had plenty of time. I would get round to it - eventually. But time moves on, and so do our lives. It's become clear to me that it may be now or never on the novel-writing front (and no, this does not mean we have imminent plans to move back to the UK - just that - well, who knows what's around the corner?). Something had to change, I decided. So this is what I posted on fb last Sunday:
'This week I am going to write 10,000 words. (I'm hoping that by making such a public declaration of intent, I will be too embarrassed NOT to do it...).
Oh. And not on the blog, twitter or fb, by the way. (For a change).'
And in the last 5 days, I did it. I wrote 10,000 words. Nobody is more amazed than I am at the fact that I actually managed it. But you know what has amazed me even more than the fact that somehow I was able to carve out the time and find the impetus to do it?
How much better I feel for having achieved this. What I've written may well be rubbish. It may never see the light of day. But I'm about half way through what could feasibly considered a decent length novel, and it feels good. I may even repeat the experience again next week...
*Billy Crystal in 'Throw Momma from the Train'. Yes, I'm showing my age.
You often read that writing is a discipline - less of a 'when inspiration strikes' and more of a 'sit down and do it regardless of how you feel' thing. I'm sure it's like anything else - the more you do, the better and easier it gets. I take hours to put together a few hundred words in a blog post - 10,000 seems overwhelming. Well done, you!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely well done - legendary. A book I have says to work at it for x amount of time every day - even if it is crap, it is the doing that is important...
ReplyDeleteThat's amazing, well done! What's the novel about ? X
ReplyDelete