Writing my first book - Part One
Sharing the challenges, the lessons, and the joy along the way
This isn’t my first attempt at writing a book.
Unfortunately, it’s far from my first attempt at writing a book.
I can trace the earliest attempt to when I was 10 years old, writing desperately in a small journal my mum had bought. I was convinced I was working on a best-seller.
A few hundred words later, the story was dead in the water.
I’ve since ‘tried’ a number of times, but each time, the story end with the same fate.
About six months ago, however, I came across a post on medium.com (where I had been writing an anonymous blog) that laid out a roadmap to writing your first book.
It basically said to stop editing what you’ve already written, and instead, just keep writing.
Write until you reach 80,000 words, and don’t re-read what you’ve written until then.
Keep the story alive in your head, and keep a list of things you want to fix, or where you know you’ve created an inconsistency in the story, but…
do.
not.
edit.
Trust that once the book is written, you can go back and fix whatever incongruence you’ve created.
Trust that it’s far more important to have a story to edit, than a perfect first paragraph.
And that made a lot of sense to me.
Every time I’ve ever tried to write a book, I’ve more often than not never gotten past the first paragraph.
I’ve struggled with every cliche.
I’ve wrestled with a storyline for weeks on end, trying to find a way to make it original.
I’ve celebrated, convinced I’ve finally found it, only to share it with a friend and have them immediately quote several books at me that did the exact same thing with the dreaded response of “Oh so it’s like X book?”.
And with every roadblock I run into, another story dies before it’s ever been given life.
So this time, I’m trusting what this post said.
I’m just… writing.
Tonight, I passed 10,000 words.
Are they the most gripping 10,000 words you’ll ever read?
Absolutely not.
But are they the start of what could be an entertaining book to read?
I think so.
I have my main characters.
Are they fully fleshed out?
Absolutely not.
But do they have a good mix of strengths and weaknesses I can exploit for interesting character development and story contributions?
I think so.
I have my main story arch.
Is it a totally original plot?
Absolutely not.
But does it weave together a number of common tropes into a somewhat fresh take on a story told a thousand times?
I think so.
What I’m finding the most exhilarating part of this process is not the writing itself, but actually the number of possible hooks I can plant with every sentence. I close my eyes and let my fingers type what they want, and as long as I don’t get in my own head, paragraphs start to form on the page. When I eventually open my eyes and read the words, I see a thousand possibilities of how the story could develop.
Could that throwaway description about a certain thing be the first clue that sets up a twist in chapter ten?
Is that person’s vague backstory something I can explore at some point in the next 15,000 words that will reveal a new layer to one of my characters?
I get to imagine these characters, and their stories, as complex and as rich as my own life, and then I get to share that story through these words.
It’s an incredibly exciting feeling.
If I write something that doesn’t make sense by word 45,000, I can just go back and fix it when I get to the editing stage.
No choices in what I’ve written are permanent.
I just get to write, write and write.
If I can just hold onto this excitement, the next few months should be very exciting indeed!
Before you go, a quick note from me, Geordie.
Thanks for reading!
As always, I am grateful for your support as I work out my place in this strange and wonderful world we get to share with each other.
Right! Write, write, write. Right on! 👏🏻
It’s super intriguing to follow you on your writing immersion.