Journey
of a
Novel
The Journey Begins
Writing groups were once a safe haven for me to write my way towards a novel. The support of like-minded people who all have a love of words, story, writing, or any combination of these, kept me going when I would’ve stopped. The shared experience of struggling through the creative process is something that I miss more than I knew I could.
In 2020 life was turned upside down, people stayed home; writing groups died. Online versions attempt to emulate the elements of face-to-face writing sessions but fail with no room for authentic, intuitive feedback to be communicated. It all feels stale to me.
I wanted to keep writing though, and attempt to give to myself what I had shared and received in writer’s groups.
My solution was inspired by the John Steinbeck work Journal of a Novel.
My journal is a journey through my creative process as I write my novel.
Each entry is a post where I set my intentions, structure the narrative, craft characters, detail setting, integrate symbolism, record my progress and more. I revisit what I have written to identify gaps, and move forward drafting and re-drafting chapters.
Maybe I’ll be published, maybe I’ll self publish, or perhaps I’ll experience the satisfaction of following through to write the book that I want to write just because I can.
Time to get writing.
Join the journey where I am at now, or begin from the start.
Journal of a Novel:
The East of Eden Letters is a series of letters written by John Steinbeck to his friend and editor Pascal Covici, in parallel with the first draft of his longest novel, East of Eden.
The letters were written between January, 29- October 31, 1951. They were not meant for publication, but an edited version was first published by Viking the year after the author's death in 1968.
Steinbeck's letters were mostly written on the left hand pages of a notebook where the right hand pages had the text of East of Eden (novel)
Join me on the Journey where I am at now in my progress.
Sifting through mental word salad
Part of the submission guidelines when I submitted my work for assessment was that only the first 50 pages were accepted. As a result I redrafted those pages, then redrafted again, and again until I was satisfied enough to send them off. I made it to seven redrafts in total.
Read the Journey from the beginning of journaling my process.
Paving the road
For the past 10 years I’ve been writing a novel off and on, and now is the time to get it done. When I couldn’t find a writing buddy to establish a writing habit with I began teaching. In each session I would write with the group mostly writing toward
Journey Milestones
2020
Made the decision to write my novel from years of notes and false starts.
Began journaling my novel development to cope with isolation.
- Chose to use writing my novel as a positive focus in my life.
- Committed to completing all chapters for the personal satisfaction of following through until the end.
- Decided to write in first draft for the journal to prevent using time for editing that can be used for writing my novel.
2021
- Finished drafting the narrative into chapters.
- Journaled my creative process to set a pace and regular rhythm for my work.
- Writing became a mainstay for me in a world turned on its head.
2022
- Completed the 3rd draft.
- Reveled in the feeling of making it as far as I had.
- Generous friends read my work as beta-readers.
- With equal measures of satisfaction and internal cringe I read and re-read my draft while planning edits for the next draft.
- Lost my way with journaling my process because my goal of completing all of the chapters was achieved.
- Felt stuck because I didn’t know if I had created something worth more of my time and energy.
2023
- Began the 4th draft.
- Redrafted the first 3 chapters to reach the 5th draft to submit to a publishing competition.
- Submitted to a publishing competition to seek professional feedback on if I should continue to develop my novel or not.
- Failed to get a place in the publishing competition, but when I asked for advice about developing and publishing my novel I was assured they want to ‘work with me in the future to publish’.
- Joined a local writer’s group to edit and develop the entire manuscript up to the 6th draft.
- Realised how much journaling my journey had contributed to my momentum, and how much I missed checking in with where I am at with my process.
- Created this website to further formalise my process for myself and anyone that can benefit from my efforts while on their own journey.
2024
- Follow through on my intentions for this year as listed below.
- Make changes to the narrative and some characters to solidify themes.
- Continue my journey through this website.
- Complete the 5th and 6th draft for all chapters.
- Invest in my creativity by hiring an editor for the next step in development.
- Engage other writers through this site to confirm the solidarity that we all have as creatives.