Journey Of A Novel

Menu

Creative writing

Take two

Tanya V 26 March 2022

I had a realisation about my first draft that came with a wave of relief – I’m done!!

I’d had in my mind that I needed to write more, two chapters perhaps, to follow the ancient tale that I’ve taken the story structure from. To do that though I’d be paying lip service to the architecture of the narrative rather than writing the story as it needs to be with the underpinning structure sitting in the background as support for what I have written. Having the storyline to keep me on track has definitely kept me from looping into creative angst where I sat paralysed within the scope of my imagination unable to write the words because I couldn’t commit to what happened next.

For me, in reference to my creative process at least, there has been freedom within structure.

So my protagonist has reached the end of their journey; the circle is complete.

Today I am beginning the process of second draft writing. Some chapters will need more work than others with all chapters needing to be revisited. I’ve already created a file with notes on the work needed including changing the structure to create flow from one chapter to another, the idea behind this is to give the whole novel rhythm. Other major points of focus for the second draft are imagery and themes being woven together and carried throughout the piece. Also, there’s the task of throwing away words which will be hard but needs to be done.

I’m feeling a little shell-shocked to have reached this stage and beginning to explore the reality of publishing. It’s still a while off but I am one step closer, closer than I have ever been before, and that feels good. My publishing plans are non-committal meaning that if I have options to publish then great, if not, then I’ll do it myself for myself. I’ve chosen to write this novel because it’s good for my soul to do so, or heart and mind, or self, or whatever works to best refer to that inner need for self expression.

Fits and Starts

Tanya V 12 February 2021

Piecing together what I have written, am writing, researching, past research, and the occasional pinch of flow is rewiring my brain. So far it’s a good thing. I certainly have lost time with the focus that I’m applying.

My story is being fleshed out and rearranged every time I pause to read what I am crafting. I stop and read aloud – yes that’s a thing if you didn’t know it, it’s a great technique for removing your focus from writer/editor mode to just listen to what is there with fresh ears. The trick is don’t stop, don’t edit, just read. To read through without disruption and truly hear the flow and narrative I read it over first to check for anything that will trip me up and steal my focus. Once I’m able to read it without being distracted by words, commas, sentence structure, narrative glitches, etc, I read aloud in one uninterrupted go.

I feel like I’m running on the spot but recognise that editing past sections I’ve written into new work is enriching the story as I continue. Some of the past sections that I’m working into the new were written years ago and it’s surprised me how much I’ve ended up pulling them apart to slot them in amongst the new words, sometimes sentence by sentence.

I use highlighting and coloured text to define new from old until I am happy that the words now live there, then I change them all to look the same as I complete each paragraph.

Working in this way has helped me keep a running check on where I’m at and how I’m progressing. At times I feel like I’m obsessing with the writing and rewriting of a sentence into place. When I make the final decisions, then reread it, I keep catching myself taking in a deep breath like I’m coming up for air. With each edit I’m secluded into a bubble of creativity where my mind travels to a place I’ve never been. Letter by letter, word after word, the place is coming into focus slowly but surely.

I’m grateful to have words that I’d written previously to work with, it’s adding life to my work to layer in my progression combining details to bring the story to life. New words are sprouting up and into place as I push forward. The trick for me it seems is to keep a straight head, focus, stay there until I’m done and give my creativity time.

The intensity causes me to get up and move away at times. I stretch, I breathe, I look at the sky, I spend time distracted by technology but in the back of my mind sits the next step. What is it? Where am I up to? Do I know where my research is for an upcoming section? Should I keep a character that I wrote in briefly a year ago or not?

Time for coffee then more writing.

Refining my how-to

Tanya V 11 February 2021

I backup my writing in 2 locations but yesterday after much writing I couldn’t open files in either location. It was a scary half hour as I rallied myself to not succumb to angry monkey mentality and begin smashing my keyboard in frustration. There were almost tears but I got a grip and pushed through mustering patience. I tried and tried again and eventually my computer cooperated restoring from the recent files on my version of MS word – who knew that MS could be helpful and not just creepy!!!

Having passed that hurdle I am moving forward now with another level of file management. I am making a separate file for each chapter to keep the content minimal. I will keep a working copy in two locations. I will breathe, take my time and always include extra time for ‘computer speed’ or downtime as some know it.

Creating a timeline for writing is not as easy as sitting down to write, even if I write by hand I still have to type it up sooner or later. Writing is never just writing. With this in mind I’ll work at breaking my time into blocks and timing my writing sessions with a minimum time frame but never maximum so I can write to my heart’s content.

I’m happy with what I have reshuffled from previously written pieces and added to so far. My work is dense with ideas behind everything for readers to be able to invest their imagination as much or as little as they like. With this in mind I know that I’ll have stops and starts to the flow of my process when I stop to check details from resources; some I’ll include, some I’ll ponder and apply with a lighter touch. My aim is not to be precise or correct. I’m not writing a historical novel, I’m not interested in being up-to-date with the latest anthropological discovery or theory, I respect but don’t follow religions so I will construct a story that works for me and to the best of my ability.

My game plan for getting the work done is to keep following the narrative and work through the story chronologically to take myself on the hero’s journey along with my protagonist. Previously I’ve written according to prompts and whatever part of the storyline the prompt inspired. I got a lot of writing done in this way but will not use all of it as I was cycling over what I had already written and found myself stuck in scenes with no clear way into the next.

I’m up to a research point so the actual writing could be minimal today as I commit the majority of my time to collecting information. Even if it’s a few sentences though I will write today to include what I research, this way I will be free to continue writing when I write next time.

Where to start

Tanya V 10 February 2021

I’m starting at the beginning.

I’ve started at the beginning of my story many times before shifting the starting point and pondering the origin story – what it is, how to tell it, where and how does it start…

Imagery is important to me, I’m a visual writer often writing what I see in my mind and doing my best to document that vision as I tell the story. Sharing what I see is my story telling method which makes me a sucker for descriptive writing. Using the images that I have in mind also makes the narrative sketchy with gaps at times and caught up with too much thought around details that I question as necessary.

With my writing to date I have created a word document where I have pasted my work in order as best I can. I’ve done three things with this file for navigating my work.

1 – I’ve pasted the writing in sections of chapters as I currently see them to cluster story parts together which makes it easier to find the story part that I’m working on to save me time and frustration when looking for ‘that bit’.

2 – I’ve colour coded each piece of writing to help define different pieces that I’ve written over time, in part this has become unnecessary as I dissect and move the pieces about editing in new writing as I go. Colour coding has and still does help me to move through the writing referencing where I am at visually with colour though.

3 – The file is now my work in progress as I continue to shuffle what I have written, add to it, and use past writing as the bones of what I am working on.

For the past few days I have chipped away at how I will tell the story with a focus on committing to a style. I want to tell this old disputed narrative that sits in the intersecting realms of fantasy, religion, history, and origin with a tone that honours all. Can I do this? I really don’t know but I am going to get lost in that idea and give it a go. This type of story has always appealed to me, I get sucked in to the awe and wonder that they embody within their telling. If a story has me questioning I know that it’s a good one, I know that I can lose myself their and revel in my imagination. To root myself in that the lost time that imagination serves up I have a saying of my own that I always come back to when considering any story that provokes me in such a way and that is:

I don’t care if a story is true, I only care if it is good

With this in mind I will attempt to capture the feeling of being lost in a story because it is good.

Paving the road

Tanya V 4 February 2021

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 my novel in an unplanned way to just get it down and get it out. That worked for creating content but not for finishing the task.

Of all the writing I’ve done over the years toward this I have written approximately 20 000 words that I could use so far, of these I’ll most likely throw away up to a quarter. Writing is after all knowing which words to keep and largely about writing down words then throwing them away to craft a piece with the best that you have, much like carving a sculpture from marble. Words are the raw material, they are beautiful with qualities all their own, but we can’t use them all, some must be thrown away.

Writing toward my WIP (work in progress) in this way has not served the purpose that I hoped for; I have not finished my novel and I’ve had more than enough time to do it. What I have achieved though is a great amount of insight and experience into the value of the creative process. With this I’ve guided many budding writers toward their goal and now it’s time to heed my own advice, take my own medicine, and practice what I preach.

Listening to the words that came out as I talked story, writing and literary devices in my classes I often thought – Hey, I should do that too!

So here I am to do the work and get it done. Now rather than paving the road for others then sitting on the footpath as they pass by, I will take the journey along the road of creativity for myself, all the way to the end.

I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost’s poem The Road Not Taken, 1920

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44272/the-road-not-taken