So, you
always wanted to write a novel, and finally you have an idea that you just know
will work. You have sketched a few notes
out on paper and maybe brainstormed a few character traits (if you planned a
lot). You are all set. So out comes the computer and as you type
Chapter One you are so full of excitement and enthusiasm you can barely focus
to write the first sentence. You watch
the cursor flicking in and out of view each second. Tick-tock, tick-tock. Half an hour has passed and all you have
written is the first sentence. Five
times. Because you have also deleted it
five times, and now you find yourself sat in front of a blank screen with those
initial dreams and endless possibilities never seeming further away.
I heard it said
once that everybody has a book in them.
I don’t know who said it first, but I heard it from my friend when I first
said I was going to write a novel. This
was a wet New Years Eve in a cold pub garden in England. I felt very encouraged by her obvious
enthusiasm. If everybody has a book in
them, I must be able to write one. But
why if it is that easy isn’t everybody doing it? Why doesn’t everybody leave work and hunch
themselves over a computer at night at the expense of friends and a social
life? Because when you sit down to do
it, you soon realise that it’s harder in practice than it looks.
What seems
like a great idea at the beginning can soon run into problems, especially if
you haven’t planned well. I know this
because about the only thing I manage to plan is sitting at the computer. I have managed to increase the attention to planning
with each book I have written, but it remains anything but impressive, and the
material is always subject to change. Getting
from point A (A being the time when you say to your friend in a pub garden that
you are going to write a novel) to point B (finished product) can take a long
time. For my first book it took me about
eight years.
I
procrastinated for at least four years after that initial conversation, save
the odd bit of note taking here and there.
In all honesty, the initial idea had at best been lame. But what never left me was the desire to
write. I always believed that I would do
it, but was never really sure how.
So the big
question for any of you out there who are thinking that this sounds a lot like
you, is how do you actually get started?
The difficult part is that there is no simple answer, although the
realisation for me was indeed something simple.
I realised that in order to be a writer, I had to make a very simple
change in my life. I had to actually
start writing something (other than ideas on post-it notes!) It sounds too easy, doesn’t it? Why hadn’t I realised this before?
Beginning a
new writing project always requires a bit of a hurdle over the starting blocks. But what happens in time is that as a writer
you develop your own methods of managing this leap. Staring at a blank word document with a total
word count of two, knowing that you have to reach somewhere in the region of
80-90,000 for a full length novel and never having done it before is a big
undertaking. Also, with the daily
demands of work, children, partners, school fetes and PTA meetings, when
exactly are you supposed to fit it all in?
Days might go by and you don’t manage to write anything, and slowly the
habit of not writing becomes exactly that.
A habit.
So writing
a book takes time and determination.
Nothing you didn’t know there. What
can you do to manage the doubts before you have even started? I’ll tell you what I did.
1. I stopped imagining the publishing
contract.
It’s so tempting when you sit writing your first few sentences to
daydream about what the future might bring and how you might be the next King,
Banks, or Meyer. Focus on the now. What you are doing right now. Right now you are writing chapter one, so
stop thinking about the celebratory cigars and brandy, at least until you have
finished the first draft. Celebrate
small success along the way, rather than waiting for the big one at the end.
2. I stopped analysing what I was
writing.
First drafts are exactly that.
They are not supposed to be the finished product, and neither should
they be. My first drafts don’t even make
sense in places. There are words missing,
added, and mistyped. Write the first
draft as quickly as you can, and as Stephen King would suggest, with the door
closed. It’s your first draft, so keep
it that way. Don’t let people influence
you yet. Write what you think, not what
your husband or your best friend thinks.
3. I made a schedule.
It’s great to write every day, and now I just about manage that. But at the beginning life was very different. Back then I worked about fifty hours a week,
and quite a few extra hours on call too, running in and out of a hospital at
all hours of the night. Writing every day
back then was a hopeless dream. So instead,
if I couldn’t write I dedicated a little bit of time each day to thinking about
the book. I thought about the plot,
where I was going with a particular character, or new ideas. Some of these ten minute chunks snatched at
lunch or in the car were really helpful, and it kept my mind in touch with the
book. When you do get half an hour to get
down 500 words you will find that you
feel fresh and in touch with the work, and don’t have to spend 10 minutes
catching up.
4. I gave myself a pat on the back.
I remember feeling very nervous the first time I told anybody I was
writing a book. By then I was probably
two thirds of the way through the first draft and thinking that I might
actually finish it. I knew the first
draft was crummy and needed work, but I had still written over 50,000
words. It was a small celebration of what
had been achieved so far. Plus, the
response was great, and it was nice to celebrate with somebody and listen to
their enthusiasm.
5. I sat on the first draft.
Once you finish, crack open the bubbly.
It’s time to celebrate. You have
written the skeleton draft of your book.
Take a rest from it before going back and starting the edit.
The idea of
writing a book has never been so attractive to the thousands of people out
there who want to do it. Perhaps my
friend was right, and that everybody does have a book in them. The difference between the doers and the non
doers is nothing more exciting than dedication and commitment. Writing a book is hard, and there are times
when you feel like you are churning out rubbish and want to give up. Something else I heard the other day is that
a professional writer is simply an amateur who never gave up. It’s something to remind yourself of when the
sight of a blank page seems like the biggest hurdle to overcome.
I am signing off now for a cup of tea and a late breakfast. Wishing everybody a very merry Christmas and hoping that your day is filled with love, happiness, peace, and joy. 
