Of course this is only really pressure I'm putting on myself, and so maybe I shouldn't get stressed about it. Then again, the pressure you put on yourself is ultimately the only pressure that truly counts. Pressure is what makes us do the things we want to do, and makes us the people we are.
A wise man once said to me "The choices we make dictate the life we lead", and its stuck with me through to this point (I might even use that quote in my book!). So the question is what sort of man do I want to be? What pressure will I put on myself to become that person?
Deep questions, so lets break it down into something a little simpler. What do I hope to achieve in the next eight weeks? Ultimately I want to be able to go back to work refreshed, invigorated and able to say "I wrote a book."
And that sounds so simple. Over the last year I've talked to many people about my experience of writing, and honestly, half have said "Oh I've written a book as well!" Its a weird feeling. I have to be honest and say it was a bit of a shock. Was I so naive to think that what I was doing was fairly unique or did I think I was special? I don't know. Maybe its just that writing is something personal, and so when you do it, its for yourself and not something you share with others. That's how I started. Lots of short stories, introductions to characters, beginnings that never went anywhere. But I only shared them with a very limited number of people - well, one person if I'm honest. What I discovered last year was that others were interested in what I wanted to write, and enjoyed reading what I had written. Of course the paranoia in me questioned whether this was simply them being nice, and that I had no real talent. Like those people you see on the X-Factor or similar shows, where their friends and family are telling them they are wonderful singers only for them to humiliated on national television.
But the flip side of this was that I really enjoyed writing. It calmed me, allowed me to go to places within my own imagination, create characters that interested me. Writing allowed me to put questions and doubts to paper, manipulate them and make things better in my own mind. For example, the book I'm writing formed between the first and second Iraq wars when oil, and not the people, seemed to be what both sides were really fighting for. Now this may or may not be true, and I don't want to go into that debate, but I was young and that idea drilled into me. And so came about the idea of a Corporation War, a fantasy war where powers were struggling over control of Arcane magic. Unlike magic as is shown in most books and films, this was a tangible fuel (at least to a degree), much like oil, gas and coal, and like these it was being depleted as the world grew more reliant upon it.
I don't want to give more away, or you might steal my ideas! But that is the basis of the world in which my story takes place ©
Anyway, I digress.
I want to be a writer. To do this I need to have written, and presumably finished, something... anything. And that's my aim. I also plan to write this blog, partly as a way of staying on track, but also as a diary to follow and look back upon. I won't write everyday, but hope to share something at least once of twice a week, when something exciting happens or just to keep track of where I am at. I should warn you, this will be verbal garbage. I plan to write the blog with no editing; just letting the words spill out of my head and onto the page. I hope you've brought a life jacket with you, cos this ride is gonna get bumpy!
This is what I've tasked myself to do:
- My novel is science fiction/fantasy, which general consensus seems to agree needs to be between 100,000 and 115,000 words. Any shorter and it could be disregarded as not enough content, and any longer and publishers might dismiss it out of hand. That puts my novel (based on my general chapter lengths) at between 30 and 35 chapters long.
- I need to have completed the novel, and written a single page summary (harder than it sounds), and sent it off to at least one agent and/or publisher, or more by the end of the sabbatical.
That's it. It really is that simple.
Wait did I say simple? Yeah... in the last 12 to 18 months I've written a total of 8 chapters which I am happy with, and 4-5 more in draft format. Writing something which grabs others attention, flows seamlessly from chapter to chapter keeping the readers interest, is hard work. Just getting something down on paper is tough enough, but then editing it and knowing when to stop editing it - now that's the real test of endurance and mental stamina. Today I picked apart a chapter and got so frustrated. I really liked what I had written, but it just didn't fit neatly into the rest of the story. Plus I introduced five new minor characters which might be too many.
Doing this alone is... well kinda lonely. Another generally observed writers thing is "Don't share your work until it is finished". I can see why, as everyone will have their own take on what you should write, and after a while it stops being your book. Having said that, I've been lucky enough to have two friends without whom this story would still be in the "where do I go from here" stage.
So discipline is key. I need to get out and get inspired, but I also need to dedicate time sat at the computer or notebook, and write. Write, write and write. Failure will be if after eight weeks I don't have something to share. That's the challenge. That's the person I want to be :)
No comments:
Post a Comment