How To Write a Novel - Part One

Shhh ... listen carefully. Can you hear it? I think there might be an echo in here. It's okay though. I don't mind if you are my only reader. I'm glad you're here.

And this blogging thing is all a learning process for me, if nothing else.

I'll let you in on a secret. Sometimes I talk to myself. I hear lots of voices in my head, too. They are helpful. They guide me in my writing.

I've been toying with an idea for some time now. And now the voices are pointing me outward to "signs." You know the ones that are "in your face."

Wait a minute. Let me go back. Back to the beginning.

It was after I had taken a few writing classes that I decided to participate in National Novel Writing Month with nothing more than a hint of an idea. I guess you could say it was one of those voices in my head telling me that I had to bring it to life.

So in November of that year, I sat down and let my fingers do the talking on my keyboard. I decided to let it flow out without an outline. It was rough, very rough. In fact, looking back, I was embarrassed that I had let someone else read it.

I had it edited and after I made the suggested changes, it got better.

But still, it wasn't good enough.

I signed up for another class. I learned a little more. I edited it again. And it got a little better. Now, at two-thirds of the way through re-writes, it's quite a different story than what I started with.

Time is hard to find though. I write a little here and a little there. When there is a lapse in my writing schedule, the signs start appearing. Yelling at me to get to work. Characters from my book appear in my everyday life.

While it is my intent to pick apart my journey of this whole writing process here, I really should be using this time to work on final re-writes.

So we'll see.

In the meantime, if you need some good reading material, visit my online literary magazine, Mouse Tales Press.

I hope to see you again.