Once I had the general storyline of The Pride of Central in my mind, and once my personal schedule allowed me the time, I started writing the first draft of the manuscript in fall of 2016.
I did not know how long my manuscript would turn out to be, but at the time I guessed it would be 80,000 words. That was a little intimidating. What was even more intimidating was that I was unsure of the beginning of the story. Did I really want to write a beginning that I had little confidence in? Would I just delete the first few chapters and have to do it all over again?
Fortunately, I have been blessed with some good friends along this writing journey. One of those friends deserves credit for helping me along the way in writing my manuscript and for giving me some of the advice I am sharing in this blog.
Laura Campbell, author of The 27th Protector series, introduced me to the idea of writing from the middle. Focus on the scenes you are certain of. Start writing those portions of the book that you have confidence in. As you write them, hopefully the other scenes that you are not so sure about yet will start to take form.
For me, that is exactly what happened. The first four chapters of The Pride of Central were among the last chapters that I wrote. That is the portion of the book where most of the main characters are introduced, but I did not know how I wanted to introduce a reader to them until I had their whole story written. If I had tried to write from the beginning, I probably would have had to start over several times.
Writing from the middle may not work for everyone. If you already have a wonderful introduction and some exciting opening scenes in your mind, but you don't know how you want the story to resolve, then start from the beginning. There is no one perfect way to write your first novel. At the same time, don't be afraid to start in the middle or even the end of your manuscript.
The most important thing is to write (almost) every day. Some writers would simply say every day, and if you can do that without burning out, go ahead. But most humans need breaks. Don't beat yourself up for skipping a Sunday or not turning on the computer after a brutal day in the office.
But in general, it is a good idea to write something each day. You could set a goal of 500 words per day. I found it helpful to not worry about words, but to focus on writing one scene each day. If I was particularly energized, I'd tackle one of the longer scenes in my book and maybe write 2,500 words. On days where I really had to push myself to type, I'd do a quick transition scene and write fewer than 200 words.
Either way, I felt better once that scene was done. Whether I took one step or ran a mile, I was closer to the finish line.
Next week: Writing what you know (and you know a lot!)
Comments