I don’t consider myself a "real" writer.
By that I mean someone who writes on a more or less regular basis.
Instead, I’m kind of a binge writer. Now and then over the years I’ve found short or long periods of time in which to focus on something – usually a novel.
Life always tended to get in the way. And marketing. Marketing has often held me back because I never knew what I "ought" to do.
But I no longer care about marketing or about all the other things I "should" do simply because I see the need.
My goal now is to write and not worry about anything else. No one can write what I can. So I need to go ahead and just do it. Once I have 5 or 10 novels written, maybe somebody will publish them. Or not. But I’ll have done my part.
Last year, I wrote The Misadventures and Tribulations of Princess Persnickety in three installments. In the spring, I got the idea and wrote the opening and a bit of the first chapter in more or less one day. I then did some research whenever I had a few minutes, and, on the three days of the Labour Day weekend, I wrote about half of the book, maybe a bit more (aiming for 20,000 words, which didn’t quite suffice). Finally, I managed to steal 10 days in December to finish off the rest of the book (total of 40,000 words) and edit it.So it’s written. And my two granddaughters have copies. First goal achieved. One book requiring a bit more editing, but fairly complete.
Two days ago, I started the next book on my to do list. Title as yet to be decided on. But this time I’m determined to become a "real" writer – i.e. to write regularly, and not just grab 3 or 10 days somewhere.
My goal is to take 4 hours a day 6 days a week – Monday to Saturday from 1 to 5 p. m. – to work on my novel. So far, this week, I did it on Wednesday and again today. Thursday got stolen by a previous commitment. Not writing yet – still in the planning stages. But a small step has been achieved.
How long do I need to write a novel – for adults – of roughly 7o,000 words? That remains to be seen. I’m hoping to have a first draft done by April 30.
And then May 1st start the next book. And if you’re interested, I’m hoping to blog about the journey here, so stay tuned.
