I’ve been writing fiction for fun (just as a hobby), since I was in the ninth grade. A few select friends have read some of the oddities that were produced between then and college (and a few in the first semester). During college I was pretty serious about my studies in Electrical Engineering and my writing dropped off quite a lot, after all, it was much easier to read what someone else had already slaved over during my precious hours of free time.
Once I entered the workforce, I rediscovered just how much I loved writing and began playing around again. (I also discovered how nice it was to have some money and bought more books and read a great deal more.) Somewhere around 1997, I started up my first attempt at a novel, Liberating London. But as with most attempts it was something I worked on it when I felt like it. The story unfolded itself in my mind, the characters came to life and had an amazing adventure, but the words didn’t really materialize on paper.
Maybe I shouldn’t say that. I have the first ten chapters of Liberating London, but since the ending is probably another twenty chapters away, it doesn’t feel like much of a success. On the other hand, I played in another world and had a terrific time. As I did, three additional books in that series unfolded eventually and some of those words also made it to the computer. (That’s right, I have words for four books that may never see the light of day…)
What changed? Like many good movies, we see the protagonists moving along in their little lives, thinking they’re happy, but we can see change coming on the horizon. Mine came in 2011 when I read a very short newspaper article talking about National Novel Writing Month, which is every November. The point of NaNoWriMo? To write 50,000 words of a new, original work of fiction.
Please see the NaNoWriMo website for more information. It’s an amazing idea and an amazing organization. They have a Young Writer's Program for writers under 18 years of age, also!
Don’t ask me why it sounded like fun, but it did. My first attempt was in 2011 (I started after reading the article on November 7th) where I created 19,307 words for a novel Call Me Mr. Powell, a book I do intend to finish. I was a little discouraged, but apparently not enough, because in 2012 I attempted another novel, A Counterfeit Deception, and improved my word count to 25,079. Perhaps it was the fact that I made it half-way that year, but I went into the following year with the right attitude.
In 2013, I attended a pre-NaNoWriMo seminar hosted at my local library (douglascountylibraries.org) by a writer/author/editor Deb McLeod (debmcleod.com). Her advice and some of the people I met, helped me get my attitude and creativity in the right place. I had no doubt I would win NaNoWriMo in 2013. And I did! On November 25, 2013 I validated my novel, Heavenly Matchmaking: Meant To Be, with 50,064 words!
For anyone who might be curious, I did do something a little different in 2013. I made character sketches for all three of my main characters before I started writing, and I made (gasp!) an outline. While I did end up deviating from the outline, it helped me keep my focus both during NaNoWriMo and after.
Heavenly Matchmaking: Meant To Be was far from finished that November. In September of 2014, I finally finished my edit and set it aside with almost 117,000 words. Whew!
With another NaNoWriMo only two months away, I jumped into plotting out the next book in the Heavenly Matchmaking series, Heavenly Matchmaking: Truce or Consequences. This wasn’t a simple little outline, but a 40 scene plan with conflict spelled out for each scene, and clearly identified triggers for everything that will happen to my darling characters, the plan for how they’ll react, and how they will move forward to an eventual happy ending.
As I write this, it’s November 29th and I won with 50,015 words on November 20th. The plan was invaluable, and will continue to be as I keep on to finish the novel, so I have learned that I am definitely more of a planner. (Friends will tell you that comes as no surprise to them.) The more work I do on a book upfront, the faster, smoother, and better the writing goes.
After completing my 50,000 words in just twenty days, I was tired and backed off a bit and had it hit me between the eyes that I really did write a book. A book. A book that’s currently stored as bits on my computer doing nothing! A new drive kicked in, I have got to find a publisher!
With the goal in mind of getting my first Heavenly Matchmaking book on book store shelves by November 2015, I started this new journey by purchasing two books, The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published: How To Write, Sell It, and Market It…Successfully by Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry and Novel And Short Story Writer’s Market by Rachel Randall, from my local independent bookseller The Tattered Cover.
I hope you’ll come along with me as I look at the advice and dive head first into the world of traditional publishing and discover alongside me whether or not I can make my next goal. Yes, I do realize that I will be lucky to even have the book on an editor’s desk by November 2015, let alone out for publication. But the way see it, if you don’t set an impossible goal, you’ll certainly never achieve it.
Update: I have decided to self-publish my debut novel as an e-book. The journey has changed course and I'm undertaking to learn an entirely different field.
If you have stories to share, words of wisdom, or just want to express yourself, I’m excited to hear from you. Thank you for joining me.
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