Another quick check-in to say, I am over halfway through the first draft of my debut novel, on the downward slope, and I couldn’t be happier.
Throughout it all (so far), I’ve had some interesting challenges.
For the last few months, I’ve woken to my neighbour’s rooster at 3am each morning. I’m here to dispel the myth that roosters rise with the sun. Oh no, they rise much earlier, and they don’t go back to sleep! Instead, they remind you at regular intervals that they are up, and awake, and you should be too. Sure, I like fresh eggs as much as the next person. But I live in a quiet residential suburb. I did not sign up for Old MacDonald’s Farm outside my bedroom window.
That’s not all. I’ve attempted writing sessions with a particularly troublesome dog yapping below my writing desk. I’ve had the highs of an 18-day writing streak, only to miss a single day and feel like giving up. This chronic non-morning person (me) has risen early before work, sometimes while it’s still dark, always to the dulcet tones of my neighbour’s rooster, to add to the word count before work. I am regularly chained to the keyboard on Saturday nights while the rest of the world is at play. I’ve spent my lunch hours reading, writing and learning from other authors on the same journey.
I’ve even had my blasted (I mean, wonderfully intriguing) characters speak to me, demanding to be someone else – as in, a whole different person – when we’re already halfway through the novel!
As the first half of the book recedes into re-writing problems for ‘future me,’ I’ve decided to keep going, to write my characters as they are now, and accept them for who they’re turning out to be. The number one rule at the moment is; don’t edit, just keep moving forward. And through it all, I have to keep reminding myself, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. I will get there. I will finish this rough draft.
And that’s about as far ahead as I can think right now. Barring an outbreak of creative fatigue (or the next binge-worthy series on Netflix), I’m still shooting for my deadline. Thank you for being along for the ride!
I’ll continue to post as things progress, so, see you again next time. Oh, and if anyone would like to start a tradition of Christmas Rooster at the in-laws, let me know. I might be able to hook you up.
Yours in creativity,
Jackie