Installment #6: Bang! We’re off!

Writing ByTrying My Hand At Writing A Novel

Feb 23

I’m four short chapters and 3478 words in. Longer than a tweet, shorter than a middle school History paper.

Here’s what I’ve learned so far:

1) I’ve scared myself enough to force my cat Leo to sit beside me while I write. He won’t save me from anything that might come sneaking up behind me to take me to the underworld, but at least my last few moments on earth will be snuggly.

2) This is fun. Not like shopping with mom’s credit cards fun, but in an “I’m learning something about my storytelling capacity” kind of fun. So, maybe fun is a strong word here.

3) And hard. I’m a few chapters in and already I have the utmost admiration for all successful novelists. How do they do this every day? Every afternoon around lunchtime I think I should have started with an “Are You There, God, It’s Me, Margaret,” or “Junie B. Jones,” novel-ish kind of novel. But I’m in for a penny now.

4) I find myself alternately adding in details I’m not sure will make it into the final version and sometimes underwriting parts that need much more explanation. It’s a delicate balance. I want to keep the story moving without bogging it down too much in things I find interesting, but aren’t really that important. Does anyone really need to know if she bought her trainers at The Footlocker? Probably not. Does putting that into the story make me feel better? I can debate that with myself for an hour and pretend that I’m working so… probably.

5) The big takeaway is just how different this is from writing a script where you boil things down to just what is necessary to tell your story. In script form, you only have so much real estate. Every line must be meaningful or it will wind up cut for time or replaced by something that reveals character or propels the plot. In a novel, I have all the time in the world to meander around a location, unravel a backstory, or explore a character’s innermost thoughts. And that’s the danger. I could get lost inside this book for months without really going anywhere which takes me back to #1 on this list.

6) I’m also going to do my best to resist the urge to go back and noodle what I’ve already written in the hopes of making it perfect before I go on to the next chapter. Already I can sense that I’ll want to make changes — finesse a phrase that’s wonky, or futz with a detail — and like wearing an itchy sweater just because it’s cute, I’m determined to suffer through the uncomfortable feeling that’s creeping up on me and muscle through.

A novelist friend and former TV scribe told me he writes at least 5 pages a day. I’m going to see if I can stick to that schedule or if I knuckle under the weight of having to put all of those words on a page. It certainly feels like I’m at the starting line to a marathon when I never even ran a 5K, but who cares? One way or another I am crossing the finish line.