Hello everyone, Bryce again.
As I mentioned in the last post, I finished my first fiction novel last week. The rough draft came in at about 125,000 words. I’m incredibly proud at the moment, but I’m sure a harsh dose of editing will bring me back down shortly.
I just wanted to share a few things I experienced during the writing process. These were things that I didn’t anticipate at all. I have written 10,000 – 20,000 non-fiction books before, but the process is so different that they hardly compare.
By far, the most frustrating aspect was maintaining the story line throughout the entire book. It took me roughly seven months to complete, and in that time I had a baby and started a new job. I was a completely different person when I started the book! I managed, but it was a struggle to make sure I was writing the same story at the end as I was at the beginning.
Another interesting thing happened to my writing mindset. I no longer thought I was going to finish the book, but I wrote with every bit of passion and interest I started with. I literally thought that I would be writing the book forever. Oddly enough, I was OK with it. I was invested so much in the characters that I didn’t mind visiting them every day. I don’t view this as a bad thing, but I had to remind myself that there was indeed an end goal.
Lastly, as I reached about 80% completion, I began splitting my time looking in to publishing ideas. I researched cover art, launch strategies, Pokemon Go, key words, Amazon algorithms, and a the list goes on. At first, I didn’t think anything of it. Then I realized that my progress halted completely. I refocused my energy on finishing the book. I had to fight my urge to look too far ahead.
In the end I finished the thing. I enjoyed myself the entire way. There is nothing quite like finishing something you have written for so long. I hope everyone can experience it at some point!
I’m sure the editing will be a different story… With me luck!
Thanks,
Bryce
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