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Beginning a novel is the absolute worst. My current project, my love, my baby, my first full-length novel attempt since I was in high school and wrote books in plastic three-prong folders plastered with Hot Topic fairy stickers, has finally hit that point between the beginning and OH MY SWEET GOD I AM FINALLY GETTING SOMEWHERE.
Because the beginning takes a lot of patience and patience is a thing that I don't have. It's like a test--do you really want to be writing this novel? Because if it's too taxing you can always just play online all night and eat your weight in Reese's eggs. I always find myself thinking: Is this lead-in any good? How do I establish my characters? How do I establish the setting? Am I being too heavy-handed here? Why are we out of shortcake? AM I SHOWING AND NOT TELLING? AM I?
And when I'm not thinking those things I'm thinking: God, this book was a failure before it even started. It's a good idea--I swear on my life it's a good idea. Please fingers, just get this typed so that I can skip ahead to the blood and action.
For me, as soon as everything is established--(here's my world, here are the people in it, this is what they're doing, and this is why. You got that? EXCELLENT.)--the novel picks up and that (assuming I know where the hell I'm going with it) is when the story becomes a pleasure to write. That's what makes the stress and doubt of the beginning worth it.
And I'm happy to report to LJ and all of the writerly people that dwell within it that I've finally made it to that stage. I've crept by three hundred words at a time, procrastinated a lot, made far too much use of [insert scene], and right around 10K I started breezing through.
Now I'm going to go off and hope that I can keep up that breezing and not report here next week with DEAR GOD YOU GUYS, MY NOVEL IS TRYING TO KILL ME.
Because the beginning takes a lot of patience and patience is a thing that I don't have. It's like a test--do you really want to be writing this novel? Because if it's too taxing you can always just play online all night and eat your weight in Reese's eggs. I always find myself thinking: Is this lead-in any good? How do I establish my characters? How do I establish the setting? Am I being too heavy-handed here? Why are we out of shortcake? AM I SHOWING AND NOT TELLING? AM I?
And when I'm not thinking those things I'm thinking: God, this book was a failure before it even started. It's a good idea--I swear on my life it's a good idea. Please fingers, just get this typed so that I can skip ahead to the blood and action.
For me, as soon as everything is established--(here's my world, here are the people in it, this is what they're doing, and this is why. You got that? EXCELLENT.)--the novel picks up and that (assuming I know where the hell I'm going with it) is when the story becomes a pleasure to write. That's what makes the stress and doubt of the beginning worth it.
And I'm happy to report to LJ and all of the writerly people that dwell within it that I've finally made it to that stage. I've crept by three hundred words at a time, procrastinated a lot, made far too much use of [insert scene], and right around 10K I started breezing through.
Now I'm going to go off and hope that I can keep up that breezing and not report here next week with DEAR GOD YOU GUYS, MY NOVEL IS TRYING TO KILL ME.
