How to Write Your First Novel — Chapter 2 — Writing doubts? (Kill them!)

“You don’t just have a story — you’re a story in the making, and you never know what the next chapter’s going to be. That’s what makes it exciting.” — Dan Millman

So I’ve gotten my usual 42 minutes of sleep and I’m ready to tackle chapter 2. I’m not sure how it works for other authors, but I had a bit of an existential crisis as I came to the keyboard this morning. I realized that I spent a good twelve hours or so on my first chapter. Actually, only the first draft of my first chapter. Then I realized that my book my very well end up being thirty of these…books really are long. I guess it’s rather serendipitous that I started writing this as I streamed the final hour of the Rio Olympics Marathon. I don’t think I’ve ever been a bigger fan.

As I’ve said before, the process of writing is much different from thinking about it. I’m sure once I start pounding out the first couple of lines the doubt will fade (I hope). One thing I do have going for me are my characters. They may not be anything special to anyone else (yet…hopefully), but they are certainly growing on me. They don’t seem so much like cardboard cutouts now. When I picture the story in my mind I can see vivid images, the only trouble I’m having at present is writing them all down (especially in a sequence that makes sense). To keep the story flowing I think I’ll go back a read my first chapter first.

Writing — One step forward and two steps back…

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”- Thomas A. Edison

…4 hours later.

Note to self — Do Not Start Editing! As I started reading my first chapter I was possessed by the demon of a particularly critical editor. I second guessed nearly everything. My title. The character names. The point of view. And I must have cut and pasted the first paragraph a dozen times only to give up and leave it as it is.

The really funny thing is that I came back after work and found myself enjoying the same writing I hated hours before. So much of writing is about consistency. I think I need to set aside a particular writing time with clear limits on how much I can reread and tweak. After a week of this I already realize I’m far more positive and creative in the morning compared to the night. Time to set my alarm clock I guess.

Time to write!

…4 and a half hours later.

I wrote more in less time…imagine that. It might have taken a while to work through all my previous doubts but once I got to actually writing, the words came pouring out in this chapter. Call it being in the zone, “flowing”, being locked in, this time things were fun. I got to add a bit more into the mythology of my world and I’ve got a much clearer idea of my main character’s motivations.

In this chapter I was able to bring in a couple of supporting characters, but I didn’t have to force them in. I’m not sure if it came through in the writing, but they occurred naturally, just new strangers I met in my imaginative journey.

On some level I have to say the process of writing, when the real world falls away and you see nothing but the movie in your head, is its own kind of reward. It’s addictive. That’s the only reason I can justify sitting at my Keyboard for 4 and half hours straight on my only day off! It seems that spending time with my characters, settling into the world without distractions, pays dividends in how fast and how vividly I can write.(This is really difficult for me! I spend twenty minutes every time I sit down wrestling with my father’s voice in my head, trying to kill the guilt that comes from “wasting my time.”)

Anywho, in chapter two I was finally able to sow the seeds of the main conflict as well as start the wheels turning on developing the relationship between Tao and the other main characters. Not to mention I got to dive into all the cool abilities he has in being an undead Chimera hybrid!

As the book grows I’m sure keeping everything streamlined will get more difficult. The second chapter accidently ballooned to nearly twice the length of the first. I’ll have to be careful of that in the future. Still, If I were to take one thing away from the experience so far, it’s this: characters are like friends, you have to spend time with them.

Oh, I almost forgot! Doubt is worthless!

“Nothing matters but the writing. There has been nothing else worthwhile… a stain upon the silence.” Samuel Beckett

Don’t forget to share or leave a comment! Oh, and of course, you can see the story for yourself — Chimera: The Lost Heart .

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