How to Write a Novel in a Year

And so I begin. Actually I shouldn't say begin. I've had the beginning of a novel resting by itself in a Google Docs folder for nearly a year. Call it procrastination or call it lack of confidence but either way the novel sat. Until now. I will not strive to keep up with the pseudo intellect of other authors sounding more like they raped a thesaurus, splashing never before seen words across the pages as if to validate their superiority over others. I will write in my voice, knowing my limitations but also being very aware of my abilities. As I flipped through various articles of Writer magazine, the one common thread I found was that in order to be a writer you have to. . .are you ready? Write!! No matter what, get something on paper. And don't worry about grammar, dialogue, sentence structure. That's called editing.

I've always thought to myself, it's just going to take too long. I could never finish an entire novel. But I did two years ago. I think it was done more to just prove to myself I could do it. It contained weak characters, lousy dialogue, and as much plot as a porno movie. And I never did go back and edit. I was happy just finishing. And then I read a quote by a relatively unknown author who said he just tries to write six hundred words a day and in doing so could have a completed piece of work in about six months. Six hundred words a day? I can do that, I thought to myself. And that's where I find myself today.

As I write my six hundred words, I go back to the beginning and edit small pieces. And I as read the words back, I start to see my little piece of clay starting to take shape and that encourages me. Is it any good? Who knows. And I will post that first chapter when I am sure I am ready for her to be introduced to the world. The good people at critiquecircle offer comforting and sometime brutally honest feedback which I take and do with it what I must.

I will have this completed before I turn fifty in January. More than likely I will self publish, but I will have a novel. . .with my name. . .sitting proudly amongst the other various authors housed on my book shelf.