Writing a book is a mammoth undertaking. And recently I finally finished my first one! At least the first draft.
According to my google document, I started writing #ProjectMistbound in January of 2020, however I know the ideas and initial scenes were drafted and brewing in my brain and scribbled notebooks for at least a year before that. Then on May 17th 2022 while on a bush walk in the Blue Mountains with my partner discussing the plot of #ProjectMistbound I finally decided the book was written. I was struggling with my plot but it turned out the reason why was because it was for book 2, and the storyline for book 1 had come to its natural end point without me quite realising it. Sometimes it takes a second point of view when you’re too close to it to see the finish.
The process of writing a book is different for everyone. I know each time I’ve worked on a manuscript I’ve changed how I approached the story and its writing. This time around I think I’ve figured out what works best for me. I outlined each chapter’s content with a few sentences, so that once I started writing I knew the direction I was headed in. And that outline, even if I changed what I wrote in those chapters from my early ideas, was a lifesaver in times where I felt stuck or uninspired to write. I had already started carving out the path, so when I felt less of the creative juices flowing all I had to do was follow it.
Now begins the enormous task of editing the whole thing. All 85 thousand words, 167 pages of it. So far I’ve worked my way through the first 10 chapters tidying up some of the structure, descriptions and dialogue. I’m hoping to have finished this second draft by the end of the year so I can start getting feedback from some trusted beta readers I have enlisted.
2019 to 2022. 3 years later I have a complete manuscript.
What a surreal feeling.
I hope one day I can see it published.
Catherine