I finished a novel. If you’re a long time reader you might be thinking this is some déjà vu, since I posted in 2022 I’d finished a novel. This is indeed the very same novel, codenamed #projectmistbound. But that’s the joys and pain of writing. It evolves, it changes, you love what you wrote, you hate it.
This time I can say it really is a finished novel. Well, the re-drafting of it anyway.
My previous version of this book I began writing in 2020, and in 2022 I thought I’d finished the end, and began editing it. It was 85K words.
In January I quit my full time job so I could focus on my Masters (I’m training to be a librarian!), but with extra time on my hands I returned to this project with the plan to edit the whole thing start to finish within 6 months.
Instead, upon starting to reread the story, I realised as I was editing the first half of the book the second half and the ending needed a complete rewrite and structural changes to create a more cohesive story. You might wonder why? Well, I had too many ideas. Too many thoughts and concepts I wanted to use all crammed in that cluttered the storytelling and enjoyment of reading. It’s a curse I hear from many writers on their first novel. Learning how to edit your ideas takes time, so this rewrite was that learning process for me.
So, over the last 6 months I have steadily worked away at this book, editing and writing around classes and home life. My dear friend Maree cheered me on and her regular check ins on my progressed helped me to get to the end of it. As a result I now have a much stronger ending, more rounded characters and the clarity it was missing in the reading experience.
On June 29th, 2024 I finished my novel. Again. And it was worth every extra minute spent on it. She’s a hefty manuscript now however. Thirty Five chapters. 117 thousand words. 396 pages in my word doc. I can thank a big portion to getting the rewrites done on my ending thanks to Maree and I’s writing challenge we completed last month.
Writing certainly isn’t easy as I have learned. But it helps to have friends and family who support and encourage you to keep going with it. I know this is not the last time I will write this novel. Now begins the process of editing, beta readers and querying. But it feels more in reach than it has ever before. But after a solid 6 months of working on this I am stepping back to have a break from it before editing it so I can come back fresh. A little distance between stages helps me to better see the issues that need fixing as I edit.
But, unable to help myself, I went and printed it off, putting it in a binder, ready to physically edit it when I’m ready. My little purple bound manuscript.
@wilddinosaurr Throwback to the end of last month when I finished redrafting my novel and got to hold it in my hands for the first time! ✨✨ #writertok #writingabook #writingcommunity #writer #writing #booktok ♬ Walking Around – Instrumental Version – Eldar Kedem
I finish my Masters in October (fingers crossed), so my plan is to return to it then when I no longer have to juggle full time work and university. I’m not that mean to myself. Your mental health matters and burn out can be very really for writers trying to fit it in around work and other commitments.
So until October I am just basking in the enjoyment that I have a manuscript that is reasonably readable. Which honestly is a relief after so long. To any other new writers working on your first novel, your experience, no matter how fast or slow, is a valid one. We each have our own journey to make with our writing. I wish you the best of luck with yours.
May you write many words, and be free from writers block,
For more on my writing click here.
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Thank you!