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Writing

The Diary of my novel writing process: A First Attempt (section 1)

This is something that I wasn’t sure I would publish before sending my novel out to those who will judge it from knowledgeable expertise, but reading it again I think it is quite interesting and perhaps useful to those in similar positions to me.

Here is a glimpse into my diary that I wrote during the process of completing my first ever manuscript. I’m almost ready to take this piece of work further into the big wide world but here is an insight into how it all began!

(There are many more entries that I will let you see soon!)

02/09/2018 12:20pm

For quite some time now I have known that I want to write. I’d love to make a living out of it too one day but for now I am finding my niche and doing as much as I possibly can of what I love the most – writing.

Earlier this year I took the plunge and sent off an idea to over one hundred agents in the UK. The basis was an extension from my dissertation that I had completed last year at university so after speaking to my tutor who told me to go for it, I did just that. The responses that I have so far received have been more encouraging than I had ever expected, and I even have a strong interest from one agent who sees potential so watch this space. . .

While waiting for responses though, which came flooding back thick and fast but over a matter of months, I thought a good use of my time would be to try to write a complete manuscript of a first novel. By this time, I had decided I wanted to be a published author having never been able to put a title to what I would like to do. While sat on an open top bus in Dublin I came up with the opening of my book.

Now about half way through and beginning chapter fourteen tomorrow, I thought I would start to log my experience of the process. Overall, I am loving every minute and very happy with the progress I am making week on week. However, honesty is the best policy and I would be kidding myself if I didn’t address the challenges that I sometimes face.

I think the style that I have chosen to write in has helped masses because each chapter is a different stage of my protagonist’s life so each time I finish a chapter, it’s as if I have a fresh start on the next one which definitely keeps my motivation levels up. I also have given myself a particular wordcount each time which acts as a finishing line and on days when the inspiration is non-existent, I fight through to get to the 3,000 word mark by the end of each week.

As well as lack of motivation some days and looking at the thing as a whole being quite daunting, I occasionally get into the rut of ‘this might all not be worth it.’ I could write an 80,000 novel and send it off to hundreds of agents for them all to come back with a big fat NO. Then again, it only takes one for my dream to be made a reality. Perspective.

I’d rather look at the challenges of writing such a mammoth piece of work as a journey that I am happy to complete. A journey that is going to improve my writing abilities. A journey which at the end will bring me pride no matter what the outcome.

With the biggest challenge I face being writers block which is definitely real, the majority of my time spent writing is therapeutic. An escape from this world into one that is entirely made up and created by moi.