Previously on rachfarrimond.com…
I set myself a challenge in October to complete my novel (the first draft of it at least) by June this year.
For the first couple of months, things looked really positive. I was productive and on target for where I wanted the book to be by the end of November.
Then Christmas happened (a happy distraction, don’t get me wrong), but then New Year came and went… and so did Easter.
As you may have gathered, I am currently NOT on track to finish the first draft by the start of June as I had hoped. At my current rate, I won’t even get it finished by the end of June. It’s not that I haven’t written anything at all over the last few months, it just hasn’t flowed as I needed it to, to get back on track and stay there. We all have those days where the computer screen (or blank lined paper) wins. I’ve just had quite a few of those stacked on top of each other recently.
Anyway, I did not come here to wallow in self-pity about it. I also didn’t come here to wave the white flag and let you all know that I’ve given up entirely.
So, the draft won’t be done by June. As annoying as that is, it isn’t the end of the world. I’m adding on an extra three months to my original goal, hoping that allowing the extra time over Summer will see me through to the end of the project.
On a More Positive Note…
I now know how the book is going to end!
One of the things I have been doing over the last few months is really looking at the story itself and where it is going. I have put quite a few posts on here about planning a novel and things that come before you start writing (they can be found here if you want to take a browse).
That is mainly because with this, my first novel, I did not do most of them and as a result, it has made writing the book extremely difficult. I have had to plan things retrospectively. I have had to re-write big chunks that just didn’t fit with the main flow of the story. Arguably, that is what the second draft is for, which is a lesson I am sure I’ll remember for future books. At this point, with quite a way to go, but knowing the end is in sight, I can definitely say that this has been a labour of love, with the emphasis firmly on the LABOUR!
When I do finish the first draft (hopefully by August/September), I’ll be doing at least one post on here looking back at the process, going into detail of what I have learned from the experience and what I will/won’t do next time.
Coming Soon…
So where does that leave the blog for the next few months while I continue toiling away on the novel? I still have some short stories to share with you (the first of those will pop up next week), and of course there will be plenty of Geekery and thoughts on writing to keep us going for a while. I can’t promise to post every week, but will do so as much as I can until the book is done!
And then of course, I’ll be able to tell you all about the novel itself! I can’t wait to share it with you all.
In addition to all of that, I’m also working on setting up a quarterly Newsletter with extra goodies for subscribers. I don’t plan on releasing that until September, so more on that later.
In the meantime, Happy Reading!
Rachael Farrimond 