Today was my first full day of principle writing on the new novel. I had half the day to myself and that gave me plenty of time to sink in and enjoy the process of writing. I do truly enjoy the writing process as well as the moments where I pop up from the page to do a touch of research that gets me to the next moment.
I am writing this one from an outline, but it is only the broadest of strokes of an outline. This first draft pass feels more like outlining than the outline did. Each of the six chapters I’ve done over the last few days have felt unfinished, but bright with moments. Even in the longer pieces that I write, like novels, it feels as though I am constructing a puzzle by putting together the pieces I already know I have and know where they go and then stepping back to examine the smaller pieces in order to see where they fit. I see the whole picture the entire time. I see it slowly coalesce, but I also see the smallest parts of the thing and remember how they could and should fit together. It is a time consuming process and when rushed it can be extremely painful. However, I truly enjoy the work I am doing. This is exactly what I want to be doing with my life.
I need to get better at carving out that kind of space for myself. When I am not alone–be it partner or kids around–I tend to become extremely passive about writing and actively engaged in waiting around to see what they want to do. This is not the way it can be if I hope to be successful and turn this into a career that can support me on the level of what I already do as a scholar. This is the sort of thing that takes time and practice. Up until now I’ve devoted little of each to the craft in the manner I should.
So, I call this a turning point–this day of writing. I feel like I let myself fall into the words and got some done. I feel like more and more is happening and I am moving through the story and building both the story and story world (though the latter is far weaker than one would assume given the shared world aspect) as I move through each page. I am getting better and I am getting faster as well. Sooner than later I’ll be able to churn these things out on a scale that rivals most professionals.
It will be nice to feel that people are waiting for my next book to drop and that they can be sure that it will drop on time.