novel

haley tried to turn me on to a book a few months ago, a book on novel-writing. but something about the idea of a book on how to write a book turned me off. it sounded like someone else's get-rich-quick-scheme or their book idea..

hey bob, i know the just the thing! i'll sell books on how to write books! those wanna-be authors are suckers for everything!

then, in this recent turn of events my life has taken, i've found myself feeling a strong pull to write something novel-length, in fact. and when i was on vacation in arkansas mom suggested a different 'how to' write a novel book that she had heard of.

it reminded me of haley's book i'd previously shrugged off.. it was called No Plot? No Problem! A Low Stress, High-Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days. suddenly it didn't sound like such a bad idea.. maybe i'd take a look at it after all.

of course, it wasn't carried by any book stores in the city i was in.
oh well, nevermind.

and then, in a conversational tangent with mom, i stumbled across a really great idea for a plot.
and on the way back from arkansas, driving on autopilot, i birthed characters.
when i got home from vacation, i was itching to start writing.

but i wanted that book. for some reason, it kept coming back to me. and now that i've bought it and read it, in a single night as it's quite short, i'm glad i did. because you see, it's not the 'no plot' part that's a problem, it's the 'low-stress' part. i've gotten way-layed by the stress before and let doubt and self-criticism stop my progress.

this time i will know better. this time i will lower my expectation and let the first draft be a first draft. i will let it be raw and unpolished. i will let it be mostly junk, if that's how it turns out. i will let it be rough, and polish it only when it's complete. i will keep the parts i love and discard the parts i don't and i will enjoy the writing of them all.

d: let the writing be fun.
b: i am writing a novel.
g: a novel approach.