Roller Coaster "Python" by Dirk-Jan Kraan
Writing a novel is...
- A roller coaster. Some days the words flow free, the story makes your blood rush and your heart beat quick. Other days it's like paddling uphill. You can see the mountain of work rising ahead, and it's scary.
- Like living two lives. The life on the page, that can sometimes feel just as real as the life away from it.
- A game of endurance. It will wear you down. It always takes more time than you think. When you're in the thick of the writing, it seems like it will never be done, but every step is one step closer.
- Like hanging out with the best of friends. You watch your characters grow, suffer, change, and triumph along with them.
- A way to discover the best and worst about yourself.
- Being vulnerable. You open yourself up to criticism, rejection, and success.
- An act of faith. It's jumping across a chasm, and not knowing how far it is to the other side.
- An act of love. It's breathing life into your characters, creating worlds.
- A necessity. The story will not let you go, unless you let it out.
- One of the best things you've ever done.
What is it to you?
A list of 100 things, by Alexander Chee
It's a creative challenges.
It's a necessary outlet.
It's my inner world exposed.
It's who I really am.
It's fun.
Plus all of the above.
Thanks for sharing Stephen! "The inner world exposed." I really like that one.
Breathing. Work. Fun. Obsession. Compulsion. Satisfaction.
And more, I'm sure, hehe. But unlike Alexander Chee, I'm not going to make 100 points about it. :P
Ahh that was the post that sparked this one, but I couldn't remember who wrote it. Thanks! I added a link to the article :) I had to stop myself at 10 hehe. "Obsession" - Yes. Definitely.
Hmmm...I am not sure what a novel is...I still enjoy drinking the elixir of short stories and flash fiction. Who knows...maybe I can burp out a novella one of these days.
Those provide a bit more instant gratification. More of a sprint than a marathon :)
Like living two lives. The life on the page, that can sometimes feel just as real as the life away from it.
There was a day last week when we had sunshine all day outside and near 20ºC, but I spent it indoors all day working on a gritty short-story and my view was of a dreary day as if I hadn't lived the same day everyone else had around me.
I've never experienced anything quite so extreme, but time losses in chunks when I'm wrapped up in story is typical for me. That must have felt like a very odd disconnection. You know that could almost be a story right there...
Sometimes a very lonely process - you'll want to tell someone about an amazing scene or plot twist, but they don't know about Character X, his complicated feelings towards Character or that thing that happened back in chapter 4. Oh, or steam powered airships.
I've also found it can gobble up huge areas of your mind. Between character arcs, invented technological jargon and programming languages for my day job I find I no longer have room to keep track of things like birthdays and driving directions. That's my excuse anyway.
Addictive. If I haven't managed to work on the novel for awhile, I start to worry about my characters. I hope they're alright without me.
But despite all that, it really is one of the most exciting, thrilling and rewarding journeys you can embark upon. It's like mountain climbing, not for the faint of heart or easily put off but the views are amazing.
Oh yes, once in a while I'll blurt out the wonderful things happening in the story, and be rewarded by blank stares, because of course, no one knows what I'm talking about since they haven't read it yet.
Great additions, all very true :)
Writing a novel is like preparing to storm the castle.
You gather your troops, prepare all of your instruments of war, and even have a strategy.
But once you get into the battle, it all kind of goes to hell real fast. And the only way to win is to stay disciplined and find that balance between sticking to the plan and having the flexibility to change when necessary.
You know, that's a perfect analogy of what I feel right now. The plan got tossed out the window pretty much from the get go. It's time to regroup and refocus. I need a new strategy. Thanks for sharing :)