Monday, August 22, 2011

Writing a Novel is Tough

Writing a novel is tough. Oh, don't worry, it's not like this is some kind of a grand revelation for me. It's just that there are parts of the job that are unexpectedly difficult.

Before I go about my whinge, it's of the utmost importance that I let you all know how much I love what I am doing. I had a bit of a whine to a friend here the other day, after eight hours of hard slog resulted in just six-hundred words (and this was eight hours of only writing, not editing, not planning, not brainstorming, not charting...), and they told me, “don't push too hard on something you love, that's an awesome way to get you to come to resent it.” My thoughts on this are that.... well... my current situation with my writing is that it is much more than my hobby. It's my job. And even while working at a job you absolutely love, there are days where you struggle. I know that. When I was teaching, it was the same. So I have to remind myself that one horribly frustrating day every month or so is totally acceptable. I won't grow to resent it - not a chance! I love it! And, for the record, the next day I bashed out about 1800 words in only two hours – who knew that was even possible!

So, parts of this writing business that have been unexpectedly difficult:

  1. I get way too much pleasure from editing my work. I could happily spend a year just reworking the writing I have already completed, working on the atmosphere, the style, the imagery, the rhythm of my word choice, etc. This is a sure-fire way to feel very productive, and yet to produce nothing.

  2. I HAVE TOO MANY IDEAS! I have to stop thinking. Just write. Otherwise my novel will end up with fifteen protagonists, each with their own flaws, their own journeys, etc. And... well, that's just no good. The organisational skills that go hand-in-hand with attempting to keep track of these ideas, deciding which are relevant, which can serve as sub-plot, and which will just have to wait for novel numbers two, three and four, are simply mind-boggling.

  3. Having to consistently answer questions about my writing. I know that if I was not writing a novel myself, and I met a person who was writing a novel, I too would want to know what it was about. But what a ridiculously difficult question this is to answer! Earlier on in the process, I would follow the advice from another friend and answer this question with something along the lines of, “if I truly knew what it was about, I'd have finished it already”. But that doesn't fly anymore. I know what it's about - I just can't describe it effectively without making it sound ridiculously melodramatic, or just plain boring. I need to come up with a one-sentence fall-back answer. Incidentally, one thing that I love is when people ask me about my novel, but they ask very odd questions. Instead of asking what my novel is about, some people have asked me:

    • What's your main character like?”

    • Whose writing is similar to yours?”

    • Is your novel about relationships?”

    • "What's the most important symbol in your book?"

    • What do you want people to get out of your novel?”

  1. The guilt. I am just so lucky. I wonder, often, what I have done to deserve this incredible opportunity I currently have. I am just having too much fun. It's hard, I work my butt off, but I love it. Sure, all of this shouldn't bring feelings of guilt, but... what if nothing comes of it? Ooo... that's the scariest thing. Let's not think about that, actually.With this guilt comes the need to consistently justify myself. Again, this is unreasonable, but that's just me.

  2. The fear that I am wasting this opportunity, that I am not making the most of it, am not working hard enough, am not producing enough. This is a great motivator, actually.