I'm sitting here with my mug of steaming hot tea, a to do list, and the first chapter of my novel printed out and with pencil edits throughout. Procrastinating. But also, I wanted to come here and share a bit of an update, to share about my book.
Let me tell you, that statement feels like a gigantic leap, and triggers all sorts of impostor syndrome symptoms within me.
Because yes, I have a book. But also, it's far from done. There is no book deal. No agent. No publishing plan. Yet.
The thing about writing a book is that it's done in baby steps. Hundreds of baby steps. Building word on to word, sentences into paragraphs, pages into chapters, and on and on. Right now the book is over 300 pages. It's not entirely a mess, but it's in need of some work. And, once I'm done with it, it's only the beginning.
So maybe I'll tell you what's on the horizon, and where I'm at today. Because if you're along for this ride, I want to be honest with you: writing a book is a long and involved process. And then when it comes to publishing... it's just as long and involved.
Right now, I'm working on the fourth draft of my novel. It's tentatively called Farm Girl, and is about a young photographer named Bea who doesn't have a permanent address, who finds herself wanting to go home. The trouble is, the only place she ever felt at home was her now deceased grandmother's house. So Bea travels to the orchard across the street from her grandmother's house and stays with family friend who was like a second father to her as she was growing up. She quickly finds herself tied to the orchard and community in ways she never expected...
It's a quiet, sweet story, the type I enjoy reading. I think that's important when you're writing fiction, to write something you'd want to read. Anyway, I'm on the fourth draft, and I'm just beginning the real nitty gritty type of editing. With each draft I've peeled away layers to reveal the actual story, and now I'm at the point where I can easily see what needs to stay and what needs to go - what is essential to the story.
This stage feels daunting and tedious, terrifying but also creative and kind of fun. It's a different type of adventure than the rest of the writing process has been.
It's also been the hardest to jump into.
Maybe because I know it's going to be a lot of work.
Maybe because I know once I dive in, I won't want to come up for air.
My goal is to finish this next draft by the end of April. It's doable, I know it is. So here I am, with my pencils and highlighters, ready to take the next baby step. But first, more tea...
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