About a mole

I've given a lot of thought about whether or not to blog about my work in progress.  I hate to even SAY what it is because it sounds silly and pretentious and I say that knowing it's what I used to always think when people said the same thing to me.  "Oh you're working on a book..." Cue the internal eye roll.

The strangest part for me is that I never wanted to be a writer.  I'm a financial planner!  I can't be offended by the term "Mommy Blogger" because that's EXACTLY what I've always been and I've never aspired to anything more.  I needed a place for my thoughts and I found it.  Blogging was IT for me.

In November I had an epiphany.  I had just finished reading the Twilight books.  And then I read the first one again.  And then I went back and re-read all the kissing scenes.

Twice.

As embarrassing as it is for me to write that out for all the Internets to see, I'm happy to say that the first step toward writing my first novel was accepting that I like romance novels.  I just do. 

Once I came to accept the fact that I loved READING these kinds of books, it began to occur to me that I might be capable of writing one.  Again, this was something that had never occurred to me EVER before, but I was suddenly filled with ideas.  I quickly came up with a plot and then one day I was out with Genoa enduring a god-forsaken swim class in the freezing cold pool when I accidentally noticed one of the [hot] male swimming instructors and his washboard abs.  My eyes flickered immediately to a tiny brown mole, which was really more like a freckle, right next to his belly button.

And my first-ever fictional character was born.

Since then, I haven't been able to stop writing.  I wake up before the kids do almost every day.  I write straight though Genoa's nap and Dave gives me an hour every night after dinner.  I had no idea before I started writing that it would so fully engulf me the way that reading a good book often does: I can't put it down. 

But... It. Is. HARD.

I have no idea what I'm doing! I've never written fiction before!  I'm reading everything I can possibly get my hands on about how to write a novel and it's all helpful, but it's a steep learning curve.  For now I'm focusing on the first draft with the knowledge that that's EXACTLY what it is: a draft.  I'm actually looking forward to the rewriting process.  And the re-re-writing process.  I have zero expectations about publishing; for now my only goal is to get this book off my chest and into MS Word.

If you had asked me in October if I ever planned on writing a book, I would have LAUGHED literally OUT LOUD, because no, NEVER!  That sounds like WORK!  But that's where I've been and why I've been phoning it in on ye ole blog.  I'm in a constant state of frustration over wanting to write and not being able to concentrate because my pesky children keep getting in the way or I have to FEED MY HUSBAND or keep the Santa dream alive or something.  A tiny part of me is looking forward to getting writer's block because at least then there might be a greater-than-50% chance that I'm actually LISTENING to you while you're talking to me.  I might be nodding my head at all the right times, but inside all I'm thinking about is my characters and their pesky little plights.

I decided to write about this because I want this blog to be MINE.  I want it to still be the place I can come to put my brain in neutral gear.  Blogging has always helped me think more clearly.  I recently tweeted a gem from Strunk and White that perfectly sums it up: "writing is one way to go about thinking, and the practice and habit of writing not only drain the mind, but supply it, too."  I think the novel writing process will be easier for me if I can blog about it as I go. 

Not to mention that I'm learning a lot about myself and a lot of it is entertaining as hell.  (Writing sex scenes = CAN OF WORMS SQUARED!)  I have a lot to share about it and I finally figured why the hell not.  

So tell me, have you ever written a book?  How'd it go? Any advice?

Comments

[Sarah]

Hi there! I found your blog a few weeks ago, randomly, and have really enjoyed your writing. I felt compelled to comment on your latest post! How exciting! I have always dabbled in writing, and am just now trying to get up the courage to start a real blog. I think it is just FANTASTIC that you are working on a book. Your pursuit of this passion is encouraging me to get off my butt and blog! Thanks for sharing, and for inspiring others.

[Sue]

I can relate. I've ALWAYS wanted to write a book, but it was such a cliche - I felt I couldn't admit it. But I'd always written little romances for my own amusement, so over the last few months I finally sat down and wrote the whole thing (a fluffy romance, so there ya go).

I've only queried a few agents so far, but I just got a request for a partial, and I'm feeling hopeful. I have no idea what will happen, but I figure if I don't give it a shot, I'll always regret it.

Advice? Join a critique group. They're invaluable at pointing out the little bumps and rough spots in your manuscript that you almost can't see after you've read it yourself so many times. Read editor and agent blogs. And if romance is your venue - join RWA.

[Ariel]

I've ALWAYS wanted to be a writer, always. I wrote my first "book" as a 5 year old. However, along the way through growing up I became terrified of the realization that not everyone can be a Stephen King (or Stephanie Myer!!) but you're right, the Twilight books did it for me TOO! The writing was so simple and the plot was amazing. They made me realize that a good STORY makes a good book, not how many adjectives you can squeeze into a single paragraph. I'm in the early stages of finally putting a story that's been developing in my head for years into the written word. I'll even use notes on my itouch in the middle of the night when I think of something that might be developed later. I know exactly where you are coming from, no doubt about it!

[cindy w]

No advice - I wanted to write a novel when I was about 19, and I think I got about two chapters in before I abandoned it. I went back and re-read it years later, and... god. It was awful. Shudder. Thank God I gave up. Teenagers shouldn't try to write a serious dramatic novel. I have my degree in Journalism, and my career is now in technical writing, so between that and blogging, I get plenty of writing done. But I don't think a book is in my future. At least not right now - never say never, right?

But good for you, I think it's awesome that you're so engaged in this. A friend of mine is a full-time lawyer and the mom of a toddler, and she just finished her first novel recently, and last I heard, was submitting it to agents. I admire the heck out of that kind of ambition.

[Sara]

Dude. It's awesome that you're writing a book. I've never personally wanted to write a book. I can barely write intelligent e-mails (or blog comments for that matter), but I give props to anyone who writes.

In my previous college days I was acquainted with a novelist- she wrote romance novels about changlings and vampires and such. It kills me that I don't remember her "nom de plum". She was fun to party with.

Anyhow- good luck and I'd love to read it sometime!

[Heather]

That's awesome! Your intrinsic drive to follow this through to the end says a lot. There are a ton of great literary/agent/publishing blogs around. Some funny ones too about all the good/bad queries and everything in between.

[Ellen]

I wrote a novel for National Novel Writing Month. It was fun, but I'm kind of afraid to read it now for the Badness, Oh The Badness.

I can't wait to hear about your progress though. If romance is your thing, you should embrace it!

[Janssen]

Good for you! What an awesome thing - can't wait to see it someday!

[carrisa]

Just this weekend whilst de-cluttering my house I stumbled upon a notebook filled with angst-ridden poetry and the beginnings of a novel. Or something. Dare I blog about it?

[bethany actually]

No advice. I've never written anything fictional longer than a short story, nor wanted to. That said, I would LOVE to read your romance novel someday. I bet it'll be good. :-)

I wish you the best of luck!

Oh! And I would suggest you check out jennycrusie.com if you have not already...she has several sites on which she blogs, sometimes about the craft of writing. I know she and Bob Mayer had a dueling blog going a while back that was like a writing workshop, and it was really entertaining as well as informative.

[Steph]

That's brilliant. Good luck with it!

I started writing a novel when I was 18. It was based around events that followed a college reunion, and I wrote close to 100k words.

I never finished it, because my main character was meant to be in her late 20's, and at the time of writing I was 10 years younger and I couldn't get into the mindset of a 28 year old, so it ended up being completely unbelievable. Never has the term, 'write about what you know', applied more!

I'd like to go back to it at some point, but for now I'm happy churning out a nicely written blog post.

[laura]

i have no advice but how awesome to have such a strong desire and to put it to paper! way to go i admire that. best of luck.. and i already have a picture of that swim coach in my mind :)

[Alias Mother]

I've written two novels (short ones) through Nanowrimo. I'm extremely deadline driven and have zero time, so the intensity of that process and the need to force myself to make time for it really worked for me. (Once I wrote 15,000 words in one day in order to win. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS.)

My first is actually pretty good. Not publishable, but there are some bits in there that I'm really proud of. My second novel was a complete gawd-awful stinker, mostly because it wasn't as planned out as my first. So that would be my advice. Take a little time to plan your story arc. Especially with something like a romance, where tension need to be developed and big scenes need to build. I know writing is the fun part, but you'll thank yourself later if you take a few hours to plan through where you are going.

Good luck. And never be embarrassed about doing something that makes you happy!

[LizP]

Wow! Going from Financial Planner to Writer is an amazing step! Keep us posted with your trials, tribulations, successes and pitfalls!

[Rhi]

Go, you! I've written the first paragraph of several books. Or, I've composed them in my head and then promptly forgotten about them.

[Pookahs]

Awesome that you are writing a book! I have no advice except for you should read all the Sookie Stackhouse books, if you haven't already. Vampire/Werewolf romance with a dose of violence and adventure. Lots of sex scenes without too much of a cheeseball factor. They are the books that True Blood on HBO is based on.

[Frema]

Amanda, I love how honest you are on your blog, even when I don't always agree with what you say. I'm glad you're allowing yourself to be honest about your fiction writing here!

Also? I started writing short stories when I was eight years old and always thought I wanted to write the Great American Novel for my generation. But after grad school, I realized that fiction really isn't my bag, baby! (Anymore.) Though I did write some very entertaining fiction as a teenager. In fact, if you click on the "Tragic Love Friday" archives on my blog, you'll find a two-part series called "Love, Betrayal and a Baby," about a group of 90210-like high schoolers who get each other pregnant and stuff. I think if I were to try fiction now, that's the kind of content I would produce, because it's so very much fun. Also, I'm a huge soap opera fan and really enjoy all the unexpected twists and turns, even when (especially when?) they are unrealistic.

Good luck to you!

[Leticia]

Good for you! Its so nice to have a hobby, an interest...something that consumes your time that belongs only to YOU (and not your kids, husband, etc). It feels empowering. Anyway, this girl I used to work out with way back when always talked about being a writer. We used to talk all the time while pedaling on the elliptical. I would tell her to experiment with a blog -- she didn't even know what a blog was! Well, she finally took a course on writing, met up with some writer friends and just recently emailed me that they were writing a blog now! The genre she likes is also romance and I thought I'd share their blog with you, maybe you'd be interested? Its basically 4 writers on their way to publication...writing tips, etc.

http://musetracks.wordpress.com/

Oh, and Good LUCK!!!

[Holly]

Totally delurking to congratulate! That is a big step and it is amazing with all the stuff you juggle that you are making time to pursue a dream. I love hearing things like that, I wish you much success!

I second the above sentiment thanking you for your honesty. This website is refreshing!

[Grammice]

I wrote a childrens book when I was in high school it got published locally does that count? I just sat down one night with this crazy idea, probably pot fueled back then, anyway i wrote and wrote and wrote. It was about 100 pages.
It was about a mouse that would sneak into school at night so he could learn because mice didn't have schools. He had all kinds of adventures with a mop bucket, lockers, chalk board dust, lunchroom food yada yada. I can't remember everything but I was told it was hilarious, by adults! Never wrote anything else...maybe because I quit smoking pot in H.S. too. LOL

[NADINE]

Lets say, hypothetically, that the book gets published....And it hits the big time. Will you ever reveal to the "moleman" that he was your muse... or will it be like Carly Simon's"Your so vain: and it will remain a mystery forever?