Confessions Of An Aspiring Author: Vol. I
Well, it's only the second post of the year and I've already fallen behind. You can blame it on a great day spent picking strawberries, eating a chocolate fondue and getting my butt kicked at the family feud board game. But that's not what this post is all about, so let's get straight into it!
A very warm welcome to everyone out there who has stumbled across my humble blog and is now reading it with surprised curiosity and a hint of hesitation (come on you know it's true). Today's blog post is Volume I of a little series I like to call Confessions Of An Aspiring Author. As the title may suggest I am an aspiring author and these are my recounts of what it's really like to be a struggling writer.
Before we get into it too much, I'd first like to tell you about a little challenge I've set myself for 2016. The challenge is called #oneyearnovel, and basically it means by the end of this year I'd like to have a completed first draft of my first ever novel. Pretty daunting stuff but I'm confident I can get it finished.
A few days ago I had a day off from work (something that literally never happens) and I chose to spend it at the library researching for my novel. To begin with it seemed to be going great. Within five minutes of being there I had already found four books that were perfect for my research and I was getting some really nice ideas written out for the backstory. Then I hit a snag.
Despite having a great amount of research available to me, I found that the more I researched the less I could figure out what the plot of my story would be. Sure, I now know exactly how it was the Guardians were formed and how the reincarnation cycle will work, but I have no idea what the actual plot of the novel will be. At the moment Tahny discovers she's a Guardian, is whisked off to the Othersphere... and then stuff happens. Seriously, I wrote down in my notebook stuff happens.
While that's very ambiguous and definitely leaves a lot to the imagination, in this case it probably leaves too much. I am the author after all. I should probably know where my story is going. Don't get me wrong, I know a lot of authors don't always plot out their books from start to finish, but they at least know the gist of what's going to happen in the middle. Me? I have no clue.
So what exactly am I trying to say in this post? When you find yourself starting to plan a novel and suddenly you realise that you can't plan anymore, don't get disheartened. Find something else to do and come back to your project with a fresh pair of eyes. For example, since I'm struggling with my novel planning at the moment I've moved on and begun work on a new screenplay instead. When I get stuck on that I'll move back to the novel until I'm confident enough to start writing.
I hope my lack of planning ability and my ways of coping help you with your planning debacles. Sorry again for the late post, but in my defence those strawberries were delicious. Watch for more Confessions Of An Aspiring Author coming soon.
Stay random!
~ Jenna
A very warm welcome to everyone out there who has stumbled across my humble blog and is now reading it with surprised curiosity and a hint of hesitation (come on you know it's true). Today's blog post is Volume I of a little series I like to call Confessions Of An Aspiring Author. As the title may suggest I am an aspiring author and these are my recounts of what it's really like to be a struggling writer.
Before we get into it too much, I'd first like to tell you about a little challenge I've set myself for 2016. The challenge is called #oneyearnovel, and basically it means by the end of this year I'd like to have a completed first draft of my first ever novel. Pretty daunting stuff but I'm confident I can get it finished.
A few days ago I had a day off from work (something that literally never happens) and I chose to spend it at the library researching for my novel. To begin with it seemed to be going great. Within five minutes of being there I had already found four books that were perfect for my research and I was getting some really nice ideas written out for the backstory. Then I hit a snag.
Despite having a great amount of research available to me, I found that the more I researched the less I could figure out what the plot of my story would be. Sure, I now know exactly how it was the Guardians were formed and how the reincarnation cycle will work, but I have no idea what the actual plot of the novel will be. At the moment Tahny discovers she's a Guardian, is whisked off to the Othersphere... and then stuff happens. Seriously, I wrote down in my notebook stuff happens.
While that's very ambiguous and definitely leaves a lot to the imagination, in this case it probably leaves too much. I am the author after all. I should probably know where my story is going. Don't get me wrong, I know a lot of authors don't always plot out their books from start to finish, but they at least know the gist of what's going to happen in the middle. Me? I have no clue.
So what exactly am I trying to say in this post? When you find yourself starting to plan a novel and suddenly you realise that you can't plan anymore, don't get disheartened. Find something else to do and come back to your project with a fresh pair of eyes. For example, since I'm struggling with my novel planning at the moment I've moved on and begun work on a new screenplay instead. When I get stuck on that I'll move back to the novel until I'm confident enough to start writing.
I hope my lack of planning ability and my ways of coping help you with your planning debacles. Sorry again for the late post, but in my defence those strawberries were delicious. Watch for more Confessions Of An Aspiring Author coming soon.
Stay random!
~ Jenna
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