Writing is like sex in that it can be very nice when you are thinking about it, terrific when you are doing it, very satisfying afterwards...and you write because you have to. They say that if enough chimpanzees were put in front of enough word processors for enough time, eventually one of them would write Hamlet.
Me write a novel - Impossible!
Don't worry, I had
same thoughts six years ago!
People just don't think of writing seriously. If I had been going off to teach all day, it would have been different. They wouldn't interrupt your work if you were employed at a grocery store. That's considered serious business. It's because you work at home. People think they can interrupt writing." --Jessamyn West
"I write because something inside myself, inner and unconscious forces me to." That is first compulsion. The second is one of ethical and moral duty. I feel responsible to tell stories that inspire readers to consider more deeply who they are."
THE NOVEL
Firstly ask yourself: Why do you want to write a novel? Do you have a story to tell, a message to convey, or do you perhaps hope to inspire/challenge, entertain, be famous, reach out to others, reach into your own mind. Do you perhaps want a new identity, to reach your potential as a writer? I think that a person's motives often change as your writing proceeds.
It takes a great deal of effort to write, so PLAN ahead. Organize a few hours a day, when you won't be disturbed. WHOOA - hardly likely! The average length of a novel is 60000-100000 words. I've never counted mine. I keep my books short for two main reasons: number one, and most importantly, to tell a story as simply as possible with a message..and
2. for purely financial considerations. I've lived without a cent of income from my books for two years now. So I hurry to get them out to speed things up, so I can earn some royalties...and save my family from starvation. Or embarrassment of soup kitchen, perhaps! *
So be prepared to make sacrifices. BIG ones! Are you prepared to work away on your novel every day (and evening, instead of going out and having fun?). I've had a lot of fun writing, even though I may have become a "hermit and social misfit" in process! Oh well, we'll see if writing success changes that!
