He brought home reams of product -- quality control rejects. I eyed them with enthusiasm, itching to scrawl my hieroglyphics. As my mastery of three R's improved, I was only 7-year-old on block with leather-bound notebooks (albeit defective). I admired my paper hoard, believing it meant only one thing: I was destined to be a writer. But when a new notepad appeared, I would start a new story regardless of whether I had finished last -- I liked my tablets dog-ear free.

A quarter-century later, paper-mill converted to a boutique mall and my dad fond of saying, "You live beyond your means," I still dreamed of being a famous writer. My vocabulary had grown age-appropriately (and my cursive). My self-discipline and output, however, remained that of a child. Perhaps less -- I was a prolific 7-year-old, after all.

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! *