So it has been three days since I started writing my novel and things have been going really well. I have been very disciplined and I have been writing 2,000 words each day. The first I do, once I have got up, washed and had breakfast is write. I write for about 3 hours, including breaks every hour, so I can stretch and have something to drink. I have found a quiet spot in the house, so there are no distractions. I was thinking about writing in front of the TV, but on second thoughts that’s not a good idea. The TV can be too much of a distraction. So no TV for me while I am writing.

I have now finished the first chapter and I have started to write the second. The story is going in interesting paths. Again not how I thought the story would go, but with every day I write, something new and exciting comes pops up and adds to the story. If I get carried away, it doesn’t matter too much, as this is only the first draft of the novel.

It’s interesting that years ago I read a book about writing a novel. It was written by Stephen King and it was about how he started writing. How he likes to find a quiet spot in his house to write. (That’s where I got the idea from!) How he writes the first draft and then leaves it in a draw for a couple of months before reading it, so to give himself some distance between himself and the work. So when he gets re-acquainted with the work, he has a new perspective on it.

I hear that this is quite a common occurrence in the writing world. I’ve heard of writer / directors who will finish one draft of a script and then start writing another script. Once the second script was finished, they will go back and edit the first script. And so it goes on until both scripts are finished. It’s certainly one way to do it, thought not my way. I prefer to put all my effort into one script. Though I might leave it for a while before doing another draft of a script.

The book is called ‘On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft’ and if you get a chance to read it, do it as it is well worth a read.