So inspiring to hear your process. I write letters to friends and family and read all the time. I’ve always admired writers for their tenacity and artful use of words. Stories are powerful and I’m forever grateful for their work. Good luck with the second draft and enjoy the winnowing of the process.
I’m late to this party but just here to say huge huge congrats! And reading about the snowflake method was interesting…I may have to try that when I dip my toes into fiction!
What you've written is so inspiring, I've almos felt that it was me who was in the process of writting a novella. Congratulations, the first and more difficult step is done, the rest will be easier for sure! Enjoy the path and the goal will be a total success! 😊
Congratulations, Andrei!!! I'm so impressed with your tenacity. Sometimes I worry it's my fear of disappearing into a side project for so long that I won't be able reappear in the same place as I left it. Like ... Will anyone remember me? 😂 But you've proven my theory wrong. Thank you! Best to you on draft two. I look forward to more details about the story!! 💜💜💜
Very inspiring with some great advice. The second draft can be rough too but it's almost the most exciting part, having all the pieces sewn together with the freedom to pull out what's not working and put in even better ideas.
Andrei! This is fantastic. Completing a first draft is no small feat. love that you’re sharing your process. On to draft two! May it fill you, surprise you from time to time, and offer much joy.
It looks like you found your method, the one that works for you. It's a massive development, probably more important and long lasting than the completion of the first draft because you now have a pattern for what comes next. Enjoy the revisions - leave a little time between draft 1 and draft 2, to clear your head and see the text with "new" eyes. Congratulations!
Thank you! I’ve taken a one week break, and from today until the end of the month I plan to lay my work on index cards and shuffle it around, to lay the groundwork for a solid structure. Then, I’ll take the draft and begin editing at the more micro level. I don’t know how long it will take. How long did it take you to write your first book?
Writing a novel is the strangest combo of ego and humility. Just the thought that anyone would take hours and hours of their life reading crap you write all in one place is absolute hubris — but that doesn’t matter at the start.
Then you get into it, and eventually realize that it IS crap. Not all of it, but a much bigger chunk than you ever expected. If you’re naïve enough you’ll skip this part altogether for a while and have somebody else tell you this much later on, hopefully directly but usually through evasiveness, and then you have tens of thousands of accumulated words, and The Choice presents itself — flush it down the toilet, or compost and continue.
The cycle repeats over and over in many different guises, and you confront that same choice over and over, until one day, Voila! You have finished a novel.
Excellent job Andrei. Yes, outlines all the way, they're so, so important. I liked what you said about knowing your characters too. Very important as well. I have a habit of making notes about them before I start. Creating them with a short bio, maybe just a long paragraph. Tendencies, personalities, how they speak and what makes them who they are. Bottom line though, congratulations on finishing. As you said, drafts can be daunting, but the main thing is you know you cleared the biggest hurdle. - Jim
Very interesting-thank you for sharing, and congrats, of course!
It sounds very daunting. Actually I know it is daunting-I wrote only one story in my life, showed it to maybe three people....it's short but it took me a year, altogether, and left me completely drained at times, and I couldn't stop even when I wanted to. I'm unsure about wanting to ever repeat the experience.
🥳🥳🥳 thanks a lot, Chen! Luckily, I have experience. But it is still quite the daunting task. I have no illusions. It will get harder before it gets easier.
So inspiring to hear your process. I write letters to friends and family and read all the time. I’ve always admired writers for their tenacity and artful use of words. Stories are powerful and I’m forever grateful for their work. Good luck with the second draft and enjoy the winnowing of the process.
🙏🏻 thanks a lot, Debra! I reckon I will.
I’m late to this party but just here to say huge huge congrats! And reading about the snowflake method was interesting…I may have to try that when I dip my toes into fiction!
Thanks a lot! Would love to read some fiction from you.
What you've written is so inspiring, I've almos felt that it was me who was in the process of writting a novella. Congratulations, the first and more difficult step is done, the rest will be easier for sure! Enjoy the path and the goal will be a total success! 😊
The goal shouldn’t even matter that much, but unfortunately it does… Thank you, dear Sara! I can’t wait for you to read the book.
Me too 🤓
that was extremely enlightening. thanks Andrei
I’m really glad, Oleg!
Congrats, Andrei. Inspiring to hear. Looking forward to reading some whenever you are happy to share.
It will be an honor, Nathan.
What an accomplishment. Congratulations, Andrei! And very impressive to write a first draft in such a short amount of time!
🥳🫡
Congratulations, Andrei!!! I'm so impressed with your tenacity. Sometimes I worry it's my fear of disappearing into a side project for so long that I won't be able reappear in the same place as I left it. Like ... Will anyone remember me? 😂 But you've proven my theory wrong. Thank you! Best to you on draft two. I look forward to more details about the story!! 💜💜💜
Yes! ❤️ I look forward to sharing more when the time comes.
Very inspiring with some great advice. The second draft can be rough too but it's almost the most exciting part, having all the pieces sewn together with the freedom to pull out what's not working and put in even better ideas.
Andrei! This is fantastic. Completing a first draft is no small feat. love that you’re sharing your process. On to draft two! May it fill you, surprise you from time to time, and offer much joy.
May it do so! Thank you, Holly!
It is exciting, Andrei, and you will do it !
😍😍 let’s hope so!
Yeeeeeeee! Congrats! Onwards to the next draft!
Onwards, with your blessing!
It looks like you found your method, the one that works for you. It's a massive development, probably more important and long lasting than the completion of the first draft because you now have a pattern for what comes next. Enjoy the revisions - leave a little time between draft 1 and draft 2, to clear your head and see the text with "new" eyes. Congratulations!
Thank you! I’ve taken a one week break, and from today until the end of the month I plan to lay my work on index cards and shuffle it around, to lay the groundwork for a solid structure. Then, I’ll take the draft and begin editing at the more micro level. I don’t know how long it will take. How long did it take you to write your first book?
Writing a novel is the strangest combo of ego and humility. Just the thought that anyone would take hours and hours of their life reading crap you write all in one place is absolute hubris — but that doesn’t matter at the start.
Then you get into it, and eventually realize that it IS crap. Not all of it, but a much bigger chunk than you ever expected. If you’re naïve enough you’ll skip this part altogether for a while and have somebody else tell you this much later on, hopefully directly but usually through evasiveness, and then you have tens of thousands of accumulated words, and The Choice presents itself — flush it down the toilet, or compost and continue.
The cycle repeats over and over in many different guises, and you confront that same choice over and over, until one day, Voila! You have finished a novel.
🤣
Excellent job Andrei. Yes, outlines all the way, they're so, so important. I liked what you said about knowing your characters too. Very important as well. I have a habit of making notes about them before I start. Creating them with a short bio, maybe just a long paragraph. Tendencies, personalities, how they speak and what makes them who they are. Bottom line though, congratulations on finishing. As you said, drafts can be daunting, but the main thing is you know you cleared the biggest hurdle. - Jim
Thanks a lot, Jim! And yes, I do think I’ve cleared the biggest hurdle. Plenty of work and anxiety to come, though!
Very interesting-thank you for sharing, and congrats, of course!
It sounds very daunting. Actually I know it is daunting-I wrote only one story in my life, showed it to maybe three people....it's short but it took me a year, altogether, and left me completely drained at times, and I couldn't stop even when I wanted to. I'm unsure about wanting to ever repeat the experience.
So, really, felitations.
🥳🥳🥳 thanks a lot, Chen! Luckily, I have experience. But it is still quite the daunting task. I have no illusions. It will get harder before it gets easier.
Way to go!
❤️