First read through is done

Just a quick post before I jump into to bed.

Finished reading through the "1st draft" yesterday. I say "1st draft" because I had constantly re-read and edited the novel as I wrote it. But this was the first time I had sat down and read it from start to finish (over the period of a week or so).

The experience was pleasant. I found myself reading chapters and parts of the story without knowing what was coming next. Leaving the novel for 4-6 weeks to 'bake' is definitely a good thing. I found plenty of spelling mistakes, a few plot holes and two chapters which will require a massive overhaul/rewrite due to poor structure and weak dialogue.

However, on the whole, I enjoyed the book (shameless pat on the back). I could read and digest it easily, and hope prospective agents/publishers/readers will be able to as well.

I marked all of the mistakes and corrections with a red biro and made extra notes in a note pad. I’ve now started implementing the corrections on my laptop, as I do so I highlight the red scribbles with a pink highlighter, so I know I have made the correction (I imagine I may overlook some of them otherwise). As I make these corrections I’m also reading the book again and not just jumping from one error to the next. I think it's important to read it all again in order to see the corrections in context with the story.

When all is done I will reprint and reread the book again. I may find more errors and spelling mistakes, but hopefully not. I'll give the book to a few people for some final feedback, and then I'll start agent hunting.

Well, I'll actually start writing letters of interest to agents this weekend asking if they would be interested in a sample/few chapters. I'll have to create a short and medium sized synopsis of the novel, which I look forward to as well.

A lot of work still to be done; but it's all new to me and an adventure I look forward to repeating with my second novel (which I aim to start by November 2011).

P.S. my laptop just turned off (ran out of battery). I plugged it in, fearful that I'd lost this blog post, but it just allowed me to carry on where I left off. I love this little thing.

Even if it did stop working a few days after I finished my novel!!!

More soon, off to bed!!

P.S. more details of the novel coming soon (title and plot). I feel more comfortable keeping the title and subject matter close to my chest right now, even if nobody is reading this!!!

Editing and more...

I am now on page 204 of my 346 page manuscript (roughly 90,000 words), and am really enjoying the experience. But this time last week was a different story. The start of the novel was much less enjoyable to read than where I am up to now. As I was writing the first 50 pages or so I don't think I really knew where the story was going (or what it was exactly). There will be a few chapter re-writes, and I'm looking forward to doing them, in order to build character more and take a bit more time to jump into the full story.

I really don't know how this will all end (i.e. will I find an agent? Will the agent find me a publisher? Will the book get published? And will it sell?).

I want to find and agent, I also want to find a publisher who will publish the novel, and I do want the book to reach as many people as possible. However, I am going to keep on writing for as long as ideas inspire me. Nothing will stop that. I already have my next book in the research phase and can't wait to start typing again (hopefully my eMachines EM250 netbook will allow me to complete it again before it dies on me). If people get to read my stuff (and pay me for it) that would be great. In the mean time, I'm enjoying this either way!!

***

On a side note, I just watched the last 10 minutes of Artscape: Obsessed with Walking, a documentary on Australia's great ABC1 channel about poets (such as Wordsworth), musicians and authors who were/are ...obsessed with walking!!

The segment I saw focused on Will Self, a British novelist (amongst other things). Will is an avid walker, and seems to find inspiration and peace during his treks. He mainly walks through and around cities (such as Los Angeles and Berlin), and refuses to drive or ride in taxis for fear they would impede/obstruct his interaction with the City.
What I found interesting was the discovery Will made on the documentary. Due to his introverted ways he found that he found writing to be difficult at times. He attributed this to his lack of interaction with the people who lived within the cities he walked in. He never talked to them, he just walked.

It struck me that one of the reasons why I find my 'juices' flowing here in Sydney more so than anywhere else is because I have amassed enough knowledge of people and places to write (of course I have so much more to learn, more people to meet, and places to visit; but I finally have enough ammo in the rifle to start shooting).

I think Neil Gaiman mentioned living and 'getting one's heart broken' etc as a good tip to becoming an author. One can read every book under the sun, but in order to write about people (which is essentially what all fiction novels are) one must know people.


Deep?

Yup :D

Almost time...

This weekend will mark four weeks since I finished the novel. I set this as a time period for me to get 'fresh eyes' to review the novel and begin to make the final draft. After that I'll probably show it to a few people, but will ultimately seek an agent to help get the thing published.

No matter what happens I'll keep on writing. I've already started another short story (about the origins of the werewolf) and have a few ideas floating around for the next novel.

Writing is great fun, so I'll keep doing it as long as I enjoy it!!

Will keep updates during the editing process.