Hello esteemed writers! I had never written anything interesting in my life, and had never considered calling myself a writer, until last Christmas. I do have technical writing skills, (to some extent), and I have a good imagination. I decided to write a scifi about an artifact my son found on a camping trip we went on. It took 45 days and there was 125K words. I was relentless, 10 pages a day, did not let writers block stand in my way. no one at home knew I was writing until it was done. My son who found the artifact on the camping trip edited it and threw it onto Amazon, how cool is that? I have a hard copy 120 days after getting out of bed one day and saying "I think I'll write a novel". It was fun and totally empowering, I learned a lot, something to do when I'm an old man I thought, when I get out of bed and hobble down the stairs to breakfast, a flash of a new idea, something to understand myself or the world better. I'm now thinking of a 3 books series and have 25K words into it however at a slower pace. That is leading me into lots of questions. When is a book actually finished?, I keep want to go backwards to add depth, and tie in a broader concept, I'm struggling with this, any comments? I am really looking forward to engaging this diverse community of imagination to learn more about what kind of new world I have fallen into after jumping out of the airplane. I'm not out to make money, I don't think it should drive a writer. I'm probably not good enough anyway, but I think my first baby is pretty cute, if you ask me The book is called "The Green Rock" by Roy Henry. I will be back!
Welcome! When is a book actually finished? Honestly, never. There are always improvements to be made. My method--which I think is quite common--is to aim for general approval from beta readers. If they find major things wrong I will rewrite and find new beta readers. If they like it overall and their suggestions/issues are minor, I'll make the changes and consider it done. If I was self-publishing, I would add in the services of a professional proof-reader before I considered it done.
Welcome and well done! (I'm really jealous right now... hoping to get my first draft done by the end of the year) I'll check it out when you've got it published, it sounds intriguing! Hope to see you around.
Thanks Tenderizer, I already have my money back minutes after joining. How cool is that! I have an unsettling feeling that writing a novel in 45 days will end up never being completed.
Thanks By The Barn! Its just on Amazon right now. I have a feeling I could have a thin skin on rejection, but taking risk is what life is about, perhaps I'll grow up in some way i\I haven't yet.
Well, you really wrote a DRAFT in 45 days. The first draft can sometimes be the quickest part of the process, depending on the author. The important thing, in my opinion, is not to carry on reworking it forever. Whether you do it by choosing a date or choosing a certain person's approval or whatever, you need to draw a line somewhere and say, "I'm going to stop working on this now. It's done." Many writers fall into a trap of endless editing and never move on from that first project or ever actually put any work out into the world.
This sounds like a success story, not an introduction! Welcom to the forum! I'll look forward to seeing all your creations.