Writing Update

I've discovered a new way to write. On the train.

In many ways its an old way to write. In a box, that sits under two other boxes in the study, are notebooks filled with writing done on the trains, years and years ago. But until a few weeks ago, writing my novel on the train wasn't something I thought to do.

Now I love it. I love it because it's otherwise bludging/reading MX time and so its not like the "I'm too busy" excuse can come out. And I love it because work has been a tad stressful of late and so having something fun and engaging to keep me occupied on the train when I could be stressing puts a really lovely spin on the working day.

But one of the best benefits is that on the train I spend more time writing than reading- and so I get allot of new stuff done.

When I sit down on the computer to write, inevitably I find myself reading over what I've already done. And fixing it up. And reading some more. And getting sucked into the story.

This might seem weird (as I wrote the thing), but just like I love re-reading old books, i actually enjoy the journey back into my world, and reliving the events again. In fact, I'm ashamed to admit it, but when I'm on the computer I read a great deal more than I write. It means keeps getting edited, which is good. It means that sometimes I get discouraged if I read a bit I don't like as much- which can sometimes lead to weeks on end where I think I can't write so I don't.

I'm getting better at fighting this discouragement. It's been helpful hearing that other writers feel this way. And I try to push myself to think "Okay, it's sounds bad, how can I make it better?" And the editing process starts me thinking again, "Maybe I can do this".

I remember the first time I really, really began to think I could do this.

When I first started my story, it was something of an amusement to Tim. All I told him was some names of the characters, and a few tiny aspects of the story- which was probably a bad idea as in hindsight most of the names were pretty bad, and most of the things I told him were pretty amusing in their infant stage.

So Tim would tease me whenever I would write. Not in a bad way, in a very funny way. But he definitely didn't take that seriously what I was doing, and quite frankly I wasn't taking it seriously myself.

One day I was working on my prologue. The prologue was the first thing I wrote when I felt like doing some fiction writing and so dusted off an old idea for a fantasy novel from a few years previous. It was the setting of the political and historical scene of the nation. And even after re-reading it over, and over again, I've made very few changes and I still think it's good.

One day I was reading it (again). Tim was in the study. Previously I hadn't let him read anything. He would be nice and supportive whatever he thought, but I would see right through him if he didn't like it. I was scared. But this day I decided I would actually read it to him.

So I read the Prologue.

Tim's response was to be quiet for a second. Then he said "You know, I think you could actually write this thing and get it published"

That was the moment that we both started taking my writing seriously.

That was the moment the dream began.
love B