Day One - The Journey Begins

“I have a great idea for a novel. I haven’t started it, but it’s all up in here!” (pointing to her head) --- my mother-in-law, circa 2003.

“I have decided. I will either be a rock star, or an author.” --- Me, circa 1978.

“I’m not so sure I want to be an author anymore.” --- my mother, circa 2007.



For most of my life, I have had a desire to write. Like so many that went before me, the desire to eat overcame the desire to be an author. I had to make a living. That was the first distraction.

Take a journey with me, as over the next 365 days I make my way from the creation of my romance novel to (hopefully) publication.

Commiserate with me as I plot my novel --- envying those who are tweeting and facebooking, drinking wine and having a grand old time while I’m stuck in front of the computer in a room without air conditioning, begging words to come out of me. What can I say; it’s the creative process.

To be fair, my current novel in progress (or work in progress, WIP, as the experts say) has been entered into a contest twice, in two different versions. The contest only allows the first fifteen pages to be submitted. Just for fun I’ll print some of the judge’s reactions, comments and constructive criticism as we make this journey. I made a decision after the last contest: no more contests just finish the novel, already!

The WIP is already at 22,223 words. I keep careful count of the words, sometimes a little too obsessively. The length of an average novel is between 70,000 to 100,000 words. An agent won’t look at a work of fiction unless it is complete.

I have my work cut out for me.