Novel Update

So this will be my first update of many for writing my novel. I wrote a post a while ago about "Becoming a Writer" containing ideas on what I thought would be useful to first time writers, myself included and how to go about it. Now bear in mind I've had an idea about writing a book for a little over 10 years and in that time really I haven't done much to be honest. There was a lot of writers block to contend with. But over those years my initial idea evolved into something much grander. While I have kept the core idea of the story intact I've adjusted plot element ideas, timelines and such to make the story a lot more three dimensional and while keeping some of the lore and myth intact I am trying to stay away from the all too common clichés. 

So far I have written a prologue, some of the first chapter and part of another scene (writing in terms of a film script helps me), other than that I have either been working upon research and backgrounds, or procrastinating. I have always written with pen and paper (though this does mean typing up at a later date) and a PC and unfortunately not having a working PC recently plus working longer and extra shifts at work mean I've been too tired or unmotivated to sit and try and write, and the same with blogging. However that has all changed now. Christmas is over, I have a new PC and I also have a new piece of tech; that I'm going to do a review of in a later post, a bluetooth slim keyboard that works with both Windows and Android.

Why is this new tech important? Well, I keep my novel file on Dropbox and this means that now I can write when the inspiration takes me on my Kindle using the bluetooth keyboard instead of the touchscreen on the Kindle. Again why is this important? Anyone who has ever written a lot, and i mean a lot, on a touch screen will know it can be prone to typing errors and will never be as fast as typing on a physical keyboard. It also means I don't have to boot up the PC, saving power and avoiding distractions such as games and facebook and other social media platforms. I can literally sit on my bed with a film or TV Show on and just type as long as the ideas and inspiration flow.

But back to the writing. Having written short story that has been published I know I can do it, I just need to apply myself (sounds like my old school reports). My little black novel journal has been useful in collating my ideas with pictures, notes and timelines, which is important to me at least as my story will be based at least in some part in the real world. What I need to do now is sit down and start to flesh out my proposed story with a whole series of "scenes" in which I want main plot elements to happen and then once I'm happy with them, fill in the areas that link them altogether into a coherent story. Along the way, it will help me to show and discuss my passages with people to get  sense of how it is flowing and whether it make sense. I know that I have a habit of writing in extremely long sentences like my favourite author Terry Pratchett, and I try my best to try and make sure all my grammar is in the correct places and used correctly (I'm normally ok with that for the most part).

So before my next update what I need to do is without setting up specific times to sit down and write (because that can be the worst way to write), is try and set myself a least one time per week to just sit there and write and see what comes out. Hopefully by the next time I do another Novel Update post, I will have at least finished my first chapter and started the second, maybe finish the other scene that I have been working on, and set out a handful of new scenes ready to be fleshed out.

As normal please leave leave any feedback, preferably constructive, and or ideas you've had that help you when writing.

Catch you soon!