Sticking to your novel

So, this school year is wrapped up! My final presentation went very well, but I’m glad that it’s over. Summer vacation at last! I can’t quite comprehend the many days of free time I suddenly have. I have a few projects planned, like my herbal medicine course and doing some exercises to just work on myself. But mainly I want to focus on writing.

I’ve managed to do a lot of necessary rewriting the last two days. I’m glad I finally took the time to just do it, because I had the feeling I wasn’t getting any further. The first few chapters seem rather solid now (and there was much rejoicing). The beauty of rewriting several times is that you can keep adding little layers, until one time you read a scene or two and go, hey, this is getting pretty good!  It may still be the first draft, but at least it’s Draft v.1.2!

That’s a good feeling – like all the hard work and all the struggling is paying off. It gives me the energy to continue, to stick to the novel until it’s finished. I think that’s the most important part of writing a book. Not to have a solid, polished story from the beginning, but sticking to what you do have; writing, deleting and rewriting, adding layers and changing small (or big!) scenes…Because one day you’ll take a look at it and nod to yourself approvingly. (Unless, of course, it’s becoming clear that there is No Future for the story, and the best thing is to bury it and proceed with something else. I’ve done this, too.)