Let the Writing Begin!

As you may have heard, I have begun work on my new novel which is tentatively called Feathers in the Sand. For the last few months I’ve been devoting my scheduled writing time to creating characters, doing research, imagining settings, and dreaming up plot points. This photo shows part of my process of creating/getting to know the main characters (me and my imagination, holed up in a hotel room in Maine, with colored markers and lots of paper!).

On Monday of this week, I began what is called “Fast Drafting,” as taught by Jessica Brody, an award winning author of over twenty novels. I have been learning a lot from her lately about crafting a good novel, and am eager to work with her teachings as I move forward.

When I wrote Dragonflies at Night: More Than a Love Story, I kindof wrote it by the seat of my pantsā€”this is called “pantsing” in writers’ circlesā€” meaning that when I sat down to write it, I didn’t have any idea what was going to happen next… I just wrote whatever came to mind and then kept on going. The only problem, for me, with “pantsing,” is that it took me six years from start to finish. And there were many, many, MANY revisions.

I have no desire to take another six years to write this next novel, mainly because I know I have more than one more novel inside of me waiting to burst out, and I’m already 64 years old, so… well, you do the math!Ā  So I’ve decided to add a healthy measure of “plotting” to my writing process this time around. This means that I’ve created a map, a guideline of sorts, to assist me as I write Tess and Eva and Micah’s story.

Now, I have no intention of ignoring my intuition or my Creative Muses as I write this new novel! I intend to incorporate a healthy dose of “pantsing” right along with my “plotting.”Ā  And to tell the truth, I have actually only plotted about 2/3 of the story as of right now, and will plot the rest once the story takes clearer shape.

Ā In “fast drafting,” I am committed to thinking of this draft as a “discovery draft” instead of anything else. Jessica Brody also calls this first draft the “messy draft” because it’s going to be way far (and I mean WAY far!) from perfect.Ā  BUT… the beauty of creating this Discovery Draft is that when I’m done (12 weeks is what I’m giving myself), I will actually have a manuscript in my hands that I can REVISE. And that is where the fun comes in!Ā  I am learning that this first draft is where I tell myself the story, which will give me something to work with as I tell my readers the story!

So folks.. stay tuned! I will keep you posted of my progress as the weeks go by. Thank you for reading. Your support is what keeps me going!

P.S. You can scroll down through my previous blog posts here to read a bit about what Feathers in the Sand is about, and who some of the main characters are. And more of those will be coming soon.

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1 thought on “Let the Writing Begin!”

  1. Dear Anne Marie,
    Thank you for sharing your process of writing! I find it so interesting and so very exciting that you are pursing what must be a dream. I loved your previous book, “Dragonflies at Night”, and
    looking forward to “Feathers in the Sand” or perhaps whatever title you choose!
    I’m currently reading Julia Cameron’s book, “It’s Never to Late to Begin Again”..Discovering Creativity and Meaning at Midlife. I’m 62, so it gives me much hope and I think we are well seasoned to bring even more to the table by our life experiences. Congratulations and thank you for you generosity of yourself. You have no idea what an impact you make and how inspiring you are! All the Best to you & yours~
    Blessings!
    Stacy Green

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