What are the steps to writing a novel and why the heck am I not done yet?
Excerpt from Chapter 1 — Passover Seder
STEP 1 (Beginning)
Come up with a fabulous idea. (2008)
Do some research and outlines, get all excited. (2008)
Run ideas around in my head over and over, committing little to nothing to paper. (2008-2017)
STEP 2 (No, really, now I’m beginning)
Join a writer’s group to make me accountable. (2017)
Really buckle down to write this screenplay, get some software, read some books. (2017)
Finally admit I have no idea how to write a screenplay (and what was I thinking, anyway?), take a group member’s advice to write a novel instead. (2017)
Look for my old outline to get started. Realize I never actually wrote it down, just in my head. Curse. (2017)
Write a new outline (I can do it!). (2017)
Write a chapter or two from the middle of the book. Cause it’s clanging in my head and this is the only way to get some peace. Present to my writer’s group. (2017)
STEP 3 (First Draft)
Because I can’t write it as a screenplay but it’s still a movie in my head, I’m going to make an illustrated book. Can I draw? No. But what a great idea, right? (2018)
Junk the illustrated book business and start writing it as a real novel. Go back and fix earlier chapters. (2018)
Alright, this novel has a prologue, an epilogue, and 10 chapters in-between. (2018)
Write. Write more. Keep going. Looks like the book will have 30 chapters now. (2018)
Wait, I need to add more earlier chapters. And renumber everything. And edit. (2018)
Discover StackExchange, find myself endlessly diverted. But get tons of amazing feedback from the stacks Writing, Worldbuilding, and more. Stay with it until it implodes 🙁 . (2018-2020)
Keep going. Break up chapters that are too long and add others so the novel expands like an ever-lengthening tent pole. (2019)
Find myself doing so much research that my spouse begs me to start a blog to keep track of it all. So I do. This blog. Right here. As of 12/29/22, there are 60 published blog posts and 14 drafts of posts I’m still working on. (2019)
Realize my timeline is wrong and add a few weeks to a section. Move chapters around and do a massive rewrite and restructuring to account for what isn’t a simple change. (2020)
Keep going. Add more chapters. Try to remember that writing stuff in my head doesn’t count. (2020-2022)
Almost to the end! So close I can taste it. Should I buckle down and write a bunch or should I find ways to procrastinate, getting out only one chapter every 6 weeks or so for my writer’s group presentation? Damn. (2022)
Wait wait, I’m picking up speed. I finished chapter 79, the second to last chapter!! (2022)
Okay, chapter 80 needs to be broken into two. I mean three. I mean four. (2022)
Alright, this novel has a prologue, an epilogue, and 83 chapters in-between. AND THEY’RE DONE!!!!! (December 2022)
Excerpt from Chapter 32 — The Last Plague
STEP 4 (Second Draft)
Go through all the chapters to make sure they’re consistent, in the right voice, etc. Take notes for things to research or check. Delighted to find every chapter in excellent shape, only one of which needs major writing, the rest only minor edits.
Go through all the notes I took from the read-through, plus notes I’ve been keeping for years as needed. (2023) (This is a long step, it will take a while)
Do the research and make all needed changes. (2023) (This is a long step, it will take a while)
Find my readers and send the draft out. Beta Readers are friends and family willing to give an honest critique to better the book. Sensitivity Readers use their lived experience to help me make sure I’ve got things right when writing about cultures that are not my own. They can be friends or family or paid readers. Experts are expert in a topic I cover and can also be friends, family, or paid readers. (2023)
Incorporate all the feedback and make necessary edits. (2023)
STEP 6 (Third Draft)
Do another read-through. (2023)
Copy edit. Using professionals for this step. (2023)
STEP 7 (Submit)
Send out to agents. (2023)
No bites? Send out to smaller publishers that don’t require agents. (2023)
STEP 8 (Publish)
Have I done this before? No. There are a bunch of tasks here that I can add in later. (202?)
STEP 9 (Bask)
Ya know, not all the fantasy is in the novel. (202?)
Hi Erin, that’s a great question. I don’t have a mailing list yet, but it’s on my to-do list. I’ll post in the blog of course, but it’s not straightforward on how to get notifications for that (despite my trying). If you do RSS, you can use that to see new posts. Or, when you comment, there should be a place to check to get notifications of new posts. It will be a while before it’s published and the blog is where I keep my research notes (I’m so happy to see future readers here). But keeping folks up-to-date is something I very much want to do. Thanks for your comment! – Cyndi
Come up with a fabulous idea. (2008)
Erin
April 12, 2023 at 8:03 amI want to read the book. How can I get notified when it’s ready for purchase?
Cyndi
April 12, 2023 at 8:10 amHi Erin, that’s a great question. I don’t have a mailing list yet, but it’s on my to-do list. I’ll post in the blog of course, but it’s not straightforward on how to get notifications for that (despite my trying). If you do RSS, you can use that to see new posts. Or, when you comment, there should be a place to check to get notifications of new posts. It will be a while before it’s published and the blog is where I keep my research notes (I’m so happy to see future readers here). But keeping folks up-to-date is something I very much want to do. Thanks for your comment! – Cyndi