The story is just beginning…

It’s been quite an intimidating thought.

And, if I’m honest, I’ve probably been overthinking it. Which all compounds the unnecessary stress I’m placing on myself. But, as you’ll know if you follow me on social media, I’ve finally plucked up the courage to start drafting my first novel.

I wish I’d done it sooner.

One of the things that put me off was the perennial “where do I start?” question.

Well the answer is, just start writing.

I had an idea, and wrote a short scene. Then I thought of another scene that could be part of the story, so I wrote that one too. And I’ve continued in that vein, writing scenes that fill out the story, set the tone or give back story. What I haven’t done is structure the story yet – I’ve no idea yet where all these scenes will fit. I have various parts that will all, in my view, be necessary for the reader and writing like this is really working for me. I’ll figure out the order and timeline later.

It’s pretty cool having the power to create the story, to make it flow like you want. I’m inventing towns, people, events and whole geopolitical narratives. Its actually really exciting being able to write the story you want to read.

The funny thing is, I’m still learning where the story is going. I’ve got a rough idea but I’m finding things out at the same time as my main character, and that gives an authenticity, I think, to what I’m writing. So if my character is surprised by something in the book, its because I was surprised when I wrote it.

I’ve been pretty consumed by writing this story over the last month or so. Whenever I’ve had some downtime and an idea has popped into my head for another part of the story I’ve just grabbed my Kindle and started writing. Its also the reason I’ve not posted on here for a few weeks.

Anyway, it will all be worth it when I’ve finished writing the story and can share it with you, my readers.

That’s it for today, I’m off to write another scene…