Drafting Happiness

Over the last six weeks, I've been working tirelessly, sometimes through pain, to complete a new draft of a long-time writing project.

Learning the story structure I posted about, the Six Act Structure, I was able to plot out and write this new draft of my novel. It has elements from previous drafts presented in new ways, and it also has completely new elements created for this draft to craft a strong story.

I powered my way through the draft, sometimes writing over ten thousand words in one day (which is quite a lot), and other days not writing anything because my head was pounding. On those days, I planned what I wanted to do next in the story, and when I felt better, I wrote out those ideas.

For writing when I was at times incapacitated by pain, the novel formed quickly. Six weeks is next to no time when writing a novel, but I finished earlier this week. It triggered a mini-manic episode, but I was able to get it under control.

I'm very excited to have finished this. I'm hoping this draft will be the last one and I'll be able to just edit until I have something I can submit for publishing. That would be amazing.

I've had a couple of people read the first chapter, and I've gotten positive responses. That's very encouraging, and I'm hoping it will continue this as they read more. I'm excited to see what people have to say about this new version of the story.

In my opinion, it's the best writing I've produced so far, and I'm very proud of it. Hopefully, I can continue to feel that way as the critiques come in. That's when an author truly finds out how good their work is. It's a humbling experience to say the least.

I'll be diving into editing tomorrow, and I can't wait to get everything squared away for those reading the book—and so I can pull in some other readers. I love getting critiques, so I'm looking forward to the prospect.

Writing for me is a joy and makes my life more full and happy. Learning how to be a better writer is fulfilling as I work to do better at something that brings me joy. Applying new skills and waiting to see if I did it successfully is nerve-wracking but exciting. I'm eager to see how I did and dreading being told I didn't do well. 

Passions are full of ups and downs, especially when it's the production of art, but it's worth it.

Photo Credit Sergey Zolkin