… has finished.
Now, I realise that anyone following this blog might feel a bit short-changed by this as a summary of the novel-writing process. And I apologise, I really do. Partly I’ll plead that this has been a bit of a whirlwind of a year, from a trip to the Caribbean to getting our visa for France, from trips to places like Toulouse, Collioure, Orange and San Sebastian to seeing old friends in Spain. I’ve managed to keep the novel-writing going, but the more peripheral aspects of being an author – i.e. this blog – have suffered.
But that’s only part of the reason. The rest of it is that, for whatever reason, this particular story seemed to take a lot of writing. I’ve hit obstacles in all my novels, phases where all my efforts seem to be going into research or tinkering with the plot to make it work better. Or chapters where the words just don’t seem to want to come. But always in the past I’ve reached a tipping point, a stage where the hard work feels to be behind me and the book starts to write itself.
Not so with Book 5. It feels like it has been a battle throughout. Now that the first draft is finished, I suppose I feel a bit more achieved than I have in the past. But also I find myself worrying if the hard slog of writing this book will make it a hard slog to read.
Ah well. Past experience has told me not to come to any conclusions about my novels just after finishing them. I’ll need some mental distance from Book 5 before I can make that sort of judgement. I’m going to put the damn thing aside for a few weeks and do other stuff. Like maybe update this blog, that sort of thing.
So, do check back. There will be more to read here, honest. And all sorts of reveals like the title, book cover and publication date. See you soon!
Mark N Drake 