Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be an author? Today I’m going to talk about my latest journey in the art of storytelling, give a little peek into my brain, and share some updates about my writing projects.
So, what’s it like being a writer? Honestly, hard. I work long hours nearly every day with no monetary pay. But, it’s totally worth it! I get to exercise my creative muscles regularly and use my brain the way God created it to be used. Sure, it doesn’t pay the bills, right now, but I’m learning that writing is something more than a job, and maybe even a little more than art. It’s a form of therapy.
God created storytellers with brains that are a little different than that of the average human, and even the storytellers are a little different from each other. Some hear voices as they write, others come up with wild ideas; some see every detail in their mind, others only see what’s in front of them; there are strong empathizers who can write compelling stories completely from imagination, and there are those whose best writing comes from their own experiences. One thing they each have in common: they have to write, they need to write. Writing for many is not simply a hobby.
Now, writers aren’t crazy (some might be), even if they sound like it to non-writers. When I tell my non-writer friends and family that my original character is arguing with me, they look at me with concern. One day I said I discovered my character is an introvert. My non-writer friend asked if I meant I created them to be an introvert. I didn’t know how to answer. That’s when a writer friend said that you create it by discovering it. I said yes, that I couldn’t have explained it better. My non-writer friend was still confused.
I tend not to talk about it, but I can hear the voices of my characters as I write their dialogue, because I can see the story in my mind like I’m watching a movie. I know I’ve developed my characters well when they feel alive to me, when they can tell me that something is wrong with the story. It sounds crazy, I know. But trust me, it’s not. Let me explain it differently.
One time when I was writing in my current novel in progress, I felt like the way a certain character reacted to an anger-inducing situation didn’t fit. I had this character yelling, and I quickly realized that was wrong for that character. That’s the non-crazy, more realistic version of the experience. In the crazy in-my-writer-brain version, the character was telling me that he would never do that. I listened to my gut/the character and changed it so that he spoke in a monotone, cold voice. That was far more intimidating and right with who the character is.
If you’re still concerned for my well-being, I suggest watching the movie Nim’s Island or The Man who Invented Christmas. I’d say those are the best examples I’ve seen of what it’s like to have the brain of a writer. The biggest difference for me is I don’t see my characters standing in my room talking back at me, thankfully.
The above is just a small picture of my imagination. And imagination is only a small part of the writing process, which varies for everyone and takes time to develop. I should know, I’ve been learning about what process works best for me over the last two years. You see, I started creating a new story in October 2020. After writing over forty thousand words, I realized I didn’t know enough about the completely fictional time period or characters I was trying to bring to life. I realized I needed to learn how to become a planner.
I could write a whole other post about planners and pantsers, but the short version is the former figure out their stories from beginning to end, and all the little details in between, before writing page one; meanwhile the latter create the story from a simple idea without thinking about what will happen beforehand. They are said to “write by the seat of their pants,” hence the name. For shorter pieces, I usually am a pantser, but this story was far too complex for me to do it justice with pantsing. For 9 months I worked out the overarching plot, the character arcs, and all the little details of the world they existed in, at least as much as I could.
I began drafting on July 1, 2021. 11 months later, on June 7, 2022, I finished. I wrote the last word in my hand-written manuscript and celebrated with a movie. Then on June 15, I began transcribing the 396-page manuscript into my computer, finishing on July 8. Yep. I’m only 5 days removed from digitizing my story for editing, and it was hard. The final word count was 89,173. That’s my longest written work to date. And I have the feeling it will get longer.
I noticed a few… mistakes as I transcribed, and I will have to resolve those. Because of the minor pantsing I inevitably practiced while drafting (as I couldn’t predict every question I would have), I will need to rearrange some scenes and reassess their content. There were a few things I hadn’t worked out with the characters until last week, and now I will have to work those things in. After that, I need to make sure details in the world between scenes are consistent. Then there’s beta reading to be done, and feedback edits, and grammar edits… it’s a lot. Writing is hard work, but it’s so worth it.
I hope to have this new novel ready to publish by early 2023. I’m already working on two other novels that I hope will come out in the following two years. In addition to these novels and keeping up with this blog, I’m also working on another flash fiction anthology. That’s right! A whole new collection of short stories created by yours truly and a few returning authors from the previous anthology, plus a newcomer, will be available to read soon. And in case you haven’t downloaded your copy of Adventuring Together, Season 1, it’s free right now on Amazon.com and Nook.
Thank you for allowing me to share my writing life with you. I hope I haven’t scared you away. Haha! Maybe now you understand a little better what authors go through to get a book ready for public consumption. If so, I would greatly appreciate it if you looked at more books to read, especially by indie authors, who put so much time and energy into their books. Trust me, even one sale is incredibly exciting.
~Beth
Beth Freemont 