Down the Rabbit Hole...Again

This morning, I made the decision to start working on my second novel. I wrote a draft for my first novel in November of 2012 during National Novel Writing Month, or as most of you writers out there know it as, “Nanowrimo.” (Please don’t scoff at me; I do not claim the 50,000 words that I wrote in one month to be a stunning final draft of a novel (or even an acceptable first draft of a novel), but I did write 122 pages of a story with characters that I spent a good amount of time developing who got involved in different situations and predicaments. I know there are a lot of people out there who don’t agree with the concept of Nanowrimo, but it gave me the kick I needed to finally write a draft of a novel.)

I am proud of my first attempt at a novel, but it was just a practice round for me. It is not a story that I want to pursue any further, it was just a chance for me to discover how writing a novel is different from writing a short story. Trust me, I discovered a lot. Not only did I realize that it was more difficult to keep the reader interested in a piece so long…I realized how difficult it was to keep my own interest! I also learned about the pacing of a novel and how I could take more time to develop characters and to let the meat of the story unfold. It was a wonderful learning experience for me... and now, almost a year later- I am ready for more.

But this time- my goals have changed. 

This is no longer a practice round. This is the real deal. I am prepared to write a novel that I will see through multiple drafts. I am ready to spend as much time as it takes to write this novel until it is the same story that I can see now in my head. By the time I am finished, I am planning on finding an editor for my novel...and then taking the plunge into the world of self-publishing. 

I see this as the next logical step in accomplishing my dreams. 

As of tonight, I have a grand total of 555 words written. Do I like the words? Of course not. Am I going to worry over them until I get them right, or keep going on?

If I learned anything from last November, it is that I will keep going on. The most important thing I learned from writing the first draft of my first novel, is that you won't be satisfied with the first draft. 

I'm glad I figured that out before today. Because, believe it or not, if I didn't have that practice round under my belt, I would have already quit this second novel by now, less than 24 hours from when I started.