5 days to go until the novel is in. I've thought about it loads. I Still don't have a good first line though.
I have my notes in front of me. I've been here since 11:30, give or take trips to the fridge (Diet Coke #3 on the go right now).
I haven't actualy started writing. I've written yet more notes though. And also, standing in the kitchen earlier I had a revelation that has altered the story, or changed it back to an earlier idea that I had discarded.
I can't seem to ve in. I've even written a plan for Chapter One (that's what's gotta be in by Friday) I know what I need to do to get from A to B (B being where I want to be at the end of the chapter, what I want the readers to know by that stage) but I can't write.
Weirdly writing this blog entry has helped with my flow ... so far from being a procrastinatary sidetrack that I'd first imagined, it has actually helped a bit.
Off I go back to the novel.
3 comments:
Hi Damon!
I know it might sound hard but don't be frightened about the first line of Chapter One.
Think carefully about how the story starts, and what characters are doing in the first scene of the novel, and that will help you write the story.
Also think about how your characters are introduced in that first instance, and by then you will hopefully have a great piece of writing.
If it helps you write down what the story is about and the backgrounds that your charadters have like their jobs, families or what they look like.
Hope these ideas help you Damon, and good luck mate with the novel.
Katie xxxxx
P.S Also why not try putting a bit of soothing music in the background too, as that will calm you down and help you write well.
Drinking a lot of Diet Coke will just give you a headache so music is best to calm you.
Oddly enough, Damon, I was in exactly the same position as you two years ago. And oddly enough, just last week I revised my opening chapters, having written 75,500 words since then, and now having the occasion to look back at what I've done, and make alternations.
My first 5,000 words now bears no relation to what it did two years ago. But without that first flush, I wouldn't've got as far as 80,000...
Go for it. I disagree with the other Katie - caffeine is an excellent writing tool. Just be prepared to not sleep for the next fortnight.
Hi Damon, I empathize, the first line is always the worst, even if it's only an essay, never mind a novel.
How I tackle it is to get on and write down what does work, wherever it comes in the scheme, in order to get the flow started, and often the first line will pop up while that is being done.
Thank heavens for word processing! It must have been hell quilling away on the parchment and having second thoughts meant you had to page back through folio-sized sheets in order to write interlining and squiggles in the margin!
Keep at it.
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