I want to try and revisit some of the milestones of my writing process. I have come a long way, and occasionally it feels really good to sit down, retrace my steps and see exactly how much ground I have covered.
Unknown to most of you, Overshadowed is not my first work. I wrote a screenplay called RFG back in '03-'04. Let me be the first to say that it is awesome! No, quite frankly it was terrible. I consider it the first milestone in this book because without it, I never would have written Overshadowed.
I can barely remember the first time I wrote about Overshadowed, it was that long ago. As you can surmise from previous chapters I had an idea, that was about it. I had a dream and a couple ideas for characters, but beyond that I knew very little. I had no outline, pretty much nothing.
So naturally I started at the beginning; page 1. It makes sense to start there right, right?
That first day was a lot of fun, I wrote several pages about a girl I had in mind for my main character. She was supposed to be an orphan who had nobody. And that was how I started the first day in the life of Angyll.
I don't remember exactly how far along in the process I was when I took my first real break from writing. It had to have been sometime around the completion of the first draft. But I set Overshadowed down and didn't touch it for about three months. No super-deep reason or anything, just because life left me in a place where I didn't feel like working on it.
I include this as a milestone because coming back from that break was a turning point for me, it spoke to me that I could take a break without quitting the whole thing altogether.
My 2nd draft was a huge milestone, but I've already talked about that in previous chapters, so I'm not going to go into too much detail about it. It just was the point where I decided I needed to take my work to the next level. It was the point I started taking things seriously.
After I finished my second draft, I all but quit writing (funny how all my milestones are me taking a break). I didn't touch my book for a year and a half. I had a lot on my plate, and no sense of urgency for trying to finish. Now, to think of not writing for that long makes me queasy, but at that point it was no big deal.
I am thankful for that break because I went through a lot of personal changes. I grew up in a sense, and so did my writing.
When I finally picked up my story again, it wasn't to write, it was to read. I missed the characters and wanted to see how they were doing. I found them in desperate need of attention, and so I grabbed the baton and haven't looked back since.
My first completion was another. I call it my first completion because it was when I finished the story as it stands today. Now mind you many things have changed since then (I reached this stage in 2007 btw), but the core structure has remained the same. It was at that point I printed out my first complete paper copy of my book.
Since I liked reading my book so much I assumed others would as well. So I started to see if someone wanted to publish it. It was premature, very premature. So my next milestone was my first rejection letter.
I personally enjoyed that stage quite a bit. Self-promotion takes work, and is exciting. I found it interesting to learn a little bit more about the publishing process. I learned how presenting yourself is as important, if not more important than being a great writer. So much more than a novel gets picked when one is chosen for publishing. A lot of writers forget that publishers are picking up a person, a product if you will. The other thing I learned was that my book was not ready for publishing.
A very important milestone was a small event with huge ramifications. It happened near the end of 2008. I was in a place where I was discouraged. I was not having any fun working on Overshadowed, and I was not progressing. I was stuck in a rut I couldn't get out of. Whenever I wrote I got super frustrated.
I let my dad read a current draft of overshadowed. I gave it to him not expecting much, but he called me the next day saying he had started reading it and couldn't stop. He had read the whole book in one day and even though it was rough, he had enjoyed it. Being in the place I was at the time his words were a huge encouragement that rejuvenated my desire to write. I still to this day am grateful for that conversation, it happened at a point in my life I needed it.
The most current milestone is having the assistance of an actual editor. Before, only a handful of individuals had ever seen overshadowed, the majority of those were in my family. Truthfully it is a pretty hard process. Putting your work under such scrutiny is humbling, and makes me feel somewhat dumb at times. However it is a better book because of it and my editor has helped me see things from a different perspective. All in all the experience has been very encouraging and fruitful.
I wanted to reminisce about specific circumstances so you could see a glimpse of all that has gone on in this process. However I cannot talk about the major milestones of my work without mentioning a reoccurring one. A voice that has spoken up every time I needed it to. Someone who has given more for this project than anyone else.
That milestone is my wife. She has stood by me through this entire process. She has given me constant encouragement, and has helped more than I could ever say. Even if she wasn’t excited about it at times she has stood by me for the duration. No matter what happens I will be forever grateful for everything she has given up for me and this project. Thank you Ashley.
Practical advice:
Don't rush the process.
Now at first glance this may seem like bad advice. It seems that way because there is an aspect of writing that is based on being able to put your work together asap. That is true, many times in your career (especially if you get published) you will have to meet deadlines. You will have to get great at making your work quality in as little time as possible.
I'm not talking about those times, I'm talking about the times when you are young in your career and things are just starting to take shape. If something doesn't come to you immediately, don't fight it. Take your time and work it out for yourself. If you rush through portions of your writing, without giving them the detail that they need. Then they will always come back to haunt you.
It is going to take roughly a year and a couple months to fix everything on Overshadowed. I don't really count this because I didn't learn how to write before I started Overshadowed but it still would be nice to be finished instead of revisiting what needs to be done.
Write fast if you can, but do it well. Just remember when it is necessary to take it slow, do that.
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