10. Write-A-Book-In-30-Days
Happy New Year! (We’re going to ignore that it’s February)
January was probably the longest, fastest month of my life. That could be due to all the edits I’ve completed. And I’m done! No more edits! No more writing! I’m officially done… sigh.
Now, let me tell you about this Write-A-Book-In-30-Day challenge.
On the first day of February, I began my challenge of writing a book in a month. The very same challenge that I did in June 2023. And the reason why I’m doing it again is because I’ve learned a lot since the last time around:
-writing a story with low stakes that mainly focuses on the characters has become like my bread and butter when it comes to pantsing. I felt like I was breezing through the chapters because I was focusing on one thing. Getting all of these ideas and emotions from my head (and heart) to the page. And it was fun. And it was freeing.
-the first draft was absolute crap. But through it, I could see the real story shining. But the only way to get there is to write everything out, and write fast. Write even when I’m not exactly feeling it because there are still some diamonds I might uncover.
-I realized that having a bad first draft is better than no first draft. Doing this challenge forces me to make a goal for myself and see it to the end. Keep pushing past until I write THE END at the bottom of the manuscript. And no matter what happens, at the end of the 30 days, I can say that I have a book. It’s written. It’s terrible. It doesn’t make any sense. But it’s there. (And then the hard work comes: editing.)
I still believe I’m a plotter at heart. Even after I pants my way through a manuscript, I go back and make an outline of each chapter and work from there.
I say all of this because writing a book isn’t exactly a science. It’s an art. You acquire tools to help you uncover the story that’s inside you, but only you know what works for you. For me, right now, it’s these challenges, and it works for me. I can’t say that I’ll always use this method, but I’m open to trying new things if it means I can write a story from beginning to end.
My 30-Day Plan:
-write one chapter every day. That’s it. No word count (though I am keeping track). No limits or quotas to reach. Just one chapter. Some of them are long. Some are short. But it’s a realistic goal for me to hit every day.
I’m on Day Three and it feels a bit slow going. I’m still feeling out my characters, the plot, even POV. But that’s what first drafts are for. Telling the story to yourself first and god, am I having fun doing it.