Images Disney.fandom.com, Memes by me.
I’ve often compared my creative energy as a teacher using these visuals that are etched into my mind from watching Cinderella over and over as a kid. On Sunday nights I say to myself, “When I come home from school tomorrow Cinderella’s carriage (my creative brain) will be back to being a plain old mushy pumpkin (my brain with mom/teacher exhaustion).”
When you’re in the flow of creativity, there is not a better feeling in the world, but it takes lots of mental clarity to get there. I find lots of joy in working on my personal projects, but I’ve learned not to frustrate myself with trying to further them after school in the afternoons. I just spin my wheels.
After six years of teaching, I’ve figured out that creative energy is limited each day so I pour it all out on my students at school (and I am grateful to do so). What an opportunity!
I share all of that to give you an update that on this long weekend I had some rest and some uninterrupted time to build upon what I started writing this Summer.
I was able to write 20,000 words between two books this Summer, one a memoir and one a fiction book. After some research I decided to make my fiction book into a Novella (which requires 20,000-40,00 words) since I can currently average that much writing over a long school break. With that goal in mind it would be feasible to work on one novella a Summer if inspiration strikes.
Instead of having one big book, I will be able to write 4 shorter Novellas to make a collection of stories that tie together if I decide to keep writing fiction after this book is complete.
So, this weekend I finished my first draft of my first fiction novella!
So the hard part for me personally is done. The word count is there. The scenes from my outline are all written out with dialogue and in order like a rough sketch on a canvas ready to add layers of paint.
So, the fun starts now! I get to take all of those broad strokes and zoom in to write the sensory details, add in depth from the notes I’ve been keeping on the go, and bring the characters to life as I continue to develop their voices and their messages.
So, after all this chatter, what’s this book about anyway? Simply stated as a quick elevator pitch that I finally feel confident to share, my book is about:
What’s next?
- Developmental Editing
- Beta Readers
- Line Editing
- Proofing for Print
So, as you can see, I have a way to go before publishing and haven’t set a date yet. But I am excited about the confirmations that I have received to keep on writing this story.
One of the steps in finishing out my first draft led me to search the most googled questions asked by 12-18 year old girls (my target age for this book) and to my delight almost all of the questions they ask are addressed in my novella. I think I’m on the right track.
Thanks for following along with my creative process. I hope to inspire you to find what makes your heart sing!
Keep on creating,
Emily
Create Everyday 