Often time away from a novel can be as useful as time spent on the novel, or at least it often feels that way for me. When I’m deep into the heart and meat of a novel, typing away for hours, it never really and truly leaving my thoughts, I get a bit trapped inside a maelstrom of my own making.
It’s when I step back and let my life be lived, the novel sitting closed on my desk, metaphorically, that inspiration comes like flashes, like lightning, and I discover ways to fix problems I didn’t even know existed.
Last week, I made no progress on the novel as I was tied up with my dying father and the financial mess he’s made of his life. This weekend, I decided I may as well try and finish a short story for a deadline, but I only managed about a thousand words. Tonight, though, I pushed on to the end, getting about 3,500 words out and down.
The story is connected to the novel, in that it takes place in the same world, though a continent and perhaps a few centuries apart. It’s sword & sorcery, which I think is my preferred kind of story and novella to write. Not sure I’ll ever do a full novel in that mode, but I think it’s perfectly suited to shorter efforts.
And so the novel remains where it was when last I wrote in here, except now books two and three, conceptually are coming together more and more. Especially book two. Reading Oliver Twist has really helped clarify certain things and has worked as an engine of inspiration.
But book two cannot begin until book one is done, and my goal is to finish before the end of the month. Though that’s seeming pretty unlikely! So maybe before my birthday, which is about six weeks away. Should be enough time, even if this novel does end up being around 150k words.
Anyway, tomorrow I’m jumping back in, I think, with a head and belly full of ideas.
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