So, what is going on, exactly, with each project? I’m going to separate them into different posts for, honestly, aesthetic reasons. That way, if anyone ever wants to go back retroactively and see what was going on at this point in time with Project #1 and not another project, it makes it a whole lot easier. I also think it’s probably just clearer and looks a little better too.
Like I said in my introductory post, I’m aiming for a certain balance; I want to share enough that this keeps me accountable, it keeps me working and being inspired, but I also want to keep enough quiet so I’m not sharing everything. Trying to find that balance isn’t always easy, but I think starting small is definitely the way to go. You can always share more, but you can’t take back what you’ve already said.
What I can share is that this book is currently a stand-alone. It’s about youth, the precipice of adulthood, friendships that change with age, and how our youth shapes us, even if we don’t necessarily want it to.
There are five main characters, each dealing with their own problems. At the minute, we’ve got just over 11,000 words written, but I’ve got each chapter planned, arcs being moulded, and the themes being solidified. It’s there in the ether, I’ve just got to get it down on the page.
A lot of my writing has to be done during weekends because of university work that is coming to an end so soon that it’s daunting, and because I’ll being working a lot more once university is over. Sometimes I can whip up a scene in the evenings, but I don’t always come back from work in the right head space, and that’s just how it is. Progress isn’t always going to be quick, but I want to always be making progress, even if that means only thinking about specific lines of dialogue or what scene I should write next when I’m at work.
And, to be honest (because I think that’s really important in these posts), sometimes I struggle with the story. Already, I find myself wondering if it works, if people will be interested in it, if I’m even interested in it! It sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? But I actually think it’s beneficial in some ways. Pushing through doubts is a way of knowing you can be a writer, a way of knowing how to persevere, which is a big part of storytelling. Some scenes come to me in the blink of an eye, and some are obstinate, refusing to cooperate no matter how much time and energy I spend trying to mould it into shape. Pushing through that is rewarding, even if it takes days, weeks, months, even longer. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither was The Odyssey.
There is a fine line, I will admit, between needing to persevere and recognising when a story needs more time to sit and stew for a while. I think all stories you conjure can be told, but you might think of something and need to let it sit for ten years before it’s workable into something you feel is ready to share.
That’s also one of the reasons I am hesitant to share too many details as of right now. I feel ready to write this story, but who knows what might happen in a couple of months? Things change, and sometimes we are at the whim of our own creativity, which can come and go as it chooses.
It really might not seem like I’ve shared a lot at all, but I plan to release more details as we go on. It’s only in the early first draft, and so much can change between drafts that I truly would be hesitant to name characters or say an exact scene is going to happen when it might be completely different in the next draft. I can just say that the core elements are there, and when we’re further along, I’ll be able to share more.
When things are in this early of a stage, the updates will probably be a little more spread out, but I like seeing where things start, I think that can be really positive, hopefully inspiration for me as well as others. Seeing something as it develops, even if you don’t get all the details, it might seem small to begin with, but it will be great to look back on. I have no concrete date for when there might be another update, but I’m hoping it’ll be soon, and I hope it’s something to look forward to!
Robyn x
Robyn A. Howard 