This whole writing a book thing didn’t just start last week. I’m taking a class this semester called Novel Writing in which we have to produce a 50,000 word “craptastic” (in the words of my prof) novel. I had my basic novel plot ready to go at the start of the semester, so at least I didn’t have to spend time figuring out where to start. For those interested, I am using Save The Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody as a way to keep somewhat organized as I churn out my weekly word count.

My challenge was not where to start, it’s how to hack my way through the dark jungle that is most of the novel. I know approximately where I want to end up, but how to get my characters there is challenging and at times overwhelming. One of my favorite writing quotes is from E.L. Doctorow: “Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” I try to remind myself not to focus on the next chapter, the next subplot, the larger goal. Instead, what I have to do is just keep moving forward in small increments and trust that I will eventually have a first draft with a beginning, middle, and end.

This post is essentially a morning pep talk to myself. I want to get least 1000 words written today, which is very doable, but as I sit here in my home office, sipping my second cup of coffee, surrounded by wonderful books that other people have written, it seems very far away. But if I can write one sentence, another will follow, and, like the headlights, I only have to see that far in front of me to get a whole page. Wish me luck.