by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner
I’ve just finished what I believe is the second draft of the first chapter of the first book in a five novel series. At least, that’s what I am aiming for. It is very easy for “normal” people to take it for granted that I’m just another bonkers Internet crank.
And, I guess, to some extent that is true.
But also I know that the very “eccentricity” that leads “normal” people to dismiss me is also my secret weapon. I can be very, very focused if something strikes me just the right way and these five novels have done just that. Each of the five novels is a compelling story.
The issue is I have to work harder, faster and smarter. I’m not going to live forever and I’d like to wrap up all these novels a lot sooner than you might otherwise think.
If Stieg Larsson can write three novels and sell them, I can write five novels and sell them. Hopefully, of course, I won’t drop dead of a heart attack right after I do so. That’s the plan, at least.
But I really need to put up or shut up. I’ve talked way, way, way too much about the process of writing these five novels over the years, but I can’t go back and change all that. I’m 100% extroverted and I have no friends and no one likes me, so sometimes — maybe a lot of the time — I sometimes need to let off some steam by writing about writing.
I love to write — I do it like shedding skin, without even thinking about it. So, really, the issue is just to stay focused. I hope to use the weekends to bounce around the other four novels in the series so I will have some forward progress on all five novels instead of just fixating on the first one.
I have got to do something to speed this overall process up if I’m going to finish in the next, say, two years or so.
