by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner
I’m doing a very sloppy vomit first draft right now of the first novel in what is hoped to be a five novel project. I’m now at the beginning of the second act and it’s interesting how just by going through the events in the story, things are getting a lot better.
But the point is — I have to finish the first draft. I have to allow myself to get outside my comfort zone and finish something, anything as quickly as possible.
I’m also at the moment mapping out the events of the second novel in the series. It’s exciting because I know exactly how I’m going to do it. I’m going to draw inspiration from a very dark, dysfunctional era in my personal work history. I’m going to smash a number of different eras in my life into a cohesive whole.
Anyway, things are going well with the first novel. I continue to be surprised by how much the specifics of the story change as I make another run through of the outline.
The key thing is, I need to figure out how to use my time more wisely. I can’t just keep drifting in a general direction. I need to be more focused. I need to see this project more as a job than as simply a part of my personality that I work on when the mood strikes me.
I’m trying my best to see things that way, but sometimes it’s tough.
