Story of a Writer is a serial based on the old writing journal entries in which I reported my progress on my latest writing-related adventure, with comments from my current perspective on what I have learned since then. Hopefully, if you’re an aspiring writer, you’ll find it useful to you—but, if not useful, at least entertaining!  

In this episode: Experimentation and optimism are the starting writer's best friends.

We authors know that we can’t always control our stories. Sometimes our own stories throw us for a loop.

I once wrote a story in which I planned to kill off a certain character, and I spent a lot of time building his personality so that his eventual death would devastate both my main character and my reader. Then I got to the point where my doomed character was supposed to die…and I couldn’t do it. I loved him too much. Yet the entire story hinged on his death! What was I to do?

In a publishing industry that is increasingly raising the minimum word count for novels, and in an age where such novels are considered the peak of an author's accomplishment, I will add my voice to the few who wish to bring back shorter fiction. 

Before I explain why, let me just lay a little groundwork.

Six months may seem like a long time, but it is a golden period of opportunity for the serious writer. Pearls are not made in a day; rather, they become more valuable as time adds layer after layer of luster to their core of sand. In the same way, books are not written or edited in a day, but are brought to life through patience.

This goes against the grain of much advice in the writing world today.

“The Ten-Day Novel: Secrets to Speed-Writing.”

“How to Write and Self-Publish a Book in Thirty Days.”

“Get Published Now!”

Yes, I made those titles up, but you get my point. The writing world assumes that faster is better.

I believe the opposite. Fast can be good, but it can also lack quality. Sure, you can’t get a writing career off the ground without a proactive mindset. But you also don’t get a writing career off the ground by being in a hurry to produce.

That’s where the six-month strategy comes in.