A Push, Comment & Boost

Every writer has his/her own speed and structure to work. Some are very disciplined; they write a steady number of hours or words each day. I also intended to do that, but unfortunately, that kind of structure and discipline just isn't me. Sometimes I am writing several hours a day, other days I do not put one word in writing. Go with the flow, that's typically me. The good thing is that I am not bound to any deadlines yet, so I can take it easy. But easy is usually no good for me, I know from experience. When deadlines appear in sight, that's when my mind works full speed. That is when I am most creative and productive!

Last week a friend of mine asked me how much I had written so far. Good question, because, as I am writing on more than one storyline and chapter 'at the same time', it looks more like a jigsaw puzzle than a book at the moment! Was I interested in letting a publisher have a look at it and give some specialized feedback, was his next question. Ok, now he had my full attention! What is more interesting than to have an expert give feedback on your work? What a wonderful opportunity! So when would I be ready, he kept on pushing. I hesitated a little more to give a hard commitment at once; I had to think carefully about what would be doable. Few minutes later we agreed that I will hand him 150 pages by May 1st and he will take it to the publisher. This was exactly the push I needed!

I found out last week that it is pretty scary to let someone read your work! I have given the first two chapters to few of my best friends to read. Friends that I trust to read it in a critical way and to give me serious feedback, not to spare my feelings. My objective is to make a great book, not to be flattered. As writing is something you very much do in your own small world, you simply don't see things anymore at one point. I got back some very valid and valuable tips that I will definitely process! Luckily the general description on what they had read so far was 'very cinematic', 'written in an attractive way' and 'I would like to read more'. This is what friends are for: a push, a comment and a boost at the right time! Tnx, my dearests! Love, M.

Just Me, My Notebook and All of My Senses...

So here I am... writing a blog. Because I am at the start of a creative adventure that is totally new to me. A process that is fun, that brings new challenges but also comes with lots of personal insecurities: I have started to write a novel! Writing a book was on my wish list for many years. I was the type of child that wrote essays of 20 pages, always returned by the teacher with a comment in red like: 'Good essay, but PLEASE make it shorter next time!' So after a few short stories during the years, I am now ready for the real stuff. Never wrote a novel in my life, so had to do a lot of research about that first. Where do I start, what kind of structure do I use, how do I create my characters, what are the typical mistakes a new writer makes...? As the novel is set in Italy, not far from Naples, I did some thorough research about that specific region, its history and its people already. In September I will spend a whole week in a sleepy village to interview my Italian friend and to explore the area some more. Just me, my notebook and all of my senses. Experiencing, observing, smelling and tasting the place where the story I have in my head is set. Where the characters I will invent will grow up, become adults and meet other people. If you are interested, I would love to share this creative process with you! That is why I have created this blog.