Fall writing update

tl;dr: I'm 80% of the way through my first draft ("It's the final countdown!" blares in my head as I type that)

Before I get into this, a quick plug and request: as the government shutdown continues, millions of people will go without SNAP benefits. Here in MA, more than one million people are about to lose their benefits on November 1. The food pantries are already strained. I’m upping my monthly contribution to the Greater Boston Food Bank and if you’re able, I hope you’ll join me (or do the same at your local food bank). The wonderful

Sharon McMahon

is also accepting donations via her Venmo which she then distributes to Feeding America and local charities in hardest-hit parts of the country.

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Well, we’re six months in. Six months since I came clean on this humble Substack, shouting into the void that I was writing a book. At the time, it felt important to mark the milestone formally, and then I feel like I blinked and six months went by.

I’ve written about 80,000 words of Myrtle’s story. That number is staggering to me. That’s how long most completed manuscripts are, or longer! What do you mean I’ve written a book-length number of words? (And that I still have more to go?)

I’m shooting for 100,000 words, and roughly on track to hit it, in terms of how it maps onto my plot outline. 20 more scenes, give or take. They’re bulleted out in my tracking spreadsheet, which makes it seem so simple, so straightforward. Each day when I sit down to write, all I need to do is pick a scene and write it. Right? No?

A couple of the writers in my writing group recommended Donald Maass’ book The Emotional Craft of Fiction, which I’ve been working my way through the past couple months. It’s chock-full of exercises that help you make sure you’re weaving an emotional thread through the story alongside the table-stakes plot and character development stuff. It’s been equal parts helpful and agonizing, because the further I get into this story, the higher the emotional stakes need to be in order for the end to pay off. So while the list of scenes I have to write may be dwindling, the wallop they need to pack is substantial, and building toward it is a delicate dance.

Visual aid: Total casual list of upcoming scenes I’m in the middle of tackling…

I also have to keep reminding myself that this is Draft #1 — implying that there will be more drafts. Who knows how many. But it’s okay that it isn’t perfect, or even good, right now. I have to have faith it’ll get better, eventually. The thought of sitting down sometime in January and reading this whole thing front to back is both daunting and thrilling. Writing this draft has been a challenge, but one I felt at least somewhat equipped to handle. Revising it, in full, feels like a total mystery box to me. I have to keep the prospect of it sort of out ~gestures vaguely~ over here, in my periphery, so it doesn’t paralyze me on the spot.

In a bit of fortuitous timing,

Becca Freeman

, in her newsletter last week, recommended this episode of Elin Hilderbrand’s podcast, an interview with Barbara Kingsolver. Talking about first drafts and revision, Kingsolver says:

“Pounding out a first draft is like hoeing a row of corn — you just keep your head down and concentrate on getting to the end. Revision is where fine art begins. It’s thrilling to take an ending and pull it backward like a shiny thread through the whole fabric of a manuscript, letting little glints shine through here and there.” - Barbara Kingsolver

I also absolutely loved (as Becca did) when Kingsolver says, as she starts writing her 19th book, I’m writing a stupid novel. No one will want to read this. I always feel this way. Knowing that even Pulitzer-Prize-winning, absolutely literary icon Barbara Kingsolver feels this way is wonderful sustenance.

Another thing that’s been on my mind as it relates to this manuscript is research. I had been hoping to pay a visit to the Roosevelt Presidential Library in Hyde Park, New York this fall to fill in some research gaps and flesh out some details, mostly based on the diaries there of Myrtle’s boss, Press Secretary Steve Early. I didn’t anticipate a prolonged government shutdown that would make that impossible. 🫠 So, one lesson for next time: front-load primary source research as much as is feasible!

And on the “next time” note, I’m also already in the extremely early phases of noodling on the idea for book #2. (How’s that for hubris?) If there’s one thing I am taking away from this life transition, it’s that whatever the outcome of this book (publication, sales, lack thereof), I haven’t loved doing anything, professionally, as much as I’m loving this. So there will be another book, no matter what.

Bonus: for my next monthly writing update, I’m crowd-sourcing questions from YOU! Is there anything you’re curious about, when it comes to novel-writing (especially re: a first timer like me, coming from a career as a tech executive). Feel free to leave them in the comments or send to me directly!