PERSONAL PASSIONS: WRITING

WRITING THAT FIRST NOVEL - OH MY!

By Elizabeth MacGregor

Elizabeth MacGregor is a former educator and a regular contributor to SideOne.

I have secretly wanted to write more with no restrictions on the number of words – the freeing experience of writing until I have nothing further to say.

Lying awake in the middle of the night, my thoughts travel to my characters – those created people who inhabit the pages I have been writing. They are likeable, complex, and in some cases, deeply flawed. I am in love with them.

I imagine their world, how they feel, what stirs them to action, what crushes them into despair. I can be surprised by what they say or a decision they make. I am not sure where they will take me, or if they will include me in their plans.

A LIFETIME OF WRITING

I have written for this magazine since its inception, for a blog, have had articles published in national magazines, written business letters for busy professionals and regularly create greeting cards for friends and family.

All my life, people have commented positively on my writing and encouraged me to write – from an elementary school teacher to my high school English teacher, who coached me in grammar and style for four years.

I have secretly wanted to write more with no restrictions on the number of words – the freeing experience of writing until I have nothing further to say.

WITH PENCIL AND PAPER, IT BEGAN

Three years ago, retired, I decided to try. Due to a concussion, I couldn’t use a computer for more than a few minutes, so I sharpened a pencil and started to fill the pages of a notebook. It felt tedious, though, since my graphomotor skill had also been affected. I did not find this worked for me, even though many famous writers write books on paper first.

Back to the computer I went. I knew what I wanted to write about. It would be a historical fiction about a natural disaster that happened in North America. My mother had told me a story about our family surviving it. A secretary I worked with added events she had experienced. Then, I came upon an unusual place in Toronto that became necessary because of this event.

Those kernels of information were swimming around in my imagination and I sought a way to connect them. My research provided the glue.

SEARCHING FOR IDEAS THAT DON’T EXIST

I wrote slowly, eyes aching, unable to get momentum going. Sometimes the thoughts came faster than my hands could type, and sometimes I sat in front of my keyboard, searching for ideas that did not yet exist.

I sought advice from writing pros. I learned that an outline is essential, so I created one. This helped fill in the blanks and gave me a direction for the story. It gave confidence in what I was exploring.

A WRITER’S GOT TO WRITE

Margaret Atwood advises that writers write. If you want to be a writer, stop talking about it and write. Discipline would be a necessity.

I’d write for an hour and then not for days. I seemed

stuck at 5,000 words and worried that I didn’t have it in me to create enough to write a novel. With an eye on the page and one on the word count, I did not see this as viable.

Going for a walk on one of those frustrating days when no progress was being made, I considered giving up this pastime. I heard Jake Tapper of CNN interviewed on a podcast I was listening to. He’s written several books and was asked how he does it, since he has a full-time job.

Here came the magic I needed to hear. Write for 15 minutes every day. Before his day started, he would write for 15 minutes. And, he said, the pages add up over time! Every day for 15 minutes made sense to me.

MY NEW FRIENDS

I started to do this, and yes, I was able to get to 10,000, 40,000 words, but most importantly, I found my work flowed, a momentum existed that did not before this. The story advanced, my ideas came and created more ideas. My characters came alive for me, and I cared about them.

This was another piece of advice I received. Make sure your characters are fleshed out in a way that people will get attached to them. You must care about them to convince your reader that they should bother to read on.

Margaret Atwood advises that writers write. If you want to be a writer, stop talking about it and write.

I am at the editing stage now, and still writing, still creating. I do not want the book to end, or to close it on these lovely people I have come to know. A followup book is possible, I suppose. In any case, once this is published, a goal will have been reached and I can look to others.