But unfortunately, I don't have much to report, other than to say that I'm almost done with yet another outline that I think may be "the one." No, I don't care if I'm jinxing myself anymore. Frankly, I'm actually really happy that I'm going through this process, because the longer it goes on, the stronger I feel the story is getting. If I had stopped and settled a few months ago, I would've missed out on some plot points that I feel are pretty cool.
With that said, I'll admit that the apparent lack of progress can get a little frustrating at times. If you're a writer in a similar boat, I've compiled a few factoids that should help you feel a little better (I know I did after finding these).
- It took Terry Brooks seven years to write The Sword of Shannara, and then another five years to complete its sequel, The Elfstones of Shannara (after multiple throw-aways and re-writes).
- As Jonathan Murphy alluded to in our recent live radio interview, books in the Song of Ice and Fire series (more commonly known as Game of Thrones) often take years to come out. The first book took five years, as did books Four and Five.
- As everyone probably knows, it took Jo Rowling five years to complete the first draft of Sorceror's Stone.
- Charles Bukowski didn't finish his first novel until he was 49 years old. His second novel didn't come out until four years after that.
- Rick Riordan finished the manuscript for The Lightning Thief in June 1994. It didn't come out until July 2005.
- At the age of 45, Tolkien began writing the story that would become The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The story would not be finished until 12 years later, and would not be published until 6 years after that.
Feel better? You're welcome.
No comments:
Post a Comment