It’s been a rough year, for all of us. And as October came to a close, I decided that I needed a project that I could actually control. So I chose to take on National Novel Writing Month for the first time. The idea is to write the first draft of a novel during the thirty days of November.
I have never drafted a novel that quickly. But I’ve also never known a year like this one. So I brainstormed, I planned, and I jumped in. And today, I hit 100 pages. Which astounded me.
The first draft is always rough. Author Sarah Aronson calls it the ‘discovery draft.’ The Great British Baking Show’s Prue Leith would call it ‘rustic.’ Whatever we call it, it’s a vital step in the process. And once you have that first draft done, and have stepped away from it for a while, the real work can begin.
So I’m 100 pages in to this first draft of a yet unnamed story about a boy named Daniel who falls in love with a deaf girl while their families are both stationed on the tropical island of Guam.
I may finish it and realize that it doesn’t work. But I will still count the project as a success. Because it has provided me with a welcome distraction.