Why writing my first novel was a marathon and not a sprint

Writing your first novel is a long and complex process. It takes a lot of time, dedication, patience, and determination to complete a narrative of eighty thousand words or more. Even then, unless you have an established following, there are no guarantees of getting your book published. Without being publishing, there is no chance of getting a return on the time invested in creating a novel. So why would anyone take the time to write one?

Everyone has their own reasons, from wanting to recieve industry recognition, to simply enjoying the writing process. My initial reason was that I felt compelled to write a book. Now that has been done, my goal is to get it published and see it in a bookstore one day. Whatever your personal reason are, below I have recounted my story. I hope it helps you to understand the commitment you are taking on if you have a desire to write a novel with the aim of being published.  

Why I started to write…

I’ve worked in IT for over thirty years, and my only creative outlet was trying to find new and imaginative ways of explaining complex problems to IT users. It’s a dry, procedural environment with little room for creativity. However, I knew I had creative bones in my body, and I had told myself for many years, ‘one day, I’m going to write a book!’ It was on the same list as running the London Marathon, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and skydiving. The list of amazing things people say they would love to do, especially after a few beers. But it’s a list that very few people achieve. Life gets in the way, and priorities change. Time, money, and energy need to be focused elsewhere, and before you know it, the desire to do such things has waned. Having a quiet pint with friends and talking about ‘how great it would be if…’ is about as risky as life gets.

I’ve been lucky. The opportunity to do many of these things have just appeared in my life. It was in these moments my resolve was tested. The little voice inside my head said, ‘I’ve told everyone that I would love to do these things. Are you going to let yourself down and wonder how amazing it could have been? Or are you going to step up and face your fears?’ Although the prospect of doing these challenges was daunting, I stepped up. I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in 2010, ran the London Marathon in 2011, cycled from London to Paris in 2013 and threw myself out of a perfectly good plane several times over the following years, whilst raising over ten thousand pounds for various charities.

What inspired my first novel…

As the things I wanted to achieve were ticked off, my goal of writing a book crept up the list. I had an idea for a book. When I say an idea, it was a very loose feeling that I had a concept for what might be the basis of a good story. Many seasoned authors say, ‘write what you know.’ I somehow managed to choose topics that nobody truly knows or understands. However, other experienced authors say, ‘write what you’re interested in,’ and the universe, quantum theory and consciousness fascinate me.

At a conceptual level, I’ve always been interested in the work of scientists such as Einstein, Hawking and Penrose.  The math blows my mind, but the theories are genuinely incredible. The fact that when you look up into the night sky, you’re looking back in time is remarkable, and the vastness of the universe is incomprehensible. Light from the sun takes eight minutes to reach us, and light from our nearest neighbouring star takes over four years to hit our eyes. This is four years of a photon of light travelling at 186,000 km per second. Light from our closest neighbouring galaxy takes twenty-five thousand years to reach us, and light from the furthest galaxies takes 13.5 billion years. Much of the light we see when we look up into the night sky has been travelling to Earth since before humanity existed.

Let’s move from the vastness of the universe to the microscopic science of quantum theory. The one experiment that stands head and shoulders above the rest is the Double Slit experiment, which shows that the mere observation of the experiment changes the result. This experiment has been conducted thousands of times over the last one hundred years, and we’re still no closer to understanding it. The duality of matter being seen as waves of probability and physical particles at the same time, is a mystery scientists have tried to solve since 1927. In the Double Slit experiment, our observation of matter as waves of probability seems to force a wave function to collapse into particles with physical properties. A vastly extrapolated theory of this experiment suggests that our interaction between the waves of probability all around us, and our consciousness, could, somehow create the reality in which we exist.

The human race has a firm grip on the mechanics of our universe, but still, our ability to grasp a good understanding of quantum theory and consciousness is missing. The chances of humanity evolving into what we are today is more than a trillion to one. With those odds, our place in the universe may be no accident. It begs the question, ‘is any part of our perceived reality truly real?’ Although our senses may tell us otherwise, it is a question is being researched by many reputable scientists around the globe, and this question is the foundation for my first book, A Quantum of Thought.

My experience of writing my first novel…

So, I had an idea for a novel, but where to start? I thought about the characters, locations, and plot at a high level, made some notes, then just sat down one day and started writing. The first few chapters flowed well, and I was on a roll. But then I wandered aimlessly down sub-plots with no clear direction. The book was put down for weeks and months at a time. My IT career took over, I changed roles, and work got incredibly busy. I was putting in fifty to sixty hours a week, with callouts at the weekend - the penalty managing 24*7 IT services. However, progress was slowly made until one day, I thought I’d finished the book. My novel had a beginning, a middle, and an end, lots of twists and turns and I had written over one hundred and three thousand words. My wife and a close friend kindly proofread my work and corrected any grammatical errors. The next part would be easy - I was ready to find an agent and get my book published. Woo Hooooooo!

My naivety makes me smile now, but the book was nowhere near finished. I submitted my work to several agents without reply, until one agent kindly suggested the book needed a review by a professional editor. I took the feedback on the chin and contacted a company called The Writing Coach. I was paired with an excellent and experienced author called Mark Leggatt, who was familiar with my genre. We discussed what I was hoping to achieve, I handed over my manuscript for scrutinisation, and waited nervously for six weeks for the verdict. Mark returned with a balanced view of my work. His twenty-six-page report was invaluable. It provided plenty of positive feedback to encourage me forward but pointed out habitual errors in my writing and holes in the plot which should be corrected to improve the novel. The subsequent edit took the book from 103,000 words down to 95,000. A much tighter version of the novel was produced, which flowed better and held more suspense.

The next round of agency submissions also ended with no interest. The book was put down again for several months. I researched the publishing industry, and on discovering some shocking statistics (more on that in my next blog), I decided/conceded that another review of the book was needed. I contacted a friend, Gabrielle Chant, a professional copyeditor with many years of experience. Gabrielle and I worked well together, and through our collaboration, she brought another dimension to my work. Like sculpting a statue from a lump of stone, Mark helped me hack away the large pieces to give the book a solid plot. Gabrielle helped me smooth away the rough edges, add more detail and highlighted loose ends that needed answering for the reader’s sanity. I realised when writing a book, it’s easy to assume the reader knows all the details I know. Therefore, getting a copyeditor to review my book was essential to ensure all loose ends were tied up, and details obvious to me are made clear through the text. The subsequent edit took the wordcount down to 89,000 words.

It’s only after naively leaping into writing a book, and going through this painful process, that I realised that writing the first draft of a novel is just the start. All authors write the first draft, and then edit, and edit again, and again and again and again and again and again. Structural editing, copy editing, and proofreading are cycles every author must go through many times, before having a finished product. Even then, your agent and publisher may request more edits before the book is sent to print.

What’s next…

I have learnt a vast amount about writing by diving in at the deep end and just starting to write. I have become addicted to feeling of being in the flow, when the words pour from my fingers, and what I produce just feels right. It’s often a shock the next day when I review what I’ve written - the core structure may be sound, but there’s always editing to be done. Knowing when to stop the editing cycle and move on to the next project is key. As Dan Brown puts it, ‘novels are never finsihed, they're simply abandoned.’**

The product of my toil is a novel worthy of publication. I have also been sculpted into a more experienced and wiser writer. There may be more editing to come, but just like running the London Marathon or climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, determination and persistence will win through. My quest for an agent continues, and I have a quiet confidence that my first novel will eventually be published. Planning my second book has started, and so the next chapter of my writing career is being forged. This novel should be more like a half-marathon, and I know with each project my writing style will improve.

My advice to anyone who feels compelled to write a novel is to just do it. Plan as much as possible in advance, then make a start, and see where it leads for you. You will learn so much about writing and it will improve your grammar and vocabulary. Above all, fall in love with the process of writing. Your first project may be a marathon and not a sprint, but you will be a better writer at the finishing line.

** Source : MasterClass - Dan Brown, Lesson 16 - Editing and Rewriting.