My favorite part of being an author is when I am actually creating the story, immersed in a whole different world than the one I am living in. As I’m writing, my characters are all around me. The scene takes over the room. Their emotions become my emotions, and their drama becomes my drama.
When I’m not writing, I am thinking about my characters and their stories. They become like real people to me, almost like they are friends. I can be at my day job, going out for the evening, making dinner, or walking the dog, and the story I’m writing is right there with me. If you’re around me during the days I am writing a novel, just know that I am more than likely thinking about the novel. That’s just the nature of the beast.
Thing is, while I’m writing the novel, this is when I am the most amped up about the story. It’s when those little moments of magic happen, when certain situations present themselves, or surprises pop up that I wasn’t even expecting. Problem is, I have no one to share these moments with. And sometimes, I miss that. I’ll be writing along, and all of a sudden, a moment arises that just falls onto the page, and I want to turn to everyone around me and say, “Did you see what just happened???”
But I can’t, because the rough draft of a story is a very private moment between a novel and its author. So I just keep writing, anxious for the day when I can finally reveal the finished story to the public.
Not this time, however. Live posting my NaNoWriMo novel has been both freaky and exciting. I am revealing all of my grammatical errors, story holes, bad ideas, and moments of poor writing. But I am also revealing the magic of the story as it unfolds, offering it up chapter by chapter, and sharing the excitement of the story as it is written.
As of right now, I have finished writing the setup chapters of the story, and I’m heading into the midsection, when so many different things can happen. While the story is mapped out in its entirety, I’m still coming across plenty of unplanned moments that could potentially steer the story in a new direction, or shape the path that it’s already on. This is when the story writing process is at its most precarious. In past years, I’ve been known to write these midsection chapters only to toss them for different versions. By live posting, I am revealing chapters that may or may not make the final cut.
This is totally what it feels like to walk around in my underwear.
Nevertheless, it’s been incredibly motivating to share the story with readers as I write. Each time I share a new chapter, I receive texts from family and messages from fans to hurry up with the next chapter. It’s almost like I’m writing my first book all over again. This experience has made novel writing brand new, and I can’t wait to add to the story each day!
I’ve created a page for this story here on my blog, which I will update regularly as I add chapters. You can access that at crissilangwell.com/tigerlily.
You can also go direction to Wattpad at w.tt/1Ql8r3N.
Here is what has been posted so far:
- Prologue
- Chapter 1: The Festival of the Lunar Twins
- Chapter 2: The Trouble with Never Birds
- Chapter 3: The Man with the Golden Hook
Chapter 4 will be published sometime this weekend.
And, of course, if you want to be notified every time I post a new chapter, you can join my mailing list by clicking here. You get a free book from me when you do. 🙂
If you’re reading along, let me know what you think! I thrive from your feedback!