Posted by Lisa Bell | June 5, 2015
Why I started writing and then some…
I had a dream. No, seriously, I really had a dream. As cliché as that sounds, it is true.
Five years ago, I woke up from a crazy dream and decided to write it all down, a habit I have continued with to date.
Initially you would find little pieces of paper scatted on my bedside table most mornings. I’ve since progressed to either writing, half asleep normally, in a little leather bound notebook or sending myself an email from my iPhone. Needless to say, the squiggles of writing or sleep-drenched emails are sometimes a little garbled.
Dreams are strange to unravel when you really put your mind to it. I’m no expert on dreams and what they mean but I know from experience now that putting a dream into words is as simple as constructing a 1000 piece puzzle. It takes time to fit the pieces together but when you do, you are quite relieved and proud of yourself.
I have digressed a little. So, I jotted down my weird dream some five years ago and put it to one side, letting it marinade a little. Throughout the week, during work meetings and replying to emails, the dream kept coming back to me, tapping on my brain, almost cajoling me to sit down and focus.
It was probably the following weekend when I sat in front of my laptop and opened up a fresh page in Word. I must have sat staring at the blank screen for an age and then as if a tap had been opened, I started typing.
I typed and typed and let whatever nonsense I thought of just flow onto the pages. I don’t remember exactly but I’m sure I was at least twenty pages in when I realised I needed to research a bit.
Every author and writing no-it-all out there has an opinion on the correct way to write a novel. Some say you must just write and don’t stop until you’re done. Damned be to researching and editing. Do that afterwards. Others drum into you to research, research and keep researching as the most important part of any author’s successful novel. That and editing as you go.
Well, I suppose I did a little of both. I researched and edited where I felt I needed help and typed away when I had a rush of ideas.
The novel took all of six months to complete and that includes, many, many read-overs, editing, adjusting, deleting and re-reading again. I even had my Mom and Aunt read the chapters as I finished writing them. Finally, when I felt confident and happy with what I had produced, I sent my baby to an editor.
My reason for deciding that I would do a sequel was partly because I felt there was more in me that would take my characters to new adventures and partly because pretty much everyone that read it, mostly friends and family, kept asking when I would write more, what was going to happen now to Rebecca and Ben?
So, it has been close on five years and I’m still busy with the sequel. Shocking I know! But life took over, well, more specifically my insurance brokerage took over and I became madly busy.
I’ve realised that I need to switch on my creative brain for writing. It’s not, unfortunately, switched on all the time. I’m hoping as I write more that this will change. Anyway my very busy days and nights, making sure my business was running smoothly, didn’t allow for the creative side in me to flourish.
However, there is always a silver lining in the horizon and now I find myself in a position where I can indulge my creative passions as and when I please. Having sold my insurance practice recently I have been writing up a storm.
I am close to the end now, so watch this space for more news on the, hopefully, long awaited sequel to The Shifters Saga, Centurion.