Journey to My First Novel

You could say that writing a novel isn't a safari, in the strict terms of physically moving from Point A to B with an enjoyable interlude upon arrival. I contend writing a book is a trip, especially if you get the nutty notion you're going to do it in less than a month.

I have arrived as an author! My novel, Memories, Mummies, Mexico, was published exclusively for Amazon Kindle on January 23, 2015. Check out my Author Page on Amazon.com.

THE BACK STORY

I read a book in the summer of 2013 called The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin. In it she described 12 monthly projects she did to increase her happiness. One of those projects was to write a novel during the National Novel Writing Month, November.

Friends had told me I should write a book. The idea appealed to me but I had no clue what to write about. No worries! Rubin told me about a book called No Plot, No Problem, by Chris Baty. I ordered a used paperback from Amazon, read the book, and I was on my way!

I had a trip to Guanajuato, México planned with my daughter for the last week in October and the first week of November. The trip would be our second to participate in Day of the Dead (Dia de Los Muertos) festivities. I took along my secretary (a Google Nexus 7 tablet) to take dictation and a small laptop to work with images. When November 1 came I started writing.

The goal if you participate in the novel-writing month is to produce a 50,000 word draft manuscript in 30 days. To do that you have to write 1500 words a day. Not difficult if you have a "secretary" and you can dictate a stream-of-consciousness narrative to be edited later. I wrapped up my project a couple of days early and my draft was over 55,000 words! The idea for the plot and the characters popped to mind readily. Telling the story evolved naturally. I had done a bit of research on what makes a good novel and I tried to incorporate what I learned.

I'm happy with the result. There are many resources available about publishing eBooks. I had to research the process and gather relevant info on that, also.

Bottom line:  it was fun!