Resurrection

I have many irons in many fires, aside from short stories, learning how to write screenplays, I have decided to resurrect a work I had hitherto left dormant for 12 months.  In 2013 I entered the first 10,000 words of a novel I named Salvation into the Richard and Judy ‘Search for a Bestseller’.  I did not get very far in the competition and then I learned of the premise for Christopher Nolan’s most recent offering, Interstellar.  the plot to the movie struck many chords and I felt the stories were too similar for me to continue. 

I am a huge Nolan fan, and I enjoy his films and am influenced by his style of storytelling.  However, when I eventually watched Interstellar on DVD, as I don’t get to the cinema anymore, the hazards of having children, I realised that it was a very different story that has a premise that is slightly similar.  My heart was overjoyed, it meant that I could continue with my tale and develop the characters that I poured so much time and effort into.   My only issue then was confidence.  I lacked it, and I felt that the work maybe did not live up to how I felt about it a year ago. 

I re-read the work and was delighted to see that although there was flaws within it a lot of it was good, some of it very good.  I determined that it was time I dusted it off, re worked the parts that failed and finish it off.  Tell the story as I want it to be told.  So I am.  I am feeling positive about the work again and enjoying getting to know the characters once again.  If I am to be asked any advice about working on a novel by a new writer it would be tis, write it, edit it, then forget about it and look again after a while, you will view it very differently. 

So I have a new plan, and this is what it is.  Over the next 2 months I will work to complete Salvation, I made a good start this evening adding 1500 words, if I can maintain that sort of pace I should have a workable manuscript by the end of August.  I am having a holiday in the last week of August and attending a wedding of two fantastic people and can’t wait for my first proper holiday with my children.  During that week away I will not write, I will not read about writing, I will take a break.  When I return I will begin the edit.  I will look objectively and subjectively at what works and what doesn’t, I will do the rewrites and cutting of extraneous sections.  and by Christmas I will have a completed manuscript to give to friends and family for their reading and suggestions. 

Then by January 2016 I will begin the submission process and send the work out to agents.  In the meantime I will also work on my screenplay and I intend to also have one completed by Christmas. 

Over the past 12 months I have thought a lot about writing, and have come to the conclusion that I must be patient, I must work hard, by the time I have submitted and been rejected by the agents I will be underway on more works, I have so many ideas and work has already commenced on those.  But I am trying not to get too distracted and overloaded, I am going to finish the two projects in hand.  That is my aim for the second half of 2015 and 2016 will be the year I get signed and get published!