"Start Where You Are"

This is it. The day I begin to write my novel. No one told me it would be a little scary, which is why I’m starting here first. To warm up.

What’s here is going to be more journal than blog. More notes than journal. I don’t blame you for not reading. But I read somewhere that every new enterprise requires three things if it’s going to succeed.

1. A written declaration
2. A public announcement
3. The proper uniform

This is both my written declaration and my public announcement.

The uniform is black ponte leggings (The Loft), a blue plaid flannel shirt (Madewell), and the short brown Ugg boots (Zappos) my husband gave me ten years ago. (Yes, they’re still in pretty good shape. And no, he didn’t really pick them out himself. I bought them and told him he could count it as my holiday gift.)

What’s in the novel? That’s the scary part. I’m thinking series, three, maybe four, books I started years ago. I have a few old chapters already and a lot of notes. But if you’ve ever written a novel then you know that’s not nearly enough.

I'm told I need to know my characters. Really know them.

Turns out there’s practically a whole industry teaching writers how to get to know their characters. Some experts advise writing a resume. Others suggest doing an interview. Or a map. A family tree. An actual portrait.
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What does she really want? What stands in her way? What does he eat for breakfast? How does he talk to waitresses? (Wait, that last one may have come from one of those advice books on how to choose the right man.) You get the idea.

I’m not sure I can do it. It feels a little phony. Give me a week and I’ll get back to you.  

Photo: wgmbh