My Novel

I am roughly halfway through my first novel and wanted to share how I have found the process so far.

It is about a bigamist and his two families.  There are three main protagonists; Robert,  Emma, his first and legal wife, and Laura, the woman he ‘married’ second.

The opening chapter is about Emma and how she first suspects something is wrong when he doesn’t return home from work.

Next comes Laura, who is initially less concerned, because she believes Robert is working away from home.  However, she too is aware something is not quite right when she is unable to contact him.

The third chapter is written from Robert’s point of view and begins to give the reader a little insight into what is going on in Robert’s mind.

The novel continues alternating between the three main characters and showing how each deals with the situation they are in.

Because I work full-time and have various family commitments, writing this has been a slow process, but is one I am determined to finish.  I completed a novel writing course last year and planned the novel chapter by chapter following advice offered on the course.  I know some writers do this and others prefer not to have such a prescriptive method.  I have found it has given me guidance on where to go next and although my plan was initially how I intended the novel to be, I have since amended and adapted the plan as new ideas have formed.

I confess, of late I have not been sufficiently disciplined to complete much work on it.  This is partly due to the lovely summer months when I have preferred to be outside and the addition to the family of a four-legged friend who goes by the name of Freddie and is a very energetic border collie/springer spaniel cross.

I am getting back into the habit of writing and hope to continue without distraction until completion.  Whether it will ever be published or not, is another matter, but first and foremost I have written it for myself and the sense of achievement I know I will feel when I can, one day, say “That’s it, I have finished my novel.”