The First Step is the Scariest

It's September of 2007 and I'm looking for reasons not to get started writing.

I've known my characters, setting and basic plot for years. I've learned all I can about dramatic structure. I've got my outline fully developed. I even have an old laptop given to me for free with a copy of the freeware word processor from OpenOffice loaded onto it.

And I have one blank computer screen staring me in the face.

I knew what the problem was. I didn't think I had the mental muscles to craft a scene. I wasn't sure I was ready to write a novel having never practiced describing a setting or sustaining believable dialogue. Could I impart life and personality to individual characters with an economy of words? Did I have the ability to create a good rhythm and flow through my choice of words? Did I know how to let my choices be shaped by the POV of my limited third person approach?

The answer to all of those questions was "I don't know".

So I decided to do a practice run. I would first write a short story directly related to my book.

Since I knew that my novel would open up right in the middle of some action, I decided to write a prequel chapter that lead right into that action. The short story would feature a minor supporting character from the novel.

And so I did. I was sitting in a hotel room in Denver on November 25th when I finished the story, entitled The Hunter & The Fisher.  It came out to about 13,000 words, which I'm guessing will be around 40 pages once I have it formatted for a book.

It takes place directly before the opening of my novel and ends up overlapping with the first chapter. I will hold back this story and wait until after the novel is out because it works best as a true prequel not a primer. I was happy with the way it turned out but my co-workers, Sam and Tim, were good enough to voice their misgivings about certain details in the resolution. They forced me to rethink that a little bit and I appreciate that as it truly helped the story.

I'm pleased with The Hunter & The Fisher. It is planned to be published after all three of my novels. It will reveal an "untold tale", meaning it will depict events that are only referenced in the book. I also have ideas for three other "untold tales", maybe I'll get to them one day.

I wasn't as intimidated by a short story as I was a novel so I was able to get into the groove of writing. I used this story to discover my approach to building scenes and writing characters. Looking back  I spent three months writing 13,000 words that could have all gone toward my novel, but it did accomplish what I needed. I got over the fear of embarking upon the journey that would be my first novel.

Next: The First Chapter