Farewell...for Now

Each week, for the last six months, I’ve written a column here about my novel COMMUNITY DAY and my ideas for a possible prequel. [All previous columns are listed and linked below.]

My hope for this column was to help readers better understand (and maybe even appreciate) the thinking and then the execution of writing a novel.

Each week (starting with the Prologue and then moving on to each successive chapter), I’d discuss one big theme, concept, or goal that I had in mind while writing and editing that particular chapter. Each column took—generally—the same form. I explained what I was shooting for, how that related to other works of fiction and/or real life, and then how I brought it to life in the chapter.

I’d end each column by explaining how I was thinking about incorporating that concept into the prequel…assuming I would eventually write the prequel.

I’m no longer going to do this.

Let me explain.

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As I just mentioned, a big reason I did this weekly column was to entertain and maybe even edify people who care about fiction. If you’ve never written a novel, you probably don’t know all that much about what goes into it. I figured it might be an enjoyable, interesting weekly read for folks.

But as I discussed from the start, I had a selfish reason for doing this column, too.

To prepare to write each column, I needed to re-read the chapter I’d be discussing. I had to go back to my notes and my drafts. I had to think through the ideas I was wrestling with during the writing/editing process. I had to reconsider how I tried to execute whatever I was attempting to pull off. All of this work, I thought, would help prepare me for writing the prequel to COMMUNITY DAY.

I’d get to think anew about the characters and themes. Decide what worked and didn’t. Figure out what to build on. Explore what new paths to take. And so on.

I can’t tell if people were entertained and/or informed by these columns (please leave a comment and/or send me a message to let me know!).

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But I do know that writing these columns DID succeed on my selfish dimension. I’ve generated new ideas, figured out what I’d want to do with the prequel, and even got a clearer picture of its structure.

At this point, I know what the prequel’s plot and subplots would be. I have about a dozen characters formed. I know the big events. I know how it would resolve.

So now there’s just this small matter of actually writing the thing.

Writing a novel is tough. Especially if you put a lot of care into it. With no guarantee that you’ll get an agent, much less a book contract, taking the leap is daunting.

But if I’m going to do it, I need the time and focus to do it. Over the last month or so, I realized that all of the time and energy I’m spending on these columns could—maybe should—be repurposed.

That is, I should probably stop ruminating on the thing and begin to do the thing.

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So what does that mean for this column’s arrival in your inbox every Thursday evening?

A few things.

First, I’m not going to do any more chapter-by-chapter look-backs and speculations.

Second, I probably won’t be so regular about these columns. Weekly might not work. Maybe weekly will work. I’m just not promising.

Third, the next time you get one of these, it’ll almost certainly be rebranded. Since I’m looking to the future, it’ll be about the prequel not about COMMUNITY DAY.1 I don’t know what the title of the prequel will be. So TBD on the rebranding of this column.

Fourth, future columns are likely to be about the thinking/writing/editing process of what I’m working on. Obviously, I won’t want to spill too many beans, but I’m excited to talk about the process while I’m in it.

Fifth, you really should buy COMMUNITY DAY!

Buy COMMUNITY DAY with a click!

Do send me a message or leave a comment with your thoughts.

I’ve hoped you’ve enjoyed reading these as much as I’ve enjoyed writing them.