Want to hear a secret? Writing a novel is easy if you love what you're doing. All you need is a good idea, passion, and a pinch of insanity. I wrote a novel in 2015 titled "The Sea of Jessica," and I'm so very proud of it. The story follows a young lesbian named Tabby who blames herself for her childhood best friend's death. Tabby carries the guilt and blame with her all through adolescence, and can't cope with it once she gets to college, where she engages in reckless behavior like drug and alcohol abuse. Finally, Tabby makes a friend, Carly, with whom she falls in love. Due to certain circumstances, Tabby and Carly don't work out, but even though Tabby gets her heart broken, she is absolved of her guilt and realizes that she can't blame herself for her friend's death. The story has many sad parts, and Tabby suffers a great deal, but ultimately, she is a better person for what she goes through, and she accepts her past. I wrote the first half of the novel while I was in residential treatment for my anorexia and some other issues. The therapists weren't thrilled that I spent all my free time staring at a computer screen tapping out a story rather than doing the therapeutic assignments they'd give me, but I believe that getting Tabby's story down was much more therapeutic than any pros-and-cons list could have been. That being said, I'm going to take you through my writing process.
Step 1: Ideas
You can't write a novel if you don't have an idea, but don't fret! Ideas can come from anywhere. I got the basic idea for "The Sea of Jessica" from something one of my fellow patients in treatment said about her past. Obviously, I changed the idea dramatically to protect the other patient's privacy and to fit my own vision, but the basic principle of blaming oneself for another's misfortune is the same.
Step 2: Internal Agony
The next logical thing to do with an idea would be to write it down, but anyone who knows me will tell you that I'm not a logical person at all. I prefer to sit on my idea. I never tell anyone what the idea is because I often do not completely know either. The first person I tell when I have a new story idea is my mom. Much to her vexation, I cannot tell her what the idea is until days later when the idea has gripped me so viciously that I feel like I will spontaneously combust if I don't tell someone. This leads me on a wild goose chase in which I try to explain one idea to my mom while several others suddenly pop into my head. As I'm speaking my idea, I try to connect them all until neither of us has any clue what I'm talking about, and I head to my computer or notebook to make some sense of the chaos in my head.
Step 3: The Fun Part
Once I have some gibberish down in my journal about where I want the story to go, I can actually start writing it. I don't start writing until I know the ending-- otherwise, I have nowhere to go. I get obsessed with my stories very quickly and spend all my free time writing them until I burn myself out.
Step 4: Editing Hell
Now comes the part where you pick your work apart and convince yourself you're the worst writer who ever wrote, and that you should resign yourself to a life of teaching math to dogs. Why did you put that comma there? Is that dialogue REALLY organic? Would anyone ever talk like that in real life? Where is your plot going? You know what? Maybe you should just scrap the whole idea, shred your notes, delete the document from your computer, throw the computer into the ocean, and swim out to sea to find Atlantis.
Step 5: You Did it!
Congratulations! You've written your novel! Go show it to the world! Read it to your parents, your significant other, all your friends, your English professors, and your goldfish so that everyone will know what a brilliant author you are. Now, if only you could find a publisher...
