Episode Title: A live example of the writing process!
Up until now, I have taken you through a number of the key considerations that apply to writing your first story. And, hopefully, I have persuaded you that what you have to say is worth saying, just as it always has been. I also realize, as with any good novel, that it is better to “show” than to “tell.” With that axiom in mind, during the months ahead I would like to share with you the issues that I will personally encounter in the writing of a new story. Depending on how the story evolves, I expect that in the end it will be a short story, perhaps something under 50,000 words. As with everything about its writing, however, I do not commit myself to the story’s length, any more than I commit myself to its full storyline or subplots, or to its major and minor characters, or any other of its fundamental aspects. I start only with an idea, and then let the story write itself during the act of writing. This is my personal preference for proceeding, but it does not in any way diminish the other approaches that one may choose to follow, as discussed earlier in this blog series.
Image by Wikiimages from Pixabay
As of this writing, I am also in the process of creating a three-book series from MOLTO GRANDE, my novel about two Italian brothers on remarkably different paths in 1693 Europe. At 258,000 words, MOLTO GRANDE is roughly the size of three full-length novels; it is a huge standalone read. Rather, I think it will be better to have a series that doesn’t overweight the reader. In this way, I can provide the first book in the series at no cost or at a very low price, allowing readers to experience the novel before deciding to pursue the entire story. The point in telling you this is to suggest that the writing of the new story will be intermixed with this important development for MOLTO GRANDE. Thus, future blogs will not continue to be published every two weeks, but as I have something worthwhile to share about my new writing project.
Image by Mona Eendra from Unsplash
In between those times when I will write additional blogs, I’ll assume that you are busy writing your story, using many of the tenets discussed in the earlier blogs. Of course, I also continue to encourage you to write to me and our writing community about matters that you are encountering and wish to discuss. This will strengthen your writing process and our writing community at large. Remember, above all, it’s not too late to write your story; it never was!
All the best,
Dick Franklin
richardsfranklin100@gmail.com
Dick is author of novels Joshua Rye, Serpent at the Well, and MOLTO GRANDE. Go to my author’s website at: amazon.com/author/dickfranklin
Mike Romanchak says
I’m looking forward to looking over your shoulder through your blog. Sure to be fascinating.
Richard Franklin says
Thanks for the note. I think the process will be interesting for both of us.