The true writing of any work of fiction is in the editing and revision. And that takes time, teasing out each sentence and paragraph in the effort of uncovering the story within the story.

I don’t know how many times I’ve started out writing a story with one thing in mind. And then on finishing that first and rough draft my eyes open to another story. And then on successive revisions I find more and more stories, all within that first idea. These are not major changes, rather more subtle ones, but with magnificent bearing.

These ah-ha moments are what I write to experience. Without them, I know the story is not progressing. And neither will the words I pen how a reader’s attention.

This is why I cannot understand how some writers churn out 2 and 3 books a year. They must have ghost writers. Maybe again, this is why books are not selling. There’s nothing new and fresh to hold the reader’s attention. The creative muse does not work on a clock, rather it exists in its own dimension. So much of our work as writers is finding a way a routine that allows us to maintain our practical responsibilities to our families and ourselves, and enter the muse’s space so that we may write.

That for me is tall task leaving little time for anything else.

Thanks again for your comment and good luck with your story.

As a newbie to the writing game, I’ve learned that it will take time for me the get my draft polished to the reflect the tone, character, and emotion I am going for. It took me a while to come to this conclusion as I was operating on the delusion that my first draft would come out in ‘ready for publication’ condition.

So after about 6 months of start/stop, and now about 5 months of continuos writing, I am pleased with my progress, yet I know that I am in for hours and hours of rewrites to get my story to the level I want it to be.