Hi friends!
I thought I’d update you all with my progress on The Experiment, my project in which I’m uploading the unedited draft zero of a serialised novel, chapter by chapter, and asking you all for your feedback and ideas.
(Click the links to read chapters one, two and three).
How am I feeling about the project?
Now I’m a couple of months in, it feels like a good moment to take stock. How am I feeling about this? Any regrets? Am I enjoying every moment or do I wish I’d never started it?
Well, perhaps unsurprisingly, it’s a mixture.
1. The good stuff…
I’m having fun
This project has really reminded me that it’s important to find the joy in your work. And as this is a project that doesn’t have a deadline, or a contract, it’s actually proving to be quite fun.
I like not knowing the story
It’s also fun to discover the story at the same time as everyone else. I almost feel like I’m not writing it, and I think this feeling will only increase as the characters start to feel more real to me (even though they already do, more than I might’ve expected).
It’s reminded me I’m a writer first and an author second
I think I forgot that for a while. It’s easy to be swallowed up by the publishing machine, and perhaps I’d forgotten the advice I give to aspiring writers, namely that you have to first write for yourself, a book you’re passionate about, with no thought about its marketability. This is hard when you’re in an industry entirely obsessed with how marketable a book is.
I actually really enjoy being busy
As well as The Experiment, I have two (and a half) other projects on the go. But far from being overwhelming, I’m actually finding that’s making me more productive. They say that if you want to get something done, give it to a busy person, and maybe that’s what I’m experiencing.
The Experiment has freed me up
By writing with no real plan I’ve found myself creating a world that feels slightly weird, and I’m pretty sure that some elements of dystopia are brewing. I’m not sure that’s something what would have happened had I sat down and figured it all out first. As a lifelong lover of dystopias, that’s exciting.