Elliot Kessler

Hey guys!

So, as I have mentioned before, I decided to participate in NaNoWriMo this year to give myself a deadline for the first draft of my book. I gave myself the goal of 2,000 words every weekday. Unfortunately, I’m only hitting half of that goal.

I’ve had a lot on my plate with school, work, and this blog. Adding 2,000 words a day sounded difficult, but I know it is doable. I believe there are two reasons I have not been reaching my goal: laziness and genre.

Let’s begin with the former.

Laziness

Writing is hard. There’s no doubt about that. However, I have plenty of time to get 2,000 words every weekday. I simply don’t. Why? Because I’d rather do something else. I would rather watch a show, play video games, watch YouTube, or anything else. I’m sure many of you can relate. It’s in our nature to want the easy way out. That’s because, well, it’s easy, and doing hard things is an inconvenience. It’s so much more fun to sit back and do nothing rather than open a word processor and work on reaching that word count.

I’m not going to sugarcoat it. I am lazy.

I love writing, sure. Stories are my passion. However, it is much easier to talk about stories that other people have written rather than write my own stories. That’s why I decided to do this challenge in the first place. This motivates me to get back on track and do the work to get where I want to be.

Genre

Some may not understand why genre could be an issue with my writing. Why would genre affect how much you write per day? It doesn’t make any sense.

Actually, it does.

This novel is sci-fi, because of course it is. I’m a sci-fi geek. It’s what I do. But this isn’t a typical, mindless sci-fi story you see from Marvel. This isn’t a color-by-number story. I’m not trying to play by the rules or follow any formulas to the letter because, while this is a sci-fi novel, it is also a deeply personal detective story.

I want this novel to be intelligent, I want it to be interesting, and, most of all, I want it to be personal. I am following the rule of writing what you know very closely. It is the most essential aspect of this book. I am pouring my deepest emotional and spiritual experiences into this story, and I want to communicate my journey and thoughts on that journey in this book. This isn’t something I’m writing for fun (but I wouldn’t be writing it if it wasn’t fun). This is something that means a lot to me, and even though this is the first draft, I am doing my best to put a lot of thought and care into each scene. I can change the wording and the language later. I can move scenes, add new ones, and eliminate old ones. However, for this story to work, I must pour myself into each sentence.

I finished writing a deeply personal scene last night that means a lot to me, and I’m sure it will mean something to some of you guys out there. It wasn’t the easiest thing to do, but it works perfectly. In the final book, it won’t be where it is in the story. It probably won’t even play out the same. But it will undoubtedly be there in some capacity. It has to. It is everything this book is about.

Final Thoughts

I cannot wait to share this story with you guys. I have already shed some tears, but don’t worry. I wasn’t crying over how terrible it was. I was crying because this is precisely what I wanted to write about. The story fits perfectly, and I hope it turns out amazing.

I want this book to be the best it can be. I want to put more effort into this one than I did with “Liar’s Legacy.” I did “Legacy” to try something new. It was fun, and I learned a lot. But it isn’t the story I need to tell. It was a bland and basic “Star Wars” rip-off. I enjoyed it and hope it is good, but it is certainly not the most fantastic story ever written. I hope this next book is a lot better.

I’m trying not to talk about my next book in case I accidentally spoil something, which I would. But I hope you guys like it, and I will give more details about the plot when it is closer to completion. I’m saying now that the ending might surprise some of you, and not all of you will like it, but it’s how it needs to end.

Thanks for reading! Have a fantastic day.