What Are You Writing About Today ? (1)

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I took a day off from novel writing yesterday. I ran and I blogged and I worked. I was still a father, a husband, a son and a brother. But I didn’t write. Which was weird as in the last week I’ve churned out in excess of 11,000 words which is prolific for me. 50,000 plus in total now. But I realised it was time to hit the brakes and reflect on what I have produced so far.

I need to spend a little more time on planning and preparation. I’m in the second third of the book now and I know exactly where I’m going. It has a flow and a direction that I’m pleased with. It is chronologically written in this third which I find so much easier. I wish I could say the same for the first section which involves a lot of flashback scenes. It jumps around a lot which is necessary in order to build the story and for character development. But it means I need to devote some serious time towards editing and structure.

The more I write the more I realise that there is so much more to writing than the physical activity of writing. It the tip of the iceberg, the cherry on top of the cake, the serene swan on the surface while below the waters it paddles furiously to maintain its dignity. The best writers make it appear so effortless, the words flow so naturally. It all seems so simple to the point where one wonders ‘Why can’t I write like that?’ But this is deceiving. Behind the scenes and beyond the pages the reader does not see the blood, sweat and tears that go into crafting every sentence.

They don’t see the frustration, the doubt and the failures. Often you have to take ninety nine steps back in order to move one step forward. And that’s where I am at the moment. I need to pause, put my foot on the ball and reflect on where I am, where I’ve been and where I’m going. In order to do so I’m going to post a series of mini blogs today about that process. I’m hoping this will entertain and educate you as to the creative literary genius that is Stephen Black. Er….right. But I’m also hoping I will unearth some nuggets of knowledge myself along the way.

What are you writing about today?

Published by Fractured Faith Blog

We are Stephen and Fionnuala and this is our story. We live in Northern Ireland, have been married for 17 years and have three kids - Adam, Hannah and Rebecca. We hope that our story will inspire and encourage others. We have walked a rocky road yet here we are today, together and stronger than ever. We are far from perfect and our faith has been battered and bruised. But an untested faith is a pointless faith. Just as a fractured faith is better than none at all. We hope you enjoy the blog.

33 thoughts on “What Are You Writing About Today ? (1)”

  2. Golly! You’re a superstar! I wouldn’t know even how to start. I’ve always imagined authors to have a little shed at the bottom of the garden with a do not disturb sign on the door and a loving wife or husband occasionally bringing tea and biscuits. I even can visualise what the room looks like with its old soft armchair and warmth from a little fire in the corner. A haven, a piece of tranquility. Clearly I live in a world of fiction and dreams! You must be proud and rightly so. The way you describe the blood, sweat and tears – GOOD ON YOU! Keep going! ☀️☀️

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  4. I can certainly relate to the tip of the iceberg analogy. My training to preach included the ‘old-school’ equation that each minute of spoken word should reflect one hour of research, prayer and meditation. The end product then on any given Sunday is truly the tip of the sum total that has gone into it.
    As far as what I am writing today, I have some ideas that are peculating with regard to Jesus calling Lazarus forth from the tomb. Of particular interest to me are the grave clothes Lazarus was wrapped in. Stay tuned!
    Chuck

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  5. I almost finished a novel once…lol. I may actually write one that I finish if I feel a story. Right now, my writing is what it is. Looking forward to reading the finished product of your hard work!

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  7. Good Morning, what you wrote is very true because that’s exactly how I feel when I write and I always ask God how do other authors do it and do it so well? Thank You for your post it was motivation for me today to keep on writing! The difference between me and them was that they persisted and kept Going! Thank You again!

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  8. I feel your pain! I have been working on my first adult fiction novel and, yes, there are times when you just need to take a break; reflect; work out some sort of scene outline or do some more development of a character (if a fictional work). Today I opted to take a little break (though I will probably work on the novel later this evening…) and post a short story on my Patreon page. Sometimes that little side trip gives the internal batteries a little re-charge. Best of luck on your book! I can’t wait to hear when it’s completed and when it’s available for purchase. =)

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  10. Today I am writing a wedding homily. It will contain some original thought, but – honestly – will be a lot of boilerplate. The thought of writing something like a novel both thrills and nauseates me a little.

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  11. I can’t wait until it all comes together. 🙏🏼 Today, I worked on my post for Everyday Inspiration, one came to me by the Holy Spirit. And I worked on my post series of my journey with Fasting. I want to share it with my readers for encouragement not only for myself but for others as well. It’s snowing now where I live. No workday, it’s a snow day off. State wide emergency!

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  12. Currently, I’m not planning on wiritng anything at the moment to focus on college, but I always planned on writing a Christian book series on missionary work from the POV of my main characters.

    I probably already said this but I am also thinking about one day making a novel based off of the teachings I found through my blog posts in 2017.

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  13. My blog of course but I also hoped to get at least another chapter of my novel edited. I only have two and half chapters to go. Then on to the search and send phase. But that does mean if I’m going to do it I have to quit visiting and go do it.

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      1. A variety of politically themed books on America—getting my mind ready for my MPA in the Fall. Glenn Beck’s “Common Sense”; Robert A Dahl’s “On Democracy”; DK’s “The Politics Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained”; and one I’m pretty excited to get into, when it arrives from Amazon on Saturday: John F Kennedy’s “Profiles in Courage”

        It’s a new genre of reading for me, but I find myself completely flabbergasted by the evolution/devolution of American government.

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  15. A couple days ago my page for the day took several painful hours just trudging through. The scene itself isn’t difficult it’s just trying to find the right words like you said, and trying to truly capture the right feelings and the connection for the reader to feel.

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  16. What am I writing about today? Well, I took a break from my daily inspiration project and went back to working on my story about addiction. I can totally relate to what you said about the flow, editing and restructuring. My story now has a better flow but I noticed I was jumping around. I decided to break it all down into sections which has helped a lot. ❤

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