Somehow, I’ve made it to the one-third mark of my novel, and it feels like a real achievement. Of course, the thought of revisiting it all during the editing process fills me with a mixture of dread and curiosity. Here’s hoping I don’t feel compelled to toss the whole thing into the virtual wastepaper bin and disappear until everyone forgets I ever attempted this. Still, I keep reminding myself (perhaps more for my own reassurance) that it’s far better to try and fail than to never try at all.

So, what have I learned along the way?

1. The importance of perspective

I initially struggled with the perspective I chose for my story. The book began with a third-person limited point of view, focusing on a character who merely observed events from afar without any access to inner thoughts or emotions. After wrestling with this approach for about 20,000 words, I decided to shift the narration to two other characters who are much more integral to the story. What a breakthrough! Writer’s block begone! The lesson was clear: when the writing feels stuck, experimenting with a different perspective can work wonders. It was like clearing a blocked drain — the writing started flowing. Finally.

2. a manageable SCHEDULE

In my dreams, writing is my full-time job, but reality has other plans.Therefore, I have to fit my writing around the job that actually affords me the luxury of having a nice place to call home in which I can let my creativity flow. I use Google Calendar to stay on track. I set weekly word-count goals and savour the satisfaction of clicking “mark completed” after each writing session.

When I first began, my goal was to write 500 words each weekday and 1,000 words daily on the weekends. However, as the story has progressed, I’ve found myself able to reach 1,000 words even on workdays, despite only having time to write in the evenings.

I reserve Wednesdays and Fridays for family activities after work, so those are my designated writing-free days. On all other days, I make time to write. My absolute favorite time to write is in the morning, though I only get to enjoy this on weekends. There’s nothing like starting my day in a cosy café, sipping a warm cup of tea and indulging in a delicious treat. Not to forget, seeing those 1000 words appear on the screen – one word at a time.

3. keep moving forwards

It still irks me that the first 20,000 words of the novel are written from the wrong perspective and so many key scenes I’ve now envisioned are missing entirely. I considered going back to fix it up, but then the thought crossed my mind – what if I change direction again? So after a couple of restless nights of indecision and too much time spent Googling for advice, I decided that the best course of action was to keep moving forwards. The purpose of this first draft is to vomit up the story. I’ll deal with the mess later.