On the 19th December I started work on something that – as is often the case – was no more than a vague notion, a few opening sentences. On Monday, just under four months later, I finished the first draft of a new, relatively small novel (c. 52k words, about 150 paperback pages).
I have spoken before about reaching the point in writing fiction when I become ‘reader’ as opposed to ‘writer’, when the compulsion to finish the work arises out of a need to find out what happened rather than the original need to write something down. I reached that point towards the end of March – after that it was plain sailing!
Now I have to put the work away for a couple of weeks before I begin the process of revision: first on-screen, second and third iterations on paper. My current target is 1st August to have the book completed.
The photo? Taken two or three years ago by me on the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Italy. At this stage it is my tentative front cover… Watch this space!
Ian Gouge - Writer 