A New Year and a Resolution

While the NFL playoffs beckon today, I did manage to get some more writing done on my novel. It feels good to be working on it more frequently, although I sometimes wish I could devote my full time to it.

I often wonder how much I would enjoy being a full-time novelist. Some days I think it would be nice to set my own schedule and work from home. But until I write a best-seller that will pay off all my debts, I think a commute is in my future.

Working on the book is an escape from that daily commute and sometimes an excuse to day-dream about living the life of a novelist. It also can function as motivation, not just to get the book finished, but to continue devoting a regular amount of time to the project.

My resolution for 2012 was to finish the novel this year. It was about half finished on Jan. 1. While not an overly ambitious goal, it is one that I believe is reasonable and will fit in with my work schedule. I need a deadline, but it has to be one that I can realistically hope to meet.

I'm making good progress and I'll continue marking it here. Here's too a great 2012!

Still here...

This blog hasn't been updated in a really, really, really long time. So here are some thoughts as we approach Christmas:

• I seem to be more interested in baseball in the off season. Now that winter is approaching, it seems spring already is tugging at me. I find myself watching old World Series films and following free-agent chatter. And my team, the White Sox, is likely will be rebuilding next year. I suppose it is the hope of something great on the horizon. It is hope that draws us to Opening Day each year: the hope of a new start, the hope of October glory.
• The prospect of working on my novel also should be attractive, but alas remains elusive. The ideas and potential for the story continue to dance in my head. The challenge is finding inspiration outside the workday. It's not a question of motivation, it's a question of exhaustion. It's a matter of putting it into my schedule as a daily priority. Some day I'll figure it out instead of feeling the pull of finishing it and hoping it will happen.
• I think the answer may be to consider writing my novel as work, as part of my job, instead of just a fun side project. If I give myself a deadline, maybe I can finish it in a reasonable time. I need to push myself, kind of like the authors who won National Novel Writing Month.

I'll be back soon, hopefully on a regular basis, with a schedule and maybe some progress to report.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Among the things I am thankful for:

1. My wife and family
2. Our ancestors who created the alphabet
3. The ability to write as much or as little as I chose and publish all of it
4. Football
5. The Internet
6. Books
7. My soon-to-be-completed novella

I'm also thankful for the drive to complete my book. While I still have a lot of work to do on it, I continue to find ideas for plot twists to include. For those of you out there racing to finish National Novel Writing Month, good luck. I respect anyone who can complete a book, let alone one in a single month.

Cheers fellow writers! Enjoy the holiday!

Back to Writing

I have been away from this blog a while and it's because I have been away from the book for a while.

I work as a writer in my day job, so while I experience the enjoyment of putting words to paper every day, I don't always have the energy to write my novel when I get home from work. Today is different. I found myself with some available free time -- my wife is out with friends -- and able to strike at the many thoughts I've had about additions I want to make.

The primary, or maybe the first, storyline has been written for many weeks. After some editing, I came up with the idea to add another plot line to intertwine with the primary story. And it seems I've come up with a lot of good ideas at work. It's almost like a daydream of sorts. If I'm getting a cup of coffee or drink of water, all of the sudden my mind shifts to the book.

Today I was able to get it started, essentially getting the storyline set up. It feels good to finally get back in the saddle and the good news is I've been able to retain most of those ideas in spite of everything else on my mind at the moment.

I'm enjoying those moments of creativity.

The Writing Process

It's my first book and I've already realized that even though I feel finished, I'm not.

I'm reading The Pillars of the Earth -- and I like one of the techniques he uses to write his story, starting characters out on separate paths that merge later. It would work well with my idea, so now I want to add another section to the story and develop some new characters that can interact later in the main story.

It feels like I'm going to be writing another book, starting from the beginning. But this time I have to fit it into the existing story. The first draft was decent, and I already have tweaked it several times. What's another few weeks of work for some more improvements?

It looks like I have a long way to go. But the story will be much better in the end.

Coming Soon

Welcome to the new website for Derrick Gingery, an aspiring author. My first book is nearly complete and soon will be available.

Check back soon for more information.