My First Novel: (2nd Draft Break) Jan.29, 2019

January 29, 2019October 21, 2022 Alina H. Hansen Writer & Poet

I’ve decided to take a break from my manuscript for a while. I need to finish reading a few books and put some space between me and my characters. After my last post, My First Novel: (Finishing 2nd Draft) I ordered a printed copy of my manuscript. It was substantially thinner than the first draft.

I can’t figure out the ending quite yet and there are still about a dozen places in dialogue that need work but I wanted to read through it once and see how it felt. I made it a point just to read through my 2nd draft without editing, making any marks or highlighting. I just had to read it.

It has been stripped down to the bare bones, I cut about 16,000 words from the original 50,000. There are places where I can put some much-needed padding and other spots where I saw that chapters were almost identical (as far as the intended goal). But overall I enjoyed reading my manuscript without editing it, it only took me about two days to finish reading it.

I plan on keeping myself away from my manuscript for about a week or two, then I’ll dive into the third draft. Until then I plan on posting a couple things about what I’ve been reading, such as all the Patti Smith books I’ve been reading, and a list of how-to writing books.

What I’m Currently Reading:

Hell’s Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga

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What I’m listening to:

What I’m watching:

Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes

Thank you for reading about my journey writing my first novel!

-Alina

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My First Novel: (Finishing 2nd Draft) January 24th, 2019

January 24, 2019October 21, 2022 Alina H. Hansen Writer & Poet

Yesterday, I finished editing the 2nd rough draft of my novel. I was elated but then immediately felt let down, in my mind I had finished writing the book again and was sad to see it end.

I still have some work to do before I order a printed manuscript. I have about a dozen pages that I have marked. These pages need work on dialogue, additional beats, expansion, and added details. I’m tempted on just ordering a manuscript today and working through it but I know what I need to do, it’s just hard.

What is also daunting is the fact that I’ve cut approximately 16,000 words from my first draft. My word count for the first draft was a little over 50,000 words. But after going through the draft and spending some time rereading chapters I cut, and cut, and cut.

The biggest cut that happened was the ending. At the time I was finishing the first draft, I was conflicted on who’s Point Of View (POV) I was going to use, so I wrote out about five different endings, all from the perspective of each character, the characters that mattered. I cut all the endings out and landed on a two-paragraph epilogue. The Epilogue doesn’t sit well with me because of the voice of the narrator and I’m debating on cutting that out as well and leaving the end of the book at the end of the chapter of Part Four. I’m just not entirely sure what to do about the ending.

I’ve read in many books on writing that working from the ending backward helps writers figure out what their story is really about. I know what mine is about but I am tempted to try this out, or at least on the next draft working backward, editing from the last chapter to the very first.

In summary, I am checking in and vomiting up my doubts and insecurities about my draft today. I have about four hours today to work on my novel and I will, I really will but with reluctance.

What I’m Listening to:

The inspirational playlist I’ve created for my novel GHOST IN THE WOODS

What I’m reading:

Men, Women, and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film

Thank you for reading! Please follow or subscribe to read more about my journey writing my first novel.

-Alina

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Writing Fiction: My First Novel

January 18, 2019October 21, 2022 Alina H. Hansen Writer & Poet

I am writing my first fiction novel, a Supernatural Thriller! I want to chronicle the writing of my book so I have a reference point in the future. This will be the place on my blog (Fiction: Writing My First Novel) where I’ll be posting updates on my progress, discussing elements of fiction, and any issues I have. I will be blogging my journey of writing in case other new fiction writers are looking for relatable content.

The Story Thus Far and NaNoWriMo

In 2014, I scribbled out a few pages of a story, an image stuck in my head of a man on the run puking up blood. But I hit a wall, and the pages were eventually forgotten. Four years later, in the Fall of 2018, I recalled the story, the image of the man popping into my head one day out of the blue. Since then, I have become obsessed with writing my novel.

✨Check out my Pinterest board for my novel HERE ✨

NaNoWriMo 2018: Writing My Novel and What’s Next

For the National Novel Writing Month of November 2018, I spent the entire month writing the first draft. Barely over 50,000 words in three parts with countless chapters, it revealed itself as a Supernatural Thriller, no big surprise there. Now, in 2019, I am working on the second draft, which is a long and grueling process.

From now on, I will be chronicling my work, including my progress and the reading materials I am using (such as Self-Editing for Fiction Writers). I hope to create a dialogue about writing fiction novels that can help other writers while keeping an archive of my journey for future use and reflection.

Are you writing a novel? Let’s connect! I’d love to hear about your experience, process, and recommended reading materials.

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Flash Fiction Series #1: The Cup

May 26, 2017June 18, 2023 Alina H. Hansen Writer & Poet

Here’s the first of many weekly Flash Fiction pieces I will be posting. All pieces will have less than 150 words.

The Cup

The dog barks at the sound of the mail man shuffling onto the porch. Marie walks into the kitchen, the coffee maker almost done gurgles the last bits of hot water and spits out the hot black nectar. She pours herself a cup and listens to the dog walking through the house. There is something a little hard, a little chewy in her mouth. She sighs, frustrated, getting rinds in her coffee again? Marie dumps out the rest of her cup into the sink, her stomach turns. The dead washed up body of a giant spider lays lifeless in a pool of coffee slowly dripping down the drain, a leg missing.

THE END