Almost a year and a half ago, I started writing a novel. It’s been a long (and sometimes painful) process, but I’m beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel now that I’m close to the 400 page mark.
Writing a novel is a big change for me- I’ve been writing fiction for years, mostly at a wonderful (and supportive) collaborative fiction site called Panhistoria. Before that I wrote at Ancient Sites, but the site crashed (through no fault of mine, I promise!). When I decided to set my mind to writing a novel there was a huge learning curve to go from writing pithy, 500 word posts to plugging steadily away at a 500 page manuscript.
But this is a labor of love.
Since 8th grade I’ve been entirely enamored of Hatshepsut, the female pharaoh of Egypt’s 18th Dynasty. In fact, I doubt that obsession would be too strong a word. Over the years, Hatshepsut has been lombasted as a usurper and various other nasty labels by various archaeologists and historians. But as the years tick by, the historical record is yielding more and more of her secrets, proving that she was a strong and capable leader who led Egypt through a golden age of peace and prosperity.
I think her tale deserves to be told.
Am I the most qualified person to do it? Certainly not. But everyone should do something they’re passionate about and I am most certainly passionate about this woman, my hero. So I think Hatshepsut would approve, even if I don’t get her story exactly right.
So why am I blogging about all this? After all, shouldn’t I be dedicating myself to writing a novel instead of blogging? Yes and no. I discovered a while ago via Panhistoria that blogging about my writing is cathartic. (And often provides a handy outlet when I come down with a case of writer’s block!) It helps me air thoughts and ideas and sometimes just vent. I also enjoy hearing ideas from people who’ve read my blog, but Panhistoria keeps posts private unless you’re a member. That’s a wonderful feature and one that I’ve been thankful for many times in the past. But if I’m looking for feedback and suggestions, it occurred to me that I should open my blog for more people to read.
And so here it is.
I’m not sure exactly where this will take me, but it certainly can’t hurt!
Assuming you get published (and I hope you do, but talk to me about Pan Press if you don't find another conventional house to do it) you will need, as an author, to do a lot of your own marketing these days and blogging is a good way to do it. You just need to be consistent and add good content.
I had never thought of blogging or using other online media until I read this article about podcasting from the Blog Herald. And that got me to thinking this might be the way to go. I'm hoping other writers, published or otherwise, might happen upon my blog to give me some tips too!