It must've been the July of last year. I was bored. I decided to doodle.
And then, from no more than a sporadic assortment of lines, emerged an idea. An idea that I became so instantly enthralled in that I knew I should write about it - So I did.
And from there, I began working hard on my first glorified novel. And I was up to chapter fourteen of nineteen meagre months ago when I realised that I wasn't ready. I needed to plan, and I needed to plan immediately.
Of course, I already had a pretty solid outline of an overarching plot which would span four books, but little did I realise at that point that a "pretty solid outline" was no where near sufficient. It was only until recently, upon observing a particularly enthralling scene mid-way through a Harry Potter movie marathon, that it became apparent to me how much time and preparation had gone into the series on JK Rowling's part. And it suddenly clicked. If she'd spent five years planning the Potter chronicles beforehand in order to iron out any kinks or plot-holes, to make sure that no details were out of place, no story lines too farfetched or unbelievable (relatively, of course), then that is what I must do, also. Only once I truly know my characters and the world they inhabit like the back of my hand, so to speak, will I be ready to comfortably put pen to paper - or in my instance, fingers to keyboard.
I realised how much writing this book series means to me. As soon as that became clear, and only then, was when I fully understood how much time I'll need to invest. And that's what I plan to do. Even if it's a struggle, I will do it. Even if it takes years before I'm properly ready, that's fine too. I know I can spend that time wisely to improve my skills and techniques.
So I suppose, what I'm really trying to say here is, only when I am completely familiar with the fictional world I have created will I be able to realistically portray that in my story. And maybe - just maybe - in a few years time, all that hard work that's yet to come will have paid off.
If you have been reading this somewhat pointless story, thank you - and I encourage you to share any epiphanies you may have had yourself whilst writing/planning your novels.
