I am currently in the middle of writing my second book. The funny
thing is, that I am generally going through many of the processes that I experienced first time around; wondering if I have written enough, or too much. Storming ahead with some ideas and being completely stumped trying to work out details. But the one thing that takes up more of my subconscious is the time it is taking me to even getting close to completion of this project.
My first book took me four years to write. This is because I am not lucky enough to be a full-time writer yet. I have other jobs that bring in the money for now. So I write when I can, usually in the evening or at weekends and occasionally snatching precious minutes when plausible, between getting home from work and picking up the kids, making tea and my other pursuits in life. There are times when I wonder if I will finish it at all. Then I think of the weirdest thing – a cartoon that I saw many years ago. It was of some men, scaling the side of Mount Everest. One is chiselling stairs into the side of the mountain. Behind him, one of the other two climbers turns to his friend and says ‘He’s slow, but sure.’
This is how I tackle my writing. I am not talented enough to sit down and write a book from beginning to end in a few months, like people such as David Walliams or Jacqueline Wilson seem to be able to do. But it is important to keep going. If I give up, then the book really will never be finished. So even if I only manage to write a few sentences, at least I have written something. That’s the important point – it doesn’t matter if it takes you a month or a decade, just keep going. It’s worth it in the end!
