Hello,

Do you sometimes believe everyone in the world is writing a book? I occasionally believe it, yet what I seem to believe more is that just about everyone has written a book and some of them have written five or more and not just written books but had them published and read by millions. There are of course authors such as James Patterson—though not many—who are so prolific it’s amazing. He has more than one writing project-soon-to-be-published novel going at one time in addition to a new novel of his that's in book stores at the moment.

When I’m reading an article about a writer they all seem to have written ten novels. Or when I listen to public radio everyone interviewed seems to have several published books to their credit and I think, sheesh, why does it take me so long to write one novel let alone two? I don’t believe in writer’s block or any other roadblocks to writing for me those are excuses for me not writing; I can always find ten minutes here or there between laundry loads or before my children get up in the morning to write a line or two, a paragraph or even a chapter. All those lines and paragraphs do eventually add up to a novel and hopefully a good one.

But why does it take me so long to create this novel though I’m steadily writing it? Other writers can write two or even three books at a time or at least a book a year so why am I not a faster writer? I thought about this and researched it a little and came up with a few writers who I believe have the same complexity I’ll call it and it hasn’t hurt them one bit: Donna Tartt author of the wonderful ‘The Secret History” began that novel in the 1980’s, it was published in 1992 and her next novel ‘The Little Friend’ wasn’t published until 2002, ten years later; just two great works to her credit. Then there’s Thomas Harris the creator of Dr. Lecter. Mr. Harris has written five novels, and its more than six years between each novel. I've stopped beating myself up about how long it takes me to create a novel.

There really shouldn’t be any time constraints on creating a novel because quality is the key here. I try to make every word count in the story and get rid of the useless ones so that every word matters to the novel's progress. I try and flesh out each character, erase all the strings so the reader gets story and not just words, a story and characters they can believe in one-hundred percent; it takes so much time to get this right or as close as I can get it.

My first Owen Story novel has taken me six years to get it where I don’t sweat every page and can even smile a little when I read it. The second novel in the trilogy will take me at least another year and a half if not longer to get it manageable. Do I wish I could write faster? Sometimes I do but if it means tossing in any old character, overlooking the bumps and creating a so-so work; then I’ll always take it slow. Writing a novel is hard enough so why not go the extra one-hundred miles and make it worth while, make it stand out from the rest, a work you’ll always be proud of even if it’s the only novel in you.

If you have any comments or suggestions, please e-mail me at: matwrite1@hotmail. com. I’ll love to hear from you.

Until next time, God willing,

Lori