Drafting My First Romance Novel
The Beginning
In 2019 I typed down a rough idea for a romance novel in my Notes app. In the months following, I opened up my Google Doc a few times, wrote a couple hundred words of my story without an outline or a clue where I was going, and eventually put the whole thing on pause. Come 2020 and the panini, and I was suddenly stuck at home with a whole lot of time to kill and nothing to do. (Don’t get me wrong, I loved the virtual calls with family and friends, but as an introvert the Zoom fatigue came on real quick.)
Seeking an outlet both for my creativity and for an escape from the hell that 2020 had unleashed, I turned back to my book. I wish I could tell you that this is when the writing simply clicked for me and that I cranked out an entire draft in a few months, but to that I say HA, if only. Instead, I spent many months secretly writing a couple chapters which I thought were halfway decent (I scrapped most of them) and only then did I finally reveal to my mom that I had decided to write a book. As an avid reader who has also always supported my writing over the years, she was thrilled.
Even so, as someone who is still mortified sharing my work with others, I was nervous to hear her thoughts. Would she hate my characters’ names? What if this plot is trash? What if my writing is simply not good? But in the end, it led to a two or three-hour conversation about all the places I could take my story – and yes, even helped me form a loose outline. (I’m still very much a pantser, though.) We discussed character motivations, the inciting incident, and how my main character would resolve things by the end of the book. I left our talk inspired, eager to put more words down and start drafting *for real this time* and felt confident to finally declare that yes, I was in fact writing a book, and yes, I also wanted to become a published author one day.
I started by using my evenings to write as much as I could (500-1000 words/day) until I realized I prefer to write in the mornings. I spent months researching for my story (some of which may have included watching Shawn Mendes performances on repeat), listened to writing podcasts, and spent many hours on BookTube. I finally hit my goal word count a year later, and continued until I typed the final words of my first draft sitting in a coffee shop in Washington D.C. That night, my boyfriend and I celebrated with a glass of champagne sitting out on his rooftop patio. An entire book – finally done.
After cramming in so much time and energy before work and the occasional weekend working on this manuscript, I was able to print it out, hold it in my hands, and start editing. It’s been a long journey just to get to this point, but I’m excited to have made it this far in the process. Sure, writing this book didn’t happen overnight, but there’s something so exhilarating to be able to say that I did the dang thing, and it gives me all the motivation I need to do it again.
Writing Resources
Here are a few things that helped me get through the drafting process:
Spending my mornings listening to the Write or Die Podcast hosted by authors Claribel Ortega and Kat Cho
Author Alexa Donne‘s YouTube channel – this was actually the first resource I stumbled upon that really got me hyped up about the whole writing process and helped break it down into digestible chunks for me (drafting, editing, querying, etc.)
Putting together a romance playlist on Spotify to put me in my story (“You Have Bewitched Me” in case anyone is interested). Highly recommend creating a mood playlist for your book.
Talking to friends and family. This is so important. Don’t get me wrong, sharing this part of my life was and still is nerve racking, but as a newbie novel writer I’ve discovered just how lonely this process can be. After all, it’s just you, your computer and the story in your head. Don’t be afraid to share your art with people because when you get to that point when you’re sick of re-reading your story during edits (it will happen) or wonder if you’re even cut out for this whole book writing thing, you’ll want to have those people in your corner to keep you going.
On that note, joining a writing group has helped me tremendously. It’s given me a sense of community and also holds me accountable on the days I feel like I can’t get another word in. Plus, this is a great way to connect with writers who might also be looking for critique partners and/or beta readers.
Taking creative writing courses through MasterClass.