I’ve spent the last year writing a book. But instead of writing another book about my life, I wanted to write a fiction book from the subconscious mind. Basically, writing with no plan. Trying something I’ve never done before.
It’s a much different process compared to my non-fiction books. There, I had a known beginning and end… real-life experiences to act as landmarks guiding me in the darkness. Now, I have none of that. I just keep writing, hoping things might connect in the end.
The First Draft
When I first began, I tried my best to write 1k words/day. Professional writers typically write at least this much and more each day (my favorite author Haruki Murakami writes 3k words/day). Some days I didn’t hit my goal. Some days I got a bit more. Eventually, it was enough to get me a rough draft. The “vomitting” stage, I call it. The inverse of sculpting. While sculptor chips away at what is unnecessary, a writer writes only what is unnecessary to discover the necessary.
I aimed for 80k words (the same length as my last two books). Not that this is an important number. Only that I didn’t want the book to be too short so as to lack depth or too long to keep the story from dragging along forever. Constraints help facilitate creativity and 80k seems to be my Goldielocks number so far, something I’ve managed before so why not try again?
At around 60k words, I reached the limit of my attempt allowing the story to direct itself unconsciously. I had vomitted out a story and was left with a bunch of untied threads and half-baked stories, many of which didn’t seem to connect in any meaningful way. It was time to try and bring order to the chaos.
The Conscious Mind
I opened a new document and started keeping track of everything I loved about stories. All stories. Books, movies, themes, genres, characters, plot devices… everything I’ve ever watched, read, listened to, or come into contact with in this lifetime. I chose examples that represented everything I wanted my story to become. Guided by the assistance of a book called The Anatomy of Story by John Truby, I brainstormed all my favorites.
Not that I would use all of them, but I was searching for something. If I wanted to write a meaningful story, I had to first find out what a meaningful story was to me.
This served as a useful examination into the storyteller living inside me. I tried to meet him personally, this inner-storyteller. I imagine him as a dirty, bearded man huddled over a desk in some dark sub-cavernous room filled with books. By the light of a small lamp, he studies the tomes of all my collected experiences, a book whose pages seem endless as he flips through.
After reviewing my conditioning, here’s what he and I found. The document grew too long to share everything, but here are some highlights of what made the list:
Meaningful Themes:
- Dreams and nightmares
- Wandering through nature.
- Facing mortal danger
- Swords and magic
- Mythological spirits and beasts
- A fisherman, a witch, a thief, a warrior, and a wise man.
I believe it’s most inspired by the following books/movies:
- The Alchemist
- Haruki Murakami (all his books)
- Narcissus and Goldmund
- Spirited Away (and anything Miyazaki)
- Avatar: The Last Airbender
- Big Fish
- The Fisher King and the Handless Maiden
- Carl Jung’s ideas on psychology and dreams
- My past travels and experiences in hiking, meditation, and movement.
All of these ideas offered some clarity into what direction the story could take. An outline gradually began to form, and before long, seemingly unrelated events started to connected in unexpected ways. I could hardly believe how everything came together. The human mind is great at pattern recognition and making connections.
So, the initial writing of the manuscript was born, the result of unconscious and conscious minds coming together.
What’s the Book About?
In an ancient world mysteriously losing its ability to dream, a young fisherman named Taro must follow his dreams to awaken the dreams of those whose paths he comes across.
Following the disappearance of fish from his home river (as well as other events), Taro steps into the Dark Forest in search of answers into the deepening shadows of the world.
It has taken me a while to define what genre the story lives in. I would like to be clear in defining this. If I’m unclear, I might have a hard time finding an audience for the book (apart from existing readers). I’ve learned genre is important to selling books (one reason I believe The Trail Provides has sold many more copies than True Nature is due to genre; thru-hiking memoirs became a thing, while travel/meditation memoirs are less popular). A reader needs to know how to associate this book in their mind, to know if they’ll like it or not.
If I had to choose the genre for this upcoming book, it would most likely be epic fantasy, adventure fantasy, magical realism, and eastern-inspired folklore fantasy. I suspect the audience will be adult and older YA readers who love Murakami, Gaiman, Le Guin, and Studio Ghibli… introspective seekers of truth, not just thrills.
So, what do we call it?
Working titles are…
The Book of Taro
The Legend of Taro
The Dreamwalker
The Last Dream
… or something like that.
The Manuscript Review
I sent my first draft to my editor, someone who I trust very much. She was my main editor for The Trail Provides and if not for her busy schedule while working on her own multi-book publishing deal, I would have worked with her again for True Nature.
I’m a believer in shelling out big bucks (or at least a reasonable budget) to work with professional editors. Readers don’t care whether a book is traditionally or indie published, but they do care about the quality of the writing. I invest heavily in editing, looking at it as an investment in the craft. There’s so much to learn from someone who has walked the path before.
Cover Inspiration
The thing about self-publishing is that the entire process is non-linear. There’s a lot of tasks running parallel and simultaneously to the writing and editing stage. One of those is is brainstorming what a cover might look like.
Once I figure out the book’s title and genre, I think the art direction for the cover will become clearer. Until then, it’s a bit mysterious and unknown. Still, I’ve kept a few images for book cover inspiration.
Next Steps
Once I get the feedback from my editor, I’ll work to fix all the glaring mistakes. This will probably take a few months at least. The re-writing phase takes time and attention to get things right.
I’ve started planning more on the marketing side as well. I suspect this post is somehow part of that process. I plan on trying to contact book “influencers,” especially people who understand and are passionate about the genre and can help make the story into something that people want to read. Which while we’re on the topic, if you want to offer yourself as a beta reader, let me know. I’m also open to any marketing ideas, title suggestions, and overall thoughts.
Does this book sound interesting to you? I’m kinda going out on a limb here. This book is unlike anything I’ve written but I do think the story relates to my prior books in some strange way.
Looking forward to sharing more. Subscribe to the blog for future updates. Thanks for following the journey.
Much Love,
David
8.15.24 UPDATE: I recently received feedback from my editor. I’ll make a follow-up post about this as well as another exciting update.