Delighted to share with you a post from Kristina Thornton today, which is all about the lessons in patience she learned while writing her debut novel. It’s so hard to be patient when we just want to share our words with the world, but as Kristina learned, patience is a key element if you want to get it right.
She wrote the first draft of her novel, Claire Morris is Completely Lost, on our Novel Creator Course from 2021-22, and it is being published by Northodox Press in July 2024.
WRITING, PATIENCE, AND ME
By Kristina Thornton
I’m rubbish at waiting. I’d love to be serene and patient, but that ain’t me. I’m beginning to realise that as a writer – maybe, just, maybe – it’s a skill I need to learn.
Writing a book is slow. Trying to get it published is slow. Once you’ve got a deal, the editing process is slow.
Go with the flow, Kristina.
Yeah, right.
My debut novel, Claire Morris is Completely Lost is being published by Northodox Press in July 2024. I can’t wait. See. An impatient soul. However, I did wait until my late thirties to write my first novel. It was something I fancied doing “one day”. That “one day” came after a global pandemic and taking voluntary redundancy from the BBC. I left the fast-paced radio newsroom to focus on writing fiction.
In September 2021, I started Retreat West’s The Novel Creator; a year-long course designed to take you from idea to first draft. During the twelve months, I became impatient and entered a Twitter pitch contest, when I hadn’t even finished the first draft (at this point I was convinced it wasn’t my first draft but close to a final draft – ha, so naïve). The publisher liked my pitch and requested the first three chapters and then the full manuscript. I explained I hadn’t finished, and they asked me to send as much as possible. I sent the first 20 chapters. They gave me detailed and insightful feedback but not an offer of publication.
And that was it.
By approaching this publisher too early, I’d blown my chance with them. I couldn’t approach them again with this book. I’d gone against the advice I’d been given on the course about making sure my submission was “ready” before I sent it anywhere, because I didn’t possess a single ounce of patience. I tried to find solace in the helpful feedback.
At the end of the course, I received an editorial report on my full manuscript, and it finally dawned on me that it was a first draft! I had structural edits to do. New scenes to write. Further character development to work on. I did the work and stopped sending my novel out to literary agents and publishers, well, mostly. I’d send it out every now and then, get a rejection, and bury myself back into the editing hole.
It can take months – MONTHS – to hear back on submissions. On some, a reply never comes. The silence continues. Forever. I ended up giving myself set times to check my emails, as the constant inbox peeking was getting ridiculous. Once in the morning and once in the evening. I didn’t stick to it. I could feel the anxiety building in my chest. I needed distraction. I started Book 2. I’ve been working on that novel for a year-and-a-half, and I’m being good about making sure it’s “ready” and not sending it out. Ok, ok, I’ve applied for some mentorships. I’m MOSTLY being better at waiting until it’s polished.
I remember submitting to an endless list of agents and publishers. Dozens and dozens. According to my queries word document, which I used to track submissions and responses, the total was 21. Not that many. Wasn’t it more? The constant validation hunting wore me down. I got four full manuscript requests and just before my 40th birthday one turned into an offer – from Northodox Press.
Claire Morris is Completely Lost – a romantic story wrapped in family drama, self-discovery, and an age-defying friendship – will be published in a matter of months. It’s been through edits, revisions, and proofreading, which all takes time.
Obviously, I’ve been really chilled about the whole thing.
Ha. Right.
I’m trying my best to get used to the fantastic, exciting, yet plodding pace of the publishing world. As a broadcast journalist, I’d write a bit of news copy and be reading it out on-air five minutes later. You can’t write an 80,000 word novel in five minutes. An agent can’t read an 80,000 word novel in five minutes. A proofreader can’t read an 80,000 word novel in five minutes. I know this. It’s logical, reasonable.
Sometimes, I mutter with a sarcastic grin in place, ‘Patience is a virtue.’
Once I’ve mastered the art, I’ll let you know.
For now, I’m developing coping mechanisms, which involve cleaning the house and going swimming. I’m currently waiting for the final version of Claire Morris is Completely Lost to land in my inbox. I’m writing this from the café at the gym. I’ve just been swimming.
KRISTINA THORNTON grew up in Doncaster and now lives in Derbyshire with her husband, two sons, and dog, Elvis. She is a former BBC presenter and broadcast journalist, working in radio for seventeen years, before turning her attention to writing fiction. Kristina’s debut novel, Claire Morris is Completely Lost is being published by Northodox Press in July 2024. Her flash fictions have appeared in anthologies and literary magazines. Kristina is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association. In October 2023, she placed second in the association’s quarterly Flash Fiction Competition in Romance Matters magazine.
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Zoom workshop this weekend
Writing the Sea
Sun 7 Apr 2024 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM BST
Join Martha Lane for a fun-filled session focused on using the power of the sea in our stories.
Stormy, calm, murky or clear – the ocean is a living, churning idea machine. In this generative workshop we will dive into a series of writing exercises designed to explore the ocean in interesting and unusual ways, as setting, metaphor and even character.
We will discuss the different relationships people can have with the sea and how that might affect the stories you want to write, and explore how the ocean is the perfect inspiration for engrossing and vivid storytelling.
Workshop Host: Martha Lane is a prose writer from the blustery North East. She writes extensively about grief, nature, class and all things unrequited. Many of her stories can be found online at http://marthalane.co.uk. Her speculative novella (about grief and nature of course), Lies Over the Ocean, is available to buy on Amazon. She loves writing, and facilitating workshops is such a lovely way to share the joy!
I hope you’re finding time for your writing!
With love,
I relate so much to this waiting game. I started writing my first novel in 2017 I thought it was done in 6 months. How naive was I ?😃 I actually finished it in 2020, then again in 2021 after some creative Scotland support. Since then I have been sporadically sending it out and exploring building a platform. The right timing message in this piece is very encouraging 🙏🏻