How long does it take to write a novel?

I dunno. How much time you got?

I was telling Nate about writing and revising my novel and he found my timeline interesting so I thought I’d share it with all you aspiring writers out there.

Summer 2001: I get a glimmer of an idea for a novel. I think about the idea after work, during my daily walk/run.
Fall 2001: I start trying to write the novel. I write 30-40 pages and use this as a sample for my MFA application. At about page 50, I stop writing because I don’t know what in the hell I’m doing.
Spring 2002: During my first semester in an MFA program, I do a lot of writing exercises to try to learn more about my characters. Much of this material is useful as background but does not find its way into the novel. A small bit is still in the book, in a much-revised form.
Summer 2002: Reach150 pages or so.
Fall 2002/Spring 2003: Get to about 300 pages and cut at least half of them.
Summer 2003: Get some writing done, but also get married--planning a wedding out of state--so summer is not a very productive writing time.
Fall 2003: Reach about 200-250 pages.
Spring 2004: Revise first 100 pages or so to use as my thesis. Graduate with my MFA. Know exactly what needs to happen in the novel but am working full time, taking classes, and don’t have as much time as I would like to write.
Summer 2004: Nate is transferred to Dallas. Since I quit a job I really liked, and because we will be able to afford it, we come to an agreement that I will take some time off. From July to mid-August, I write about 200 pages. In mid-August, I go to Bread Loaf.
September 2004: After Bread Loaf, I start looking for a job and almost immediately find one. Although very excited at first, I soon come to regret taking the position.
October 2004: Finish the first draft of the novel, which is approximately 450 pages.
November 2004-May 2005: Work so many 10-to-12 hour days I have little time to write. Also buy a house and get a new puppy. During this period, I revise about 75 pages. Not much.
May 2005: Blessedly, my sucky job ends. I had begun looking for a job in the spring and had had two interviews at a local university. I keep looking for a job in case I don’t get an offer.
June 2005: Revise approximately 300 pages.
July 2005: Right after I get the university job offer, I am offered a teaching fellowship but know it will leave absolutely no time for writing (5 composition classes each semester), and am offered interviews for two other positions. Decide to stick with the university job for the regular schedule and awesome benefits. Adjust to a new job.
August 2005: Start revising again. Revise the last sections of the novel, completing draft #2. Manuscript is now at 510 pages.
September 2005: Plan is to work on draft #3, trying to iron out any remaining issues with character, plot, and continuity. Then I plan on doing two more drafts. Draft #4 will focus on the characters, trying to make each voice sound distinct. Draft #5 will be the tightening and cutting draft. Stay tuned …

Last Night

When I got home from work early yesterday evening, our street was in an uproar. One of our neighbors owns and operates a moving company from his home. He usually has a large moving truck parked in front of his house. This bothers some of the neighbors. They don’t like the big moving truck in the street. They say it makes the block crowded. He’s about two doors down from us and while it has never bothered me, I understand why the truck might bother other people.

Last night, something happened with the moving truck. I don’t know if the brakes failed or what, but the truck rolled down the hill, almost hit a woman just as she crossed the intersection where the truck was heading, and then the truck drove into a neighbor’s yard. The truck hit a big tree in the yard. In my opinion, this was lucky. Those neighbors lost the tree, sure, but the tree stopped the truck from hitting their house.

But people in our ‘hood (many of whom are elderly) freaked out and called the police. I understand, I do. But accidents happen. They are an unfortunate part of life. I keep thinking: No one got hurt, thank God, and the main damage (other than the truck’s front end) was to the tree. Which sucks, granted, but things could have been so much worse.

In other, not so tragic news
I finished my second draft last night. Current manuscript clocks in at 510 pages. I'm taking Labor Day Weekend off (fittingly) and then I'll start on the next one.

Three drafts to go, I think.

Third draft: resolve outstanding plot, character, and continuity issues.
Fourth draft: work on the voice for individual characters so each sounds distinct.
Fifth draft: Clean up. Tighten as much as possible.

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