Well, That's a First!

I am just weeks off my third anniversary with Vocal.

When I signed up to VM on my 40th birthday, my goals were all about being accountable in my writing. I had hoped that having community support would encourage me to write more regularly and having an audience would keep me motivated – all with the goal of finally finishing one of the many novels I have started and had yet to finish.

During my first two years I published 80 articles. 33 short stories (two of which were rhyming), 20 articles, 15 chapters (for several books) and more than 12 poem articles, some with more than one poem in them.

It was a very productive Twenty-Four months, averaging more than 3 articles a month. During that time, more than just producing a portfolio of work, I learned valuable lessons. One of the more important lessons was why I was experiencing Writer’s Block while working on one of my novels I call ‘my labour of love’.

It did not matter how much I wanted to work on my story, how much I wanted to get it down on paper to share with the world, I just could not make it translate to paper.

I tried following different advice: setting myself time or word goals, writing for no less than once a week, writing at the same time every week. I tried writing sprints, detailed story maps, basic story maps, character profiling... I tried it all.

And I still couldn’t get the story from my head to the page. So, I stopped putting pressure on myself to get through the issue, focused on short stories and Challenges for a while.

It was then that an interesting notion occurred to me. I could write a short story. I used the same process for a short story, a poem or an article that I used for writing chapters for a novel. So why did I have such trouble getting my novel down on paper?

The answer was far less complicated than I had anticipated, I'm not sure why I hadn't seen it sooner.

I lacked confidence I could do the story justice. Was I really capable of writing a conversation between characters? Could I really set a scene the way I wanted it? And what about the times an entire paragraph just felt wrong?

I was experiencing Imposter Syndrome!

Throughout my different careers, I had dealt with IS before. Why should writing be any different? (if interested, one of my articles discusses Writer’s Block and you can find it HERE)

I’ve always found that, for myself, experience and gaining confidence is the silver bullet for I.S.

In an incredibly difficult decision, I stopped logging on to V.M. I loved the variety in participating in the V.M. Challenges and the amazing community of Creators. I stopped engaging with my social media pages and focused on the epic task of just finishing a single manuscript. I chose a prompt I had said for years I would write a story from, one I was not overly emotionally invested in, and started writing.

Three months ago, nearly a year since taking a break from writing short stories, I achieved that goal.

I have a finished first draft of my first novel, The Bay of Nine! There is still a lot of work to do, after all a first draft is not a finished manuscript. But as has been said many times before, one cannot edit what one has not already written.

Making it that far is a massive achievement on its own, which I’m very proud of. However, with the reality of publishing a novel no longer being a distant abstract notion anymore, my editor and I decided thought it would be wise to get some experience in typesetting, formatting and all the little issues (like finding open licence fonts and downloading them to the word processor) that go along with publishing a book.

To that end, we developed the concept of The First Pancake.

You know the one. The wonky little thing that stuck to the pan because the heat wasn’t right, is sort of endearing despite its imperfections and allows the cook to make adjustments so the next one is all round just better.

That’s my first book. A little wonky, a valuable experience we have learned from and despite its imperfections, something to be proud of.

The First Pancake: An Anthology of Cr@ppy Poetry, written by myself - Lilly Cooper - and edited and designed by Lee Hunter, independently published through Amazon is available HERE

Instead of rowdy launch party or a pre-order sale, there is a quiet bottle of wine at home and excited messages to my close friends who have been my cheer squad since day one. But I am excited to say, that just shy of my third anniversary, I have finally achieved my goal of publishing a book. It may not be what I thought it would, but that does not make it any less exciting.

Now, with the first book out of the way, my little team and look forward to finishing the editing process of The Bay of Nine and publishing a second!

(And who knows? Maybe some time to try some VM Challenges, too!)

The Bay of Nine - Follows the struggles of Ryan, amateur Treasure Hunter and Molly, kick-ass Pirate Captain.

Ryan looks for the legendary gold of the Nine, the cutthroat pirate navy, on Lone Island as he races against the clock, his Salvage Licence expiry fast approaching and along with it, the last chance to fulfil his grandfather's dying wish.

Step back in time with Molly who has battles of her own, trying to win absolute independence while keeping both herself and her crew alive under the ruthless leadership of William Bailly: head of the Nine and her boyfriend.

Keen on a sneak-peek of The Bay of Nine? Click HERE for link to A Spicy Experiment - WARNING - Adult Content