Turning Your Dream of Writing a Novel Into Reality
Do you have a dream to write a novel? Many people do but very few actually achieve it.
But not Joyce Wayne. Not only did she write one novel, she wrote two!
Now writing itself is not foreign to Joyce. For twenty-five years she taught and was the head of the journalism program at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario. She was also the trade editor at Quill & Quire, the editorial director of non-fiction at McClelland and Stewart, and the publicist for James Lorimer & Co. She is the recipient of the Fiona Mee Award for literary journalism. But as Joyce shared with me, writing as a journalist and writing as a novelist are very different activities.
Joyce published her first novel, The Cook’s Temptation in 2014. To write the book, she took a one year sabbatical from her job at the college and dedicated herself to completing it. She set a crazy goal of writing 5 days / week for the first novel and spent most of the day writing – about 30 hours a week. At that time, Joyce was single and living alone so she didn’t have many distractions to take her away from her goal. Her daughter had just started university.
But Joyce discovered that writing was lonely work.
Fortunately, Joyce was surrounded by good friends. She would often make a point of going for coffee or out for dinner on a regular basis. One of her best friends made a point of calling every day to check in with her. All this outside activity helped to keep Joyce feeling connected and ensured she never felt isolated.
Joyce enjoyed this experience of writing a novel so much that she wanted to do it again. But she also realized that she would not be able to do this while still working, so that is when she decided to retire.
Joyce discovered that her second novel was slightly more difficult to write but was still a joy. This time Joyce didn’t push as hard as she did for her first. She still kept teaching a couple of courses part-time and tried to ensure that she balanced her writing with her enjoyment of life.
She shared that this second novel was truly a passion and her attitude reflected this, “I’m doing this – if it doesn’t work out that’s okay – I’m comfortable just trying”.
For her second novel, Last Night of the World, she started writing the novel in 2015 and finished it at the end of 2017.
Joyce considers herself a late bloomer as a novelist. She has her Masters Degree in English and just loves literature and on average, reads two books a week. Her ability to now actually write novels later in life is a passion that is finally being achieved.
When asked what advice she would have for other would-be authors, Joyce shared the following.
First, she suggested to join a writing group in your community. These groups can provide a safe environment where everyone critiques each other’s writing. She said that group members start out feeling awkward when first revealing their writing, but this is not the time to be shy. She strongly suggests that you share what you have written and not be afraid. Your intention is to have people read your work so best to start with others who can offer you guidance and support. And don’t be worried about anyone stealing your ideas. This isn’t possible – especially in fiction. Your thoughts are your own thought and not someone else’s.
Secondly, Joyce suggests setting up some type of structure and plan for your writing. Even 3 days a week for 2 hours a day. If you don’t have the discipline to keep at it, your ideas will wither. Writing the 75,000 or more words for a novel is a lot and takes commitment.
Also, be prepared to do revisions to your novel and lots of them. Five or six revisions are not uncommon but the good news is that they do take much less work than writing the initial novel.
Finally, when you get it finished, Joyce said to give yourself a big pat on the back and then get it published. Be sure to also hire an editor. Their expertise in finishing your book is invaluable. With regards to publishing, you can target and submit your novel to different publishing companies that may be interested in the topic or find publishers who will accept unsolicited submissions over a specific timeframe. Self- publishing is also an option but be aware that there are also expenses associated with this.
As Joyce personally knows, writing a book is a major commitment and accomplishment. And doing this at a later age can make the success feel even more special.
