Details about my side project
In my most recent blog post, I mentioned that I’d been working on a side project to my side project and it’s taken up a lot of my free time over the last few months. I could go on and on about what led up to this project and bury the lede to this story, so I won’t do that. Instead, I’ll tell you what I did, how I did it, and why I chose to announce it on April 29. So let’s get to it, shall we?
I wrote a novel.
There. I said it. And it feels pretty dang good to share it with all of you.
But don’t misread this. I didn’t say I’ve written a book. That would imply that the story is finished. It would imply that it’s something you could wrap your hands around and devour. Unfortunately, we’re not quite there yet.
But the first (very rough) draft is complete! And that’s worth taking a moment to celebrate.
What’s the novel about?
I don’t want to give away too much, but let’s say it’s a bit of a love letter to Indianapolis. It’s also a Christmas story. Not as Christmasy as A Charlie Brown Christmas or A Christmas Story. But it’s more Christmasy than Gremlins. It’s probably best-described as National Treasure meets Die Hard meets Elf with heaping dose of church history. It’s kind of genre-busting.
How I finally completed this novel
I have had a concept of this story in my head since either 2013 or 2014. It was sparked on my long commute home from the north side of Indy. Through the years, I’ve started and stopped and started and stopped so many times – more times than I can count. I would only get a few pages in, then the momentum would die again.
Over the last decade, I’ve read several books about writing and storytelling including:
- Consider This: Moments in My Writing Life after Which Everything Was Different by Chuck Palahniuk
- Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott’
- On Writing: Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
- The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers
All were helpful in their own way. Some were even inspiring. Yet none really gave me the tools to just get the job done.
Towards the end of December last year, I stumbled upon a Facebook post*, inviting aspiring writers to participate in something called the 90-Day Novel Challenge, led by author Brad Pauquette. This was different from things like NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), which I’ve tried (and failed) a couple of times throughout the years. This challenge offers a community of support, a podcast with daily discussions about story structure and the writer’s struggle, guidance from Brad, and an incredibly helpful tool called The Novel Matrix: The Complete Novel Writing Guide.
I figured I should give it a try.
So I signed up. Read the book. Planned the novel’s structure. Subscribed to the podcast. And started writing.
Let me tell you, it really was a challenge. I can fire off a 500-word blog lickety-split if I want to. But a novel? That’s a whole ballgame of a different color. They both involve putting words on a page, but they also involve different sets of creative muscles. Kind of like the difference between running a 100-yard dash and running a marathon. I had to stretch myself. And I’m not gonna lie. It hurt sometimes.
Now, 90 days later, I’m happy to report that words for each chapter of the book are on the page. The very rough draft of my first novel is actually done!
There’s still a few rounds of intense edits/rewrites ahead. But it’s a start. Like James Clear recently said in his 3-2-1 Thursday Newsletter (emphasis mine):
An old Latin proverb, “Initium est dimidium facti”, reminds us of the timeless importance of simply beginning the task at hand. It translates to: “Once you’ve started, you’re halfway there.”
Source: Horace, the Roman poet, in his work Epistles
So we’re halfway there.^ More than halfway there, really.
And I’ve never been this far before. I have to say, the view’s pretty great!
Why now?
I could just say “Why not now?” But there’s much more to it than that.
Back in October 2013, I was standing hip-deep in water with my dad at Bennett Spring State Park in Missouri. It was towards the end of the day and we were trying to catch the last of our daily limit. The fish weren’t really biting anymore, but that was OK. We were having a great time just catching up.
Then, out of the blue, Dad turned to me and said,
Dad
“Have you ever thought about becoming a writer? You should. You’re good at it.”
That meant a lot coming from Dad. He was an observant guy who had a knack for seeing people’s strengths and plugging them into something where they would really excel. In the days surrounding his funeral, I lost track of how many times people mentioned similar experiences with him. Seeing and encouraging talent was one of his gifts.
So I took his words to heart.
Today, I’m a writer for a prominent cultural institution. And I love it. But I’ve still had this nagging feeling that I needed to write more. I’ve had these stories in my head that I just need to get out. And as Maya Angelou famously said in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,
“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”
Maya Angelou
Sure, this quote is taken out of context, but the principle remains – I have stories to tell and I just need to get them out.
I reflected on these things as I drove down to Evansville one October to spend the day with him while he was attempting to recover from his stroke. To be honest, things were starting to look bleak. He has always been a fighter, but we were really starting to question how much fight was left in him.
As I pulled up to the rehab facility, I decided that I needed to redouble my efforts and finally write down this novel so I could look Dad in the eyes and say, “Hey Dad. You said I should become a writer. So I did. Here. I wrote a novel and dedicated it to you.”
Dad died the day before Thanksgiving. I never got the chance to show him my completed manuscript. So I’m doing the next-best thing. I’m sharing this announcement with you on his birthday.
So happy birthday, Dad. Thanks for believing in me – even when I didn’t believe in myself.
What’s next?
What’s next for the novel? Well, hopefully it’ll become a full-fledged book. But like I said before, there’s a lot of rewriting and editing that needs to happen first. I’d love to have this novel ready for public consumption before Christmas 2026. It is a Christmas novel, after all. It’s only fitting to make it available before then.
Why not Christmas 2025? Because that’s a herculean task, and probably impossible with everything else that’s going on this year. I mean, I’m not opposed to Christmas 2025, but I’m not holding my breath. It’s probably too unrealistic, honestly. I know it’s a long time to wait, but it’s really not that much time, considering this is a side project to my side project.
I promised myself I’d let the novel “rest” for two weeks or more after completing the manuscript. We’re getting close to the end of that mini sabbatical. So I guess it’s time to start There’s a lot of work that has to be done between now and then. But I’m here for it.
All because Dad believed in me.
endnotes
* I know I’ve said in the past that Facebook and other social media platforms are one big dumpster fire. Every once in a while, good things can come from it. This is one of them, I think.
^ Not gonna say it. Nope, nope, nope.
Sorry. couldn’t resist.
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