Introduction
Who Is Gordon W Miller?
He is a Canadian writer who lives in the vibrant city of Nanaimo, British Columbia.
Gordon constructed a writing blog to chronicle his journey while writing his debut novel. The story he's currently working on falls into the fantasy genre. Once or twice a month, Gordon will share snippets of progress he makes and obstacles he encounters along the way. He offers insights into the writing process in general as well as steps involved in building a successful author platform from the ground up. Every so often he'll post a recipe he wants to share.
Research on the current novel began in October 2018. He filled notebooks, scraps of paper, memo apps, and journals, with fascinating ideas. He pieced all of it together because it meant something. Sometimes, Gordon wakes from a dream and immediately writes what's in his memory while the thoughts are still fresh. Having a pen and paper beside the bed isn't always enough because dreams can be complicated to understand.
Writing Goal Established - Deadline Set
Armed with a solid premise, Gordon set an ambitious writing goal to have the first draft of his manuscript completed by April 14th, 2021. It's an industrious deadline for a writer embracing a novel. The amount of work involved is tremendous. Gordon is targeting eighty-four thousand words for this book.
Key concepts for the story have been in Gordon's imagination for years. He's writing about a subject that devours his mind, so he wants to get the story right. It's time to transform what's in his mind, to something readers can't put down.
Published Short Story to Debut Novel
In 2017, Gordon Miller published a short story called The Love Story. But making the jump from a short story to a full novel is a daunting challenge for a writer. Writing a novel is a complicated beast and many who undertake it, don't always finish. But Miller wants to leave a mark and publish this novel. The thought of a book authored by him, sitting on someone's bookshelf out in the world, is a strong motivator.
For The Love of Writing
Early Beginnings
At eight years old, Gordon got his first typewriter. He doesn't remember how or where he got it but it was white and green and came with a hard plastic case. He treasured it because typewritten words made his writing look more refined in his eye. Five years later, in what would be his first ever high school course, he learned to type. Thank you Mr. Bigelow.
Over the years, relatives and friends have mentioned that Gordon has quite the imagination. People who have read his writing have suggested he write a book someday.
Gordon Miller's someday is happening now.
Writing Blog
Snippets of Progress
The goal, however, isn't just to draft a novel. He plans to blog once or twice a month while he writes his manuscript. He will continue to work at his regular occupation full-time.
The reason for this author website is to let readers and other writers follow his progress and interact with him. Access to an author is something readers expect nowadays. Each month new challenges will surface along with minor somethings to celebrate. There are numerous learning curves with writing, so setbacks are to be expected.
Gordon hopes to look back on this endeavor as something extraordinary. He plans to write an illustrated children's book (PB) once the novel is complete. Perhaps after that a second novel.
Will It Be a Good Read?
Only you, the reader, can say. The premise has sparkle, so with focused attention and hard work, the writing will make it shine.
Publishing, either traditional or self, isn't until much later. He is leaning towards self-publishing at this point. The story needs to be delivered the way he intends so full control over the process is important to him. Being able to self-publish offers him the opportunity to make choices traditional publishing doesn't.
Sitting down to write every day is the first discipline for a writer. Finishing the manuscript is the realization of all the sweat, tears and pain that you go through. Developmental editing and endless nights of revisions will follow. It will take another six months to a year to complete the novel after the first draft ferments for a month or so. This is one of Miller's favourite phases of the writing process. He loves polishing sentences and analyzing plot holes, but assistance from beta readers and true experts will be utilized during this phase.
Once completed, Gordon will reveal his undertaking to friends and family, and plans for publication. Some relatives and close friends, who are avid readers, will be asked to be beta readers. If you would like to be considered, please contact me.
Follow the blog and be a witness to this exciting journey.
~ Gordon W. Miller
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