Training for the Novel Marathon

There was a stint in my life where I got into running to get fit. At my peak I was running five miles every other day. In the last five years, I've seen some very strong people around me that have taken to marathon and half-marathon training, and finished it. Just from my half-a-year stint in running around my neighborhood, I can honestly say that these people are amazing.

In May, I reached 40,000 words on my novel. It's not anywhere near the quality I expect it to be at. The tension, and characters, and the world are not fully fleshed out. That doesn't bother me, as they say writing is rewriting, and rewriting, and rewriting. It is in it's early stages. But I realized something the other day. I was trying to run the equivalent of a literary marathon, without having trained for it. If I started running a marathon tomorrow, I would fail miserably at mile six, without a doubt. I could probably walk the rest of the way if my legs didn't fully give out.

In April, I wrote 26 flash fiction pieces (500-1000 words each). That helped me greatly get my form down. It helped me see and fix technical errors in grammar, narration, point-of-view and scene making. Yet, I wouldn't go do a couple (or 26)  100 meter dashes and then expect to run a whole marathon. A novel is a different beast entirely. I like the world and cultures I am creating, and am amazed it's all coming from my imagination. But, like a runner training for a marathon, I have to hone my story telling and characterization before I can fully give my debut novel the proper treatment. Therefore I'm trying a new approach.

My current project is a couple of short stories to help me get my story telling chops in order and to fill in some background information for my planet. I doubt they will ever see the light of day. It really depends on the quality that comes out. And being my first true run outside the short sprints that were flash fiction, I expect this to be a great learning experience--much like the April A to Z challenge proved to be.