Today, I’m looking back to 2015 and my first attempts at actual writing. Considering all that had to happen before I got to this point, it still feels strange to reflect on what was probably the breaking point for me.

The dare and the first try (20.-21.7.2015)

This is something I’ve covered in the previous post to some degree. So, in short: I got into a talk with a fellow gamer and mentioned having some rough story ideas and he suggested I try writing it. And, foolish as I am, I actually did it. Right the next morning. Without knowing what I am doing, at all.

Now, this is where I have to admit this was in coming even though I did not (and probably could not) realize it. It would be impossible for me to just jump into it if I was to start from the beginning. Why? Because I had not really thought through that part.

Instead, there were a few (four or five) scenes I had thought through very often. One of them down to quite a lot of detail. Without it, I would not be able to start like this. Knowing it’s just trying, I could afford to write a random scene mid-way through the story.

And, so, a few hours later, the first demo scene was complete. And with it, the working title of my story, ‘Project Eternity’. By the way, none of the characters in this scene were named – the MC and the antagonist being under nicknames, the bad guy’s lackeys without any names at all.

Not just one scene (22.7. – 7.8.2015)

The following day (22.7.), I wrote an outro to that scene, bringing it to a full demo chapter. The very same day, I also told the mentioned gamer I actually gave it a try and, in a few days, I let him see it. I’ve received no real feedback but I did receive an ecnouragement to keep going.

I did just that, and I still tend to question that decision from time to time.

Anyway, in the coming two weeks, the demo grew to 5 chapters (though my definition of ‘chapter’ was still quite wonky) following from that scene. It probably defined what my approach might be because I had the first scene but not the follow-up thought through. So, I was just winging it, going with the flow – an approach that stuck with me for the most part.

This stage took a break on 8th as I deported on a week-long holiday in Poland. Occupied by hiking (I walked ca. 145km during those 8 days), I had little time to think about the story, which allowed it to settle down. The return from this holiday was a bit bad as the extreme heat combined with my sensitive digestion put me in bed for almost six days (and I lost almost 10% of my body weight) – during which I was in no condition to write.

Can’t stop, won’t stop (ca. 20.8.-15.9.2015)

After recovering, I returned to the demo. I extended it to the total length of 8 chapters, by which time I was sure I was having a lot of fun making this s#it up. I reached a point when not knowing what happened before the demo I wrote was going to affect me sooner or later. With the return to school (university, but I still keep saying ‘school’), I’ve decided to take an ‘evaluation break’ during which I’d decide what to do with my newfound hobby next.

Also, by this time, two more people saw at least a snippet of this story. One of them became quite intrigued by it and has became a welcome support.

Evaluation break (9/2015- 10/2015)

While I was taking a break from writing, I was not letting my undeveloped creativity slack. I’ve been thinking more and more about various aspect of the story, especially some kind of rough timeline. At that point, the rough idea was the story happenning over 18-20 years, as a trilogy with each part covering roughly a third – but this was mostly a figurative speeking because I still had no plan of ‘coming out’ with this story, let alone to see it on paper. Hell, I did not know at all about self-publishing yet (something I’ll cover in the final, fourth part).

Anyway, with some idea of how I wanted the story to unfold, I decided I’ll give it a try. The demo (which happened when the MC was roughly 30 years old so maybe 60% into the story) would be saved and put aside for a while and I’d start from the beginning.

And so, 23.10.2015, the ‘demo’ stage was over and the ‘draft’ stage came to be – which I’ll cover in the next post in this mini-series.

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So, that’s the third part of my ‘grand confession’. Feel free to comment or ask anything about my journey.