It’s Been Quite A Process

By Kimberly Dredger

Last week, I held in my hands something precious, unbelievable. My first—likely only— novel. What a kick! It’s been quite a journey. 

The writing of it was magic. Instead of sleep, I’d lie in bed writing passages in my head, and then arise in the wee hours, and type madly. The characters I thought I’d made up grew into people I didn’t know but came to like, and they all had ideas of their own, damn them. Every day I’d close my computer midmorning, then reread what I’d written in the late afternoon. It honestly felt as if I were reading someone else’s writing. Who are these characters? Each day I’d have to wait until I “read” the next section to find out. 

This whole experience began seven years ago. I’m a member of a writers’ group. My poor fellows listened each meeting to the new installment, added wonderful ideas, gave superb input, axed parts I honestly felt should remain. “Kill your darlings” they told me. Always, they were right and I was wrong. It was a learning process. Finally finished, I took a thumb-drive to Staples and came back with enough hard copies for my writers’ group. Gave each of them a copy, a pack of sticky-notes and a matching pencil. And waited with bated breath. I knew they’d love it because they’d already heard most of it. Alas, when they returned the copies, I found out they still had a lot to say, add, change and delete. I took a deep breath, accepted most of their ideas, didn’t accept some. And then rewrote it the first time. 

After rewriting the SECOND time, I was ready for my first out-of-state Writers’ Conference, at which I learned a few hard facts: namely, one doesn’t put two spaces after periods, nor does one put an empty line after each paragraph, and one does use an indent. Those bad habits which were so ingrained in my typing were, in fact, from typing class. I did a “find and replace” on my whole document to get rid of all the double spaces after periods, and ended up with a total, unadulterated mess. Had to go manually through the entire thing and fix every— single—one. But I did it. Fixed all the empty lines and put in indents (which, by the way, caused trouble when I was formatting my ebook.) 

By this time I thought I was ready to submit to agents. Heart in mouth, I did so. Waited. Longer. I realized I probably needed some professional editing. My first editor gave me some great ideas and told me to cut 15K words. I did that, tightened it up, and sent it to a second editor, who told me to cut an additional 30K words. In other words, gut the thing. Take out a major character. Turn it into a romance. (She didn’t say “Stop using incomplete sentences,” though. Go figure.) 

Well, I couldn’t cut that many words, but I did cut a great number by losing adverbs, most adjectives, most of the “that”s, a great many of the times characters said each others’ names. As 

it turns out, if I had cut 30K words, my novel would be too short. Hmm. Maybe my instinct was right. 

At long last, I’m now not only a writer, but an author. Going to Amazon.com, I can type my own name into the search bar and my book appears! What a kick in the pants. Someone once said though she didn’t really enjoy writing she enjoyed having written, but for me, it’s the writing I love. Composing this essay, for example, in the midst of trying to learn how to advertise my novel, has been a joy. 

While putting words together is a solitary process, becoming successful at it requires help. My primary support group includes my husband, who allowed me to read three different drafts to him; my writers’ group and family member beta readers; and my friends who believed in me enough to scold me when I’d shelved my work for months. Then, there are on-line resources*. It’s my belief that if a person wants to be successful at this business, having a good, well-rounded support system is vital. 

Finally, what is my process? First of all, I allow my heart and mind to have quiet, private conversations. They get together at night when I’m sleeping. They figure out what should be important to this sexagenarian. (My mother once said that sounds like a lot more fun than it actually is.) After the heart and mind work things out, my brain and fingers go to work, trying not to mess it up too much. Then, I let it rest. Go back, rewrite, revise, and cut until I have something someone might want to read. 

*The on-line resources I used most include: Reedsy.com, ProWritingAid.com, KindlePreneur, Bryan Cohen at Amazon Ad School, and KDP.

—

Kimberly Ellen Dredger lives in Missoula, Montana; her childhood stomping grounds are the backdrop for her book. She currently resides with her husband, and a Scottish terrier, in the Rattlesnake Valley.

One year into her teaching career in western Montana, Kimberly’s young husband of two years was killed. Living through that loss and beginning again seemed insurmountable, but in time she recognized that her story was not unique. Life and death go hand in hand; strength comes in learning that.

After Kimberly retired from teaching, she began training for long-distance walking. In her first year, she completed both the Missoula Marathon and the New York City Marathon. Though she still walks, distances no longer call to her. She spends her time reading, writing, and walking around the park with her husband and dog.

Though her experiences planted the seed for this novel, and the houses and valleys in the novel are the ones Kimberly lived in, the protagonist is not Kimberly. This is fiction, not at all autobiography.

BEGIN AGAIN

Imagine yourself as a young widow, leaving the home you came to as a bride. Imagine depending—with all your heart—on your dog, your mother-in-law, and a couple new friends. Now . . . imagine yourself losing them all.

Begin Again, set in the beautiful mountain valleys of western Montana, is a novel of loss, healing, love, and growth. Nine months into her widowhood, Montana June McPherson experiences shocking dangers, new love, friendship, disillusionment, and more sadness. How can she, after months of feeling abandoned, conquer her own grief and fear to become confident enough to embody her husband’s last words to her: “Montana June, Begin Again”?

If you enjoyed “Shelter Me” by Juliette Fay, you’ll love Begin Again.

“. . . an eloquent, deep description of grief and healing; the smells, touches, sights, sounds and silences . . . ”

“Kimberly has captured what it is for a woman to be shattered by life and yet be able to rescue herself from within.”

“Inspiration and motivation to keep pushing through grief and trials to live again.”

 

Tags: women writers

Category: Contemporary Women Writers, On Writing