This summer, I finally finally finally finished a draft of my novel.
It took eight-and-a-half years to complete. Longer—more than a decade—if you count from when I first got the idea for the book, which was before I left San Francisco, which was in 2002. But let’s not go that far back. I was still in my thirties then, for God’s sake.
March 1, 2005: that’s the date on the earliest saved Word document related to the project, the first four pages of what’s now a chapter near the end of the book. I wrote it for a Tuesday-night writing class at the Davis Art Center, a great place to test-drive new work.
At the top of the page I’d written: “This is a very rough first draft of a tiny piece of what may be a much longer work, unless I abandon the endeavor altogether, which is more than likely.” At the end of the excerpt, as if to tamp down any expectation in myself or my classmates, I noted: “To be continued…maybe.”
But I inched my way through that piece, then another and another. I enrolled in the MA program in Creative Writing at UC Davis that fall and continued to work on it, submitting a somewhat primitive draft as my master’s thesis in the spring of 2007. I figured I needed another year refining the manuscript before I shopped it around.
Ha!
In December of that year, an agent of some renown contacted me about the manuscript after seeing a piece of it in American Short Fiction. I told her I needed “another 6 months” to finish it.
Ha!
2007 gave way to 2008 and then to 2009, and I was still toiling away. Every January, I told myself, “This is the year I finish the Lapérouse project.”
The project was demanding, and I’m a very slow writer. I was also raising two kids and tutoring and editing and teaching as an adjunct at the local community college and making half-assed attempts to keep house and garden. These activities turn out to be quite time-consuming.
But this year, in 2013, I was more determined than ever. Not just determined. Desperate.
A lot of it had to do with the prospect of turning fifty next year. I’ve never minded birthdays or adding one more year to my age, but the prospect of turning fifty while still drafting the novel I’d worked on through most of my forties—all of my forties if we count from the moment of conception—inception?—back in San Francisco—filled me with dread.
Fortunately, I find dread more motivating than paralyzing. I probably have my Calvinist upbringing to thank for that.
I gave myself a deadline—July 31. This was, not coincidentally, also the deadline for a book-length manuscript contest that offers a nice monetary prize but no publication. (By the way, I believe the imposing of helpful external deadlines to be the only useful purpose, for writers, of writing contests, the entry fees for which can otherwise eat up a lot of one’s disposable income.)
Then I took a semester off from my adjunct work to give myself more time to work. Although I’m fortunate to have a gainfully employed spouse, this did create a financial strain for the family, a strain eased in part by the unexpected receipt this spring of a Promise Grant from the Sustainable Arts Foundation.
But here’s the real secret of how I finally finished my manuscript, and I’m being only slightly facetious: I started writing on my treadmill.
You may have seen that great piece by Susan Orlean in the May 20 New Yorker about the benefits of working at a treadmill desk. (You can see a preview of the article here. Or hear Orlean talking about it here.)
I was inspired. We have a treadmill, and for several years I’d been trying to work out on it a couple times a week. But the bald fact is I absolutely hate running; even walking on the treadmill, even with my iPod distracting me, was boring and time-consuming, and I frequently found excuses to not do it.
But after reading Orlean’s article, I realized one could combine work with mild exercise. I scared up a wide board that fit perfectly across the treadmill’s arms, placed my laptop on it, and voila!—my treadmill desk.
It took me a few days to get used to the rhythm of walking while also keyboarding. It turns out walking doesn’t only involve lateral, forward movement, but also vertical movement. I had to adjust to bouncing slightly as I typed. Many typos were made.
But I figured it out. And then I walked and walked and walked. And wrote and wrote and wrote.
The weird thing—the part I can’t quite account for—is how incredibly focused I am while writing on the treadmill. We have wifi in the house, but on the treadmill, I’m never tempted to check e-mail or Facebook or Twitter. I never stop to get a snack or indulge a sudden urge to reorganize the recipe files or sock drawer. I can’t hear the phone or doorbell. I just write.
Is there something about writing while walking and the imperative to not fall down that focuses one’s concentration? I don’t know. Whatever it is, it works: I finished the draft, which I submitted to the contest. The results come out later this fall. I’d love to get the prize, of course, but the contest fulfilled its purpose by providing me that hard deadline.
Then I dug through my old e-mails and found the exchange I’d had five-and-a-half years ago with the agent of some renown. I sent her an e-mail, not even sure she’d remember me. Happily, she did, and asked to see the completed manuscript. I sent her a PDF, and five days later, she said yes to me and my book.
So that’s what I did this summer: I finished a book manuscript and I found an agent. I’ll say more about that later this fall.
Oh—and I finished letting my hair go gray. The new photo of me on the “About” page shows the results.
And I’m facing fifty with considerably less dread.
I think something about the rhythm of walking contributes to focus — something about following a train of thought in your mind while mimicking that movement physically. Anyway, an inspiring read!
Thanks!
Congratulations Naomi! Nancy told me your good news on our walk this morning, and I had to pop in and say “Yay for Naomi!”
Thanks, Angelica!
Yay, Naomi! I was there with you in that 2005 writing class at the Davis Art Center and remember subsequent conversations with you about your story about the map and the journey. It sounds so interesting and I look forward to reading it. Way to go on the tread mill!
Thanks so much, Brenda!
You go!
Congratulations! You inspire me, I hope someday I can say the same thing regarding the book I am writing. Great news! Keep us posted on publication dates, and maybe even movie rights.
Thanks!
Wonderful story, Naomi. I love your journey, especially its conclusion. Or rather, recent waypost! Can’t wait to read the book.
Thanks! And I love the word “waypost.” Going to try to work it into conversation today!
Having been in that Tuesday night writing group years ago and having been totally blown away by that first piece of what would eventually become the book manuscript, I’m thrilled that you persevered.
Thanks, Susan! Your encouragement these late 8+ years is certainly part of why I kept going.
OK, I’m going to try this. I have a not-very-often-used treadmill in my office. Keep us informed about your book!
Go for it, Nancy! Just give yourself the time to acclimate to the movement (and be sure the arms of your treadmill can support the weight of a board + laptop). Also: My board is a bit to deep — its 15″ deep & I wish it were only 12″ — I feel just a tad far from the controls (but that could also be a function of my diminutive height & arm length!).
Hurrah! Can’t wait to read!
— Sent from Mailbox for iPhone
On Wed, Oct 9, 2013 at 1:37 AM, Naomi J. Williams
A very enjoyable piece, Naomi — I’m delighted with your literary success so far, and I expect much more. The photo of the redbuds is lovely, too — and your shade of gray is much like Emmylou Harris’s.
Thanks, Alan! I like the redbuds too, but I think it may be time to replace it with something a tad more seasonal.