What Made You Write Your Novel?

I just handed my manuscript over to a friend of mine who will proof read it and edit it. It was a big step for me.

There are all those insecurities suddenly flaring up. All those “What if’s” in my mind. And the question: Will she like it?

I told her how insecure I feel right now and about my doubts and she looked at me and said: “You just finished writing a book in a language that is not your first language. That is a huge achievement!”

I know why she is my friend, I know why I trust her with my manuscript, my “baby”. She made me feel so much better.

I am pretty sure everyone has doubts, even the most successful writers. They are necessary to get you further. Still, they are pretty hard to deal with.

While there, chatting to my friend, she also asked me what made me write the novel. My answer? I don’t know really. I just wanted to write and felt like it was the right time. I just did it.

“Please pay attention very carefully, because this is the truest thing a stranger will ever say to you:

In the face of such hopelessness as our eventual, unavoidable death, there is little sense in not at least TRYING to accomplish all your wildest dreams in life.” – Kevin Smith

Sometimes we don’t need an explanation. Sometimes we just have to jump into something without a reason why, trying to accomplish something we were dreaming of for a long time. For me, it felt like the right moment and had that strong feeling of wanting to write and the story about Liza just came up. It developed in the process of writing and rewriting.

I just feel that I have accomplished a lot right now, even though the book is not out yet and there is no feedback whatsoever at this stage.