Fayette Fox, “How I tricked myself into writing a novel”

Fayette Fox

Fayette Fox’s debut novel, “The Deception Artist” is literary fiction about childhood and make-believe, truth and lies. It was published by Myriad Editions in May 2013.

I needed to put my other interests aside. No cooking elaborate Thai curries, no crafternoons, or hikes in the English countryside. And no meeting up with friends for a drink. I had to focus. I had a novel to write. It was late October 2006 when a colleague told me about NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), a personal challenge to write a 50,000-word novel (about 175 pages) during November.

The longest thing I’d written for my Creative Writing BA was short stories and I hadn’t written fiction for several years. So writing a novel in a month sounded like fun. How do you plan a novel in two days? I’d been living in London, but decided to set my story in northern California in the late Eighties, the time and place of my own childhood. Less research, I figured. I dreamed up Ivy, a child protagonist with a vivid imagination who lies a lot.

I scribbled a few plot points on index cards and on November 1st, started writing. Every day after work, I worked on my novel. Focused and determined, nothing could stop me. Then a friend invited me to see a play with her. Sure, why not? Then another friend wanted to catch up over a drink. Before I knew it, I was slipping behind in my word-count. By the end of the month I’d written about 60 pages, way short of my goal, but also a personal record.

I really liked this fledgling novel, so I decided to keep going. Several months in, it was clear I had no idea how to stay focused. I was 27-years-old with an active social life, living in one of the most exciting cities in the world. Making myself sit down to write seemed almost impossible. Then I caught a crippling case of the travel bug. I quit my job and spent a year traveling all over Asia. Trekking in the Nepalese Himalayas, I had an epiphany. I was 29 and naturally thinking about what I wanted to accomplish before 30.

I decided to focus on my writing for a year and see how far I could take it. I arrived back in California with one objective: finish the novel. I figured I could wrap it up that winter – three months, tops, and move on to something else. I got a part-time job in a bagel shop and for the first time, started treating my writing seriously. I kept a spreadsheet to log my hours and word-count. I gave myself weekly goals.

I learned to say no to fun things with friends. I was making real progress. It felt good. I moved to Washington, D.C. where I temped part-time while I continued my real work on my novel. I turned 30. I felt excited to be out of my 20s, but was terrified about my beast of a writing project. I had already put my career on hold for two years (one for Asia and another in the States) and I hadn’t even completed the first draft. Why on earth did I think I could finish in one winter?

The Deception Artist

The temping jobs were often mind-numbing and at times demeaning. Still, I was grateful for the work. I felt like I was doing it all for my protagonist, Ivy. I reached a point where I realized I was knee deep in novel. I had no idea how far I was from the finish line, but I simply had to keep writing.

I’d set out to write a novel during November and in the end it took five years. If I’d had any idea how long it’d take I wouldn’t have had the guts to start.

Yet writing my novel was one of the most rewarding things I’ve done. And now I’m so excited for this story to be out in the world. Perhaps, sometimes it’s best to leap before you look.

by

Laura

I’m Laura. I started Novel Kicks in 2009. I wanted a place to post my writing as well as give other writers like me the opportunity to do the same. There is also a monthly book club, a writing room which features writing prompts, book reviews, competitions, author interviews and guest posts.

I grew up by the sea (my favourite place in the world) and I currently live in Hampshire. I am married to Chris, have a cat named Buddy and I would love to be a writer. I’m trying to write the novel I’ve talked so much about writing if only I could stop pressing delete. I’ve loved writing since creative writing classes in primary school. I have always wanted to see my teacher Miss Sayers again and thank her for the encouragement. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything I can get my hands on, I love reading, dancing like a loon and singing to myself very badly. My current obsession is Once Upon a Time and I would be happy to live with magic in the enchanted forest surrounded by all those wonderful stories provided that world also included Harry Potter. I love reading chick lit. contemporary fiction and novels with mystery.