Hi everyone!

As I mentioned in my blog post, Revisiting Old Ideas, I have been working on the novel that I first started writing when I was sixteen. I am so glad to finally have the story the way I want it. The only trouble is getting it all on the page.

The story revolves around a marching band season, which can span from the end of July until the end of October, or in some cases, mid-November.

And that’s my problem.

My first novel that I wrote last year took place in the span of four days or a long weekend. There is obviously only so much you can do in one place for four days, and it wasn’t hard to figure out what was going on, probably because my main character felt very real and dragged me along with her to the various places she visited in that one city.

I’m having a bit more trouble now.

Four months is a long time. A lot more can happen, and I want to make sure it’s all clear without it seeming to be rushed or dragged out.

The big problem I’m facing is second-guessing myself. This story isn’t a memoir by any means, but it’s probably the closest I will ever get. Marching band was a big part of my high school years, so obviously I’m borrowing a lot of my experiences to put in this particular novel.

I find that making an outline has started to help me sort it all out. I only really do that when I have the whole book in my head and need a way to sort out where each new chapter begins.

It’s a lot of organizing, a lot of rewriting, but eventually it will get there. All there’s left to do is just keep writing.

A question to any fellow writers: Do you have similar problems with creating a realistic flow for stories that span a few months? Let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading!