How Writing the First Draft of a Novel is Like the Trimesters of Pregnancy

We writers tend to view our work-in-progress as our baby.


 photo credit: Andrew Mason {Flickr Creative Commons}

Perhaps it's because our stories are precious to us, or perhaps it's simply because writing the first draft of a novel is indeed like the trimesters of pregnancy--exhausting work that takes time. As I anticipate the arrival of baby number three, I'm beginning to appreciate the time it takes to write a {good} novel. I'm seeing the process with a fresh perspective. Everything beautiful takes time {a luxury I have in this season of my writing life). I cannot rush the process, just as I cannot will my baby to grow his heart, lungs, eyes, and ears in one day. I need to experience the three trimesters in order to see my story to fruition.

Trimester One: A Tiny Seed

Trimester one is all about a story idea and the exhausting work that follows. It's the seed that's planted in my head during a morning walk--the one that speaks louder than all the others, and it's the one I pursue. 

The first few weeks are filled with elation. I love the characters, the setting, the growing plot, and I envision a beautiful ending. However, soon I realize the amount of research and work needed to accomplish my goal. It's tiring work, and some days, I'm crawling. But overall, the work is exhilarating. I'm writing a novel!

During these months, my story develops it's vital organs--an roughly sketched plot, characters, setting, and a moral premise.

Trimester Two: A Growing Story 

Trimester two is all about growth. It's during these months my story begins to develop and change as I type out my daily word count goal.  My characters take on new shapes and forms. I discover more about them, and they speak to me now. I'm feeling their movements, hearing their heartbeat, and witnessing them hijack my pages. My manuscript looks much different from when I started.

Soon my plot takes on a different twist than I expected {it's a boy, not a girl}, and I'm taking the turn. However, my manuscript is now far from neat and tidy. In fact, it looks much different from when I started, and now that it has changed direction, there's more work to do.  

Overall, during this time, I'm feeling great. The story has some major holes, but it's moving forward, and I'm getting closer to finishing the first draft.

Trimester Three: The Birth of a Novel

Trimester three is the completion of the first draft. These months are grueling, and those last few thousand words seem impossible. Nothing fits right. Questions fill my mind. What was this story about again? And why is it taking so long to finish? Why did I think this was a good idea?

Since it's my first draft, I press forward, following all the twists and turns, listening to the characters, pounding keys in the moonlight. And soon it's the moment I've dreamed about.  I type a writer's two most glorious words in the English language--the end. Though the labor is difficult, I give birth to a novel, and it's exquisite. It's my baby, after all. 

And now the real {editing} work begins. 

Do you refer to your work as your baby? Can you relate to any of these trimesters?

Melanie N. Brasher is a full time mama of two boys and wife to an incredible husband who understands her bicultural background. She moonlights as a fiction and freelance writer, crafting stories and articles toward justice and change. She's a member of American Christian Fiction writers and a contributing blogger for Ungrind. Though she's an aspiring author, she'll never quit her day job.