Something I started doing (without intending to do it initially) is write a very long-form story that's been brewing in my mind for the past three years.
It tells the inner story of healing and forgiveness through the lives of three people in professional boxing. While the story itself is inspired by some real life folks, the pieces of the story and the characters themselves are entirely fictitious.
This long form story ended up becoming the second novel I've ever written (the first is something I did in 2009 during a NanMo writing challenge, and isn't anything I'm going to share with the world, though VIP members might find it at some point in the future).
The novel is titled "The Tune Up" and it plays on the type of fight that happens before a big championship or title-run to prepare a fighter for bigger challenges, and also to show the sport and fans that the fighter is actually capable of handling big opportunities.
Writing a novel is much different than writing a short story. I usually get an idea for a short story and sit down to write it, then find myself finished with it in a few hours (tops).
This writing adventure took about 9 weeks. I allowed the story to play out like a movie in my mind, scene by scene. Then I would sit down and write out what I had envisioned.
This process took a lot of time and patience.
And here I am to say that the initial draft of it is completed.
There still is a lot of revision to do, and I may be sharing some portions of it with VIP members before it goes to publication for feedback and suggestions.
If you want to be an early reader, go join my VIP membership option to your right.