The nine stages of writing your novel

There’s nothing quite like a catย to illustrate what writersย reallyย look like while writing a novel.

Be warned!!

So at the very beginning,ย youย usually wake up in the middle of the night with the idea of a life time…

idea cat

It doesn’t take long before you’reย super confident and eager to get your story down on paper, sweet!

confident cat

But… you donโ€™t quite get why it’sย so hard

confused sad cat

And then it hits you.

Where the f*** are my words??!!! Someone f***ing help me!!

hanging cat

Then comes the descent into madness at even the mention of a ‘night out with friends’

angry cat

When someone tries to encourage hygiene,ย it may take a moment or two to remember the purpose of water

weird cat

ย 

You will (thank god)ย eventuallyย emerge into the light with a finished manuscript.

Butโ€ฆ wellโ€ฆ

funny-cat-gif.gif

Once the initial excitement wears off,ย you take a closer look and realise that youย need to start editing

run away.gif

And finally, because youโ€™re generally pretty insane, you’ll start the whole process again ASAP

cat-runs-into-a-wall-o

Good luck!!

๐Ÿ™‚


Comments

91 responses to “The nine stages of writing your novel”

  1. Como se nรฃo bastasse imenso leque de sabores refinados que essas combinaรงรตes proporcionam,
    tanto os vinhos quanto os chocolates premium sรฃo riquรญssimos em
    polifenรณis, que contribuem para a dilataรงรฃo das
    veias e tambรฉm oxigenaรงรฃo do cรฉrebro,
    fazendo muito bem para a sua mente. http://www.abba-astana.kz/topfiles/index.php?a=stats&u=felipedacosta1

    Liked by 1 person

  2. The U.S. government is investigating the case because there’s evidence that the hackers are linked to the Russian government, although
    particulars are still sketchy, in accordance with two sources aware of the probe who were not authorized to publicly talk about the matter.

    Like

  3. hello millie schmidt its dennis the vizsla dog hay my sister pooh bear the kitty yoozed to sit on my dadas lap wile he wuz riting so i gess he did all his staydjes of riting with cats wunse!!! of korse pooh bear went to the rainbo bridj almost ten yeerz ago so no wunder he is slower to git things dun now he has no kitty to help him ennymore!!! ok bye

    Like

  4. martyspoon Avatar
    martyspoon

    Cat face… agh I love the agony

    Liked by 1 person

    1. haha I know right ๐Ÿ™‚

      Like

  5. Reblogged this on High Heels and Pink Glitter and commented:
    Oh, this is pretty genius…

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks for the reblog!! ๐Ÿ™‚

      Like

  6. Love this! I see you use cats to express the world of writing too. I did it once and I’m sure the cats got all the love but they deserve it!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Awesome to see I’m not the only one! Cats seem to be the perfect avatars to demonstrate the perplexities of the #writinglife !! I’m not sure if this should be concerning to me or not…

      Like

  7. I loved the “You don’t get why it’s so hard” cat. I just want to pick it up and tell it that everything’s going to be okay (even if they don’t get it). ๐Ÿ™‚

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hahah yeah I love that one ๐Ÿ™‚

      Liked by 1 person

  8. Wow! This blog looks exactly like my old one! It’s on a entirely different subject but it has
    pretty much the same page layout and design. Superb choice of colors!

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Last year I saved a little cat… I took care of it, I weaned it and after my cousin adopted it… Now the little cat is like a tiger ahahahsh big, fat and aggressive ๐Ÿฏ๐Ÿพ but we love it๐Ÿ˜

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Haha I love that!! ๐Ÿ˜ we love them even when they go into crazy mode and attack us randomly from under the table hahaha

      Liked by 1 person

      1. They are so tender and soft ๐Ÿ˜ป๐Ÿ˜ป๐Ÿ˜ป

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Exactly!! My cat is so cuddly and squishy

          Liked by 1 person

  10. I think this might be the funniest writing-related blog post I have ever read.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Haha thank you!!!

      Like

  11. […] Source: The nine stages of writing your novel – with cats […]

    Liked by 1 person

  12. You have entertained the reader well on the craft of writing. You don’t have to try writing but just write. Anand Bose from Kerala

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Exactly!! Thanks โ˜บ๏ธ

      Like

  13. This is so funny — true, but funny! ๐Ÿ˜€

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I’m so glad I hit the funny bone on this one!!

      Liked by 1 person

  14. schifnimrod Avatar
    schifnimrod

    So true ๐Ÿ˜€

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Yay โ˜บ๏ธ

      Liked by 1 person

  15. You’re so Awesome – Critique is official!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you! ahahaha

      Like

  16. angela1313 Avatar
    angela1313

    Millien So glad you liked Reasons Why i Have summer Blues because then i found you!! Coffee, chocolate & wrinting but also Cats! in this house the majority says Cats should get top billing as they did in this post. I really needed a laugh today, so thanks.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Yay! I’m so glad I found you too! I’m so tempted to add cats to the title of my blog hahaha I just got a new cat actually, as my little Moรซt went missing back in March and I was finding it so hard without a cat in the house!
      I’m stoked this post made you laugh! I’m looking forward to writing the next one haha ๐Ÿ˜Š

      Liked by 1 person

      1. angela1313 Avatar
        angela1313

        Sorry you lost your little one, we do miss them so much.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Thank you it’s not fun at all ๐Ÿ˜ฐ

          Like

          1. angela1313 Avatar
            angela1313

            Lost my Tony to cancer at the beginning of April. He is the one snoozing on Shinki’s but in We Miss the Sun. Does not matter how they go, we miss them.

            Liked by 1 person

          2. Oh no that’s so sad, very close to when my cat went missing (29th March). That’s so tough

            Liked by 1 person

  17. Hi Millie, great and amusing post, so right with the cats except mine do not allow lack of hygiene one in particular gets quite upset if I do not shower in the morning. Very interesting way of presenting. Bless you

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you! Haha that’s very true about the hygiene !! My new cat Sven is quite vocal in the morning, he is always the reason I get up earlier then I would normally like haha *sigh* cats

      Like

  18. CATS…so obligingly provide illustrations to our words! ๐Ÿ˜€

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I know right!!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. RIGHT!!! ๐Ÿ˜€

        Liked by 1 person

  19. Reblogged this on Author Mary J. McCoy-Dressel and commented:
    This is too good to pass up!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Wooooo โ˜บ๏ธ

      Liked by 1 person

  20. I don’t have a cat but this is hilarious, Millie. My doggie has a few of her own antics. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Thanks!! I was just thinking the other day about what it would be like to do a dog-themed gif post!! Seven stages of self-publishing your novel – with dogs hahaha

      Liked by 1 person

  21. Sounds just about right… unfortunately.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Unfortunately is definitely the word hahaha

      Like

  22. Hilarious!!!!! I can relate to all of that, especially the editing part in which I feel I am slowly disemboweling myself!!!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. It feels like that doesn’t it!! I sometimes need to have a break or two and get some air, your brain just gets fried โ˜บ๏ธ

      Like

  23. What an unexpected gem! Clicked randomly after your lovely follow and immediately collapsed laughing, but sort of crying too because yeah you get it! Sorry to hear Moet is missing, what a cool name and I hope he finds his way home. xxx

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Thank you!! Haha I’m so glad it made you laugh like that, Cats are so damn hilarious!!
      I hope Moรซt returns home too one day, thank you xx

      Like

  24. Yeah, I’d say this pretty much covers it. Great post, really had me giggling,

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Haha I’m glad it did! I totally couldn’t stop snickering while writing it

      Liked by 1 person

  25. That was puuurfectly put! Hope that disappearing cat is okay! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Thank you!! Unfortunately Moรซt never made it home ๐Ÿ˜ž he’s still missing

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Oh no. I have heard that in lots of cases they come back home. Here’s hoping ๐Ÿ™‚

        Liked by 2 people

        1. Thanks! I’m trying my best to remain hopeful but also be realistic – it’s a difficult balance to maintain that leaves me in tears sometimes!

          Liked by 1 person

  26. I think your post is hilarious and true. My cats, however, are somewhat offended (they’re very sensitive).

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Thanks!! Oh and you have cats too!! My little Moรซt has been missing for two weeks now and im pretty devastated (reason why I haven’t blogged). Seeing this post constantly on my website makes me sad ๐Ÿ˜ž

      Like

      1. I’m so sorry. I lost a cat once–that was years ago, and I still miss him.

        Liked by 2 people

        1. Oh dear ๐Ÿ˜ž

          Liked by 1 person

        2. That’s so sad all round

          Liked by 1 person

  27. tuvan74 Avatar
    tuvan74

    Those Cats rule Millie!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. They do hey!!!

      Like

  28. The idea of a lifetime is the best. Only problem is I usually hate it by the time I’m finished!

    Liked by 3 people

    1. so true, lol.

      Liked by 1 person

    2. Me too!! Totally getting to that stage right now. I should have included that as a stage! I just had no idea I’d feel like this hahaha

      Like

  29. Terror at a night out with friends. I know that one so well.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Hahaha awesome in so glad I’m not the only one. Just the thought of going out and swapping the pyjamas for jeans strikes terror! But I do love my friends โ˜บ๏ธ

      Like

  30. I loved all of the GIfs!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I am slightly obsessed with cat gifs now! Glad you liked the ones I found!!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Cat Gifs are brilliant ๐Ÿ˜€

        Like

  31. Love this!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Thanks! ๐Ÿ˜Š

      Like

    1. Thank you!! I haven’t been nominated before ๐Ÿ˜Š

      Liked by 1 person

  32. That’s darling. Did you use Gifsoup for the gifs? Very clever.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Thanks ๐Ÿ™‚ I had so much fun finding the gifs, cats are hilarious. I found the gifs from various sources, though I think I may have found some on gifsoup (then I saved as & uploaded to WordPress)

      Like

      1. There’s a fun and easy Gif creator called Picasion. It’s pretty cool. I made a gif of my daughter’s ship going through the Panama Canal!

        Liked by 2 people

        1. I need to get onto this asap!! Haha

          Like

  33. That was perfect. I can’t quit thinking about the cat that was swallowed whole.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Me too!!! Hahaha ๐Ÿ™‚

      Liked by 1 person

  34. I love this!!! You summed it up purrfectly. ๐Ÿ˜‰

    Liked by 3 people

      1. Then comes the descent into madness at even the mention of a โ€˜night out with friendsโ€™- I thought that was just me. I don’t want to go anywhere or do anything when I’m in my mode. As for cats, mine use to sit on the desk as I typed away. One day I went to use the bathroom and the little critter, Lord knows how he did this, pressed select-all and delete and somehow managed to save it. How’s that for paws of destruction? I guess he just wanted to tell his story, but when it got to the crunch, he suffered from writer’s block.
        Tigz, sits on the floor now, he has been booted out of my circle of trust.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. No way!!! I can’t believe that happened to you haha I’ll make sure never to leave my laptop unattended with my cat. He gets a bit moody sometimes, and no doubt wants revenge for all the times I reduce his caloric intake because I’m worried he’s getting fat. Thanks for the warning!

          Liked by 1 person

  35. Sounds about right. Add some Jack Sparrow looks and you’re golden. ๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ˜‚

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Definitely inspired by Nate philbricks jack sparrow post!! Haha

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Yes. ๐Ÿ‘ ๐Ÿ‘

        Liked by 2 people

Leave a comment