Story Clarity
Writer Mark Halpert recently finished the first draft of his novel, and we invited him to sit down for a little interview to talk about his experience.
Q: OK, Mark, can we have the basics about your project and your book coach?
Mark: My book is Saturn Return, a travel memoir. I worked with book coach, Dawn Ius, for the past 6 months.
Q: How does it feel to have finished?
Mark: I feel that no matter what happens now, it is written. I have edits to do, but the story is all there. That feels really good. It’s not haunting me!
Q: What did you do to celebrate?
Mark: Went out for Indian food. A lot of the story happened in India.
Q: What are your next steps?
Mark: Going through my coach’s comments and editing. Now it’s time to make it really good!
Q: Why would you recommend coaching to get to a finished draft?
Mark: My coach is like a really smart mirror. She understands what I’m thinking and trying to do and bounces it back at me with more clarity. She’s encouraging and kind. I think that receiving regular professional feedback on a per-chapter basis is an excellent way to get a draft completed. It keeps things rolling.
Thanks so much for taking the time to talk with us, Mark. And again, congrats on your huge accomplishment!
