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What I Learned From Writing a Novel

What I Learned From Writing a Novel

Last updated on: December 24, 2021 at 9:38 am by Karl J. Forehand

What I Learned From Writing a Novel 2021-12-24T09:38:01-06:00 Karl J. Forehand

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Hotel Opp in Rock Port, MO (circa 1940)

Around March 22nd, my new novel will be be released, called The Hotel.

I’ve always wanted to do this and I finally did it! I heard an author promote his masterclass by encouraging writers to write 1000 words a day. I asked William Paul Young how to do it, and he said something like “Just get in the river and let it take you downstream.” The first few days were a little hard, but after 45 days last Winter, I found myself with 72,000 words and a story that I loved.

The novel is about a middle aged guy that begins to do some research when he becomes intrigued by an old hotel in his hometown. He finds mystery and intrigue, but mostly reluctance and dead-ends. The hotel has it’s secrets and is rumored to be haunted. In addition, he hears tales about prohibition and tunnels under the street, and he can’t help but dig deeper. The story flashes back to 100 years earlier when the hotel was the best place within 100 miles to rent a room. The roaring 20’s and the Great Depression are the backdrop for most of the adventure.

Many of the main characters discover that the secrets we sre really hiding are the ones inside us. The “sleeping dogs” may have been the problem all along. Many of the main characters are helped by shining light on and facing their darkness.

Writing this novel has been helpful in many ways. Here are few for you to consider.

The Value of Getting Started

The hardest part of anything is the first few steps, whether it is getting in shape or changing our diet or writing a book. Once I wrote the first couple of chapters, the rest of the story came quickly (at times, almost too quickly). People say that I am prolific. I think it’s a nice way of saying “You write a lot of stuff.” It’s true, if I were not myself, I would be irritated with myself for writing so much. The reason is pretty simple.

By nature, I procrastinate. The deck I built behind my house has been in progress for several years. It only has one guardrail on the stairs because the insurance company made me put it up and I haven’t got around to the other one. But, the way I overcome putting things off is to organize things by importance and then do the important things right now! I know if I don’t write when it’s fresh in my mind, then I’ll probably put it off forever. Somethings do need to marinate and take time to develop, but some things just need to get out – that’s how most of my writing is.

The Human Potential for Healing

In my personal life, I’ve discovered a healing modality called focusing. The story of The Hotel helped me flesh that out in various characters from the 1920s, 30s and current day. When we are present with those parts of us that are stuck because of trauma, we gain the real possibility of healing. By keeping those parts buried, we guarantee not only that they won’t get better, but that they will cause us problems later in the game.

In the book, people from both eras used the phrase, “Let sleeping dogs lie.” It may seem counter-intuitive to dig into things that are buried or things that happened in the past, but often that is the only way to bring peace to the present world. All metaphors break down eventually, but when we are present with the parts of us that are stuck, we gain the real possibility of healing. The real treasure and the great mystery is not in an old building — it’s actually inside all of us. It’s ultimately not as much about what you find when you dig for treasure, but what you discover about yourself.

The Value of Adventure

As I discussed in my book, The Tea Shop, adventures are unscripted and demand of us an openness to what we would have never imagined. I found that in writing this novel and in the story of the novel itself. The mystery wasn’t really what Joe thought it would be and he found things he didn’t dream about in places he didn’t usually go. Itineraries can be useful, but just like they ruined some of my family vacations, they can keep us from discovering the hidden treasure in the adventure.

Most of us imagine we know where we want to go and how we want to get there. It’s a helpful trait when navigating life and especially in accomplishing goals. But at least occasionally, we need to allow ourselves to get off the marked path and find the beauty of wild landscapes. The chaos and unpredictability of the adventure are actually what make it exciting and valuable. What seem like accidents and adversity, can often be the forks in the road to excitement, mystery and new beginnings.

The novel is loosely based on a hotel in my hometown. The characters are all fictitious, but probably originate from people I know personally. I hope you have as much fun reading it as I did writing.

Available around March 22!

Be where you are, be who you are,

Karl Forehand

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