A candid glimpse of the early stages of writing a novel, and how to balance productivity with sanity.

I am obsessed by the delightful slog of it all (and it is a slog).

The first draft is just you telling yourself the story. —Terry Pratchett

In general, I’m a writer who prefers to work behind the scenes, secretly, and I don’t share anything about my current project. Not even with close friends.

It’s not that I’m worried about ideas being stolen. What worries me more is superstition. I do not want to release the story fr…