The nine stages of writing your novel

There’s nothing quite like a cat to illustrate what writers really look like while writing a novel.

Be warned!!

So at the very beginning, you 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’re super confident and eager to get your story down on paper, sweet!

confident cat

But… you don’t quite get why it’s 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, it may take a moment or two to remember the purpose of water

weird cat

 

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

But… well…

funny-cat-gif.gif

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

run away.gif

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

cat-runs-into-a-wall-o

Good luck!!

🙂

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

  1. Www.Abba-Astana.Kz Avatar

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    tanto os vinhos quanto os chocolates premium são riquíssimos em
    polifenóis, que contribuem para a dilatação das
    veias e também oxigenação do cérebro,
    fazendo muito bem para a sua mente. http://www.abba-astana.kz/topfiles/index.php?a=stats&u=felipedacosta1

    Liked by 1 person

  2. easy russian news podcast Avatar

    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. Dennis the Vizsla Avatar

    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. Milly Schmidt Avatar

      haha I know right 🙂

      Like

  5. Emma Avatar

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

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Milly Schmidt Avatar

      Thanks for the reblog!! 🙂

      Like

  6. Lisa Sell Avatar

    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. Milly Schmidt Avatar

      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. ambroseandelsie Avatar

    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). 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Milly Schmidt Avatar

      Hahah yeah I love that one 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  8. Jona Avatar

    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. wycehub Avatar

    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 🐯🐾 but we love it😍

    Liked by 1 person

    1. millie schmidt Avatar

      Haha I love that!! 😍 we love them even when they go into crazy mode and attack us randomly from under the table hahaha

      Liked by 1 person

      1. wycehub Avatar

        They are so tender and soft 😻😻😻

        Liked by 1 person

        1. millie schmidt Avatar

          Exactly!! My cat is so cuddly and squishy

          Liked by 1 person

  10. erjonas Avatar

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

    Liked by 1 person

    1. millie schmidt Avatar

      Haha thank you!!!

      Like

  11. The nine stages of writing your novel – with cats | Ceres Station Avatar

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

    Liked by 1 person

  12. Anand Bose Avatar

    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. millie schmidt Avatar

      Exactly!! Thanks ☺️

      Like

  13. Linda Arthur Tejera Avatar

    This is so funny — true, but funny! 😀

    Liked by 1 person

    1. millie schmidt Avatar

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

      Liked by 1 person

  14. schifnimrod Avatar
    schifnimrod

    So true 😀

    Liked by 1 person

  15. LindaMarie45 Avatar

    You’re so Awesome – Critique is official!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Milly Schmidt Avatar

      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. millie schmidt Avatar

      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 Moët 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 😊

      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. millie schmidt Avatar

          Thank you it’s not fun at all 😰

          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. millie schmidt Avatar

            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. Soul Puzzles Avatar

    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. millie schmidt Avatar

      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. Jonathan Caswell Avatar

    CATS…so obligingly provide illustrations to our words! 😀

    Liked by 2 people

    1. millie schmidt Avatar
  19. Mary J. McCoy-Dressel Avatar

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

    Liked by 1 person

  20. Mary J. McCoy-Dressel Avatar

    I don’t have a cat but this is hilarious, Millie. My doggie has a few of her own antics. 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    1. millie schmidt Avatar

      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. Colin Noel-Johnson Avatar

    Sounds just about right… unfortunately.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. millie schmidt Avatar

      Unfortunately is definitely the word hahaha

      Like

  22. SD Gates Avatar

    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. millie schmidt Avatar

      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 ☺️

      Like

  23. gillswriting Avatar

    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. millie schmidt Avatar

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

      Like

  24. Carol J Forrester Avatar

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

    Liked by 2 people

    1. millie schmidt Avatar

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

      Liked by 1 person

  25. suzannebowditch Avatar

    That was puuurfectly put! Hope that disappearing cat is okay! 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    1. millie schmidt Avatar

      Thank you!! Unfortunately Moët never made it home 😞 he’s still missing

      Liked by 1 person

      1. suzannebowditch Avatar

        Oh no. I have heard that in lots of cases they come back home. Here’s hoping 🙂

        Liked by 2 people

        1. millie schmidt Avatar

          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. susanbruck Avatar

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

    Liked by 2 people

    1. millie schmidt Avatar

      Thanks!! Oh and you have cats too!! My little Moët 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 😞

      Like

      1. susanbruck Avatar

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

        Liked by 2 people

        1. millie schmidt Avatar

          That’s so sad all round

          Liked by 1 person

  27. tuvan74 Avatar
    tuvan74

    Those Cats rule Millie!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. millie schmidt Avatar
  28. jt Avatar

    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. J.J Sylvester Avatar
    2. millie schmidt Avatar

      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. danielwalldammit Avatar

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

    Liked by 2 people

    1. millie schmidt Avatar

      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 ☺️

      Like

  30. hyperpandemonium Avatar

    I loved all of the GIfs!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. millie schmidt Avatar

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

      Liked by 1 person

      1. hyperpandemonium Avatar

        Cat Gifs are brilliant 😀

        Like

  31. eths Avatar
    eths

    Love this!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. millie schmidt Avatar

      Thank you!! I haven’t been nominated before 😊

      Liked by 1 person

  32. Jacqui Murray Avatar

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

    Liked by 2 people

    1. millie schmidt Avatar

      Thanks 🙂 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. Jacqui Murray Avatar

        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. millie schmidt Avatar

          I need to get onto this asap!! Haha

          Like

  33. vickgoodwin Avatar

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

    Liked by 2 people

    1. millie schmidt Avatar

      Me too!!! Hahaha 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  34. Eve Messenger Avatar

    I love this!!! You summed it up purrfectly. 😉

    Liked by 3 people

      1. J.J Sylvester Avatar

        Then comes the descent into madness at even the mention of a ‘night out with friends’- 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. millie schmidt Avatar

          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. thesarahdoughty Avatar

    Sounds about right. Add some Jack Sparrow looks and you’re golden. 😂😂😂

    Liked by 2 people

    1. millie schmidt Avatar

      Definitely inspired by Nate philbricks jack sparrow post!! Haha

      Liked by 1 person

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I’m Milly

Welcome to my blog, my little corner of the internet dedicated to all things writing. Here, I invite you to join me on my (very, very long) journey to becoming a self-published author.

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