Surrounded by the hopes and dreams of thousands of other authors, Don Britt sits in a Regina bookstore and puts his own words to print.
The Oxbow, Sask., man has set an ambitious goal of completing 24 novels, each within three days, in one year. He calls it a “shameless publicity stunt” but inside Britt is an alter ego clamouring for attention.
“I’m longing to make the break,” said the Frobisher Union Church minister.
Britt began his writing stunt Nov. 5, after participating during the Labour Day weekend in an official three day novel competition.
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The novels are more like novellas and contain between 22,000 and 25,000 words, with Britt writing about 8,000 words per day.
He had written six stories by the end of January, putting him one ahead of the pace he needs in order to complete the entire 24.
Another twist is that he writes his novels live online so people can read the stories as he writes them.
Occasional hiccups in internet access can prevent that from happening.
Britt began his project with eight to 10 ideas or characters for novels.
“If a character pulls me in, I want to follow them around,” he said.
Some of the novels might be sequels to earlier stories and others might surprise readers.
Britt, 42, was raised on Cape Breton Island where his father was a machinist and a poet.
The island is known for its coal mines and also for the sector’s bitter labour disputes that sometimes turned violent.
The language in a story about strikes in the 1940s must be authentic, he said.
“I can’t censor that because it’s a lie,” he said.
A quote from one of his favourite novels,A Tree Grows in Brooklyn,guides that decision: “Tell the truth and write the story. Then you won’t get mixed up.”
Still, it’s a struggle for Britt on occasion.
“It’s quite possible at some point someone will come along with a rul-er and give me a hard rap,” he said. “I really do feel the tension.”
Britt once worked as a police chaplain in New Brunswick where he saw and heard things that are likely to make it into his writings.
“I need to be honest to these voices,” he said.
A stint at churches on the Prairies in the mid-1990s led him to meet Georgia, his wife. Britt settled into Oxbow, where he also teaches music.
He has written a handful of novels in the past but has not been successful in finding a publisher.
Wary of self-publishing, Britt said he hopes the exposure his novel project has earned, including national radio and television coverage, will help him take the next step.
“All you can hope is a door is opened somewhere,” he said.
For more information, visit www.24novels.com.
