Thanks to being struck idle by both the wicked cold (flu?) and back spasms, I had ample time this week for reading and thinking. I finished off my Nano 2017 novel, A Memoir (Imagined), and made some pleasant realizations.
- In the year of writing since 2016’s nano novel (my first), I’ve gotten better at defining and maintaining the distinct voices of my characters. Most of my big edits of Gretchen related to correcting the voice of various sections. In this novel, each character’s voice stays true throughout – progress!
- This year’s story has a strong plot that is the focus of the novel. I ended up writing a YA SCI-Fi story which is far more plot-driven than last year’s piece of literary fiction. The difference is both fun to see and fun to read.
- I spent more time having my characters DO in this novel. Partly due to the difference in genre and partly due to intentionally crafting the story in this way, there is much less telling in this book.
- I liked it! This isn’t a drastic difference from last year, though in the process of writing this one I really felt like I might be creating drivel that wouldn’t need to be read by anyone other than me. I was pleasantly surprised to like the story and the characters and am now looking forward to editing it and getting it out to somewhere readable by others.
I’ve made a promise to myself to hold off on digging deep with this one until Gretchen is out the door (at least until I get the first full-manuscript request from an agent) so I’m not trying to edit two books at once. Querying out Gretchen *should* resume again in February, so A Memoir (Imagined) will need to lay dormant until spring at least. I look forward to reading it again, red pen in hand!