Entry tags:
In case you're wondering what I've been doing
I've been rewriting my NaNoWriMo novel from this past year. I let it sit for a while, then decided to rewrite it from multiple POVs. What started out as a 74k first draft is now a 110k second draft.
My initial plan was to tell the story in three voices. That grew to five, but I'm going to edit it back down to four. The most difficult thing was making each voice distinct to the point where you could open it up to the middle of a chapter and within a few lines tell which of the characters was narrating. Nothing drives me crazy faster than having to go back and check to see who's speaking because they all sound the same.
During this edit, I realized I cannot force formula on this story. I originally envisioned it as a standalone category romance, but my characters refused to do the usual meet-greet-fuck-disagree-break up-reconcile thing, and I'm glad because I've read so many badly done romances this past six months or so, and I don't like them when they're badly done. The writing can be good but the story can still suck, or the plot can be acceptable but the writing is so sloppy, and... just no. So I'm calling this one an adult contemporary with strong romance elements.
The more I worked on the story, the less formulaic it became. I think four is a manageable number of perspectives, and the story's widened beyond a romance to include a richer environment and far better cast of characters. I'll pitch it as a look at working, living, loving, stumbling, and getting back up again, all behind the scenes on a major rock tour. I'm good with that.
I just compiled it for Kindle, so next I'll read it on my phone or tablet because it's much easier to spot errors and inconsistencies that way. Once it's gone through that round of editing, I'm sure I'll be looking for a few beta readers. If you think you'd be interested, let me know.
My initial plan was to tell the story in three voices. That grew to five, but I'm going to edit it back down to four. The most difficult thing was making each voice distinct to the point where you could open it up to the middle of a chapter and within a few lines tell which of the characters was narrating. Nothing drives me crazy faster than having to go back and check to see who's speaking because they all sound the same.
During this edit, I realized I cannot force formula on this story. I originally envisioned it as a standalone category romance, but my characters refused to do the usual meet-greet-fuck-disagree-break up-reconcile thing, and I'm glad because I've read so many badly done romances this past six months or so, and I don't like them when they're badly done. The writing can be good but the story can still suck, or the plot can be acceptable but the writing is so sloppy, and... just no. So I'm calling this one an adult contemporary with strong romance elements.
The more I worked on the story, the less formulaic it became. I think four is a manageable number of perspectives, and the story's widened beyond a romance to include a richer environment and far better cast of characters. I'll pitch it as a look at working, living, loving, stumbling, and getting back up again, all behind the scenes on a major rock tour. I'm good with that.
I just compiled it for Kindle, so next I'll read it on my phone or tablet because it's much easier to spot errors and inconsistencies that way. Once it's gone through that round of editing, I'm sure I'll be looking for a few beta readers. If you think you'd be interested, let me know.