So, I’m going to a writers’ retreat in about 13 weeks. I’ve talked about it before…. ie.the writing retreat in Italy. *Flicks hair over shoulder with Cartier-clad fingers*
However, an obvious element to such a retreat is that we need to be writing something.
Indeed, the lovely Vanessa Carnevale has offered to look at our work and provide some feedback in advance.
Yay. Plus, FUCK!
I don’t like people reading my writing. Well, other than the blog of course (which doesn’t count)….
The clock is ticking away and I need to decide which novel I’m going to progress – if any – and as usual I’m asking for your advice. I might – as I’m wont to do – ignore it and do what I want anyway, but sometimes objective input is useful…
1. Young Adult novel – About 17yr old anorexic girl and impact it has on her and her family.
Pros:
– I’ve already got 30k words.
– I know where it’s going.
– It’s emo and fraught but easy to write… in some ways.
Cons:
– Even though I try not to make it about me people will think it’s about me (back when I was a 16-17yr old anorexic, of course!)
– My research is now a decade or more out of date!
– I’m worried I’m too old to write a YA novel.
– I’d want to do a massive edit before I kept going.
2. Psychological Suspense – A woman’s released from prison following new evidence and sets about trying to work out who might have been responsible for the murders for which she was convicted.
Pros:
– I have 50,000 words written on this.
– I know where it’s going and have written parts of the book across three timeframes so it’s a matter of piecing it all together now.
Cons:
– I think I should have finished this if it excited me enough.
3. Romance – A woman in 40s runs into a long lost love and their relationship is rekindled, but she worries he’s more in love with the old her than the 40-something her.
Pros:
– It’s light and easy to write.
– I’ve written about 10,000 words.
– I like the characters.
Cons:
– It feels a bit trite, like a middle-aged woman’s fantasy or something.
– I’m not sure I can get an entire novel out of it.
4. Psychological Suspense – young woman having recurring nightmares that she believes are visions / premonitions from something else happening in her life.
Pros:
– The idea excites me (inspires me).
– I think it’s edgy and interesting.
Cons:
– I’ve barely started and only know how it starts and finishes.
– I should have written something on it by now if I was motivated / interested enough.
So there you have it and given – regular readers in particular – have an idea of the sort of drivel I might / would write…
What sort of book would you like to read? What book do you think I’d have a chance of finishing? #Inrelatednews, do you think I’ll EVER finish one?
The Lovin’ Life team includes:
June 14, 2018
Ok, I think either no. 2 or no. 3. I’m tempted to say 3 just because I think it needs to get out of your head to free up what else is in there.
June 14, 2018
3 could be a novella I self-publish just so I can eventually say I’ve written something and had it published. Mind you, I suspect I’d be self-publishing anyway – if I do ever finish anything……
June 14, 2018
Here’s my two cents worth! Write the one that interests YOU the most (which sounds like either 1 or 4 to me, but I could be wrong.) In my opinion (and experience) it’s always a mistake to write with an audience in mind (at least in the first draft.) The most interesting novels are ones that the author has been compelled to write. Write like nobody’s reading! (For first draft!)
If it makes you feel any better I have just binned 45K of a novel because I wasn’t driven to write it – I was going through the motions. I’ve now started something I’m much more excited about. In the previous novel I’d fallen into the trap of trying to make it all things to all people, which a) is impossible and b) leads to mediocrity IMO.
Write what you love. Some people won’t get it. Some people will criticise it. That’s the gig. But equally some people will LOVE it and that will make it all worthwhile.
June 14, 2018
Amy runs off and vomits at the thought of binning 45k……:-/
June 14, 2018
Amy, I know right??? It was horrible, but I feel better now 😀
June 14, 2018
so have i!
June 14, 2018
My biggest problem is that I second-guess everything too much. I worry that I’m not feeling really inspired by any of the ideas…. perhaps I’m expecting too much in thinking I’ll feel really passionate about an idea and want to write it.
48k words is a lot……. *gulp*
June 15, 2018
Actually, you might be onto something there. Most writers fall out of love with their project at some point. As Amy said, the trick to being published is finishing! I have hated every novel I’ve written at some point in the process. I would never have finished The Art of Friendship, but the fact was I had a deadline, which meant once I got to a certain point I didn’t have the luxury of stopping.
The reason I put aside the 45K is because I have tried for months to make that book work and I am blocked. Maybe one day I’ll make it work, but right now I need to get another book finished so I’ve decided to tackle another project – one I’m more confident in being able to finish.
Will be interested to hear which one you pick! Good luck and enjoy Tuscany!
June 15, 2018
Thanks Lisa. The 50k I wrote on the second one I did in NaNoWriMo (novel writing month in November 2013 or 2014). The reason I was able to get the 50K words in a month is because I forced myself to keep writing and… when I felt disengaged I could jump into a new character and / or new timeframe (we visit a range of suspects then and now). I think if I piece it together – as it would be if it was published – I’ll get a better idea where I’m up to. I did it in Scrivener though so can’t just print the whole thing… or I need to work out how to paste the alternate timeframes into the main document…. (or something!) xx
June 14, 2018
#1. Because you thought to put it there first and you feel like it will be ‘easy’, by which I assume you mean it will flow on the page without you forcing it. I wouldn’t worry about the research being 10 years out of date – just set it 10 years ago ;-).
Also – can I hide in your suitcase? Soooo jelly 🙂
June 14, 2018
Yes, true Rebecca…. I’d have to edit it before I started cos I’ve already thought about how I would have changed it. I guess if it’s a YA novel it doesn’t need to be as long as an adult novel….
The idea of this came from an experience I remembered (as a 16yr old anorexic) and the rest of the story built around that but I still don’t know whether to keep going….
June 14, 2018
Hi Deb, how exciting can I come with you? For my two cents I like #2 and #4 as I like the Psychological Thriller Suspense genre. I suppose though, you need to write what you feel is right for you. If you are happy then you will write a creative story and readers will feel it through your words. Good luck and I’ll have my bag packed just in case LOL:)
June 14, 2018
Yes, they usually say to ‘write what you know’ and I read A LOT of psychological suspense so it makes more sense but it also occurs to me I’m lazy and hate the idea of research – which I’d need to do. Well, maybe unless I’m very vague about the detail!
June 15, 2018
I suppose it also takes you out of your comfort zone and stretches your mind if you write about something different??? I would love to be able to write a book but alas I couldn’t think of a plot! Good luck! xx
June 15, 2018
That’s been me for most of my life. The only other idea I had was something non-fiction (or ‘faction’ perhaps cos my memory is increasingly murky) using old letters I wrote when I lived in Africa for 18mths… my mother kept them all and I have folders and folders of them!
June 14, 2018
At least you’re honest enough to admit you might ignore our advice….but why can’t you combine a couple of them?
XOXO
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
June 14, 2018
Not sure that would work as they’re very different.
Having said that I tried to do something thinking about the sort of writing I enjoy doing and looking at how I can infuse that into my novel-writing (or not-writing).
June 14, 2018
I was going to say, you should do the one that most excites you but then I thought, does it excite you because its just new?
But if you really want my advice, I think you should chose one of the ones that is near completion and just finish the damn book 🙂 That’s how writers get published….
Feel free to ignore, of course 😉
June 14, 2018
*Choose*
June 14, 2018
Yes…. I think that’s why I feel I should progress either of the first two. The second in particular…. by the time I paste scenes together and add context I’ll have most of a novel I think!
June 14, 2018
#2 so you can get it done, out of the way, and enjoy anticipating time in Tuscany!
June 14, 2018
Yay re Tuscany! Which reminds me that I must do some holiday planning….
June 14, 2018
I think the psychological suspense 2 isn’t about excitemnt. It sounds like you have a lot written and need to do the harder work on it now of fixing and editing and structures and stuff.
But also, you need to be able to WANT to work on this project, otherwise it’ll taint the entire awesome trip away.
June 14, 2018
I have read back over some of it and it’s not completely terrible. I’ll need to re-read it though cos I don’t remember the characters’ names or detail and it’s set in three timeframes and I think I should paste it together in order so I can get a sense of where I was at.
June 14, 2018
I think you have written them in order of what excites you most to least. Go with what excites you because that will keep you motivated to see through to completion and enjoy the process! How exciting!! 🙂 #TeamLovinLife
June 14, 2018
Thanks Min! I would like to finish something…..
June 14, 2018
Gee they all sound like good props to me. I’m impressed that you have four books on the go. I would go with whatever you feel excited about, otherwise it will become droll. A writing retreat in Italy sounds divine by the way!
June 14, 2018
I know… this will be my holiday of a lifetime so I’m excited about it. And the writing retreat really led to all of this upcoming holiday.
June 14, 2018
I don’t even have an opinion – I’m still getting over the fact that you have FOUR half written novels and I’ve never even had ONE word come to me about a novel I could write. So really you are miles ahead already and I think you should pick the one you’d like to see finished – only you know which one that is – good luck!
June 14, 2018
I was always the same Leanne, which is why I started blogging. And then I remembered an event from my childhood which led to me writing about the anorexic thing. The two suspense ideas have been in my mind for a while but not sure they’re new / different enough to be of interest.
It’s weird that – in reality – I prefer writing about ‘real’ stuff (ie. non fiction) but I don’t read it at all! But I can’t imagine who on earth would want to read about my life if I was to write about that!!!
June 14, 2018
So you are going to the writers’ retreat and you want some help with the choices that you may or may not use…ok. Here I go. Writing is a chore but it also has to grab YOU with interest and enthusiasm to continue. Put them into an order of “what I want to write abut most” and then take them all with you. That’s it. I prefer a smorgasbord approach because you really do not seem set on one particular one at all. Denyse x
June 15, 2018
I guess there’s no reason I can’t work on a couple at once Denyse. I think I’m honing in on the first two. I think. I’d need to edit the YA novel cos I’ve changed the family structure I want for the main character…
June 15, 2018
Ha Deb, like me it seems you’re a good starter but a poor finisher. In which case you’re going to have to trick yourself into finishing something. All of them sound as if with work, they could amount to a great read, and because I was writing about trusting your instinct on my blog the other day I’d say, do something a bit woo woo. Go sit on the beach, look out to sea and ask your instinct which one.
June 16, 2018
Very true re the lack of finishing. In reality I don’t expect to ever get published. Just finishing the book would really be enough: something to tick off my bucket list. Something I won’t regret on my death bed.
June 15, 2018
Ohhh I love number 4. Sound exciting and weird at the same time. Number 1 would be great and I am sure not much has changed – but can be emotionally exhausting.
June 16, 2018
I’d watched some programs about treatment of anorexia at the time and think the approach might have changed a little since then. In reality the book is more about the character’s growth and of course her anorexia is (as it usually is) the symptom of something else.
June 19, 2018
OOOOOOHHHH!!!! Yay!!!! Woot woot. I’m so happy you’re going to finish one of your books. Number 1 is very topical at the moment (again) and I feel like it would actually capture a Publisher’s eye because it’s an important issue, it’s kind of controversial (to a degree) and not enough people dive into that topic. So it will fill a gap. And you could set it back in the day so your research is “current” for the time. I know that a young girl recently wrote a graphic novel on the topic and it’s been picked up by an LA based animation mob and it’s going really well. So my pick would be Number (1) followed by Number (3) #teamlovinlife
June 19, 2018
The benefits of no. 1 is that it ‘could’ be shorter so, with a re-write I’d just need to finish it (I am up to the main character being admitted to a treatment facility and I know what happens next).
I. Just. Need. To. Do. It. (Am thinking 1 & 2 concurrently by the way!)