Musings of a Novelista

Dear Novel

Karen Strong — Wed, 16 May 2012 11:57:45 +0000

Dear Novel,

First, I owe you an apology. Over the last couple of months, I know that we haven’t spent much quality time together. I’ve been so busy at work and I’m sorry if you felt that I was neglecting you.

I really appreciate your patience. I know that we’ve talked about our future and exciting plans. I haven’t forgotten. Sometimes it’s the only thing that has kept me going over these last few crazy weeks. Please know that you’ve been close in my heart all this time.

I’m excited about our upcoming vacation together. My hope for us is that we can rekindle the creativity and passion again in Hawaii. I look forward to spending quality time with you on the beach in the shade of palm trees. You will have the full attention you deserve and I will listen to you and we can move forward.

I want you to know that I haven’t given up on us and please know that you are a very important part of my life.

Love always,
Karen

If you could write a letter to your novel, what would you say?

Novel Wisdom (11)

Karen Strong — Wed, 09 May 2012 11:42:14 +0000

This post is part of a series on the blog where I share some of the nuggets of wisdom and inspiration — related to writing and/or life — that I find steeped in the pages of novels that I’ve read.

One of my all-time favorite YA novels is Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. Browsing through my library this past weekend, I picked up this book and turned to a folded down page. This quote was highlighted in pink neon:

From art teacher Mr. Freeman to Melinda the protagonist:

“Art without emotion is like chocolate cake without sugar. It makes you gag.”

Recurring Character Types

Karen Strong — Wed, 02 May 2012 12:02:13 +0000

Have you noticed that when you are working on different novel projects that you tend to have a recurring character type? I’ve noticed this in some of my favorite authors and their work as well.

It doesn’t mean that you’re writing the same character over and over again — it’s more of a variation — almost like voice in a way — and for me, it says a lot about the influence certain people have in the author’s life.

Something I’ve noticed as far as recurring character types in my work is the grandmother character. I was very blessed growing up because I had two grandmothers and two great-grandmothers. They were all different types. Nettie was mean and could cut you in half with her words. Florence was a romantic and introduced me to The Young and the Restless, Ruby was stylish and always “runway ready” in her appearance, and Elnora was loving and taught me how to make the perfect biscuit.

Elnora is a big influence on the grandmother character in my current novel. Here she is in Atlantic City circa 1980′s posing at the beach:

Growing up, Elnora or “Moya” — a childhood nickname that stuck when I couldn’t pronounce her name right — was a second mother to me. She taught me a lot of country/farm life things like how to season a cast iron skillet, how to shell butter beans without getting callouses, how to make pretty curtains out of bedsheets — but most of all she taught me about unconditional love. Even in college, I would go back to Moya’s house because it gave me all the safety and peace I needed.

I now can see how this seed of influence help grow the relationship between the main character and her grandmother in my current novel.

You can even use your bad experiences with certain people as foundations for great characters. For instance, my mean great-grandmother Nettie? I think a character is already brewing up in her honor in my next novel project. Ha, ha.

Do you have a character type that recurs in your novel projects? Are they based on a combination of real people who had a great effect on your life?

Wrapping Up Too Tightly

Karen Strong — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 16:38:18 +0000

I’ve been tweaking my novel ending (again) and wondering just how much I should wrap up. Should I leave any loose ends? Anything for a reader to ponder about later?

I read a recent post by author Sarah Ockler about novel endings:

“I like happy endings. I like to know that things worked out for my favorite fictional people just as I want things to work out for my favorite real life people.

But real life isn’t like that, is it? We don’t always get to know how things turn out for everyone we’ve ever loved. We don’t always get the final say. We don’t always get any say, because unfortunately, endings are just that — endings. And they’re often abrupt and unpredictable.”

I have two particular characters where at the novel’s end, you know where they’re going but they don’t necessarily have all their “issues” worked out — especially between each other. I’ve been wondering if I should try to solve them all before the end, but now I don’t think it’s necessary. In fact, it may feel too “forced” at the end to have their issues resolved. Wrapped up a little too tight and neat.

But there should also be a balance too. For example, you don’t want your major story question going unanswered or a major plot point never being addressed. It almost like needing to trust your writer’s instinct of how much to leave open and what to close.

As a writer, do you feel that you must resolve EVERYTHING or leave a little open for the reader to come to her own conclusion?

As a reader, what are some that things that really frustrate you about novel endings? For me, it’s cliffhanger endings. Ugh. Ha, ha.

Would love to hear some opinions! :)

Writing Together vs. Writing Alone

Karen Strong — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 12:07:40 +0000

This current novel project will be coming to a close this year *raises hand into a pump fist* and I’ll be thinking about how I want to tackle my next project.

When I wrote what I call my “drawer” novels, I always wrote them in secret and showed them to no one. At that time, I didn’t even tell anyone I was writing anything.

With the novel I wrote that helped secure my former agent, I was actually in a workshop format and I wrote that book chapter by chapter with the help of my writer mentor and critique partners.

This current novel project has been a mix of both. I wrote the first third (which now has been totally rewritten) in the same workshop format with the mentor and critique group but then most of this novel has been written on my own.

I must say that I find working on my own — at least until the novel is in a state of revision where I know what it’s about — has been very helpful for me. Every novel is different though.

The good points of working on a novel in a workshop or critique group is that if you’re going down the wrong path, you may be able to get back on track quicker but then working alone you can get to your story in a more organic way and really figure out what you want for your novel without any outside interference.

So writer friends, how do you work on your novel projects? Do you let people see your work in draft or revised form? Do wait until it’s ready for a beta read? Do you find that it’s helpful or harmful to show your work before you submit?

Would love to hear how other writers do this.