Thursday, March 14, 2019

Restructuring a Novel

And why I would be stupid enough to do it.

Simple Answer: Because I want to get the story right.

A Story is Born
Two years ago, I started writing another novel for the Ladies of Dunbury series I have created under the pen name Anne Gallagher. It is the fourth in the series. (Eight years ago, before even writing the first word in the first novel, I had already made a complete story-arc with synopsis (synopsi?) for each of the planned seven novels.)

So here I was, three novels under my belt, and I have this character I can't stand. I just don't like her and have no idea how to write about her. Problem is, she's already in all the other books. I can't just "erase" her. I have to suck it up and do it. How hard could it be? I know what's supposed to happen in the story.

Writing is Hard Work
For the last several years, I have also been my mother's caregiver. As I began the novel, I confess my mother was the majority of the excuses I used so I didn't have to write.  I despised the main character. I wrote and wrote, but was only comfortable writing her hero's part. And then one day I had an epiphany...or rather, an epiphany struck me, when after bitching about this particular character, a friend of mine said, "Well, just change her. You are the writer."
I could...
Change the plot by making it less complicated.
Change the secret the main character holds about herself.
Change the story arc to one of intrigue or espionage.
(I like writing espionage.)
Change the way the story ends. And how short or long it eventually becomes.

As soon as I realized all this, my brain has been humming with excitement. I have all new ideas for the ending now. Funny how one little thing can change your whole perspective.

Stop Thinking It Has To Be A Novel
I also think the biggest thing I got over was that this story HAD to be a NOVEL. I didn't even want to try to create the minimalist 65thousand k. It would take up too much time I just didn't have. And then, BLAM! It hit me. I could turn it into a NOVELLA! OMG just smack me upside the head for not having this idea sooner.

It's funny how just one simple little thing can change your whole perspective. And don't ask me why I didn't think of it before. It's a brilliant idea, especially when I have the next four in front of me. It will fit into the new scheme for the rest of the series.

Out of the Mouths of Babes
I've taught a short story writing class to the middle-school kids at my daughter's school for the last two years. I tell them, "If you ever get stuck in your story and can't get out, either blow something up, or start a fire. The characters have to respond."

And it's not as if I'm blowing something up, or starting a fire in the story that has changed my way of thinking about it (although someone does get a very nasty cold), but rather, something blew up inside of me.

I have been following the same guidelines on this series for that last (almost) decade. I had every intention of writing seven full-length novels (85-95k). I was not going to veer from that course. I thought about acquiring Dragon, the speech-to-text writer just because I thought it might make it easier for me to write. And then, one day, I woke up and said, "Nope. I just can't write a novel."

And that's when the stars in the heaven rained down their sparkle dust on my little brain. My writing grew stronger. Plots twisted, characters turned. The end was in sight, rather than light years away. Writing this story is easier now. Don't get me wrong, I'm still not crazy about the heroine, but she's less annoying than she was. And the ending is going to be kick-ass.

In Conclusion
The biggest take-away from this is that I want to get the story right. If I had continued on my path, I would have written a shitty novel. Now that I've changed course to a novella, the writing has improved, the story flows better, quicker. And smaller is not always bad.

Robynne Rand (c) 2019

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