Getting worried...
Now that the time is almost here, I'm getting worried. I was in California most of the past week - so wonderful!! - and spent some time planning my novel. I'm still excited about writing a novel in letters, but am also starting to realize that this will seriously affect the kind of plot I can have.
The plot would have to be relatively slow moving - none of these stories that happen in a couple of days - and it would have to be mostly about relationships because that is the kind of thing people write about. There will probably be very little space for setting description, even character description, and these are the things that fill lots of space on days when words are hard to find. At least in a letter the author could tell all sorts of weird unrelated anecdotes to fill space.
My main character is called Nicky, and she has just quit her job in fashion retail to move to a large (unnamed) city. She gets involved in the club scene there (Jackie's Place, anyone?) and many of the other characters will be involved. She is looking for connection, looking for the next big thing in her life and is not sure what that might be. She may be my hero and my villain at the same time.
There will probably be a Joan Jett cameo somewhere in there.
I have some other thoughts but have lots to do today so won't post much more.
Oh, just that I recently read Dangerous Liaisons as research and that is an AMAZING book that really helped me to see the possibilities in the letters/novel genre. I highly recommend it.
The plot would have to be relatively slow moving - none of these stories that happen in a couple of days - and it would have to be mostly about relationships because that is the kind of thing people write about. There will probably be very little space for setting description, even character description, and these are the things that fill lots of space on days when words are hard to find. At least in a letter the author could tell all sorts of weird unrelated anecdotes to fill space.
My main character is called Nicky, and she has just quit her job in fashion retail to move to a large (unnamed) city. She gets involved in the club scene there (Jackie's Place, anyone?) and many of the other characters will be involved. She is looking for connection, looking for the next big thing in her life and is not sure what that might be. She may be my hero and my villain at the same time.
There will probably be a Joan Jett cameo somewhere in there.
I have some other thoughts but have lots to do today so won't post much more.
Oh, just that I recently read Dangerous Liaisons as research and that is an AMAZING book that really helped me to see the possibilities in the letters/novel genre. I highly recommend it.
I hope that you will continue the proud tradition of the Emilio Estevez cameo.
ReplyDeleteindigo, is your novel set in the 80s? I am very interested in how your novel in letters plays out- seems we are all flexing our creative muscles a bit this year for our third novels... is there a buzz term we can use? Rookie effort and sophomore effort were such awesome terms to use- tertiary effort? I don't know, doesn't have the same ring.
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, by saying we are all flexing our creative muscles, I mean Katie is not writing fan fiction this time around (or is she?) and I am actually not at all flexing any sort of creative muscles, but might be phoning this one in.
Jackie and Sam are on their sophomore efforts... let's hope there's no sophomore jinx...