It’s been a while since I’ve written, I know. This is for a few reasons — 1) I thought I might have overloaded you guys when I was re-launching The Art of Lying and 2) I needed a little break from writing myself.
But…I’ve taken a little break, watched Gilmore Girls again on Netflix (still debating on rewatching that awful new year again), and started rereading my 2nd novel with my editor’s notes. Originally this story was called Etta in the Outfield, but I’m thinking that might need to change.
Which brings me to the topic at hand – change. As I’ve been reading and discussing things with my editor (the lovely Sarah Fox) it’s become clear that I need to add some things to this poor little book. For one, I need to bring in another point of view character – my first main character, Etta’s, best friend Gina! I’m actually excited about this, but since Gina will have 50% of the story, I can’t just call the thing Etta without putting in Gina so the title will most likely need to change.
Another thing, I’m aging my characters up a bit. I had them as Freshmen in High School, but we decided it might be better if they were a bit older – Sophomores or Juniors (haven’t decided yet). Finally, I have some things to think about surrounding the end of my novel – but I’m not going to talk about that right now – I might spoil things for when the book comes out.
BUT all these changes and the fact that my main characters go through quite a few things themselves that will be changing them and their opinions and thoughts and ideas, I realized that change is inevitable in both life and fiction. It’s how we handle those changes that make the difference.
I could have read my editor’s notes and gotten really upset, thrown my laptop against the wall (I mean, my bank account wouldn’t have been happy), and yelled and screamed, cried for days, etc. I didn’t do this, I wrote out some of my feelings, talked to my editor, voiced my worries and fears, and decided that together we can make this next draft amazing!
What’s changing in your world? How are you dealing with things? Are you having a temper tantrum that a four-year-old would envy or are you pulling your big girl panties on and acting like a grown-up? Side note: I’m not always a grown-up in these situations, trust me. HA