novel prep

I may not be blogging much this month or next as I'm about to start writing my second novel. The first is deep in the revising/editing stage, and the girl needs a little break from it because it's starting to feel more like a chore and less like a creative endeavor, which is never a good sign. So the first one will simmer a bit more while the second one is in the mixing bowl.

This month is all about prep. I got smart and started keep all my Fleeting Ideas in one notebook rather than scattered in e-mails, on post-it notes, or in my day planner, so I've got a ton of ideas to choose from, which is a new experience for me. Usually, I have the desire to write and no ideas, and this time, I've got both. I'm hoping that works in my favor.

I find novel writing to be very like one of Mrs. Coulson's art lessons. She projected an image on the screen, and the image was deliberately out of focus. We were to draw what we thought we saw. After a few minutes, she'd focus the image slightly, and you adjusted your drawing accordingly. This adjust focus, adjust drawing process would continue until the image was in sharp focus on the screen. It was amazing to see that the fully focused image was not what you thought it would be when you started drawing. I used to think that there was something wrong with me because I didn't have a fully formed story idea when I started writing, so how would I know if I was telling the right story or telling the story right? It took awhile before I figured out that any glimmer of an idea should be noticed and followed to see where it goes, and it was only my ego that had the arrogance to assume I should be presented with the entire story before I wrote it. How's that for logic?

I wonder if second novels are like second CDs. You want to do something better and more original, but you know that everyone will be comparing it to your first attempt and discussing the merits and faults of it being either too much like the first one or too deliberately dissimilar. Why not focus on the fact that you even made a second anything? Isn't that the greater achievement?

So it's on to character sketches and backstories and plot outlines for a month (that's how I start focusing), and then May will be Really Bad First Draft Month. Wish me luck, and I'll see you on the other side of the story.