I'm back at the drawing board, or keyboard, as it were, and I am rethinking my tone and the voice of my main character. I had intended a sort of serious romantic YA story and was forging ahead in that direction when I realized how hard it is to sensor that snarky part of myself that wants to spill over into the things I write.
Then, I read a posted excerpt from Paranormalcy by Kiersten White. It just came out this week and I was so excited about it that I accidentally ended up with two copies--which should may Kiersten very happy indeed. I had a preorder, but then Books a Million released in 3 days early and I COULDN'T wait!
I just fell in love with her character Evie, who is light, sarcastic and fun--even though she has a deep and serious side. Don't most of us?
Kiersten wrote a blog entry herself about finding her voice. What actually inspired me most was that she was able to write the first draft of this fantastic book in three weeks because she found the voice/character that was right for her. If you read the blog you will hear bits of Kiesten in Evie.
All this helped me realize my character was too one dimensional and serious. She wasn't living yet.
Thank you, thank you, Thank you Kiersten for blogging and for posting an excerpt that reminded me how things should be when you've got it right.
~Cinnamon
I want to nail a narrator with a good chunk of my personality before I venture into alternates. Overcoming other aspects of the first novel are hard enough without struggling to make the voice authentic. That makes a lot of sense.
ReplyDeleteNatalie Whipple did a great post on reading old writing to find our voice. Lots of times its there, we just deny it. And yes, Kiersten is amazing! Her voice is uber strong.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to say I've yet to read Paranormalcy but I've heard amazing things! I really should snag a copy but it'll have to wait until I have time to go to a bookstore. It's good to know that people still inspire!!
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