Writing Well: Behind the Completed Novel
My first real attempt at novel writing was DYING TO REMEMBER , the manuscript that earned a semi-finalist spot in the Amazon breakthrough novel contest and recently finaled in RWA's Golden Heart. Put like that, it sounds like writing a publishable novel comes easily to me. This is not the case. =) Writing is a discipline as much as it is a passion. Crafting fascinating, realistic characters, vivid setting, and pacing plot arcs that keep your reader turning the pages for "just one more chapter" is as much a process of trial and error as it is intuitive talent. Scattered in the wake of every completed novel are discarded scenes, openings re-worked fifteen different times, characters who appeared in a series two books before their time, dialogue that ended up being the exact opposite of what that character would really say, hours of agonizing over the wording in one pivotal paragraph, and a ream of constructive comments from a critique partner who refused to allow the