The First Novel - Dump it or Fix it?

The First Novel – dump it or fix it? Podcast

I proudly printed and published my first novel in December 2013. It was supposed to be a stand-alone, but as I wrote the plans, I realised it was too big for one book, so a trilogy was born.

I thought the first book was great, perfect, ready for the world.

It wasn’t. The formatting was terrible, the cover was amateurish, and it was full of first author mistakes.

I unpublished it.

I first drafted the two other books in the trilogy but put them aside to work on the first book again. I weeded out many adjectives, head hopping mania and passive voice - banes of a novice writer but something was fundamentally wrong. I couldn’t see what, so again it was put aside while my writing knowledge grew, and other stories demanded to be told. Their first drafts cleaner, more focused, flowing in a way the first book didn’t. The first book had been chapter by chapter planned. The others were ideas and free flow writing, no chapters, just scene after scene. It suited my mind better. But this first book was there and had potential.

Some authors say leave it aside for ever, it was the first and will never be as good as the ones that follow.

Others say, don’t give up on a good idea. If the premise is good, if the characters grow, if you know in your heart there is a story to be told, then don’t give up.

It hung around in the back of my mind and those who had seen a few chapters said they liked it, it needed some work, a child read it and said the language was too simple, but that wasn’t it.

I rewrote the second and third books. They were better than the first, but they needed the first. I couldn’t waste this story. It was fun with an interesting idea and included dragons. It was not going to be left in a dusty corner. It deserved better than that.

Could I start again, totally write the first book without looking at what was already written? I didn’t have the courage, but I did start to rewrite chapter by chapter and things shifted, but something was still not right.

I set the trilogy aside again. It was like an annoying itch, it wouldn’t leave me alone.

I asked others to read a few chapters and answer some specific questions. They did. And many comments were concerned with pov. Some thought it was in one pov, others another. The root of the problem had been unearthed. It was pov. I could fix this and it made the child’s comment understandable. It was a light bulb moment.

I’ve spent a couple of years playing with the pov in this story, going around in circles, rewriting a few chapters, and then rewriting them in a different way, never happy with the flow of words.

Then I thought I had the answer, there are two main characters so a chapter each, alternating between the two. Brilliant. This would work.

I began with new enthusiasm, but it soon petered out. It felt wrong, like I was forcing the pov, the thoughts and feelings. What if chapters later in the book were suited to the wrong character’s pov? How would that feel right to the reader? I stuttered to a halt once more.

What did this story need? Different pov’s that was for sure, and the pov of minor characters too. Was I trying to simplify the style because it was aimed at middle grade children? It was not intentional but maybe.

I slept on the problem, night after night, leaving the ideas hanging for my subconscious to deal with.

And then one night in January my subconscious blurted out the solution.

Write in the pov that the story needs to be written in regardless of whether it is halfway through a chapter that the change needs to occur. It felt so obvious.

Make the pov change clear by starting with the character’s name and a new paragraph. Trust that middle grade children will follow the changes without a problem.

I held onto the thought, cemented it, played with scenes in my head as I drifted off to sleep and hoped I’d remember the ideas the next day.

Luckily, I usually can pull those falling asleep ideas up from the depths, and I did.

The next day I started on chapter one, yet again, and let the scenes flow, waited for the characters to say hey it’s my turn, this part is about me.

And you know what? Its working. The story is flowing, I am enjoying it again. The organic feeling that the characters know best is holding true.

Rewriting is easier, more enjoyable and I am over halfway through and feeling positive this time.

This is it, this feels right.

I have learnt to trust my characters, myself, and the story’s future readers.

This story will be republished this year in its new form, flowing and glowing, exciting with a touch of reality, and in the pov it needs to be in.

I’m glad I didn’t shelf it, didn’t give up.

I’m sure my mind will be clearer once this book is published and then I can drift away into another world and find solutions to new problems that will inevitably occur.

No-one said writing was easy.

________________________________________

You can find me here...