Back to the manuscript

[mamculuna]

The holidays gave me a chance to get back to my novel in a more concentrated way. I did a chapter at a sitting yesterday. I'm feeling very ambivalent about the whole thing. It's a mystery novel with lots of local color, pretty much in the cozy direction, with amateur female detectives, etc. I had two goals when I started--to see if I really could get through a project that size, and to try to write something that might possibly sell. And then I added some other goals about learning to manage plot, multiple points of view, etc. I'm beginning to believe I will finish, and have learned to write more calmly when I know the end is not in sight--I just try to get the next scene done, and write some notes about how that changes where I'm headed.

The good part about this has been learning about myself as a writer, how the characters and actions do take on a life of their own. I've learned to enjoy writing--I used to love it before and after but hate doing it, but this one I enjoy the actual process. I think it helps not to have very high expectations in this regard. I have a writing partner, who's working on a historical romance. She keeps me going, too, since I feel obliged to have something when we plan to meet, and she can help me get the plot going when I bog down. The plot turns on some environmental conflicts with developers, so the research is fun. And it's delightful to create a world like the world I live in--only more so.

The bad part is that I know it's not all that great. I mean the genre I've aimed at. There are great mystery writers like Ruth Rendell and PD James and I have in the back of my mind setting goals like that someday, but right now I feel as though I'm settling for less than I can do. I'm letting the plot dominate the characters, and I'm comparing myself to writers like Susan Wittig and early Elizabeth McPherson--not that they're bad, but it just doesn't set the bar very high.

I console myself with plans for future books--the characters will be more complex, the history will be deeper, the plot will not dominate, maybe I'll move toward fantasy, etc.

I will finish this one just for the discipline and the knowledge that I can do it, but I wonder if it's a good idea. My yoga teacher quotes a master who says that anytime you practice and don't reach for your personal edge, the most you can do, it's unethical practice. Maybe that's what this book is.

Comments

Setting the Bar

[wisewoman.livejournal.com]

I know the feeling of worrying that what I'm writing doesn't have a lot of intrinsic value, and NO literary value whatsoever, LOL.

But then I remind myself that I have faithfully and doggedly read every single one of "The Cat Who..." mysteries, by Lillian Jackson Braun. They are completely formulaic and you can whip through one in a couple of hours. The series is immense and has been on-going for decades, although the main characters haven't aged all that much. I like the setting, in Pickax, in the far north of Michigan, 'cuz at least every third book has a major snowstorm. (Talk about the epitome of "cozy.")

I tried to sort out why I read them, and it's because they're like comfort food...simple, readily available, easy to digest, and they make me feel good. Plus, I learn a tiny bit about some arcane hobby or subject in just about every one, enough to sometimes whet my appetite for further study, anyway.

Bad writing is bad writing, and Braun does not write poorly. I don't/can't be bothered to read bad writing. But not everything that is well written is worthy of a Pulitzer Prize. There's always room on the shelves for entertaining fiction.

That's my take on it, anyway...

;o)

That's what I had in mind

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Dub. That's exactly where I'm headed, and it's good to hear that somebody else does see that that level of writing has value. Back when I was making career decisions (many, many years ago...) I thought, well, the world sure doesn't need another mediocre poet, but a fair-to-middling English teacher can really make some difference in people's lives. Now I guess I'm making the same choice, in a way--to make a great jump over a low bar is maybe better than aiming at a high one and falling on my face. I've never gotten into Braun (maybe when I retire) but think Elizabeth Peters may have saved my life, a time or two.

Not that I really think I can even reach that level, but it's good to know that somebody else sees the point of aiming at that level. Maybe the next book around I'll do a better job from the beginning and feel more craftsperson-like about the whole venture.

Would love to hear about what you write, sometime.