November 25, 2003

Nix the Novel

Well, not quite nix, but put on hold. There's simply no way in hell that I'll get 50,000 words before the end of the month - at least not 50,000 that I'd be happy to call my own or let anyone else see. After reaching my 3000+ words, the story sort of sputtered and losts its drive, and I wasn't sure why.

I think I know now.

I originally let someone read the first few pages. She's been hounding me to write more, and once upon a few weeks prior said to me that she liked the way the protagonist really seemed to care about another character. That got me to thinking, honestly I do think sometimes, and I believe I need to rewrite the story in the first-person point of view.

I originally envisioned the story from that point of view, but switched to an omniscient third-person view to include a wider array of scenes, thoughts, and personalities. At the same time, though, I lost my connection with the protagonist. I stopped caring about him. And the novel.

But maybe it's time to start over. Maybe. We'll see.