Thursday, June 18, 2009

In the last week...

I have reached, and gone past the half way mark in my novel. That felt like a huge achievement, as I have been writing this novel on and off for two and a half years!

I have decided I am not a fast writer. I never have been able to do the fast and furious 'shitty first draft'. Instead I think a lot about each section and edit lightly as I am writing. I am hoping that this means that subsequent edits will be quicker and easier, but we will see.

I have also been thinking a lot about where my novel might fall in the market. I don't write chick lit, I simply can't do the comedy. It's certainly not literary fiction either, though I suppose it may end up falling into the Richard and Judy book club 'lit-lite' category of commercial fiction. I would be quite pleased if it does.

But after giving all this a lot of thought I decided just to think about some of the authors I particularly like for various reasons and who influence me: Anita Shreve, Maggie O'Farrell, Kate Atkinson, Sue Miller, Anne Tyler, Margaret Atwood, Jodi Picoult. I guess that gives you an idea of where my book is (hopefully) going...

13 comments:

Beth said...

Well done! and they are all great authors... well the ones of them i know all are :)

HelenMWalters said...

That's an amazing achievement. Onwards and upwards!

Jenny Beattie said...

Cathy,I write really slowly too. I can't bear leaving a mess behind me and I'm also hoping that it will mean the edits are less painful. And your list of authors is something like the list I'd come up with too!

Anyway, my mentor keeps saying while I'm writing not to worry about any of this... so I'm trying very hard not to worry.

Sue Guiney said...

This is terrific, Cathy. Well done. If my experience counts for anything, I'm finding that each novel I write "writes itself" quite differently. The one I'm finishing now went much faster, with bigger chinks being written before editing. But I still write by hand, and still polish a bit as I go along. I guess, whatever works, right?

Cathy said...

Thanks B and Helen.

JJ, you have always inspired me when I start to lag, as I know I'm not the only NR tortoise...

Cx

Cathy said...

Sue, you just nipped in there before me.

Yes I agree we should go with what works for us. On one of my OU courses, where we were supposed to be doing a freewriting exercise, I got marked down for being too 'polished' :)

Cx

Anne Brooke said...

Sounds fabulous - I'd read it.

Axxx

Denise Covey said...

What an achievement-halfway through a novel! I love the authors you mention - if you're influenced by the likes of Anita Shreve you can't go wrong!!

Cathy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Cathy said...

Thanks Anne. Ooh I have a potential reader, just need a completed novel and a publisher!

Welcome L'Aussie. Yes, they are great writers. I can only aspire to being that good :)

Cx

Anonymous said...

You sound very much like a writer like me - does that make sense?!

I edit occasionally when I go back to the novel and have been writing on and off for 2-3 years! Planning to get it finished end of this year for definite.

CJ xx

Anonymous said...

That's a great achievement. Well done.

Cathy said...

Thank you, Cap'n!

CJ, I've set myself a deadline of the end of the year too. I think (hope) I can do it.

Cx