Sunday, September 17, 2006

First drafts

I finished a first draft of my story. This is a true first draft in that I'm not sure that any of it actually works. But it is something.

Some things I need to think about as I move forward (opinions welcome on any of these!):

  • Is it OK that the first-person narrator is not the character who goes through the biggest change? She does change, and she is the reason the other character changes. But I wonder if that's enough to warrant telling the story in her voice.
  • What's the time frame of the story? Unclear as of now. It seems to need to be a few weeks in order for the changes to be realistic and for the dog to physically heal. But now it's more like a few days.
  • How long has the narrator been living in Rhode Island? I thought 10+ years at first, but I want it to be realistic that she has very few personal connections in town, so it might be better to have her there for 3-5 years instead.
  • Make sure the voice is consistent throughout.

OK, I'm off to garden now. I'm already falling behind on my list. We hung out longer than we thought we would with B's family, so I missed getting to the yarn store. But they're open til 7 on Tuesday, so maybe I can walk Chloe there after work. I'm not sure how she'll do waiting for me outside, but we can try it out...

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3 comments:

TI said...

When you start to explore the world of on-line yarn shopping, you'll save yourself some time (but not money)!

TI said...

I forgot to say that I am happy for you and envious of you for having a finished first draft! I have NO new writing yet for our Oct 9 submission. I am learning a thing or two from you about scheduling. Thanks!

Writer Bug said...

Thanks Margaret and TI! Margaret, The Timetraveler's Wife is also not something I'd normally read, but I loved it.

TI, I'm trying to support this local yarn shop that has all sorts of cool things, including free tea for people who want to hang out and knit! And I def could not live without this schedule. That said, I have done NOTHING on my interdis project....