I can't tell you how many hours I have just stared at my computer screen, trying to find the way to write SANE (my name for Spies Are Not Enough, or series 2 in the Circle of Fifths Universe). I am, and have always been a spy novelist, but last year I had this overwhelming desire to try something else. I was already planning on branching out to a dystopian series, and a science fiction novel, but I wanted to write something that was different, and I suddenly had this idea of what if I wrote a detective series and I ran with it.
The problem is, I have not read near enough detective novels, and have watched too many detective shows, and when I had the idea, I was thinking it would be way down the road. Well it's here, and I'm struggling. As I was writing last night, I must have asked myself a billion times if it was even very good. I WRITE SPY NOVELS FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! For me, I just feel like the book is moving too slow. I want things to happen NOW! I want to be able to switch perspectives and show the bad guys, and while I could, it takes away from the mystery.
I wrote a chapter last night, that the more I think about it, the more I realize that I need to take it out, because while it works great for a spy novel, it doesn't work so well for a mystery novel.
In short, what I'm saying is writing in third person and not developing the omniscient voice is very difficult for me.
Last night when I went to bed, I had just about decided to scrap this book, to use it as a filler, as a novelette, to wait a few years to publish the series and to publish it as the spy series I know how to write. I slept on this decision, thinking for sure that come morning my mind would not have been changed.
Instead, I woke up conflicted.
Every time today while I was at work, and I would start considering getting rid of it, I would come up with a new reason I couldn't. The plot was setting up some major plot points for the later series, it sets up very important characters. I like the title, and if I get rid of the book, then I can't use this awesome title. Any time I started thinking about it, I groaned and tried to find another topic, because I was really undecided. I was convinced I wasn't doing the story any good, and I feel like I'm forcing it.
Then I got home and as I was going through my past blogs, I began thinking of the struggles I went through for Royal Beginnings.
I know I've written about it before, but there was a point in 2014 that I was working on Royal Beginnings and I asked myself if it was even necessary. I was two seconds away from hitting the delete button when I decided that I would work with it, that I would make it better, and I would enjoy writing it. And I did. And I discovered that once I wrote the first book, it was a lot easier to write the succeeding books for that series.
I'm having the same problem now. I'm trying to meet the character and get to know them, learn how to describe them, and that has to be the hardest part. Kate and Lynn, and Alyx, and Lyshiria, and Michael have been part of my life, have been teaching me about themselves for seven years. I only just met Emily and Jack and Bryan and Paige, and I have to write as if the characters are good friends.
I guess I need to learn fast.
My point is, Royal Beginnings is a good book because I had the perseverance to stick with it when I felt like giving up, and it has created a great foundation to build a series on. Now I need to use the same perseverance to create the strong foundation for my second series. I said I would write it, so now I must!
Aly Kay
The problem is, I have not read near enough detective novels, and have watched too many detective shows, and when I had the idea, I was thinking it would be way down the road. Well it's here, and I'm struggling. As I was writing last night, I must have asked myself a billion times if it was even very good. I WRITE SPY NOVELS FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! For me, I just feel like the book is moving too slow. I want things to happen NOW! I want to be able to switch perspectives and show the bad guys, and while I could, it takes away from the mystery.
I wrote a chapter last night, that the more I think about it, the more I realize that I need to take it out, because while it works great for a spy novel, it doesn't work so well for a mystery novel.
In short, what I'm saying is writing in third person and not developing the omniscient voice is very difficult for me.
Last night when I went to bed, I had just about decided to scrap this book, to use it as a filler, as a novelette, to wait a few years to publish the series and to publish it as the spy series I know how to write. I slept on this decision, thinking for sure that come morning my mind would not have been changed.
Instead, I woke up conflicted.
Every time today while I was at work, and I would start considering getting rid of it, I would come up with a new reason I couldn't. The plot was setting up some major plot points for the later series, it sets up very important characters. I like the title, and if I get rid of the book, then I can't use this awesome title. Any time I started thinking about it, I groaned and tried to find another topic, because I was really undecided. I was convinced I wasn't doing the story any good, and I feel like I'm forcing it.
Then I got home and as I was going through my past blogs, I began thinking of the struggles I went through for Royal Beginnings.
I know I've written about it before, but there was a point in 2014 that I was working on Royal Beginnings and I asked myself if it was even necessary. I was two seconds away from hitting the delete button when I decided that I would work with it, that I would make it better, and I would enjoy writing it. And I did. And I discovered that once I wrote the first book, it was a lot easier to write the succeeding books for that series.
I'm having the same problem now. I'm trying to meet the character and get to know them, learn how to describe them, and that has to be the hardest part. Kate and Lynn, and Alyx, and Lyshiria, and Michael have been part of my life, have been teaching me about themselves for seven years. I only just met Emily and Jack and Bryan and Paige, and I have to write as if the characters are good friends.
I guess I need to learn fast.
My point is, Royal Beginnings is a good book because I had the perseverance to stick with it when I felt like giving up, and it has created a great foundation to build a series on. Now I need to use the same perseverance to create the strong foundation for my second series. I said I would write it, so now I must!
Aly Kay