I still haven’t found the time to sit down and read through my novel. I’m not surprised by this. It’s the busiest time of year. But what I have been doing is thinking about things I need to fix. The way I concluded the conflict never felt exactly right. As a reader, it’s an ending I’d be less than thrilled with. So I figured out a better way to end it. Now all I have to do is get the character who has to be there to make the end sing integrated into the story.
This character is the guy who started all the trouble back in February. When I started a new draft in November, I left him and his storyline out of the picture. Now I’m wondering how much of his storyline to keep. There are a few key things I need for him to be effective at the end of the book. But there are other things that are no longer necessary–a whole subplot with a murder and a false incarceration that never quite jelled and felt too different from the main plot to really work. I also had him as a single dad and I think that’s going to change as well.
Yesterday, I started taking a few notes. I’m still trying to find my way with this guy. I have a feeling I’m going to need a whole new subplot, but that might be easier to come up with AFTER I’ve read the draft. On the other hand, if I give him a subplot, the ending might not have the impact I’m going for, which is an element of surprise followed by “of course this is how it ends.”
The other thing I’ve been thinking about is agents. I should start drafting the agent letters, or at the very least doing a bit of research on them. These agents represent two writers of first novels that I read, reviewed, and loved. Both author’s voices are close enough to my own, as are the characters, and very loosely, the plots. I’m not sure I even know yet who the agents are. I need to dig those galleys out and get busy.
Two letters ready to be put into the mail by January 2. That’s my goal. And January 3, I’ll read my manuscript in preparation for revisions.
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