I still think of things I could or should have changed. But in the end, there's no denying (or faking) that I'm still learning how to construct a well-written novel. I keep reminding myself that I could rewrite for all eternity and it would never be perfect. And as it was, I was ready to take the hard-earned lessons from Dead Locked and share them with my next novel.
And learn I have. At times, I really thought Dead Locked hated me, which is absurd of course. (Books can't hate their authors - can they?) And the problems often came down to my own neuroticism. But I do love to write and I take a lot of pride in writing well. So though I know DL will hardly be my best work ever, I put everything I had (and more sometimes) into it.
So other than learning (again) that writing is hard, what else have I come away with? Well, I learned a lot about my novel writing process. I discovered (as a life long pantser) that a little plotting is a good thing, but too much plotting for me is very, very bad. I started walking the tightrope of tension and pacing. And unwittingly, I took a crash course in handling a heap of necessary background information in the form of flashbacks (hopefully with success!).
I am most proud, however, of my character development. With each project, I often have a focus, something I want to improve. With DL, I wanted to create the most alive, vibrant characters I'd ever envisioned. And I definitely succeeded in that department. Overall, I understand a lot more about how to make a novel tick now, and I'm looking to the future to apply what I've learned more fully. I'm also buckling down on things I know I need to work on.
Photo by Seth Sawyers
