The End is Near
19/12/09 20:28 Filed in: Writing
After a productive Saturday afternoon (following on
the heels of several productive evenings this week),
I now have the distinct and very satisfying feeling
that the novel is finally nearing completion.
I've been working on The Silent Goodbye for more than a year now. It started as the second in a projected series of short stories featuring Phillip Gold that I hoped to market to mystery magazines in the States but, when I started to spin the plot out, it grew into a full-length novel. And, I think, a pretty good one.
I decided today that, before I sit down to write the climax and denouement, I would re-read the entire draft from the beginning. The impetus to do so was my own faulty memory: I could not, for the life of me, remember if I had killed off a particular character already. If she still lived, I figured she should have a fairly major role in the final scenes; if she's dead, however, I'd have to change my plans.
That's what I get for writing the novel in fits and spurts, with a terrible memory to boot. I do know that, at one point several months ago, I seriously considered killing her off. I just wasn't sure if I had put that thought into action.
The re-read not only confirmed that the character is still alive; it also allowed me to address some inconsistencies, to smooth out the tone and narrative style and to reinforce some themes and ideas that had become more important as the novel progressed.
It's a kind of fun exercise, to be honest. I re-read, for example, early sections of the novel that I had written months and months ago, which allowed me to review them with an almost objective eye. I also got a chance to experience the story as a whole rather than in discrete little chunks, written with long breaks between. I was amazed to see how much action I had packed into the book and how much character development as well.
I have about 25 to 30 more pages to write and then it's done. I'm amazed and pleased to find myself so close to the end, with a draft novel that pleases me. It's a nice feeling. Perhaps tomorrow I'll start writing the climax.
Wow. Feels good.
I've been working on The Silent Goodbye for more than a year now. It started as the second in a projected series of short stories featuring Phillip Gold that I hoped to market to mystery magazines in the States but, when I started to spin the plot out, it grew into a full-length novel. And, I think, a pretty good one.
I decided today that, before I sit down to write the climax and denouement, I would re-read the entire draft from the beginning. The impetus to do so was my own faulty memory: I could not, for the life of me, remember if I had killed off a particular character already. If she still lived, I figured she should have a fairly major role in the final scenes; if she's dead, however, I'd have to change my plans.
That's what I get for writing the novel in fits and spurts, with a terrible memory to boot. I do know that, at one point several months ago, I seriously considered killing her off. I just wasn't sure if I had put that thought into action.
The re-read not only confirmed that the character is still alive; it also allowed me to address some inconsistencies, to smooth out the tone and narrative style and to reinforce some themes and ideas that had become more important as the novel progressed.
It's a kind of fun exercise, to be honest. I re-read, for example, early sections of the novel that I had written months and months ago, which allowed me to review them with an almost objective eye. I also got a chance to experience the story as a whole rather than in discrete little chunks, written with long breaks between. I was amazed to see how much action I had packed into the book and how much character development as well.
I have about 25 to 30 more pages to write and then it's done. I'm amazed and pleased to find myself so close to the end, with a draft novel that pleases me. It's a nice feeling. Perhaps tomorrow I'll start writing the climax.
Wow. Feels good.