Hello friends, I hope this February finds you well. I just had the pleasure of spending several days with Manga writer and artist, Misako Rocks! as part of a literacy outreach program I head up for the Friends of the Library board on which I serve. During her talk, she told her story about not giving up when her first book didn’t do so well, or when her dream of being a puppeteer (no, really) didn’t flesh itself out. She talked a lot about second chances and do-overs.
It really couldn’t have come at a better time. Just before she arrived, I was already thinking about second chances because I recently got the edits back on That Other Dashwood Girl (more on that below), and with those edits, my editor told me that this was my last chance to make huge changes to the story. She said that if I added more scenes, or took something out, or moved it all around, I needed to let her know so she could proofread and copy-edit it before it went to Quality Control and Typeset. I didn’t make any major changes, but I did move a few words around and said a few things differently but for the most part, the book was the book. However, it wasn’t because I didn’t want to use a second chance, it was because I’d already used mine long before I got to this part of Maggie’s journey.
Now, my writing process is likely different than most writers in that I do the first draft totally in my head. I don’t take a lot of notes. I listen to music. I take walks. I talk to the characters. I talk to my wife. I talk to myself. Believe it or not, that last one is actually different from talking to the characters, and by the time I sit down to write, I have a good sense of who that person is and what that person wants to say or do or who that person wants to be.
That is not to say that I am not surprised along the way by things that pop up. In That Other Dashwood Girl, I didn’t know that one character in particular, she’s called Juliet, would even exist until she did and then once she arrived on the scene, in dramatic fashion with her own soundtrack, things changed for Maggie. I had to choose, at that point, to either disregard this amazing character or give myself a second chance at the trajectory of the story I thought I was going to tell and see where it went. I am so glad I gave myself that chance because Juliet becomes integral to Maggie’s journey. I don’t want to spoil anything else, but I am really excited for you to meet her and hear how her appearance changed the soundtrack for the book AND got me another amazing surprise (more on that below as well).
So, I just wanted to send a note to all of you, my loyal readers, to remind you that a second chance isn’t always about forgiveness or making up something to someone, but sometimes a second chance is just that; a chance. It is a chance you take on yourself, or on someone you love, or a fictional character. Don’t be afraid to try a new way even if the old way is working fine. Just peek down that road and apply for that job, or write that new story, or draw a new picture, or take a risk on yourself. You will likely be happy you did but if it didn’t work out, you can always give yourself the chance to try again…again.
Notes from my Bookshelf
I have some eclectic recommendations this month. Owen Pomery’s The Hard Switch is a graphic novel glory. A love letter to Firefly by way of the Before Trilogy. I am here for it. Wendy Wimmer’s award-winning short story collection, Entry Level is simply spectacular. I laughed and cried. Run, don't walk. Finally, Virginia Pye’s The Literary Undoing of Victoria Swann was the highlight of my Net Galley reading. A book about books and writing is always going to get my attention, but then Pye turned it into a feminist masterpiece. I can’t recommend it enough.
Notes from my Keyboard
AHHH!!!! I saw the cover of The Other Dashwood Girl!!! I saw a draft cover of Comics Lit, the essay collection I co-edited with Tonya Todd and contributed to with her and a bunch of my nerdy pals. It is going to come out sometime late this summer!!! Sorry for all the exclamation points, but I am excited.
I have over 100K words on Universal Truth. I have three more chapters to write. I know what they are and should be done with it before you get my next newsletter. Jane Fairfax, the character of the fourth book, simply called Jane has been whispering in my ear. Things are looking up.
Finally, I got permission from one of my favorite singer/songwriters, Matt Nathanson to use the lyrics to his song “Kinks Shirt” in That Other Dashwood Girl. He asked me to “save him a copy.” I had a version that writes around the lyrics, but this is way better.
Thank you all for subscribing and have an excellent second chance February.
ARF.
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