Now that my (spectacularly amazing) wedding is over and I’ve settled into my schedule living with another human being, I’ve thrown myself full force into editing Project Pea.
In the overall edits, I’m halfway through the book. I’ve ironed out some timing issues, changed a lot of individual scenes, and fleshed out one of the main side characters quite a bit. But the thing that’s continually nagged at me is my main characters’ voice. The book is first person POV, so it’s quite important. I’ve known since the beginning that I need to do some more character work to flesh her out, but I keep putting it off.
Last week, though, one of those wonderful writing miracles happened. It was a stormy day. A really stormy day. I sat on my balcony while I worked, but there came a point when the rain was so heavy and the thunder was so loud that I knew I just had to sit there and watch it. So, I put my laptop away, made myself a cappuccino, and just sat in the deafening rain. My thoughts wandered, as they inevitably always do these days, to my book. I started thinking about my MC and the prologue I’d already written for the book. At the same time, one part of my brain was dwelling on the book I’m currently reading, The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie R. King, and considering how much I liked the narrative style.
And suddenly, it hit me. This whole time, I’d been trying to write the story as if I were telling it rather than my main character, even though it’s first person POV! Instantly I heard my MC’s voice come to life in my head. I started hearing the prologue how she would tell it, and it was much more interesting than what I’d already written.
I ran inside, grabbed my phone, and darted back out onto the balcony. I started a voice recording, and though the rain was roaring in the background, I dictated the prologue through the character’s voice rather than my own. It took over 7 minutes, and there were lots of long pauses as I thought about what to say, but when I finished, I was grinning. This has been a monumental step towards improving the tone of my book!
And this is why I love rainy days. 🙂
Don’t forget, you still have a whole week to enter my free book giveaway!
E.J. Robison 