What's next?
I published a book... now what?
I’ll admit that for a long time I thought Destined to Be Normal might be my last novel. I was feeling burnt out and uninspired after the release of We Go Together, my second novel. But as I worked on prepping Destined for publication, I started to feel motivated again. It turned out all I needed was a push to start moving.
So I’m going to ride this wave for as long as I can, and I plan on taking you all with me this time.
In the past, I felt like I had to keep what I was working on a “secret.” Part of this was because I wanted it to be a surprise when I release something, and partly because I was afraid I’d share information about a project and end up abandoning it. But keeping everything to myself turns out to not be that motivating. This time, I’m going to try something different.
This year, I will be sharing my writing progress. That includes letting you in on what project I’m even working on, share some excerpts, and share any difficulties I may have as I work on it.
So what am I working on next?
I will be editing and rewriting a novel, working title Be True.
It’s set in the same “universe” as my first novel I Knew Him. It acts as a companion novel, from the perspective of the character Will. My goal is that it can be read as a standalone while also functioning as a sequel.
If you haven’t read I Knew Him or it’s been a while, as a refresher Will was Julian’s friend. The two have a falling-out towards the end of the novel when Will is unable to accept Julian.
The story begins on the opening night of the play, which Will is decidedly not at. He ends up at a house party, where he gets a text describing Sky and Julian’s big moment onstage. Then, Will’s story really kicks off. The play ends its run, and Will begins to navigate his journey into the last weeks of his high school experience. He’s got dreams of his own and a ton of problems—some of which are his own making.
To be honest, I had always felt a bit bad about writing Will’s character the way I had. In early drafts of the novel, the character actually died (maybe I’ll tell that story in another post). But as I was reworking the story, that plot point felt too dramatic.
I still felt like I needed Will to go in order for Julian to grow. But what I ended up doing with him, having him turn on Julian for not letting him in and then ultimately rejecting him out of spite, also felt like a disservice to him, especially when his character in the original draft was much sweeter. But the story needed conflict, needed an antagonist of sorts, and as a younger writer Will felt like the right vehicle for that.
Ever since, I’ve always been drawn by Will’s character. He felt incomplete in a lot of ways, and as a more experienced writer I want to fill in the gaps. I want to get into his mind and dissect him. Not only that, but the concept of a character who has lost everything by his own fault is really compelling to me now. How would be move on from here? How would he grow?
I think it’s important for young readers to know there are ways to move past big mistakes like the ones Will makes. There are ways to start over, unlearn prejudices, and even make amends. For a while as a writer, I tried to only write characters who were undeniably good. I can safely say Will is not always a good person, especially in the early parts of the story. There are lots of times rereading this draft that I want to yell at him. I’ve never really allowed myself to get into a character like him.
I wrote this draft during one of the lockdowns in a fit of inspiration, then shelved it for a while. The last quarter of the book felt too rushed and I couldn’t figure out how to fix it. But now that I’ve had some time away, I think I can figure it out. I think I’ll have better perspective on what to fix. And this time, I don’t plan on shying away from the messier aspects of Will’s personality. We’re ramping it to 100, but also giving him a chance to change. Or so I hope that’s what I’ll convey.
In Other News…
After some technical difficulties, Destined to Be Normal is now available on most major ebook stores! If you were waiting to snag a copy for your Kobo or Nook, now is the perfect time to do so!