I have so many stories that whenever I think up another, my friends/family tend to say, "You got that look again." which I reply casually: "Look? What look? ... oh you mean THAT look."
Fortunately for them, I'm only working on TWO main projects at the moment - a stand alone and a 5 book series.
The stand alone book is half written ... actually its a bit more than that really. I can't remember. The last time I touched it was September and that was quite a while ago. It's very different from what I usually write, which is probably what keeps drawing me back to it. Most stories I'll write several chapters, plan it out, jump around, and such - only for something else to distract me and I never really seem to come back to it.
A sad thing, yes. Bad thing, yes. A good thing, perhaps yes too.
Every story I think about needs a strong voice to it, one that will keep bugging me to no end unless I actually write it. Of course the characters and setting and plot has to be interesting and complex/simple to some extent. But its the voice that keeps calling me back. Or rather something about the story that makes it so compelling that I must simply HAVE to write it. Kind of like those books I stumble upon and I can't put it down until I reach the end and crying for more - only better, because I can learn and discover the story on my own without having to wait.
And that's exactly what this book's main narrator/protagonist did.
That was April/May 2010 before I graduated Secondary School - now I'm at the halfway point of my second year in university.
That narrator/protagonist's story is still staying strong - voice and all.
He's fairly stubborn in that sense. Yes, it is a male protagonist. Yes, it is in first person. And that what makes me so nervous.
I'm not a guy but I have a guy-like mindset to an extent. Yes I like action, yes I like fighting, yes I like sports, yes I like getting down and dirty. Quite frankly I love doing "guy" stuff but that doesn't mean I'm not a girl in any way - oh no, I may hate make-up and girly things but I do adore stuff animals and cute/cuddly things. I'm a sucker for a cute kid/baby/animal every single time. Which is why I still can't say no to my 4-year-old cousin whenever he demands (in a cute nice way of course) to play trains and cars and whatnot.
Now that I've established the point I'm not a guy but a girl who LOVES her guy stuff - my uneasiness should be clear.
I've never written from First Person, much less a GUY'S. But I am willing to take up the challenge. I love challenges. Always have, always will. And yes, I've somehow managed to delved deep into his subconscious and ripped out what makes him tick, what makes him sad, what makes him happy - all the necessary things I did to know about him. In figurative sense of course, not literal!
Then for a test drive (yes, I like to think of the first draft as a test drive because you never know how readers are going to react) I gave the first chapter - the prologue - to my brother, who is younger than the narrator/protagonist, to read it. Now my brother often states he's not a BIG reader like I am (I'm just MAD about books) but he gave me the benefit of the doubt and read it. Oh the suspense that awaited me as I held my breath as he read it carefully and slowly. Once he was done I asked him how it was and the conversation kind of went like this:
"It's different."
"Yes, I know its different, but is it a 'GOOD' different?"
"Yeah, it is." A pause. "I like it."
"Really?"
"Yes. I really did."
".... You realize its from a guy's perspective right?"
"Yeah."
"Was it any good? I didn't want him to sound corny or whiny or anything annoying like. Mainly does he sound like a guy?"
"Yes, he does, but one question: He's not going to stay this way throughout the whole novel is he?"
"Oh hell no!"
"Good."
"He's going to change over the course of the novel for the better."
"Better not be because of a girl, 'cause that's SO cliched."
"Umm .... not exactly? More like the reverse. She acts as a guide but in reality he ends up helping her. Completing his journey in a sense in a full circle-like effect."
".... alright, I'll give it a read when you've finished it. Don't go getting a big head about it though, I'm just curious how it'll turn out. It's actually very different from what I'd expected of you Mags."
"Aww really? Thanks lil bro!"
"Yeah, yeah, just don't turn him into a pansy or anything."
"I won't! I promise!"
Well that was pretty much the exchange that has renewed hope in me and installed confidence that I can see this story through. My younger brother happens to be a very HARD guy to sell a story to, especially a contemporary one. He's the kind of guy that likes those old war movies and actiony guns-ablazing dudes with explosives happening everywhere constantly. [laughs] But for him to say that was very shocking. Because every story before it, he'll nod and say its good but nothing else - probably thinking silently that it might be cliched or corny or "its been done before" mindset. So if he thinks its good, it's going to be. I'll be keeping my fingers cross about it.
As for other responses, I've explained the overall plot to one person who just looked at me in awe and told me I really should write it. That was my grandfather, who has been waiting to read it for almost two years now. [chuckles weakly] The other two people I've shown are friends of mine and they pretty much demanded more, which is kind of my own fault that I broke off in mid-sentence in the middle of the first chapter - not the prologue but the first. [laughs] Lastly I read a passage to a cousin of mine who just thought it was really well done. She's also been spreading the word to, about me aspiring to be a writer/novelist to her class, much to my embarressment. [laughs]
Once the next two days end, exams will be finally done for me, and I'll officially be free to actually do some major writing. I hope to complete it over the holidays and send it to people I know as a New Year's gift for feedback and whatnot. Then I'll spend time alternating between this novel, which is very likely to be my debut novel should it ever be published and my 5 book series.
This post is getting incredibly long now so I'll leave you guys with two things:
The stand alone novel's title is: "The Last Masterpiece"
And tagline is: "Even in the heart of a tragedy, there is a way to a smile."
It's also one of my many personal mottos too. [winks]
Always,
Magpie <3
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