Reliable (?) Narrator

**My theme for this year's A to Z Challenge is THE REVISION PROJECT. Topics I come across while I write the third draft of my novel, Uneven Lines.**

I sighed, trying to hide my relief. I mean, I wasn’t jealous. No way. It was just—he was mine, you know? 

When you have a first person narrator, the reader isn't always going to know if he/she is telling the truth. Sometimes you have an unreliable narrator. They may tell an interesting story, but it may be skewed by their viewpoints or just what they're willing to share with the reader.

I don't think Jordan is necessarily an unreliable narrator. He does tell it like it is, at least when it comes to what is happening in the story. He even shares certain things with the reader before he shares them with any character in the story. Where I think that reliability starts to become shaky is when he has to tell the reader what he's feeling. He's really not all that emotional of a person, and when he has to open up to someone, whether it's another character or just the reader, he may not be entirely truthful.

There's a particular moment where he describes what he is feeling physically, mentioning his eyes stinging and blinking frantically, but not once does he acknowledge what that actually means--that he was trying not to cry. Because he would never want to admit that to anyone.

So he doesn't necessarily lie to the reader, but does he lie to himself? Probably. He's all about being in control of every single situation, so if he feels like he doesn't have control, he's probably not going to tell you. He wants everyone to believe that nothing can get to him and that includes the reader. That's one of the reasons I think he can be very vulnerable at times, but you have to look really hard to find it under the surface.

So if the narrator doesn't share everything with the reader, is he unreliable? And does that work? I think if he was constantly changing his story or telling outright lies to the reader it may get confusing. But when it seems like a certain pattern, like only telling certain things, it may actually show us more about his character. You may learn as much from what he doesn't tell you than from what he does.

Have you ever used an unreliable narrator? Do you think a first person narrator should always be honest with the reader?

Queries & Publishing

**My theme for this year's A to Z Challenge is THE REVISION PROJECT. Topics I come across while I write the third draft of my novel, Uneven Lines.**

What’s left, anyway, after something is complete? You just move on to the next thing. 

A lot of these posts (or all of them...) have been about stuff that's actually within the story. Well, not this one! This is about what happens after the book is done. Just what the heck am I gonna do with it? 

Nowadays there are more options for authors once their book is ready to be published. We don't necessarily have to go the traditional publishing route. I don't really know the first thing about self-publishing, but sometimes I feel like it may be the best choice for this particular book. Well, because I'm just not sure if anyone will want to publish it. 

I know getting a book published is a long struggle. I know rejections are to be expected. I'm just not sure how likely I am to get that final "yes" after an endless sea of "no"s. But that doesn't mean I won't even try. I'm going to hold out hope that there is someone out there who is my literary agent soul mate. Someone who will get it. Not someone who will just cringe at the idea and not even give it a try. Really, that's what I want out of my readers, too. Just people who will get it. 

I've thought about a query letter. The one I wrote for Pitch Wars was complete rubbish so I'm not even going to look at it. I'm pretty sure I deleted it anyway. What I'd like to pull off with my query is to sell the book like I'm trying to get myself to read it. Well, I know I like my book. I know the reasons why. If I want to get someone interested in it, I think those points will be important to point out. If I just give a summary of what happens on the surface, it will turn most people off. But if I try to dig deep and really find a way to sell this story like the story that I know it is, maybe people will give it a shot. 

That being said, if the traditional publishing route doesn't work, I'm definitely up for self-publishing. It's so scary that I don't even want to think about it right now. I will cross that bridge if and when I come to it. I certainly want this book to see the light of day since I've worked so hard on it and despite all my incredible insecurities, I am passionate about it. 

But I'm getting way ahead of myself. First I have to finish the third draft. Then I need to get some real life (as in, more than one) beta readers. I'll probably put out a request at some point once the draft is done (this post isn't it! The title will probably be something like "BETA READERS WANTED" with fireworks gifs all through the post). Then while they have it maybe I'll start figuring out my query and where I want to send it. Then editing, and, well, you get it. But of course, the writing has to come before all of that nonsense. 

Would you rather find a publisher or self publish? How do you approach a query letter?

Passion

**My theme for this year's A to Z Challenge is THE REVISION PROJECT. Topics I come across while I write the third draft of my novel, Uneven Lines.**

In fact, there was something sort of beautiful about Eric and his guitar. I couldn’t quite figure it out. It was sort of like when I watched Tom cook. It was a happiness that went beyond the fact that he enjoyed what he was doing. Like it was meant to be or something.

There are a few different kinds of passion. Today's post isn't about the romantic kind (because we already kinda sorta talked about that!). There's another kind of passion that comes up a lot in UL, and it's about a passion for what you do, or really, just a passion for life.

Most people have a thing. For a lot of you, it's probably writing. I'm not talking about something you just do for fun or as a hobby. This thing is your passion. You feel like you were meant to do it. You get a certain thrill when you do it, and when you're not doing it, you're probably thinking about it, just waiting for the next moment when you can get back to it.

Why would this be important to a story? Well, it may not be. But it is something that comes up a lot in UL. And it's not just about this idea of fulfilling your dreams. Are you really being true to yourself? Are you even being yourself at all, or are you shoving that passion down?

I have one character whose passion is cooking. He does it a lot, and quite well, but mostly on his own. It's not something he usually shares with other people. It's definitely not a big part of his life, even though it should be (like, say, as a career). It sort of coincides with who he is as a person. He hides most of himself from the world, only making connections with a select few. He can't fully give in to his passion, just like he can never fully be himself.

On the other side of the spectrum, I have a character who doesn't know what his passion is. He doesn't really know what he's looking for in life, just moving from one cheap thrill to the next. There's nothing with any significant meaning to him. So over the course of the book, he is able to find his passion (which happens to be music), but what he's really finding is himself.

Whatever your characters are passionate about could say a lot about them. It may go beyond just a simply hobby or even a career goal. It could speak about who they are as a person, and reveal things that maybe they (or you) didn't even realize.

What are your characters passionate about? Does it reveal something about them?

Opening Scene

**My theme for this year's A to Z Challenge is THE REVISION PROJECT. Topics I come across while I write the third draft of my novel, Uneven Lines.**

I won’t deny the fact that I like to cause trouble.

Everyone knows how important an opening scene is in a book. You want to have something interesting enough to hook the reader in and get them wanting more. At the same time, you don't want to give too much away all at once, or it could be confusing. So what do you include in your first scene? How do you get the story going so that someone wants to read it? 

Sometimes you can't just think about what is going to happen after the first scene, but also what has happened before it. What has happened to your characters to bring them to this point, and why does this particular moment lead to an entire new story? Sometimes background information can be used, or it can be saved for later. If you hint at something on the first few pages, you may just keep the reader intrigued enough to keep going. 

I've only recently written the third draft of my first scene, complete with a brand spankin' new first line (see above!). I've always known exactly where my first scene would take place (a classroom), but figuring out how much information to share has always been a bit tricky. In my previous drafts, there was quite a bit of exposition alongside the action that was happening within in the scene. It made the scene too confusing because there was just so much going on. So I shifted the focus to what was actually happening. There are a few hints here and there at some other things, but those aren't really revealed for a few more pages. 

What has happened before the story begins also plays a huge role in my first scene, which also makes things a little tricky. It's kind of an overlap scene. It's the end of one story and the beginning of another. What has happened before the story begins isn't terribly interesting, but without it, there would be no reason for the novel to exist. So I do have to include a little bit of exposition on what has already happened. Luckily it isn't all that hard to explain, so it doesn't drag down the story. 

What I really wanted to do with the first scene is introduce the main character. Some people may find the things he does strange, but hopefully that will be interesting enough to make them keep reading. 

How do you approach a first scene? How important is what happened before the story began?

Nobody Will Like It

**My theme for this year's A to Z Challenge is THE REVISION PROJECT. Topics I come across while I write the third draft of my novel, Uneven Lines.**

It’s not exactly something that comes up in everyday conversation, especially with my friends, who were just your typical dudes. And honestly, I had no idea how anyone would take it. My friends, my mom, or any of the countless people who thought they knew me but really didn’t know anything. 

It's pretty much impossible for everyone to like every book. Even if most people agree that a book is good, there are still going to be people who give it 1 star reviews. You just can't please everyone. But I'm sure most writers worry that they won't be able to please anyone. What if there is just not a single person out there who will like your book? What if everyone will hate it? 

This is one of the things that has seriously slowed down my writing (you know, besides the not being able to figure things out part). I constantly worry that people won't just not like it, but they'll hate it. They'll wonder why I wasted my time writing something so awful. They'll think I should quit writing altogether. 

I know that thinking is pretty extreme, but my book isn't exactly tame. People are going to find reasons to dislike it, but I can't change the story to try to please those people. But there are just so many elements that worry me. I worry that no one will like the voice, or the swears, or the sexual references. No one will like Jordan or the fact that he's a manipulative little bastard. No one will like that I'm a straight girl writing about gay characters. No one will like the age difference between my characters. No one will like that one of my characters is an ephebophile. No one will like any single thing that any character says, does, or thinks. 

*Phew* Ok, now that I've gotten that out...actually, I have no idea. I can't really erase those doubts until I actually publish it and have a few readers who do like it. And that doesn't mean that they won't be gone completely because I'm sure that there will still be people who hate it. I just wish (and maybe naively so) that the people who would hate it wouldn't read it in the first place. Or maybe someone with a completely open mind who gave it every possible chance and for whatever reason just didn't like it, well, that would be understandable. And better than someone who just hates it before they even start reading. 

Do you ever worry that no one will like your writing? 

Madison, or, The Magically Appearing Minor Character!

**My theme for this year's A to Z Challenge is THE REVISION PROJECT. Topics I come across while I write the third draft of my novel, Uneven Lines.**

There were plenty of things I could have said. No thanks, I like boys. Sorry, I’m just afraid that you’re diseased. No, really, I’m flattered, you’re just really annoying. What came out of my mouth was, “Fine. Come on.” She grinned as I took her hand. 

Sometimes you have characters who cause trouble. Wait, haven't I written about this before? I guess all of my characters cause trouble. But sometimes you come up with a character who didn't even seem necessary to the story, just shows up in the middle, throws everyone off, then walks away. And the mess they leave shouldn't work, but it does, and you're the one picking up all the pieces.

I can't even think of an accurate name for this type of character, so for now we'll call her Madison. Well, because that's her name in UL. But I'm sure a lot of you have had a Madison every now and then. The issue is whether or not she's even necessary, and if she is, is there a way to make her more prominent in the story?

Let me break this down without being too spoilerific (I hope). Madison doesn't show up in UL until Chapter 17. There has never been any mention of her whatsoever. Jordan goes to his friend Brian's birthday party and she just happens to be there. Seems ok, right? But the thing about Madison is that she's tied to things that happened long before the story even began. Madison is best friends with Kristen, who just so happens to be the last girl Jordan went out with before deciding to end all that nonsense. Now, Madison and Kristen are the biggest frenemies you've ever known. So a just about perfect way of hurting Kristen would be to hook up with the guy that dumped her and left her a little obsessed.

I know what you're going to say. "Uh, Sarah...don't know if you knew this, but...Jordan is gay." Shhhhhhh. Teenagers can get it up for pretty much anything and it works in the scene, trust me! That's not the point! Because he doesn't go through with it, obviously, and not just because she's a girl. Because he has feelings for someone else. Which leads to an entire other fiasco but that will come up in a later post. But without his interaction with Madison, certain things that happen in the main plot never would have happened at all.

Also, the whole Madison thing fuels the subplot on a huge level. Brian gets really pissed at Jordan for the whole mess, Jordan decides he needs to pretty much destroy Brian's life, blah blah blah. So she has a purpose. The thing I worry about is the fact that she just shows up out of nowhere, messes everything up, and then disappears. Is that a weird thing to do? Will the reader be thinking, "who the hell is this chick?"

I'm trying to work her in more and more in the third draft. She's lurking in the first chapter when we catch Kristen staring at Jordan, and then she whispers to the girl sitting next to her. Madison also happens to be the girl Eric has had a crush on the whole time even though he doesn't tell anyone until after all the nonsense happens. And I think she can show up again later on as Jordan is scheming against Brian. He sees her as someone who could help because she's just as sneaky and crafty as him.

So is it ok if characters just show up out of nowhere? Or is it better to subtly weave them throughout the story so that they don't shock the reader and throw things off?

Do you have your own version of a Madison? Do you think characters can just show up and never be seen again?

Looks & Appearances

**My theme for this year's A to Z Challenge is THE REVISION PROJECT. Topics I come across while I write the third draft of my novel, Uneven Lines.**

I was tall, pretty skinny, which apparently a lot of girls went for (don’t even get me started on how hilarious that was). Just plain old brown eyes and short, light brown hair. I guess it really had to be my face. I’ve got high cheekbones and a smile that can kill.

Have you ever thought about what your characters look like? Of course you have! We probably know every exact detail of every character's appearance. But that doesn't necessarily mean it shows up in the story. How much do the readers need to know about what your characters look like? And how often should it show up?

I know some people will argue that you don't have to describe appearances at all. While I think it's definitely easy to overdo it, having a brief description of what a character looks like will help the reader to visualize the story better. Especially if the character is important. Minor characters don't necessarily need to be so clearly defined if they aren't showing up as much. For instance, in my book, I never really describe what Jordan's friends, Eric and Brian, look like. They're only in a few chapters and since I already had to give descriptions for two characters in the first chapter, I didn't want to bog down the beginning of the book with character descriptions.

So what do you tell? And when do you tell it? I think it's better to get it out as quickly as possible. If you're introducing a character, then you probably want to describe what he looks like. If you put it off for too long, it may come off as strange to just suddenly say what he looks like halfway through the story when you've made no reference to it before. So my general philosophy is right away, or not at all. It's a lot easier when you're introducing a character we've never seen before. Jordan meets Tom for the first time at the end of Chapter One in UL, so that was a perfect time to describe what Tom looks like. For other characters, it isn't always so easy.

The hardest thing, I think, is to have a character describe himself. You'll only have this problem if you write in first person. There is rarely a time when a person will actually describe what they look like and it will sound normal. You'll have to find a way for it to come up naturally within the story. The whole "describe myself while looking in the mirror" thing has been ridiculously overdone. When I have Jordan describe himself to the reader, his thoughts are a reaction to a conversation he's having with his friends at the time. He doesn't go into a ridiculous amount of detail, either. Just a few sentences and then the story continues. I think it works for the scene and gets that description out of the way so the reader can better visualize him through the rest of the story.

You can sneak in details throughout the story as well. I felt in Jordan's initial description, I didn't fully explain what his hair looked like, because it just seemed silly and unimportant. But I figured I could sneak in some detail later on in the story when he's getting ready for a date. I'm sure most people will fuss over their hair in that type of situation, so it won't seem strange like it would have in his initial description.

It's really all about finding the right place and the right way to describe a character. You may not be able to get every single detail in at once, and that's ok. You just have to find the spots that work for your story and characters.

Do you include physical descriptions of your characters?