My third novel Losing Faith was the first of mine to get picked up by a publisher. My second novel Never Enough was actually my third to get published. By that point, I had run out of steam for working on the first. Eventually, I started a second novel, and only then did I gain some perspective on how much work the first one still needed.
They convinced me to give it a try, and I ended up submitting this book to many agents and editors. I learned a lot about writing during that time, and met several other writers who were pursuing publication. Well, believe it or not, that first badly crafted novel went through many drafts of revision where I had high hopes before I gave up on it. What was the first thing you wrote where you thought “I can make something of this?” I have taken bits and pieces, plot points and character traits from this novel over the years and used them in other stories, but this first novel itself will likely never see the light of day. At that time, I wrote a very badly crafted novel, but I wrote it just for me, just for the enjoyment of writing. I attribute the change to “pregnant brain.” When I was pregnant with my son, I was struck with an insatiable desire to write things down-to-do lists, true stories, fiction, poetry, you name it. It’s only in the last fifteen years or so that I found a love for both. I didn’t keep a journal, and I didn’t equate “enjoyment” with neither reading nor writing. Growing up, I always saw writing as a chore or an assignment. What was the first thing you ever wrote for yourself? I asked Denise about her relationship with writing, including her style, her process, and the workings of the fast draft and YA. Denise balances her writing with working part-time in the film industry background acting, as well as homeschooling her son, and dancing with a Polynesian dance troupe. Since then, Denise has penned four other young adult novels as well as several writing guides including Fast Fiction and this year’s Story Sparks: Finding Your Best Story Ideas and Turning Them into Compelling Fiction. Her first novel Losing Faith was drafted in under thirty days during one National Novel Writing Month.
Denise Jaden is a master of the fast draft.
0 kommentar(er)
