Recently, I was working with my three homeschooled children
on a literary analysis essay- why Lois Lowry’s The Giver is a dystopian novel.
None of them were really keen on the idea of multiple drafts and I had an
epiphany. On the dry erase board, I wrote the subject at hand— Writing. I asked
them, when we add and subtract, multiply and divide, we’re doing what? “Math,”
they answered. “Right, we’re not mathing are we?” And then I went through the
various other subjects— Science vs. Sciencing, Social Studies vs. Social
Studying. Only Reading gets the same progressive verb ending as Writing. And my
son brought up that this meant that the action was ongoing.
This is one reason I’ve taken to the word noveling. There’s
just so much involved in a single novel— research, characterization, dialogue,
plot, setting, writing, revising, editing, etc. One doesn’t simply write a
novel and working on a novel sounds like a hobby thing to do. The solution?
Noveling.
As of this moment, I am thoroughly revising a social realism
novel. I am at the 35,005th word of an “Atwood edit.” Exactly how
many words this novel will have is TBD as a thorough revision means adding (and
subtracting) a great deal. This novel’s complete, however—has its beginning,
middle, and end and these various parts have been revised and edited thoroughly
before. Way, way many times before. But two more revisions— the “Atwood edit”
and a “dream agent” edit— and I will have taken it as far as I can.
As of this moment, a dystopian speculative novel is waiting
its turn. I have drafted some on it. Edited a bit of it. Even “workshopped” the
first pages of it with Margaret Atwood. While I’m doing the dishes or walking
the dog, I “get” or “see” or imagine scenes for it. Mostly, though, I’m just
thinking about it. Taking to heart what Atwood wrote in a note at the end of
Oryx and Crake, “What if we continue on the path we’re already on?” and trying
to imagine that future.
As of this moment, I’m Jonesing to research another novel idea. There’s a world I long to immerse myself in. Research and travel and probably some translators will be needed. But the seeds for this novel are strong and they’re taking root. I have to keep them buried until I can shine some light on them.
As of this moment, a kernel of a Young Adult novel is in my
head. Maybe it’ll go somewhere. Maybe it won’t. I don’t know yet. I’ll know
better when I’m thoroughly revising some previous thought of and more worked
out novel and start seeing scenes or getting lines or a character starts
demanding attention.
So, there are all these things going on in my head all at
once. After I finish writing this blog piece, I’m going to tackle the
35,006th+ words of my completed, but not finished social realism
novel. Line editing, rearranging scenes, better transitions, thinking about
cuts and working out additions. There are the novel ideas that are waiting in
the wings that so often come to me unbidden. How do I describe this process?
Working on a novel? Writing a novel (when writing is such a tiny little bit of
it)? Revising and editing and re- so much of it— reworking, reordering,
re-editing, replacing, etc. a novel? There are simply too many parts to the
whole of this novel writing thing. So, I’m noveling. I can’t put it any other
way.
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| Photo by Curt Richter |
