Special’s second and FINAL (at least “final” in the sense that it’s gonna have to get edited after I try to find an agent or publisher) draft is FINISHED.
125 pages and counting!!!!!
I think I have a p solid idea for how the story is going to end now! P satisfied! Probs coming up on it soon honestly. Deffo gonna hit 200 lol
Ten questions to ask a friend who just read your novel
Here are ten questions to ask that will not put your friend in a tough spot, but will still give you some useful input on your novel:
1. At what point did you feel like “Ah, now the story has really begun!”
2. What were the points where you found yourself skimming?
3. Which setting in the book was clearest to you as you were reading it? Which do you remember the best?
4. Which character would you most like to meet and get to know?
5. What was the most suspenseful moment in the book?
6. If you had to pick one character to get rid of, who would you axe?
7. Was there a situation in the novel that reminded you of something in your own life?
8. Where did you stop reading, the first time you cracked open the manuscript? (Can show you where your first dull part is, and help you fix your pacing.)
9. What was the last book you read, before this? And what did you think of it? (This can put their comments in context in surprising ways, when you find out what their general interests are. It might surprise you.)
10. Finish this sentence: “I kept reading because…”
Your friend is probably still going to tell you, “It was good!” However, if you can ask any specific questions, and read between the lines, you can still get some helpful information out of even the most well-meaning reader.
Ooh, these are excellent, and I have a hell of a time coming up with good questions to get more than a cycle of “I liked it!” “Great, what did you like about it?”
“…It was good?”
YOU GOT THIS!! What do you do for encouragement to keep writing?
Usually what happens is I listen to a song that makes me think of the story and then I get to wanting to write more. Then that song’s on repeat for hours straight.
What also helped me this time (I say this time because what usually happens is I get bursts of motivation and shit and write for a long while then take a couple months break) is sending the document to my girlfriend! Shady read all of the first draft and was excited to read the changes so I sent it to her a few days ago only to be told the next day that she had accidentally stayed up the whole night catching up to the 30 pages I had when she had only intended on reading like the first chapter. Which is soooo satisfying to hear, especially from someone who doesn’t read that often.
So uhm I guess the only advice I can give is playlists and getting an audience you want to write for.
What are the biggest changes you're making as you edit this round?
:o woah an ask!!!! <3Special’s been going through a complete and total overhaul of the story, actually - most of that being that Tovia is now undiagnosed and written more the ‘traditional’ way I’ve always written him (he’s a lot more talkative, that’s really the biggest difference lol). Ben and him still meet in the hospital but instead of Tovia being there because of a seizure, he’s there because of a suicide attempt and the rest of the novel is about his struggle to not try it again as well as form meaningful relationships.
At the same time, I’m trying out writing Ben struggling more with staying sober (but less so in a depressing manner and more in a sort of like... ‘fun’ way if that makes sense? Like Ben gets drunk at a party, he’s happy, he’s having a cool time, but he’s drunk at a party. Him being drunk also causes him to hit on Tovia and ignore Tovia’s bubble - Tovia doesn’t like to be touched right away and while Tovia loves cuddles and all that, a LOT of it has to be initiated by him - which puts their relationship in a strain. However, at the same time, I do want to have more of him getting drunk while friends with Tovia and not harassing his friend and just making silly comments while Tovia supports him the next day during his hangover, stuff like that) and keeping his relationship with Lois intact! This time, they’re not entirely antagonistic towards each other - although, Shady suggested I sneak something in later and I SUPER love the idea. ;3;As for Lois- I actually just finished writing something which is completely new to Special. There is now a chapter following Lois. Not a chapter about Lois’ relationship with Tovia, but a chapter about Lois and who she is as a person. Where does she fit into all of this? Why is she the way she is? What does she want?
Because the more I write this, the more I’m starting to see a trend in these chapters about wanting something in other people. Wanting to be liked, wanting to be loved for who you are, wanting to be another person, wanting to have security and wanting to stop being angry. It’s p cool.
But yeah most of this editing stage has been me looking through old chapters, taking lines and plot threads I liked, and then rewriting most of the story around them - as well as taking things I’ve written from my classes this past semester and tossing them in.
For example, the line I wrote during the Spring that helped steer Special in a new fresh direction:
All your problems small and solvable at the bottom of a bridge.
Last I left off (I think anyway, I didn’t even check the blog before writing this post on my main), I printed out the first draft of Special and was looking to edit everything- hooray!
I already knew that there’d be some major revisions with characters (i.e Tovia’s older brothers) but I had no idea I’d feel so strongly about doing a total overhaul of the story.
Whoops?
So what’s the biggest newest thing?
Tovia is diagnosed. Is he still Autistic? Probably.
The problem: I feel like the story was being held back by the symptoms I was sort of forcing onto Tovia - I didn’t think Tovia was “Autistic enough” to be considered as such and because of that, some things didn’t translate well. I don’t have Autism. I don’t know what it’s like, despite all the research I did. It wasn’t working with my character. I personally think Tovia still is Autistic, but as far as I am in this rewrite, no one has diagnosed him with it.
So what is the story about then?
The same thing it’s always been about: Relationships.
It is still about the struggle to form relationships and to move forward despite your own shortcomings.
At the beginning of Special, we find that Tovia wants to move out so as to stop putting stress on his older brother. He suffers a seizure at the middle of a dinner (which is set up as a proposal for Abigail, Felix’s girlfriend) and is rushed to the hospital where he first meets Ben.
In the new iteration, Tovia survives a failed suicide attempt, already lives on his own, and meets Ben.
I think, personally, it’s brought a new life to the story. We’re already set in the conflict that’s Tovia’s personal life. His family is worried he might hurt himself again. He doesn’t think highly of himself and has to try to go on with his life as if nothing’s happened despite the fact that he still doesn’t want to be alive.
TLDR: There’s more conflict like this, which is something Special has always struggled with, as well as a lot firmer stance on relationships and how we affect one another.
:o Suffering. Nah, I had to write this 10 paged story for Creative Writing my senior year and the assignment was to include at least 5 random objects into it. I decided I’d write about my boy and had just recently talked to Shady about how I thought Tovs was in the Autism Spectrum. Wrote the story, really liked what I had, and just kept going...? (Shrugs)
Hi! Tell me about Special - what's it about? What genre? Who are the main characters?
:3c Yay~ <3Special’s a romance novel about my boy Tovia (I’ve had this OC since like 2008, shit’s crazy). He’s Autistic, biromantic, and Jewish! c: He meets Ben (my GF’s OC), who’s a recovering Alcoholic, and the two become friends. Generally, it’s just about Ben trying to get over his drinking problem and Tovia learning how to sort of “interact with the rest of the world”* and break away from his family (he’s been living with his middle brother since graduating high school) when he moves out.
*basically, he feels really disconnected and like something’s wrong with him - the title Special refers to his family always telling him he’s not slow or he’s not weird, he’s just “special” and how he never wanted to be “special”. d(^-^d)
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