by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner
Now that I’m wrapping up my first novel, I find myself thinking about how I might improve the next novel. And I think I really need to give myself some time to ponder character. I’m so worried about the issue of character in my fiction that I’m even thinking of doing some long, long, long delayed character studies of the characters in the novel I’m wrapping up in a last ditch effort to improve the final product.
But I’m not sure there would be much point in doing that at this point. My first novel is pretty much done and I can’t keep tinkering with it forever. I have to accept that as a first novel — especially one done by a doofus like me — that there are going to be problems that I just can’t solve.
The second novel I’m working on, however, is a different issue. I can game out in character studies what each of the important characters in the novel are like and use those character studies as a guide as I write the story.
At least I have some better understanding of what is important in fiction. After years and years of learning and drifting towards my goal, I am really well positioned to start pumping out actual good pop fiction.
