by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner
While I feel this novel is getting much, much better, I also growing a bit uneasy with the possibility that I have a little bit of a “slut” problem. What I see as being “sex positive,” I’m afraid others might see me as having all my female characters being horny toads.
It’s one of those situations where there comes a point where you can only over think things so much. Sometimes, you just have to accept that you can’t please everyone. I do think that my characterizations of my characters — especially the female characters — are getting a lot better.
To the point that I think it’s possible that I’m within shouting distance of having a professional novel on my hands. One that I can query in about a year — just as the Fourth Turning is fucking everything up — and not be embarrassed that I’m doing it.
But still have a few major steps between now and then. I still haven’t even gotten past the first chapter of the third draft at the moment. I keep writing copy, then reading it and realizing I can do a lot better. There is going to come a point when I realize I just can’t spin my wheels like this forever and need to move forward.
If nothing else, every time I do this, my storytelling ability gets a little bit better.
But back to women. I mean well, but I also realize that if I lean into women being “sex positive” for the sake of plot all the time, then I’m going to have an usually large number of sexually aggressive women in the story and, as such, critics will make note of it.
Anyway. I am very pleased with what I’m managed to come up with. I hope to throw myself into writing tomorrow, but who knows if that will work out or not. My life is in flux at the moment. But I am pleased with the state of the novel, if nothing else.
