The Second Novel

I was never sure I would write a second novel and rarely thought about it while I was working on the first. For a long time, years, I wasn’t sure I was writing the first one. Most of the time I knew I was writing something, but not until the story grew and developed and the characters became whole did I dare to admit I was writing a novel.

The second one has all the challenges and joys of the first — the discovery as I write and think about these characters and their story, the fear I won’t be able to get it right, that I will take wrong paths, all the wanting that comes with creating something. But this time, I know I am writing a novel.

This time I set out to write a novel and I know I can, as long as I show up every day. If I have learned anything from writing a first novel, it’s that I have to show up every day.

On The Road

My husband and I prefer road trips to any other travel. Since publishing A Better Life, our road trips have been fairly local, to independent book stores in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The other day we visited one in Milford and one in Peterborough, New Hampshire. They were the first two bookstores that did not accept any books on consignment, and while I was disappointed, it was totally understandable from a business point of view. It wasn’t unlike receiving a rejection letter or email for a submitted short story or a thank-you from an agent saying my work wasn’t a good fit.

It was far from a wasted trip, however, as the manager in Milford steered me to and gave me contact information for the New Hampshire Writers’ Project (www.nhwritersproject.org). I learned about their “Brick and Mortar” program, where they help local authors get into independent bookstores. I also signed up for their one-day writers’ conference on April 27, where I will participate in workshops in scene, setting, and character-driven plot. And most importantly of all, I will be with other writers. It has been too long.

The next day we visited Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord, New Hampshire, where they readily accepted three copies of my novel to add to their shelves of local authors. Having books out there, on the shelves of five bookstores and on the counter of one salon, brings a deep sense of satisfaction.

The Path

We have a good friend, Jim Lord, who digs us out at the lake house during the winter. This morning he was here at seven, plowed the best he could with my car there, and shoveled a walkway from the car to the front door.

I put on my boots and jacket and gloves a few hours later and went outside to clear off the car and shovel the small mountain range left by the street plow. It was windy and cold, but there were intermittent breaks of bright sunshine. By the time I finished and walked back towards the house, the path was lightly covered with snow again, the steps a little slippery.

And so it is with writing.

Where I Write

I am always curious to hear about where other writers write and I often come across writers who need a blank wall in front of them, a place that blocks out every bit of this world so they can concentrate only on their story. No windows, no anything.

Annie Dillard says in The Writing Life, “Appealing workplaces are to be avoided. One wants a room with no view so imagination can meet memory in the dark.”

This would not work for me. I am fortunate to have three most appealing workplaces in which I write. At home in Lowell, I write at the dining room table with the wall of seven windows on my right, looking out onto the back yard, glimpses of the nearby houses beyond the fence, the sky and trees, brilliant sunshine often filling the room.

At our lake house in Newbury, I write at my little round table facing the lake with the ever-changing scene outside the sliders, beyond the deck to the now snow-covered lake and islands, trees and mountains, all surrounded by a sky that transforms moment to moment. I go from the table where I hand-write new material and edit what has been done, to the computer to enter new words and sentences and chapters to be saved and cherished now and reviewed later.

Sometimes after a couple of days of solitude at the lake, I feel the call of the outside world and know it is time to venture out and be among people in addition to my characters. I may go to church and I may visit my books at Morgan Hill Bookstore or MainStreet BookEnds, but I usually end up at Bubba’s in Newbury Harbor to write.

I push away the salt and pepper and make room for my notebook. I have a small table in the bar area where there is a welcoming mix of people, voices and laughter. I settle in, and as I write I listen to pieces of conversation, orders, questions, a recitation of the sides. It is familiar and comfortable and the people who work there and take care of me always make me feel like I could sit there all day if I wanted. After an IPA and lunch, I gather my pages and set off for home, full of the day and excited about my new pages of writing and notes.

I have discovered that where I write is not actually at the lake house or at Bubba’s or at home; where I write is where my story is.

If you would like to leave a comment about where you write, it would be most welcome.

Speaking of the Novel

There are probably millions of people in the United States who belong to a book club. Although I don’t belong to one right now, I was fortunate enough to be invited to one a few days ago to discuss A Better Life.

It is an amazing experience listening to people, some I have known for years and some I just met, discussing Margaret and Jenny, Gene and even Darlene. They talked about Jenny’s family background and they asked many questions about the story which were often answered by another reader. Perhaps the most interesting comments for me were about the ending; readers have been pretty divided on whether they were satisfied with it or not. The fact that many readers want more of Jenny and Margaret’s story is a wonderful thing for this author.

What I loved sharing most was the process of writing the novel. The getting to know the characters, the characters surprising me at times, either by their actions or their reactions. People are amazed that I don’t know what the characters will do or say in advance, that there isn’t more planning or outlining involved. I explained that there are many authors who do outline and plan much of what they write and that is their process, but not mine.

People in the book club were amazed that I know and care so deeply about my characters. That my characters become so very real to me is part of what makes writing special. It is a mysterious process to people who don’t write, as well as to people like me who do.