Novel #2 by Evadne Macedo has an identity crisis and does not want its new name revealed
Update on “The 29th Day”
I had two extremely busy weeks at work and did not have the time or mental energy to delve into The 29th Day. It was rather frustrating to have received fantastic advice from Terry Fallis, winner of the Leacock Medal for Humour, at the end of February and not be able to act on it.
I managed to keep the blog going (kind of) and (surprisingly) found myself wanting to escape into the alternate world of Novel #2 (I actually made substantial progress with Novel #2 even though things were so hectic. I now have a number of ideas that I can work on in the upcoming months — it was as if my mind was hyper-activated or something).
Now that I am close to the end, I have to be much more precise when I change something in The 29th Day. But, I am pleased to announce that I just completed making the revisions Terry Fallis suggested. I have about 6-7 other changes I want to make, in addition to final polishing. The good news is that I have arranged to take three days off work over the March Break. I plan to do fun stuff with my kids in the day and then write in the evenings, starting a little earlier than when I am working.
Now that I am into Novel #2, I find that the voice I have in my mind is changing (my new narrator is much less formal than Annika in The 29th Day). This has made me less inclined to revise the wording too much — I need to remember which book I am in. I had also been thinking of reworking the beginning of The 29th Day, but book-hating sister #1 says she likes it the way it is. So, I have decided not to fiddle with it. [Incidentally, book-hating sister #2 still has not recovered from reading the first 30 pages back in November 2009. However, she is reluctant to return my manuscript, so I think she may have set reading it as her life-time goal.]. Plus, award-winning novelist, Terry Fallis read the manuscript and liked it as it was (subject to fairly nominal suggestions throughout). So, I am going to channel my big thoughts — about plot developments and shuffling pieces of writing around – into Novel #2 instead.
So, I have set myself a final deadline. I will complete my revisions to The 29th Day by the end of March. This will be exactly one year after I sent my first and only chapter to Terry (it was quite different back then … but Terry saw potential in it and asked “What happened next?”). I can’t thank Terry enough for all his support and help … but, I can ask you to vote for The Best Laid Plans on Canada Also Reads. The deadline is 1pm on March 15, 2010. Please visit this link and click The Best Laid Plans … it will only take a second or two and it will be really exciting if Terry wins. And don’t forget, Wayson Choy’ s The Jade Peony is in the running to win Canada Reads. They’re different competitions so you can vote for both!
More about Novel #2
After the December 12, 2009 Humber Writers’ Circle, I started to realize that the tentative name of Novel #2, Viral Hatred sounded a little too scary for a book that tends more to the comic than the evil. Besides, I really do not want to alienate readers with the title. I had been thinking about changing the name but had not come up with anything good. Then, a lucky circumstance last week led me to a new idea — one that fits quite nicely with the overall theme of the book. Like The 29th Day, the new name of Novel #2 links to a non-fiction theory that will underpin a literary mystery (this one will unfold from at least two shifting perspectives).
The new title helped me to sort out a big dilemma — I had a protagonist in mind, but I really knew nothing about her or her friends or her life. Now I know what her name is, where she works, and a little bit about who she is. I reworked my first chapter so it blends the comedy with a hint of drama/suspense and workshopped it on March 9, 2010 at Writers’ Group I recently joined. I was really impressed by the sorts of “writerly” comments I got — they noticed all the details that other less technically inclined readers would miss: inconsistencies in the voice, spots where I switched tenses (now that I’m on my second novel, I am trying more advanced techniques: first person present) and situations where I was a little loose with the chronology. Thanks to this fantastic feedback, I realize at the outset of my novel that if I am going to be successful in using the first person present, the timing has to be rather precise — I can only write about what I would see or do if I were the character. This feedback confirms (again) that I should just trust my instincts — I can write funny scenarios, build suspense and write something that appeals to male and female readers. I feel very fortunate that I have been invited to join this group as I think feedback from writers will help me polish my second manuscript as I go (rather than having to do multiple revisions as I did on my first novel, The 29th Day.).
I also tried out the novel’s new name on the writing group. A couple of the writers in the group thought that Viral Hatred was better. I take all advice very seriously, but feel fairly certain my new title will work (because of the way it connects to the overall theme of the story). Still, I have decided not to announce the new name until I am further into the novel. I don’t want to reveal it and then have to change it again … so I will call it Novel #2 until I am really sure.
Human Rights Happenings
Did you read the recent Economist article? 120 baby girls born for every 100 boys! We have a long way to go to achieve equality for women and girls.
A short note to congratulate the Government of Canada on ratifying the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on March 11, 2010 … just in time for the start of the paralympic games!
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Sounds like you have a plan! Onwards!
Thanks Terry! I really appreciate all your support … and can’t believe how far my writing has gone in the year since I met you.