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Last week, I had the honour of giving an author talk in Thornbury, Ontario. During the interview, I was asked how I came up with the idea for the novel, whether the stories in the novel were inspired by my own family (yes!) and what surprised me while creating the characters. I talked about my interest in historical research and the pitfalls of travelling into too many directions at once. It was a fantastic afternoon.
And then came the questions from the audience.
One of the first questions was about the title. I felt badly, but I confessed to the woman asking that if I answered that question, it was tantamount to a spoiler. However, it’s a question I love to unpack with people who have already read the novel. If that’s you, check out the Book Club discussion questions here. ( I love joining Book Club conversations, so reach out to see if I’m available to pop into your group this summer.)
Many of the questions revolved around process, which I love to think about. Pre-pandemic, my friend and fellow writer Cat Skinner shared our “Top Ten Things Every Writer Needs”, and it is a list I’m constantly revising.
So then, a word about revisions.
The final question last Saturday afternoon was this: “How do you know when it is finished?” This man was a podcaster, musician and visual artist, so he had some experience with the self-doubt creators know all too well trying to walk the line between perfecting a project and putting it out there. This last year, I realized I could accumulate “almost done” projects in a drawer FOREVER. In fact, I was likely to die with unfinished manuscripts unless I got a move on.
Here’s what I know about “when is it done?”
In the case of historical fiction, in helpful ways writers are constrained by the actual historical events. One can be creative and write a novel that toggles between the present and the past, but ultimately wars, riots, political dramas and royals on the throne all come to an end. (Eventually!) The trick is to join a narrative arc with a historic timeline. Unsurprisingly, most heroines don’t necessarily have aha moments just as the last bomb is dropped. So, I guess it is done when the author has pulled the protagonist as far as she needs to go in the confines of the story’s timeline. At some point, in life as in writing, we have to put aside the “what ifs” and just write “The End.”
Thanks to the beauty of modern digital technology, nothing is permanent, even in print. The temptation could be to go back and tinker with a novel after you have it hand, but this will stop me (and maybe you) from starting on the next project, and that project also needs to be written, and re-written, and finally read.
One important caveat. I do go back and change typos and I sincerely thank those who reached out to point out, as fellow writer Theresa H would say, my “boo boos”. “Don’t think your friends will tell you, they won’t.” Thanks, T. I could beat myself up for my double word scores and my creative spelling, but that kind of all-or-nothing thinking doesn’t serve me well. Also, I just finished Louise Penney and Hillary Clinton’s collaboration and the combined resources of Simon & Schuster and St. Martin’s Press missed glaring errors, so I can forgive myself and keep writing. (If you find a typo in the latest edition, send me a note and I’ll send you some salty, black liquorice.)
For now, one thing is certain. The school year is almost finished. For all the graduates this summer, well done! Enjoy the summer, because like ice cream on a hot day, it will be gone before you know it!