My name is Anna. I am 30 years old, lean and tall golden blonde. My hair is long any my eyes are bright green. I was born and grew up in Norway, so I am more used to colder weather. How did I end up in the Deep South? After graduating from the Medical School of the University of Bergen with a degree in Medical Biology I was offered a teaching job in Alabama. It sounded like an adventure, so, I decided to try. English was a challenge at first, as well as a very different culture. It took me a few years to get used to the new environment and atmosphere. I eventually decided to stay there and bought a little house near Birmingham. I never felt particularly happy there. I didn’t have enough time to get married and to start a family. Honestly, I didn’t even date anyone seriously. My whole life was about work and thoughts, and some periods of depression and desperation. Time was going fast, but I often felt like I am not living my life and like if real life is happening somewhere else with someone else.
“Hi” – I heard soft voice behind me. I turned my head. It was dark, but lights on the bus were so dimmed that it was hard to see. There was a young girl on the seat behind mine. “Excuse me”, she continued, “I’m cold, I can’t reach to my blanket, it’s on the shelf up there”. She pointed to the luggage compartment above the seats. Her mother was soundly asleep. It was a little after midnight and our bus was going fast. “Sure”, I got her blanket and helped her to get covered. I also helped her to found missing stuffed animal. The girl was about 5 years old. I returned to my seat and continued thinking. “Children. Do I even want to be a mother? Do I want to be responsible for someone else’s like?” I wasn’t even married. I didn’t even have a boyfriend. It was probably premature to think about having children. So far it seems like I can barely take care of myself. All my stuff – well, what was left of it anyway – was packed in 2 bags. That was all I had after the tornado. I didn’t have a place to live. I didn’t know where I was going and what I will do. I lived in a present moment and had no future plans.
Next morning we have arrived to NYC. It was hot and humid. Dusty asphalt was smelly and all city sounds overwhelmed me almost instantly. It was still early and I saw people rushing to work. They were dressed in business suits and holding a suitcase in one hand and a coffee cup in the other. They had their lives figured. They knew what they wanted, where they were going and what they want to be doing. It wasn’t my case at all. I was staying there in a dirty bus stop with no idea where I want to be. I spent a few hours there just sitting on a bench observing other people. I hardly slept on the bus, so my mind was scattered and I wasn’t thinking clearly. Busses were stopping by and leaving the station. I watched other people getting in and out of them. Most busses looked about the same with a little age and color variation. A newer and bigger bus arrived. It was red and shiny and looked like it can bring me somewhere good. Some place where a great success can be achieved, all dreams can come true… It was almost noon, it started to become impossibly hot – middle of July with no clouds on the sky. I got into the bus as soon and its passengers left. I didn’t know where it was going, or if it was going anywhere at all. The bus driver left the doors opened and was talking with his friends outside. I got into the back seat – the AC was still working and it was pleasantly nice and cool. I closed my eyes and fell asleep almost instantly.
I woke up when sun was already down. There were a few people on the bus, but it wasn’t full and it wasn’t moving. I looked outside. There was the ocean, big ships outside. It looked like a port, or an industrial district. For how long was I asleep? I didn’t have a watch, so, I looked at my phone. Of course, I found 20 new emails in my inbox – which I completely forgot to check earlier. My friends being worried about me, newsletters and ridiculous job offers, facebook status updates – it is impossible to stay disconnected these days, you’re constantly reminded to disclose your location or current situation. I didn’t feel like doing that. With the information overload from my phone I forgot to check the time – my original task. It was 8pm. Then the bus started moving. I didn’t even know where it was going. I didn’t care enough to get up and ask someone either.
We arrived rather fast – only in a couple of hours there was a big bus station in a big city. I was looking into a window all the way and I saw us entering New England. I didn’t know where exactly we were going, but we ended up arriving to Boston. It was dark and late. I got off the bus, walked for a few hours carrying my stuff along with me, then decided to stop at a hotel for the night. I checked in into an average looking hotel, the surrounded area looked like a city, but it wasn’t in downtown. I’ve never been to Boston before, so, I was slightly disoriented. I decided to go outside and get something to eat. Going out probably wasn’t the best idea since I spent so much time on a bus and felt rather smelly. I stopped by a small grocery store.
Jane,
I, too, am working on my first novel. Up to now, I've written poetry and short stories (my first book is a collection of short stories), so I am in the same space as you with trying to figure out how I write a novel. Each writer seems to take a different approach, and I've read tons of advice that has been helpful, yet in the end we must experiment until we find our individual formulas. The approach I've been taking is to just throw the story onto the page any old way, just to get my ideas down, and then to sit and think about what I have for a bit before going in and doing surgery, so to speak. I've scrapped several starts, and feel I've finally found my way into my own book. It's taken me over a year to get this far! I am not a fast or prolific writer; I need to meditate on what I'm trying to say, the story I want to tell, for long periods of time before I work on the project again. The hardest lesson about the way I write a novel has been that it will be slow. After all, short stories don't take much time to complete, so this is a whole new game. I belong to a very supportive writers' group, and it helps me a lot to have willing ears to bounce ideas from. It's hard to write in a vacuum.
As for grammatical errors, you will naturally make a few since English isn't your first language (native speakers have plenty of trouble with it!). Use the tools on hand to try to catch things as you go (books on grammar, usage, and style and your computer's spell and grammar checks, plus maybe a trusted reader with solid grammar skills), but relax about it as much as you can. When you go back to do your rewrite and then the editing, you'll be able to polish it all up. And I think it's smart to try different POVs. You may end up going with the 1st person after all, but maybe you'll find another POV you like better.
Well, I didn't mean to write a book here! I'm excited for you as you embark on this journey. Books are such amazing portals to other worlds, and creating them is like magic - magic and a lot of angst and labor! I, too, love Nabokov, by the way. :)
About my grammar issues - please let me know if you see that I keep repeating the same grammar error over and over....
Thank you very much, Elizabeth!!! Now before writing Chapter 3 I am going to re-write the previous ones according to your comments. These were "raw" chapters - I wrote what was coming into my mind, and, sure thing, this part now needs a lot of work to bring it into some shape... I do have a story - not clearly outlined, but as a few key points. I will try re-writing in in 3rd person - thank you for this suggestion. My favorite writer is Nabokov and he often uses 1st person narrative - so I thought I would try that, but you are right, for my very first novel I should use something easier. If everything goes according to my plan, the story of Anna will turn rather crazy, so, keep reading :)
Hi Jane,
I was eager to read your 2nd chapter after sampling the first one. First, Anna is an interesting character. Second, coming to the USA from Norway with a degree in Med Bio, and then accepting a teaching position in the deep South is a situation that gives Anna lots of room to have riveting adventures and conflicts. You're off to a great start!
1. Watch your tense. It's all over the place.
2. Your powers of description are strong, and you will make good use of them. But be careful of telling the reader things he/she should find out organically as the story unfolds. For example, the description of Anna is delivered whole and feels a bit awkward. Maybe we could "see" her instead in a reflection or through another character's eyes.
3. You've chosen 1st person narrative. It's immediate and can deliver a lot of punch, plus the unique view of your main character on all aspects of life. It can also be limiting, since you can report only what that character sees, hears, smells, feels, knows. Have you considered 3rd person (omniscient or limited)? It is often easier for first time novelists to handle, as it gives them access to all the characters plus the all-knowing narrator/writer view. That said, you must choose the POV that feels most natural to you.
4. Right now, there is a single strong thread to your story. As you develop your plot and characters, you will find the threads of your subplots and begin to weave them together to create a more rounded and complex experience for your readers. Do you outline or just go straight to the page? Do you know where your story is going, or at least the major plot points? These are the things to wrestle with as you develop your novel. There is no right or wrong way, but you do have to find YOUR way.
It's so exciting and difficult to write a book length story! There is a tremendous amount of work ahead of you, but I think you will love it. I would love to watch the progress of your novel; it is intriguing already. Just give yourself time to think about your created world and the characters who people it, and don't sweat the first draft too much. Get it down. You'll rewrite it several times before you're done. Write on!