Tuesday, April 2, 2013

In Her Head

I've started off my new work in process, Overly Caffeinated Werewolves (Are not Pretty), and it's brilliant fun.  I'm only 3,000 words in and already there have been four dragons,  two werewolves and a dead body. Overload? I don't know - a lot of fun whatever.
But... I'm struggling with 'the voice.' To really get inside my narrators head and have a good roll around.
As with Dragons' Nests & Firebirds, the previous novel in the series, I'm writing in first person past tense, which worked really well in the last book as Nell's voice wasn't that much of a stretch for me. I didn't have to work too hard (okay, at all, really) to see things through her eyes. She loves details and I could describe all the beautiful things and places at glorious length and her 'tone' was easy. Mia is different. Mia's tone does not come easily to me.
O, but I wish it did.
She's sharp, fast, organised, hardworking, sharp-shooting and fiercely protective and getting her voice right is so hard. My natural tone is... flowery. Her tone is... not.
So I'm wondering, should I  change into third person which is time consuming if it means re-writing a whole novel, but at this early stage not too bad. I've done it before at 30,000 words and it was quite an interesting, if long, exercise, or try to stretch myself to continue trying to write in Mia's voice?
Decisions, decisions.
If I ever get Mia's voice right, I think it could be very effective. However, seeing things through her eyes would mean I'd have to leave out a lot of stuff I really want in, because she just won't see them. Also, I'd need to get a lot more technical about coffee than I suspect my brain can take in.
If I write in third person I can get in a lot more of my delicious detail. But then there's the option of head-jumping. Writing from a lot of different perspectives would be interesting...
But then, it would be nice to get to the end of the series and have the five sisters each have one book to 'speak' in. The different voices would complement each other so well and as a whole it would be so satisfying!
Okay, playtime. I'm off to juggle some words around and see how it all falls out...
I feel coffee may be called for. I suspect by the end of the month the werewolves will not be the only ones who are overly caffeinated!

No comments:

Post a Comment