On Retreading

Sometimes the best stories need a second look

I finished a draft for a new project recently. After being knee-deep in edits I wanted to do something fun and completely separate from my current books - and it was the right call. To work on something new was like a holiday to a place I’ve never been before. I got to explore and figure out the world as I went along, and I found myself simply delighted by what I found. I won’t say the book came together easily, but it didn’t take too many drafts to feel like I knew what this story was about.

While I let that draft rest for a time, I’m poking around with a story I wrote three years ago. A novella, it was an experiment in writing shorter narratives. Will I liked the story well enough, looking over it now with fresher eyes I started to see places in need of improvement. That part didn’t surprise me. I find the longer I’m away from a story, I return with new ideas to punch up or rewrite certain scenes. But this time however, I looked at the story and thought about punching up the word count.

Another author once told me a story is as long as it needs to be. Sometimes it’s obvious from the start, but other times you’ll only figure it out by writing the tale.

Looking back at this old story, I started seeing where I cut back on plot developments because of word count concerns. There were quite a few scenes that could be longer but I had cut them short because I was adamant about staying within the bounds of the word count. I wanted this to be a novella, to prove to myself that I can write shorter narratives. And I did finish it, but I always had the in the back of mind it could be improved somehow. As I look over the story now, thinking of how I first wrote it, I started to wonder that maybe this was never a novella at all. That this “novella” was a robust outline that I didn’t know how to make into a novel - but I do now.

While I’m certain there is a version of this story that could be a novella, I think a full novel will be the best way to tell all the things I wish to say. And if I wasn’t certain about this being a good choice, I refer to the notebook where I easily wrote six pages of possible changes and additions without pause. Six back-to-back pages written in pen, brimming with ideas as I got excited to retread an old story and transform it into the book it might have meant to be.

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There are fun things I get to do with my books as it comes time for promotion, but nothing is as joyful as putting together a doll to capture the spirit and whimsy of my book and main characters.

I always enjoyed my Barbies. Not only were they fun to collect and dress, dolls were the first place I began making stories. With a Barbie in hand, I narrated for my younger sister tales that were convoluted, very silly, and often end up with a number of car crashes and explosions.

Dolls allowed me to develop characters and think up complex dynamics well before I was skilled enough to do it on paper (not to mention keep track of a plot that had “installments” each day). I may not even be a writer if I didn’t have the chance to engage in such play. So to put together a doll that evokes a character I get to share with the world, is one of those full circle moments.

(Of course it’s not just these two I did. There’s a third doll I’ll reveal in the near future, once I can share more information about The Starseekers!)

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The Improvisers arrives November 5th. Until then I’m giving away an ARC (Advance Review Copy) each month. If you’re interested in snagging a sneak peek, enter the survey below before 7/28.

If you entered previously, no need to enter again, you’re already in the running!