My very first novel I wrote will always hold a special place in my heart. It was a complete labor of love and excitement. At the time, not so long ago mind you, I had this idea of writing escapism. Something so different from my actual life and something fun. I made up this fictional island off the coast of Georgia (think Tybee Island). My characters involved ten (yes, really;-0) beautiful sisters all with green eyes and ebony hair. They were rich and owned the island, a beautiful plantation home and a bar/restaurant where lots of exciting things could happen. They were also all really unlucky in love.
Even describing the above seems ludicrous to me now. There are a lot of things wrong with the above scenario and plot line. Ten sisters first of all. A little much, I know. Not to mention they all basically looked alike. It was impossible to set one apart from the other. My sweet mother-in-law told me, very nicely, she had a hard time keeping up with all the characters. I've always liked ensemble stories. I get so carried away in the stories of each of my characters I have a hard time letting them go or putting them off until maybe a sequel or two. That was my problem in the first novel too.
I learned so much from writing it though. I would never trade the experience. First, I finished a novel length story from beginning to end. I shopped it around and queried lots of agents. I learned about formatting. I learned about dialogue. Most importantly, I learned what not to do.
Don't make your characters sound too much alike. Don't give your story to many characters/plot lines. Don't make everything too perfect. Maybe, don't make up a fictional setting (this one I'm still undecided about as I kind of liked the idea).
It was my first and I don't regret one minute or page of it. I would do it again in a heart beat if only for how much I learned from it. Still, I don't think I'll do it again.
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