Gathering Characters

I put together a list of the characters that I intend to use in this novel. In addition to the main character, I have a primary character, several secondary characters and the antagonist. What I will do over the next few weeks is develop their history and characterization.

I intend for this novel to be character-driven rather than plot-driven. My previous book was more about the plot. Unfortunately, I did not take the time to draw out the characters sufficiently. When I return to that novel I will take better care in learning about who those characters are. This time I want to concentrate more on the characters of this new project so that I have a better idea of who they are and how they will react to the events I will throw at them.

I have also written a paragraph that briefly describes the general plot of the story. When I begin pitching this novel I will need to refine this summary into more of a "high concept" description. However, I think I will wait on that until I have a better idea of the characters and their personalities. That way I can present a feel of the characters in the hook that I will use for querying.

New Novel Project (Project: Life)

In the last few days since setting aside (not giving up) on my last novel attempt I have tried to come up with a new idea. This has been a struggle. I came up with a few ideas for starting a few novels but none of them worked for me. I could not come up with their overall storylines. On the way home from work tonight I came up with a new story idea. I think all of the articles on "high concept" helped me with this. If you're struggling with your next novel idea perhaps you ought to do a search on "high concept novel" and do some reading. Alexandra Sokoloff has a post on premise that is also a good read for this.

I have always been interested in what goes into getting a novel completed. Other aspiring writers may be curious as well. So, I will attempt to track the progress of this new project from its inception, through its lifespan, up to completion (and, hopefully, publication). I may make mistakes and backtrack along the way but this is a learning experience for me. If so, hopefully others will be able to learn from my mistakes.

For this new project, what I came up so far is the "high concept" of the book. It's a single sentence, though not detailed. In addition, it would be more of a "middle concept" since it may not attract the attention a true "high concept" idea would. However, from this I have an entire novel churning through my head--beginning, middle, end--whereas the previous ideas gave me very little from which to work.

In short, I came up with the "high concept" of this new novel project and will start from there.