Hey. It’s been a chaotic few days. First off, the good news – I had the pleasure of interviewing Matt Myklusch, the author of The Accidental Hero on a Friday night, and that was absolutely amazing! The interview should go up on my YouTube channel soon! (wrote this a few days ago, so technically it’s already up on my YouTube channel, so hurray for that!)
I’ve been reading a bunch of middle-grade books recently, including Barbara Dee’s books, which are fantastic!!!! It’s really interesting, I think, to read her books, because these are the kind of books that are still appropriate for middle-grade and yet they never shy away from those serious, hard topics, which I really really love!!! 🙂
Now the chaotic news—and I warn you, there’s a lot of it.
First off, the break into Act Two. It’s not really going so well – sadly. I’m just muddling through the muddy middle, wondering whether or not my plot is garbage.
To be honest… I’ve been kind of stressed about this book.
I’m not sure how to explain it.
Not even sure why.
But it could have something to do with the fact that I want to traditionally publish this book, and that means this book has to be GOOD. Memorable characters, amazing plot, powerful themes, something that tugs at your heartstrings!!!!!
And sure, that’s provided fuel for me while writing.
But at the same time… I can’t help but wonder. Is my book good enough? And I know – I’m a published author with 3 books out now!! It’s ridiculous to be worrying about this – clearly I’ve already done it!
And yet that doesn’t make any of this any easier.
I keep wondering whether my plot is really good or not. I keep having problems with Act Two. And the biggest thing is, there are all these things I want to do in my writing!!! All these things that I want to improve to make this book pitch perfect. To make it ‘good enough’ for traditional publishing.
But at the same time, this is only draft 2. And try as I might, I just can’t really find myself to be able to do all of those things!
I’ve heard people tell me. It’s draft 2! It’s not meant to be perfect!
But somehow, my stubborn-as-a-mule brain refuses to heed that. And so, it’s been increasingly hard to write this book. I’m lost, and I have no idea what to do.
I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with draft 2. I have a plot in mind, but whenever I get to the page, I start to freeze up. The Inner Critic of the Doom of Self Doubt starts creeping in and goes, “Are you even a real writer?? A real writer would have fun writing! They wouldn’t be worrying!”
Imposter syndrome, as Valinora Troy made me realize.
And honestly, draft 2 brings back something I heard A.F. Steadman say in a YouTube video. And this is so not a direct quote since I am attempting to pull this from memory. But I think it went something like. “I can already see all the work I have to do on it even as I’m drafting, and there’s nothing I can do to make it into what it will become, at that first stage.”
That is, quite frankly, exactly what I am feeling right now.
So no idea how this will turn out. And honestly, ack, I’ve been worrying about so many things in my book, I’ve started to wonder if that’s too many things to worry about in just the second draft!! For example, these:
- Your character must be flawed and memorable
- The plot must deliver on exactly what it promised
- It needs a clear voice
- Your middle-grade novel needs heart (and perhaps humor, if that’s what’s in your story. It certainly is in mine!)
Aaaand now that I’m writing it out, I’m realizing that it’s actually not that many things. 🤦♀️ Have my worries blown this all out of proportion again?? I suppose that is likely…. heehee.
But yes. I’ve been doubting myself and all that, and I think I do know where the story needs to go and what it can really become like.
Just need to figure out how to get there! 🙂 No biggie, right?? It’ll just take lots of screaming into pillows, crying over my cereal (actually, toast. I don’t eat cereal. And no, I’m not allergic to gluten or anything. I just… don’t eat cereal. Odd, I know), begging one of my writer friends to give me any solution to my problems (spoiler, they never have one), and dragging my butt back into the chair to write.
🙂
Totally, totally, totaaaaally normal.
But yeah — second drafts have been kind of crazy for me as I try to figure out the message of what this book really means and ATTEMPT to pull all that together.
And of course, I cannot have my whole post being a downer because the world really does need quite a bit of hope during these times, and so down below, I have put a whole list of beautiful books that I hope will bring you joy. 🙂
Books:
- When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller
- Haven Jacobs Saves the Planet by Barbara Dee
- Jennifer Chan is Not Alone by Tae Keller
- Skandar and the Unicorn Thief by A.F. Steadman
- Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger
- Believe by Julie Mathison
- The Thief Who Sang Storms by Sophie Anderson
- Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate
- The Girl of Ink and Stars by Kiran Millwood Hargrave (The Cartographer’s Daughter in the US Edition)
- A Tale of Magic by Chris Colfer
- The Last Human by Lee Bacon (I actually got to interview him a few months ago, which is so cool!)
- The Lucky Diamond by Valinora Troy
- The Boy and the Butterfly Mind by Victoria Williamson
- And so much more that I totally cannot think of right now. But those are some amazing middle-grade books, and I do hope you check them out! They are just beautiful!
So I suppose this wraps up this newsletter!! Thank you ever so much for reading, and wish me the best of luck in Island Keepers! And I’m wishing you the best of luck in all your endeavors as well!! If you’re a writer, comment down below on what you’re working on! If you’re a reader, comment down below on what you’re currently reading!
With hugs, hope, and cookies,
Isabelle 🙂
P.S. I also wanted to show you guys this.
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