New Novel

I finished another novel.

When writers say they’ve finished a novel, they don’t mean finished. If you didn’t know, there are all these next steps after a novel is finished. There’s alpha reading, editing, revision, beta reading, more revision, proofreading, even writing the ever-dreaded blurb (that paragraph usually found on the back of a book which summarizes the story so a reader can decide if they want to read the book).

If a writer says the work is finished, it means they have the bones of the thing. It means they still have some musculature to add, some tendons, skin and hair and coloration.

Writing, certainly all art, is easily compared to Victor Frankenstein’s work. Was he ever finished? No. He completed the creation in one way—by giving the mottled man life—then what was lacking was all the actual finish work. His creation needed education, friendship, companionship, nourishment, maintenance, and a hobby, such as dog-sledding.

Obviously Victor didn’t provide everything. He couldn’t. He was unfinished himself. That point is certainly relatable to artists everywhere. We say the work is finished, then immediately realize we’re not finished. It’s possible this is where feelings of inadequacy originate. Could be the origin of the dreaded impostor-syndrome as well. Get past any self-doubt and then you can be finished for real. It doesn’t matter in the macro-scheme. If you’re done with a piece of art, just be done. You don’t have to revisit it forever. Make it the best you can make it and then set it free in the world. Or, if your creation is like a modern Prometheus, then sic it on the world.

So this novel I finished is fun for me to read. I got some rave reviews so far. (Yeah, family reviews, I know. Not usually very critical. Family doesn’t want to be, for fear of hurting you. Yeah, but if you leave your dirty socks drying on the heater vent, you’ll never hear the end of the criticism, will you? Just kidding. That never happened. I’m just saying I need some outside reviews, from people who don’t even know me.) The image above is a preliminary idea of what the cover will look like. And here’s the premise in a blurb:

In a society where women are sold into government service, one woman will bring buildings down to draw attention to the injustice. Leaders of the government have currents of information and tidal waves of technology at their disposal, and they’ll use it all to stop this woman from disrupting the system. This woman is more clever than any government worker, and she keeps them surprised at every turn. She fools their metal detectors by bringing in wooden weapons. She fools their video surveillance by instigating celebrations in public spaces. She will not surrender, and she will not stop until every woman is free.

If this sounds like a piece of science fiction you’d like to read, let me know in the comments, thanks.