So…what’s your novel about?
I’m writing a novel. Or rather, WROTE a novel. I’ve finished the first draft. (Or rather, as Anne Lemott puts it in her fabulous Bird By Bird, “the shitty first draft.”)
I’m revising. Editing. And soon, looking for a writing coach.
When asked what’s it about, I blush and tell people variations of detail, depending on whether they’re just asking to be polite, they seem genuinely interested, or they really want to engage in a conversation. I might say:
“It’s about a Wisconsin family that falls apart and pulls themselves back together again.” (the one liner)
“It’s a first person narrative about a family that has by accident, circumstances, and sloppy intention, created a rift that drives them apart from each other until they cannot even stand to be in each others’ physical presence. They’re suffering in their own unique hells - all of them - unless they figure out how to undo the curse they laid upon themselves.” (The one paragraph summary.(
“It’s about twins. And babies. And weddings. And love. And how to become friends with your adult siblings. And how to get unstuck from a life that’s lost. And how to date. And gay families. And how ineffectual ‘I’m sorry’ is. And how love is more important than pride.” (This is what I say when I’m drunk at a party.)
All those are true.
And sheeeesh…they all seem really pretentious and overly dramatic. I should be sprawled over a plush, hunter-green divan grasping a pomegranate martini screeching, “IT’S ABOUT LOVE! IT’S ABOUT LOVE!”
Ugh. Actually, it’s hard for me to talk about this creation of mine…it means so much to me and it’s been a companion for years now, that I get tongue-tied despite my best efforts. If surprised by the question by a coworker or near-stranger, I mumble, “Oh, I’m not finished.” On a Good Writing Day, I might have a ferver’d glint in my eyes and be desperate to talk about character development with whomever will listen.
Enough chatter.
I’ll publish the very first chapter, and you can decide what it’s really about.
(But seriously, it’s about love.)