Karen Brichoux

November 2005 Newsletter from the desk of Karen Brichoux

Contents:

*News
*Article: Tracking the Wild Novel
*What I’m Reading

News:

*On November 19 at 2:00pm, I will be reading from and signing copies of The Girl She Left Behind at Borders Bookstore, 91st & Metcalf in Overland Park, KS. Also attending this event are a number of other regional authors: Whitney Terrell, Timothy Shaffert, Carrie Kabak, Jerri Corgiat, Carla Cassidy, and Evan McNamara.

*Contest: Congratulations to Nikki, Roy, Martha, and Jeni, who won signed, first-edition copies of The Girl She Left Behind.

*I received a Halloween treat when my editor called to let me know that NAL has decided to shift my books to the Accent line. As readers, the only major change you’ll probably notice is a band of color along the bottom of the cover and the Accent imprint seal. (That and a new release date--see below.) Accent is a more serious, general fiction imprint that includes books of interest to book clubs.

*Falling Into the World has a new release date of November 2006.

*If you would like to be added to my snail-mail mailing list to receive a postcard informing you of upcoming releases (this amounts to one postcard a year and is the only thing I will send you), send me your mailing address at email@karenbrichoux.com Please put “mailing list” in the subject line. The amount of spam lately is making it difficult to figure out what is legitimate e-mail (this goes for all e-mail). I try to always respond when I receive an e-mail (even if it takes a few days), so if you don’t get a reply, I probably didn’t get your e-mail.


*Article: Tracking the Wild Novel: Early Stages

Getting started on a new novel is one of the hardest stages of the game for me. After the characters appear and introduce themselves, we sit and stare at each other for a while because we have nothing to say. This is a tricky point in the process. It’s the time when an idea can go stale. I don’t have enough information yet to start the actual writing of the draft, but I can’t just let the idea continue to sit or it will begin to fall apart, causing me to lose interest in the characters and their stories.

After a few good ideas disappeared into the sea of ennui, I discovered that my journal was a perfect place to keep the idea alive. I spend hours writing and alternately staring out the window. (And woe to the family member who interrupts me!)

I start by locating the characters within their setting(s). I’ll use pictures or memories; then spend a lot of time writing about the town and countryside where the characters live. This immersion tends to spark ideas for interaction between the characters and other people within the town. Conversations will appear side-by-side with descriptions of railroad tracks. I write down everything that comes to me.

As different ideas take shape, each one will spark a plot thread. I’ll follow that thread, trying to figure out why, how, when, who, and what. These threads will most likely never appear in the actual book. At this point, it’s important to not write anything that is permanent. I’m only trying to get to know the characters and how they live.

Slowly, the characters and the intricacies of their lives become real to me, and eventually I discover what story the characters find important enough to tell.

It sounds a little...weird...and time consuming. But until these characters are real people to me, they won’t be real people to anyone else.


*What I’m Reading:

THE COMMODORE by Patrick O’Brian

EVA MOVES THE FURNITURE by Margot Livesey

THE MIDWIFE’S TALE by Gretchen Laskas

DESTROYING ANGEL and CARLUCCI’S EDGE by Richard Paul Russo