I had a student request to read The Necklace after I used the beginning as an example in class. The student was most encouraging in their words, and I’ll admit that I embraced the idea of being a great writer. What I know, and what I teach my students is that writing is recursive. It is ever changing. We can revisit our writing and see it with new eyes and improve it.
After reading the novel I wrote five years ago, I realized that I can change it. There are improvements to be made. Not in the story line, but in the imagery details, character details, and writing, I can make improvements. Many of my students were concerned that the character sees her mother dead and has no feeling about it. Of course, I know why I didn’t include feelings about a death is because I still struggle with watching my own mother. Her reaction was mine. I stepped outside of my body, and I did what a dutiful daughter would: I took care of everything and everyone else. It led to me eventually having a complete breakdown several months later, but I still remember the numbness I felt. I suppose that students need the real stuff.
So, I’m rewriting my novels. And I’m submitting them to real publishers. How’s that for big thoughts and big change?
