My goals

I was thinking this morning as I threw balls for the dog outside (this seems to be my new purpose in life, now that diaper-changes and bottles are things of the past), about my recent writing hiatus and what I really want to do with this novel.

First of all, I think I need a new title. I've no idea what, but I always knew the current one was a little lame. Titles are not my forte.

More importantly, I want a book that both men and women will enjoy reading. My girlfriends love what they've read so far; my husband hates it. I don't expect him to like anything that doesn't have firearms in it, but he did have some interesting feedback. I recently came across a statistic that only 20% of fiction is read by men, which makes me feel a little better about catering to the female crowd.

Since I've decided to alternate points of view between the hero and heroine, I want a very clear, consistent voice for both of them. One of the things I want to highlight is how very differently these two people perceive what is happening around them, and the personal barriers they must overcome to get together in the end.

This means overcoming my fear of emotion. I am so paranoid about making the book sound like a romance novel that I've shied away from the more intense passages. Perhaps that's why Tolkein made his heroes confirmed bachelors. It's hard to make the brave adventurer seem studly while he's secretly torn up inside by his feelings for the lovely maiden. But that's something both Faldur and I will have to overcome.