analytical- In one window I'm scanning more slides
- In another window I'm brainstorming The One About the War
- In another window I'm looking at Flickr
- And of course in another window I'm writing this. :)
I think the reason my novels aren't selling is that I don't have a strong enough through story to carry everything along. At least that was the case with Moving a Mountain and definitely the case with the unfinished A Necessary Evil (Aka The One About The War).
So, before I make a start on the magic college story, I feel that I should have one last go at finishing A Necessary Evil and turning it into a decent novel. ("Decent" in the sense that it has a coherent structure, a strong narrative drive and a damn good ending.[*])
One reason I've never been aware of the lack of true narrative drive is that my readers usually say that they keep reading and gallop through the story. At the micro level, the prose does pull the reader along, but in terms of a satisfying larger story, I'm not so sure.
Anyway, I have at least settled on what to write next, ie A Necessary Evil. This one really isn't going to sell for all sorts of other reasons, so I must just treat it as a romp, enjoy it and use it as a learning experience. And while I'm doing that, I'll keep on untangling the Siamese Twin novels.
[*] Endings are definitely my weak point. :(
