Welcome back to Out of Practice! Thanks for being here.
I had a delightful and productive research trip earlier this month. More on that below. I’m considering setting my next book farther afield, so I’d have an excuse to take a more ambitious trip. Just kidding. Unless…
Reading List
Here’s some of what I’ve been reading lately:
My Name Is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth StroutLike sitting next to a new friend and listening to them narrate their life. I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the books in the series—I was initially interested because of the premise of Oh William! but I’m reading them in order.
A Marvellous Light by Freya MarskeI am so serious when I say this book is my new gold standard for romance. A beautiful blend of historical fiction, queer romance, and fantasy. I think this is my first “romantasy,” though I would say it transcends the genre in the way all wonderful books do. I have a lot more to say about this one, but I’m planning on a longer write-up after I read the other two books in the trilogy.
Hex by Rebecca Dinerstein KnightI picked this up since it’s a campus novel with a narrator in the sciences and I read the whole thing in two sittings. It’s weird and very fun. Give it a try if you enjoy complex women, queer mess, science, academia, and creative narrative framing.
Stag Dance by Torrey PetersRead this for a queer book club and was enthralled. I haven’t read Detransition, Baby yet and this was my first experience with Peters’ work. I will say the first story didn’t work for me nearly as well as the rest, but I think that’s just my personal taste. “The Chaser” was my favorite of the short stories and I loved “Stag Dance” (the novel in the collection) as well.
Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghyI read both of McConaghy’s other books last month, and I was thrilled to get access to my Libby hold of this new release so quickly. Definitely my favorite of her novels. I grew so attached to the characters in this one, and I think McConaghy used a rotating POV so adeptly.
The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'DonoghueOne my top reads of the year so far. I remember it had a lot of comparisons to Sally Rooney’s work when it came out, which did it a disservice, only because it’s such a lovely novel in its own right. I keep thinking about why O’Donoghue chose the perspective she did—it’s off-center in a lot of ways but I think it worked so well. I love books about intense and complicated friendships, and this one ticked a lot of other boxes for me as well.
My Lesbian Novel by Renee GladmanFormally innovative, very meta, and doing a lot in 150 pages. This was my introduction to Gladman’s work and I was so charmed by her writing. I wanted more of the book within the book (the romance novel scenelets she included were tantalizing), and felt like a lot of the rest of it went over my head, but I’d like to revisit it at some point. I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I put it down. I am definitely going to seek out more of her work and make a point of reading more from Dorothy, the small press, as well.
Writing Progress / Writing Goals
As I schedule this newsletter, my Campus WIP draft is at 12,000 words. I have a ways to go before it feels like a real draft, which is always around the 40,000 word mark. That is also the point at which I start to more distinctly hear the siren song of other book ideas tempting me away.1 These two things are definitely related. Once a book feels real, there are actual stakes for me, the writer, and setting it aside by choice is more appealing than carrying on and possibly failing. The human mind is a lovely place.
I have a pretty gentle drafting plan for Campus WIP. My goal is to write 10,000 words a month through October, when I should have a full draft. 10,000 words isn’t that much over a 30 day period, on the one hand (that’s 333 words a day). But on the other hand, I find drafting sessions more productive when I can sit down for close to an hour and write at least 1000 words. So rather than shoot for a daily goal, I’ve set aside time on particular days when I can dedicate a morning or evening to this project.
It’s a low-to-reasonable expectation. If I surpass it, great! But speaking from experience, if I set a higher goal and don’t consistently meet it, I get discouraged and the whole project suffers.
I’m continuing to balance work on Campus WIP with WASP’S NEST revisions. Currently I’m incorporating some feedback from authenticity readers. Very grateful to my editor for facilitating this for me, and the authenticity readers themselves for their notes and analysis.
Practice Chats
I keep a running list of jobs I’d like to learn about by assigning them to fictional characters.2 The main characters in WASP’S NEST have occupations that are generally within my area of knowledge—Mitch is a waiter/writer, Peter is a painter/adjunct art professor, and Tess is a rich girl/artist’s agent…ok, that last one is less within my area.
Campus WIP is about a college lecturer in half-hearted pursuit of her PhD in ecology. This is very much outside my experience—I studied history and art in college, and squeaked by in my required science courses. I’ve always found biology conceptually interesting, but I never had a way to really connect with the material. I do now.
My protagonist is focused on climate change, specifically how a certain type of plant adapts to rising sea levels. I settled on the type of plant prior to learning much about them since they piqued my interest thematically. Obviously I need to go deeper than that. Fortunately, my friend Fern studied ecology and was excited to share her expertise, old textbooks, and additional reading recommendations.
Fern and I spent a weekend in St Mary’s County, exploring the historical sites on Friday (one of my main characters is a history professor), and exploring a few state parks on Saturday and Sunday. By the end of the weekend I had a much better understanding of my characters, both in terms of their work and more generally. I’m also expanding my lexicon based on what I’m learning, something that’s already made an impact on the draft.
In addition to the more formal research (reading and species identification and mock abstract writing), walking (or wading) where my characters do slotted a lot of things into place for me. It sounds basic, but spending time in Cape Cod made such huge difference for WASP’S NEST. Even though this book is set closer to home for me, having a better grasp of the specifics of terrain and environment (both ecological and social) converted some concepts I’ve been toying with into something I can communicate on the page.
Before You Go
Tomorrow (Saturday, April 26) is Independent Bookstore Day!
I know Barnes & Noble and Amazon are having big sales right now, but they don’t need your business and your local indies do. If you’re able, show up and buy something on your TBR. A lot of shops are offering refreshments, giveaways, and other incentives. If you can’t shop in person, you can order on Bookshop.org and still support the indie of your choice.
I’ll be hitting up Snug Books tomorrow, maybe I’ll see you there!
Until next month.
xo K
