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wednesday.
Dec. 6th, 2023 07:15 pmI've done it.
I've finished a novel.
17 days after opening the blank Word document and naming it "The Colour of Amber and Gold", not knowing quite what that meant yet, I'm sitting here with 189 pages. 13 chapters. 71.160 words.
I'm honestly amazed with myself. Amazed and proud.
But this also means, I feel like I can finally talk about what I've written, because now I know both where it begins and where it ends. I know the characters, I know the structure of the story.
The long and short of it can be summarized as following: She wanted to be on her way; Paris seemed as good a direction as any. When her distant older brother, Charles, involves her in his plans of ensnaring his wealthy business associate's heir, Armand Dubois, and when Charles' girlfriend, the enticing Italian actress, Eloisa Paolo, also enters the picture, Sylvie Gallard has to slowly realize that wanting to be on your way somewhere can land you in many different places.
That doesn't spoil too much, but it does indicate what kind of fucking journey this writing process has been, what a study in characters, what a study in dialogue, relations and development - in the various characters, yes, but especially in the storyline itself. This is a 'quiet' story, even if it takes place in the Roaring Twenties - or les Années Folles, as it's called in its French setting - I mean, it's me writing it, you can't expect action from me, the drama is all centered on the emotional state of especially Sylvie, so to see virtual explosions and big drama happen from that starting point? It has been such a learning process.
Originally I had intended to include an epilogue, to pick up on especially Eloisa's character, but with the function she has in the story, I decided it wasn't necessary and I didn't mind leaving the reader guessing as to what happens, so it was a bit of a surprise when I, earlier today, sat there with my finished chapter 13, realizing I was actually finished, I was fucking done.
Sure, there's a lot of editing to be done, betas to find and engage, stuff like that... But the bulk of the writing? It's over. That part isn't coming back. What a ride it has been. I'm very, very grateful.
The next coming days, I'll be reading over the novel again, just to get a first impression of it in its entirety, and I hope to share some bits and pieces from it as I go along. ♥
At the moment, the biggest question I'm left with is title. The working title was The Colour of Amber and Gold, but that isn't very catchy. I've thought about just shortening it to Amber and Gold, but that's somehow a bit anonymous and maybe just generic enough... So, I don't know. We'll see. Maybe something pops out at me during the reread. Fingers crossed.
