Namaskara (Hello) fellow traveler,
The last weeks have been busy and productive ones. I am deep into revising the manuscript, reshaping the structure, rewriting some sections, adding new material here and deleting bits there.
You might think that I would have done these things in the six months since “finishing” Bella and Rami, but I needed a gentle push from my developmental editor, Bryce, to get me going.
Several people have now read some or all of the manuscript and this has been instructive. I am finding out from their reactions what I have written.
This may surprise you, after all, aren’t writers supposed to know what they are writing and who it is for? Perhaps some do, but in my case these are things that I am still working out.
So what have I learned so far? Well, I can now say that Bella and Rami is a romance and has many of the attributes of the genre. According to Co Pilot these are:
- Central Relationship: The primary relationship between the protagonists is the driving force of the story.
- Conflict: A conflict that challenges the relationship must be overcome, often involving barriers that keep the characters apart.
- Relatable Characters: The heroine is typically relatable, and the hero must be an irresistibly flawed character
- Emotional Depth: The story should evoke emotions and provide a sense of hope or happily ever after.
- Well Drawn Characters: Protagonists and secondary characters should be well rounded, with distinct personalities and vulnerabilities.
However, Bella and Rami is not a simple genre fiction, it is a story of two complex lives over the course of several decades. It has strong themes, which aren’t typically found in romance novels, and it is explicit in ways that some readers may (and do) find a little challenging.
Why does it even matter? Because ideally a reader should know what a book is about and naming the genre is a shorthand way of telling them.
According to Alex, the Book Production Director, I still have several months to work out what goes on the blurb at the back of the book.
I’ll keep you posted as my understanding of Bella and Rami evolves, so that you can decide whether it is your sort of book.
Thanks again for being with me on my writing journey.
Tip for the emerging writers amongst you
Write a simple genre novel. It will be easier to talk about and possibly more profitable!
(But if you have a passion project, follow your heart and work it out later, as I am)
Photo of Platypus by Aaron De Wit on Unsplash