On doing what you love

Last week I was doing some random surfing and came upon the site of Michelle Paver, a UK author who has close to two dozen novels under her belt. She writes an enormously appealing account of her former unhappy life as a solicitor (attorney for you American blokes) in the City of London. Though well paid and respected in her profession, Michelle knew something was missing.

Michelle writes about an encounter with a photographer in Ravenna, Italy, who turned out to be a genius (in Roman religion, a guardian spirit or spiritual double) for her. A former rat-racer himself, he correctly predicted that she would never be happy as a solicitor, and she, after coming precariously close to a nervous breakdown, finally sent her painstakingly crafted manuscript to "the one person in publishing whom I'd actually met, and who had once said encouraging things about my work."

The novel was accepted, and she never looked back.

Part of how Michelle ended up with that rarest of rare birds, the writing career, is revealed in her short story, The Test, which showcases her fine technical ability along with an O. Henryesque storytelling knack.  Impressive character business shows emotion rather than tells it. This little gem, for example, just says everything, but you have to read the story to get it:

She stood on tip-toe to kiss his mouth.

(This works on three levels at least... maybe I'll write more about it later.)

So what was Ms. Paver's secret? Was it this attention to detail in writing? Was it her meticulous research skills, honed over years of law study and practice? Was it her native talent? Was it dumb luck? That one crucial connection?

If it was so simple for Michelle, what about L. Lee Lowe's Mortal Ghost, her online novel which has just seen the final chapter posted this weekend?

By email Lee has welcomed a discussion of her efforts, and I will contribute my two cents, or one point zero zero something pence, as the case may be, hopefully more than once. But at the outset I would like to remind myself especially, and all aspiring authors out there, that though Grumpy Old Bookman doesn't encourage it, the only thing you can do if you want to pull a Paver is to submit.

That's what I think Lee should do first: submit. The quality of the writing is extremely high, much higher than the average published novel, so Lee would be in for no shame sending MG out to agents. I think discussion is fine, but the only people's opinions that really matter ($$$ wise) are those of industry professionals.

<<Spoilers dead ahead>>

If I were an agent, I would take on MG because of the quality of the writing, and see if I could work with Lee on the story itself. Lee knows from our substantial email correspondence that I have always wanted her to make the plot tighter and more traditional. There are lots of blind alleys down which the story runs. Lots of "guns" don't get "shot."

Morever, the ending-- the "suicide" of Jesse in a self-immolation-- isn't what a publisher wants to see in a commercial novel, and of course literary novels don't sell (?!).

Chapter 42, a kind of epilogue, shows us that the resurrected Jesse, who has always been a Christ figure, lives on in a concrete, Luke 24 sort of way. Jesse ends up not a mortal ghost, but a glorified mortal.

But you wonder-- could Lee pull out a more traditional redemption from the magic hat she's crafted of the first 40 chapters?

And more importantly, does she want to?

MG is what it is, after all. And as the thing that it is, it is a beautiful piece of work.

Well, at the moment, let's say I'm Noah Lukeman, the American superagent who wrote the book on how to get the most out of your fiction talent. This is what I'd ask Lee to do: cut the present manuscript down by at least a quarter, taking out all the portions that do not point pretty directly to the end of the book.

I would in particular completely excise the character of Ayen and the advanced research facility that seems so intriguing when first Jesse visits it in chapter 21 but is seldom mentioned after that and is literally torched in chapter 33. The fact that it burns without having any impact on the story makes it clear that it shouldn't be there at all.

That's for starters.

Lee has said by email that she doesn't expect MG to launch a writing career for her. But whatever happens, the important thing is that she continues doing what she loves. That's what Michelle Paver's genius told her once. It's advice I hope I always have the grace to take.

Comments

[Lee]

Thanks for this. I appreciate your thoughtful reading and frank criticism, which give me lots to think about.

I'm going to link to your post in the hope that other readers add to the conversation.

My comments about the plot are of little importance; the novel now 'is', and I feel it's up to readers to do the discussing. However, this does not in any way mean that I ignore what is said - on the contrary.

Your patience and generous support have always been notable, and if I prefer not to submit this novel any further - I have done so already, and in fact had an agent for a while - it's because I feel it's time to move on - to learn from this work, but to move on.

[DF]

I will also go over to MG itself and take a look at what people are saying. This patient reading of MG has been a great experience and a model of what the Internet is about in its best self.

[Michele]

Thanks for sharing Paver's short story - that's the first fiction of hers that I've read. Very impressive. I liked the twist.

As for "Mortal Ghost", it's a lovely tale that's well told. Yes, maybe there are some things that aren't desperately necessary to the story, but I liked it a lot and I look forward to re-reading it without a weekly pause between chapters. I may have further comments to make after that point.

[DF]

One thing Michele doesn't mention is that she has been with MG as a reader and encourager from the posting of Chapter 1 and all the way through to the end-- someone every aspiring novelist should have.

As a terminal perfectionist I always have a suggestion for improvement, but in the end we probably should just discuss it for its merits as it is. I have always been impressed by the parallels to Christ's life in the story, and am interested to know how Lee sees that. It's clearly not an allegory, such as C.S. Lewis might have written, but the themes of miracle worker-teacher-healer-death-resurrection-ascension are there.

[Michele]

DF wrote: One thing Michele doesn't mention is that she has been with MG as a reader and encourager from the posting of Chapter 1 and all the way through to the end-- someone every aspiring novelist should have.

I'd be happy to be a reader/encourager for others - but I do only have 24 hours in my days so don't all rush at once...

[Lee]

BOTH of you have been terribly supportive.

DF, I am an atheist ethnic Jew married to a German theologian and minister of religion. Does that help?

[DF]

What an AMAZING combination of a couple, Lee.

Anyway. It's clear you know quite a bit about Incarnation, which is to me the most interesting thing about Christ-- this idea of his flesh-and-blood nature combining with his divinity. Very mythological, and I mean that in the most dignified sense possible.

[Lee]

My children add lots of spice to the mix - one's going out with a Turkish girl; another's partner is half-German, half-Iranian; and the third's best mate is half-Thai.