Writing The Art of the Kiss: Guest Post by Author Holly Schindler

Writing The Art of the Kiss – Holly Schindler  

I’ll be honest—The Art of the Kiss gave me a ton of headaches and had a ton of false starts.

I must’ve started this book about fifty different times, with just as many different ideas for its overall layout: I tried going at it from Heather’s POV, with the idea that the story was entirely hers. Michael and Sharon would be purely secondary characters. I then tried the opening chapters from Sharon’s POV, with the idea that she would narrate the entire book. And, similarly, I started it from Michael’s, again thinking it would be entirely his story.

Along the way, I realized how much of a traditional fairy tale heroine (specifically, Cinderella) Heather seemed to be. So I started yet again, incorporating fairy tale elements.

And each time, I’d only get a few chapters in before I hit a wall.

So I tried coming at the project using a completely different game plan: writing chapters out of order. I used to write chronologically, but more and more, I’ve begun working through tough spots by drafting a handful of dramatic scenes out of order, then arranging the scenes in a way that builds and creates tension. Finally, I stitch the narrative thread together, bringing all the pieces together cohesively. I’ve found this strategy can work wonders with getting through the middles of novels, which can be a real slog for me. Those middles can feel tighter right from the start—mostly because this technique makes sure I draft far fewer extraneous chapters in an effort just to get my characters headed toward the proper ending. Like I said, I’d used this technique before when drafting sections of books (those pesky middles), but never with an entire novel. Still, I decided to do just that with the entirety of The Art of the Kiss—to write all of the most dramatic scenes. Then, I’d connect them with a cohesive narrative thread.

Immediately, I found myself stuck yet again. After all those other starts and stops and attempts, I still had the same basic core problem: whose viewpoint was I going to write from? Whose story was this? Heather’s? Sharon’s? Heather’s friend Amanda? Heather’s ex Ryan? Michael? That “magical” camera?

The camera.

I played with that for a bit. Then it hit me: snapshots.

The story needed to be told in snapshots. After all, don’t photo albums tell the stories of our lives? And here’s the kicker: often, the photos in family albums aren’t grouped chronologically either, but in themes: Christmas albums, baby albums, wedding albums, summer vacations…And once we’ve flipped through all those albums, don’t we see, in flashes, pictorially, the family’s entire story? The big picture—not just of one person, but all those interconnected people?

Suddenly, it all came into focus. (Aw, come on—I had to get at least one camera pun in there.)

Seriously, though, I really did know at that point—it wasn’t just Sharon’s story. Or Michael’s. Or Heather’s. It was their story. And the best way to tell it (especially since a camera was at the heart of it all) was most definitely in snapshots. Vignettes. Images. Asides. Newspaper clippings. That way, I could show it all, every single alternating theme: past vs. present, youth vs. more advanced age, raw talent vs. achievement.

Suddenly, all those supposed false starts didn’t seem so false at all. Not if we were going to hear from all the characters. In fact, for the most part, those early chapters wound up becoming integral parts of the novel.

More than any of my books, The Art of the Kiss was the one that truly dictated to me how it would be told. It’s also the book that I think taught me the most. It’s the book that taught me to truly listen—rather than trying to force a book into being what I want it to be, it taught me to let it grow and develop in the way that’s most appropriate for that particular story.

In all honesty, it seems to me that this really is key: learning from each novel. Being willing to experiment with technique and organization. Really pushing yourself to grow as a writer with each and every new story you want to tell.

Holly Schindler

HollySchindler.com

Starred reviews: Publishers Weekly and Booklist

Silver Medal, Foreword INDIES Book of the Year

Gold Medal, IPPY Awards

Return tomorrow for another guest post by Holly Schindler where she shares about Age in The Art of the Kiss.