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.
