My First Novel in Progress, Finding the Genre and Audience: YA Fantasy, and On ‘Point of View’

November 15, 2022, night

I feel like I have more info now that my story completed could fit into the popular Fantasy genre for Young Adults. I wrote about 200 words tonight typed, and I am going to rest awhile at 2328 words total. 🙂

I read my typed draft, then I wrote at the library, and talked the other half with great help with resources and guidelines in the field from a fellow writer.

I realized that I am still finding the story, and so I am not as worried that it’s somewhat multi-genre in draft.

That in third person omniscient there is letter writing (without a recipient yet) included from one main character, but one who doesn’t seem to be the protagonist. I could rewrite that as third-person omniscient using all the info from the letter if I find that most consistent.

It just came to me: maybe I am the recipient of that letter from the character! And so maybe I am to write the contents of the short letter into the story from the best point of view for this story.

Third person omniscient is considered challenging to write but, of course has been done well like the others. It is a story told by a kind of neutral narrator who relays all the dialogue, actions, and uses the character’s names (rather than “I”) as if watching them all from a distance, and also knows and can relay the inner thoughts of each character.

Another option, Third person limited is common as a point of view that only tells the inner thoughts of one (main) character while third person relaying the story of all the characters and events as they’re named and happen.

…There is also a very good possibility after my rest, I will return to this and may decide to write the story from the first person perspective of my protagonist, using the word “I.”

This would tell the story all from her perspective, but she could also tell about the outer story, apart from her personal view, so the story shows a kind of big world as I’ve wanted. First person may help to show a clear sense of her personality and voice and could unify the story. But I also realize, any type of narrator can have a voice.

I will take a rest for now, read books and fall into reading 💕, do what I’d like and come back to the novel in a little time, keep in mind the protagonist may change, learn, and / or achieve something of my overall theme, and I will find how the other main character, so far, plays a part in this.

I am open to characters shifting, I may be not much of a “planner” overall in novel writing although I’d considered a few times in the past ‘I’d like to write a novel,’ tried to plan a little while, and then quickly gave up before writing the draft.

Although curiously I am at the very beginning of my draft, I’d never before gotten as far as I have now writing these few first pages!

I also enjoy spontaneity, but I also wish to put my effort into the essence of my original idea and not change it right away, see how it satisfies me to also satisfy you, dear reader.

…Relaxation, I close my eyes…:)

Jade