Resonance

If there's one thing I'm really focusing on right now while editing my new book it's the idea of resonance. Not just in the traditional sense of 'sticking with you after you're done' or 'speaking to you personally', but the idea that the story as a whole resonates. Thematically, setups and payoffs, callbacks, foreshadowing, things that help tie the entire thing together and make it feel cohesive and rewarding. I don't know if resonance is the right word to describe what I mean, but it's the one that I use most often when I'm trying to work these disparate things out in a story. When you set it down after you're done, I want you to sit back with a satisfied sigh and that sense of completion. To achieve that, the story needs to resonate.

When a bell is struck, the entire thing vibrates in a special way that makes it carry on ringing instead of a single dull thunk. I want my books to vibrate. Ripples running throughout that keep the sound going and help make it satisfying.

How? Reinforcing themes is one. Theme is something that often gets overlooked when talking about writing because it's slippery and less tangible than structure or dialogue. What is the story about, and how can I reinforce that throughout the whole book? For example, one of the big themes in Colours of Dawn is 'new beginnings'. It starts with Victoria and Millie coming home after being changed by experiences away from EVE, and ends with them starting experiences that will change them even more. It all ties back in on itself.

Strong character arcs are another. Millie starts Remember, November barely able to talk to Elise without stumbling over herself, but ends it in happy relationship because she learned over the course of the story her purpose, which gave her confidence, which allowed her to confess her true feelings to Elise. And Elise reciprocated! Not only did Millie get what she wanted, she earned it, and that kind of growth is immensely satisfying. You're proud of her (well, I am), and happy for her. It's consistent.

Weaving in consistency and making sure the ending is supported by the beginning is one of the big tasks I take on in later drafts, because those are things that are sometimes hardest to see until the story is complete. I need to be able to read it at the same pace you will to find certain things, or (more often) what's not there. A lot changes over the course of writing a novel, and I may cut something for pacing reasons without realizing there was a little nugget of info in there that pays off later because I moved it two months ago and forgot.

All in all, I think this is my favorite part in the process. It's like solving a puzzle that I bought instead of having to design and build each and every piece one by one myself. It's rich and rewarding, because at this point the work only gets better and it goes faster!

Refine, refine, refine, and polish until it shines. And rings.