by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner
So. I have four novels to develop and flesh out. Things are going pretty well, all things considered. One thing I’ve noticed, however, is how desperate I can grow to find things, people and ideas to populate the massive universe I’ve created.
In this first novel of the four that I’m working on at the moment, I have to sort of sheepishly say that the novel’s protagonist — in my mind at least — looks a lot like Alexa Chung. (This is where I wonder if an FBI agent in D.C. is going to swoop in and print this post out for my file or something. Ugh! I’m harmless, stop bother me.)
This did not happen on purpose, but I think some of it comes more from my personal proclivity towards brunettes than any lingering celebrity crush on Ms. Chung. Or, if you really wanted to get specific about what’s going on — in my mind, the protagonist of this first novel kind of is a mixture of Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Kate Winslet in Mare of Easttown. Sorta. In a fuzzy, general way.
And, yet, I continue to be pretty surprised how deep I have to scrape within my personal history to flesh out this universe. It’s a lot of fun, I have admit, however. It’s fun to figure out different ways to use things I know to be true in a totally different context.
I will note how dramatically different this first novel has become from what it was when I pretty abruptly decided to write four novels, not just two. The story has gotten, far, far better than I could possibly imagine.
