I had an attack of angst about my WIP. Who’s going to fall in love with these characters? Who’ll turn the page just to find out how their problems get solved, make up fanfic about soothing their fevered brows, etc. etc.?
Now, I’m not even sure those are all appropriate questions to be asking about a YA novel. I’m not particularly anxious for people to be shipping Simi/Lord Cembel or Paio/Farriman. But this is the only model of fan appreciation I have to work with. I need to read something fans find juicy, I said to myself, and bought a book I saw some fen raving about online.
Wow. I’m about 5% into this thing and the protagonist has witnessed an execution-by-torture, lost his only friend, been tortured himself, and put himself in danger of even worse because of unresolved guilt over somebody else’s death by torture.
I have to admit, it grabbed me. I compared the beginning of this book to the beginning of my WIP, and there was simply no comparison for speed, intensity, and identification of the protagonist’s issues. I love confident writing, and this makes mine look really tentative. But I foresee that by 10% in I will be hoping for someone to put the guy out of his misery.
However, I have been inspired to put a little more oomph into the WIP, and have just discovered that plot events suggest a little baby is under a curse. I’ve never seen anyone write fanfic about a cursed baby, but we take what we can get.
