Welcome, and thank you so much for reading! A few notes on this story:
Big-picture Feedback Welcome: This is a rough draft, which by its very nature is rough. I would love to get any feedback you have to offer while you're reading. With the first draft of a novel, the most helpful feedback focuses on the story overall, rather than the prose itself. I would love to know:
- What parts worked well for you, and what parts didn't?
- During what parts did the emotional weight of the story miss the mark? Where did it hit?
- In what places do characters act according to who they are, and where do they deviate?
- Where does the story drag on, and where does it go too quickly?
Really, any sort of feedback is immensely helpful! Just knowing that a certain spot felt weird or off lets me know that I need to restructure or change it up.
You May Know Me: This is the first time I've published something on the internet using my real name, which is definitely terrifying. If you are a friend, loved one, or—god forbid—a colleague, then I thank you for taking the time to read and hopefully you won't think of me as any more of a weirdo than you already did.
This is Purely Fiction: If the previous point applies to you, you may find yourself trying to figure out what bits and pieces of the following story I've pulled from my own life. Please don't! All writers use their own experiences and those of others, and trying to figure out what is what will only make you enjoy the story less. Similarly, if you know me personally you may see yourself shadowed in some of the characters. That's because I've harvested the most interesting quirks and flaws from people I've encountered—from loved ones and strangers, from those I admire and those who genuinely suck. Don't worry about it! In the words of Anne Lamott:
"You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should've behaved better."
YOU ARE READING
The Start Of Something
RomanceEveryone has a few ghosts of their own. Some just have more than others. It's what Georgia Taylor tells herself when she arrives in the rural town of Suffolk, Minnesota, with a single suitcase, a secret, and a determination to start a new life. It's...
