Feedback and influences

On 20^th October 2010 I had my first 1:1 tutorial with my M.A. supervisor. It was a highly motivating experience. She said she was enjoying reading the story, that it flowed well, it was gripping and a page-turner. She also said she could imagine taking it with her on a train journey.

I thought that was enough of a tutorial but we actually spent the next hour talking about ways in which I could improve it.

We discussed Judith’s complex personality and why she behaves the way she does; why she is so antagonistic towards her sister and mother, and why she is so needy in her relationships with other people. I will have to do some more work on this to make sure that I know the reasons why, even if the reader never knows. She is attracted to women and I wonder whether she has lesbian tendencies. I hadn’t intended that to be the case and still don’t think it is.

We discussed how the parts I wrote in the first person contributed to the tension as Judith’s thoughts and devious plans unfold and develop.  Two books I have read recently influenced that aspect of my writing.  They were Engleby by Sebastian Faulks and Notes on a Scandal by Zoe Heller; amazing books and certainly a standard to aspire to.

I told Eliza that I found it quite demanding and sometimes exhausting writing in the first person from within Judith’s head. She referred me to some academic writing on the subject but also admitted that there wasn’t much that had been written about it from the author’s point of view. Maybe a subject for my PhD? (ha ha).