Novels Taste Better Frozen

I couldn’t have lived with Isaac Asimov.

Don’t get me wrong; I adore his work, and most especially, I loved his little autobiographical essays that he dropped in between his shorter essays. I admired his intellect.  I freely admit to being pea-green with envy over the sheer quantity of work he produced in his life time.

Asimov once said that he loved writing so much because he couldn’t wait to finish it so that he could read it…and that’s where Isaac and I would have lost any chance at domestic harmony.  I can’t wait to finish writing my books so that I can not read them.

I usually end up re-reading my novels at least twice through before submitting them.  Then the editor rolls up her sleeves and wades in and I’ll get the manuscript back and have to make changes…and then read through again for coherence and tweaks.  Then it gets back to the editor, who may make more changes.  Once the editor-and-back cycle is complete, you’re still not done.  Your book is then line-edited, and often, you’re asked to read through after the line edits are complete, just as a last minute once-over for final boo-boos.  You’re still not done with re-reads, though.  If you get re-issued in a different format (e-book to paperback, say, or hardcover to paperback), you get to re-read again.

By that stage, I can usually quote whole sequences word for word, and as a line editor, I’m useless.  I’m just not seeing individual words any more.  I’m so thoroughly sick of the story, I would watch reality TV than read it again.  It is with relish I put a manuscript away in a dark corner to collect dust and cool off.

And I wait.

I wait until the book is not just cold, but smoking ice-cold.  Depending on how long and intense the original writing and editing process took, this could be anywhere from six months to several years later.  This is when I love to read my own novels.  By this time, I can no longer remember whole sequences, and the reading gives me an idea of what the reader experiences when they read it.  Plot developments and scenes are fresh and surprising to me.  And I can actually enjoy my story as I might a new novel I’ve just bought; not as a production that I must agonize over.

Isaac wrote quickly because he couldn’t wait to read his own writing.  I write quickly because I can’t wait not to read it, and the more I write, the more novels I have building up in the freezer.

This is a great trick not just for writers, but for fiction addicts of any variety, because the one thing we have in common is that we all have a keeper shelf(ves) of favourites.  What I’m saying is, don’t read your favourites.  But don’t just not read them.  Pack them away in a dark corner to chill off.  Leaving them on your keeper shelf won’t let them freeze enough.  Every time your gaze trips over the spine of the book, you’ll recall a flash of scenes and characters, and the story will remain fresh in your mind.  Pack it away instead, and spend your waiting time finding other new favourites.

Imagine the joy of reading your favourites when they’re frozen…it’s almost like meeting them for the first time all over again.

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First appeared on Stories Rule, November, 2007

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Tracy Cooper-Posey © 2007. Cannot be copied or distributed without permission, or without this copyright notice attached.