Going Back in Time

I’ve been writing historical fiction for the past couple of years, but when I say going back in time, I actually mean I’m going back to older books and enhancing them to the writing standards I use now.

            My first try at this is a mystery/thriller novel called The Girl Without. I wrote it in 2010, and now, here in 2025, I’m amazed at how much my style has changed. I’m trimming thousands of words to give the reader something that is concise and smooth. My goal is to make the novel easy to read without compromising the story.

            Also, for the first time, I’m eliminating the writing convention of ‘he said,’ ‘she said.’ Which means I must work extremely hard to reduce telling the reader versus showing the reader. It’s not a new concept by any means, but it challenges me to carry the story with many visuals, versus a narrator telling things.

            Something else I’m doing that’s new. Since I wrote The Girl Without in third person present, I’m using the convention of allowing the reader to read the main character’s thoughts in first person present. To do that and keep the writing smooth, it means every paragraph that has the main character’s thoughts must blend into the narration. I think I can pull it off. What I’ve found in doing this is a greater emotional element merging into the piece. Lastly, I’m transforming The Girl Without into a film noir style story or edgy characters in desperate struggles.

            The Girl Without might be the most dynamic project I’ve ever written, and I believe it could elevate my writing to a new level of literary artistry. Better said, if I played the piano, and I were good, I think, through my extensive editing, I could become great. Time will tell, as it always does.