Therefore, why would she need to tell herself about something that happened in the past? Instead she might write, “going to Grandma’s was just as bad as last time,” without going into detail about what happened last time. If a character is writing a diary, she is essentially writing something for herself. It’s difficult to include backstory and explanations. Your job as a writer is to make both the voice and the story so engaging that the reader doesn’t stop to wonder whether the character would really take the time to write all of this in her diary.Ģ.
A page from a dear diary book full#
We’re talking full scenes with description and dialogue instead of telling briefly what happened. And chances are, in order to tell a good story, your protagonist needs to do just that. Those that do don’t often write extensive, frequent entries. It’s also a good way to explore the protagonist’s emotions AND to keep the story in the present moment – both of which are important in YA and Middle Grade books.īut, as I read Bethany’s manuscript and began to review my own, I realized that there are some major challenges to a diary novel as well. Writing a novel as a series of diary entries is great in a lot of ways.As Bethany pointed out to me, it can help you fully realize your main character’s voice.
Ironically, her work-in-progress was a diary novel, which is the format of my most recent manuscript as well! I managed to read one full manuscript for my writer friend Bethany Veinman, often while breastfeeding. The first six weeks of my baby’s life I didn’t do any writing except a bit of blogging, but I did do some manuscript swapping with other writers.
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