At first glance, Anna Fitzpatrick's Debut Novel Good Girl is a Child A major turn from her work in literature . But while the novel's content is resolutely adult-oriented, the Toronto-based author of Margot and the Moon Landing is witty and casual. Inspired by her YA literature. In her new novel, she calls it an "overgrown young adult book."
Fitzpatrick's novel, entitled "Secretary Meets Fleabag," was written by an aspiring Toronto writer in his twenties. Friendship, Work, Dating, Sex — All of these are heavily influenced by her need for approval.
Fitzpatrick told CBC Books how she came to write her debut novel Good Girl
Scene Driven
"I started writing what would become the first draft in the fall of 2016. I was in Budapest. Instead, I rented an apartment for a month, and since I was a freelancer, I was able to do it.A friend in New York contacted me.She had written a series of chapbooks.She said he would consider publishing [it] if I had something like 10,000 words.
``I had never written fiction before. I didn't have a real goal of writing etc. Even 10,000 words seemed huge to me, but I started writing one of the scenes that would eventually become the final version of the book, which was an early sex scene. I wanted to write something funny that hadn't been seen or read in fiction before.I wanted to write a sex scene with room for jokes.
Joke I wanted to write a sex scene with room for
"I get a lot of inspiration from conversations I have with friends, how to talk about sex and share stories. My writing Much of it is a holdover from the LiveJournal days when people read each other's diaries all the time."
Big cities, big dreams
"People , Lucy is based on me and thinks her life is mine. Ki is similar to mine: We are the same age, we live in Toronto, and have followed a similar career path her. But I think people think the name change is real.
Writing fiction means that every character is based a little bit on you. Many secondary characters, some of whom have my traits and beliefs — and when they argue, I argue with myself.
90} One of the things I learned writing fiction is that all the characters are based a little bit on you.{111 — A lot of anxiety about the world, about herself and about the cultural moment in Toronto in 2015. I've experienced it. Much of the language she uses—the language of social justice at the time—is rooted in reality. What you can do is — I don't want to say universal, I don't know if there's anything truly universal, but it's a part of yourself or something that's not yours at all. It's about recognizing different stories, so I think there was a lot of 'write what you know' in this book."But I hope some of the themes touched upon are bigger than myself and my own experience. Just read my favorite book." Like when , in a very different setting, or with a whole different people than I am—I think you relate to this core of truth."
Appearance Compassion for Characters
"There are scenes in which I have my own opinions about what is right and what is wrong, but the characters, based on their position, say
"Lucy and other characters in the book have several sexual encounters that make Lucy and other characters uncomfortable. But they do not necessarily violate it." I don't see it as trauma or trauma, and when I'm writing it, I feel like I might have reacted differently, or I might get angry if a friend says to me. The characters had to process it in the book, show different emotional reactions to things, and understand that they weren't me.
"I know they said they were [part] of me, but they were also different from me,
"I agree with what my characters do — none of them, even the plainly bad ones in the book — I } Seeking to understand the lifestyles and backgrounds that would have led them to that point in time."
To Fiction
"Learning that you can make things up for yourself was both terrifying and liberating. Writing non-fiction gives you an excuse to report facts. If you put in strange things there, you'll end up with a framework of "just writing what happened."
"In fiction, on the other hand, whatever I include is ultimately an option.
It was both terrifying and liberating to know that I was being made up."First draft I was spitting words onto the page when I was writing , but as I progressed, I learned how to create a calendar that I could refer to to make sure things were happening at the right time.
"Also, I made small note-pages of various characters so I could make sure they were consistent, and compare my own work." I have learned to create my own fact sheets for .I have real life to compare to.”
Editorial and Ethics
“This manuscript circa 2018 but it felt confusing, I wasn't sure exactly how to fix — and put it aside to return to later. What I wanted to know was that Lucy had this kind of relationship with Malcolm, the writer and editor. I didn't want to write a story. He's a good writer, and he knew things she didn't know, and I wanted it to be kind of like she's smarter than her in certain ways. But isn't necessarily the writer she wants to be. There was a lot to figure it out in the script. ``The editors really helped me. If it were up to me, it would have been just a series of sex scenes and dialogue.
``I wanted more of an ethical dilemma for him to give her advice. You must confront this decision of whether you want to be."