Works in Progress — Jill Ann Bixel

Live Edge

Krista wants to clear a place in her family where her older brother, Steve, is safe from their father's expectations, where he can build boxes that tell the stories of trees and whittle coyotes that look like the ones they discovered lurking right in high-achieving, suburban Barrington.

But when Steve takes his football teammates' dare to swim across the river drunk, Krista loses not only her brother, but her safe space.

Forced to admit her campaigns to save Steve shielded her from their father's one, very narrow ideal way of being, Krista endeavors to save Steve's coyotes and find a safe place where she can take off all her armor.

Ghostwriters

Sometimes I doodle while listening to my story's playlist to draw out themes and make connections.

Three years ago, SKYE's sister ASHTON went ghosting at an eerie house, the resident fired shots, and Ashton came home with a bullet in her head. Though her sister has no memory of the incident, Skye has long been suspicious Ashton pushed things too far that night. Now seventeen, Skye must choose between an acceptance letter from N.Y.U. and an unspoken obligation, that may be partially her own, to enroll at State with her brain-injured sister. Determined to make her sister see it mattered what she did that night, Skye challenges Ashton to help her investigate what really happened.

Their probe uproots memories of the sisters' relationship before bullets. Skye still resents Ashton, the charismatic cheerleader who deserted her after their parents' divorce, and desperately wants her affection. Dogged by years of silence, Skye begins adding to the memory book Ashton uses to cope with her brain injury, hoping if Ashton has to take responsibility for the kind of person she was, maybe Skye won’t have to. When Ashton begins writing back, the sisters' memories fly back and forth—weapons, dares, and olive branches—with the power to heal the sisters or end them forever.

A Glimpse into My Process

An Early Shape

After I spent a summer developing material about my story, I began to get a sense of some scenes and the order they might take.

Protagonist's Journey

Writing some anchor scenes gave me a more detailed vision of my protagonists journey mapped out here.

Floor Plan

Before writing a scene, I often sketch out a map of the setting so I can "direct" my characters on their stage.

Starting Over

At a Highlight's Whole Novel Workshop, I let go of some major elements of my story in order to write a leaner, deeper draft.

Beats

A lot of times before drafting a scene, I imagine the turning points I want to take my characters through and jot them down to use as a guide.

Tiny Pages

I printed out my novel on tiny pages so I could see the the entire manuscript at once and get a sense of the act climaxes.

Pacing Graph

I used this graph to get a sense of positive and negative tension in each act.

Closer Look at Pacing

Breaking all the chapters into beats on the tiny pages gave me a feeling for the pacing in an individual act.

Setting Research

Main Street USA

Flowers at the Farmers' Market

The Honey Table

The Old Inn

The Hardware Store

Rooftops

The Arch

Churchyard Cemetery

Ghosting Site

Leveled

Cemetery Angel

“…I finished it. You see I think that is the mark of someone who really wants to write.”

— J. K. Rowling