{"id":715,"date":"2015-03-02T11:04:37","date_gmt":"2015-03-02T11:04:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/?p=715"},"modified":"2019-01-24T13:09:53","modified_gmt":"2019-01-24T13:09:53","slug":"mst-tutor-wendy-brandmark-on-letting-go-of-a-novel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/?p=715","title":{"rendered":"MSt tutor Wendy Brandmark: “On Letting go of a Novel”"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Letting go of a Novel<\/strong>
\n\"head<\/a>
\nWendy Brandmark<\/em><\/p>\n

The launch of novel is an odd experience. Suddenly a book which never let go of me, no matter how exasperated I became with the puzzle of its story and bothersome group of characters, is finally making its way in the world.<\/p>\n

My second novel, The Stray American<\/em><\/a>, came out just before Christmas. I\u2019ve been delighted to hear from readers who identify with Larry\u2019s lonely journeys through London, who enjoy the comedy and have favourite characters and scenes. The novel is no longer mine. It\u2019s true there were editors and writers who read the book before it was published, whose comments affected the revisions: the ending changed and most recently the title. But I miss the writing of the very first drafts when a tangle of relationships emerged from what had been just an image of expatriate Americans in London.<\/p>\n

When asked why she wrote, poet Denise Levertov once said, \u2018I like to make a thing.\u2019 We spend much time thinking about agents and publishers. Somehow a book is not alive until it is published, and we as writers can only be validated in this way. But looking back, I think the real satisfaction was in early days when the novel began to take shape. That lone journey.<\/p>\n

—-<\/p>\n

MSt tutor Wendy Brandmark’s novel The Stray American<\/em><\/a> is published by Holland Park Press.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Letting go of a Novel Wendy Brandmark The launch of novel is an odd experience. Suddenly a book which never let go of me, no matter how exasperated I became with the puzzle of its story and bothersome group of characters, is finally making its way in the world. My second novel, The Stray […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_s2mail":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-publications","category-tutor_news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p40Qhf-bx","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":661,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/?p=661","url_meta":{"origin":715,"position":0},"title":"MSt Tutor Wendy Brandmark launches novel, The Stray American. London,13 December 2014","author":"MSt Creative Writing","date":"November 14, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"MSt tutor Wendy Brandmark's new novel The Stray American, will be launched in London on Saturday 13 December at 7.30pm Venue: October Gallery, 24 Old Gloucester Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1N 3AL. Cost: Free, but book your places with bernadette@hollandparkpress.co.uk. \"The Stray American is set in 2003, and tells the story\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Events"","block_context":{"text":"Events","link":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":774,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/?p=774","url_meta":{"origin":715,"position":1},"title":"MSt tutor Wendy Brandmark’s novel on the 2015 Jerwood Fiction Uncovered longlist","author":"MSt Creative Writing","date":"May 12, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"MSt tutor Wendy Brandmark's novel\u00a0The Stray American\u00a0has been longlisted for the 2015 Jerwoord Fiction Uncovered prize. \"The Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize today (Tuesday 12 May) announces its longlist of 15 books which showcase the breadth and vibrancy of British writing today. Now in its 5th\u00a0year, the Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "MSt News"","block_context":{"text":"MSt News","link":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/?cat=4"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hollandparkpress.co.uk\/uploaded_files\/1415710185cover_strayamerican.gif?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1075,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/?p=1075","url_meta":{"origin":715,"position":2},"title":"MSt tutor Roopa Farooki shortlisted for Commonword Diversity Writing for Children Prize","author":"MSt Creative Writing","date":"July 13, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"MSt tutor Roopa Farooki has been shortlisted for the Commonword Diversity Writing for Children Prize, a prize that encourages diverse characters in children's fiction, for her\u00a0 teen novel, Jay Zed Black. The winner will be announced on the 11th of October at Chapter One Bookshop (more details on the prize\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "MSt News"","block_context":{"text":"MSt News","link":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/?cat=4"},"img":{"alt_text":"Farooki_Roopa_6414","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Farooki_Roopa_6414.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":334,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/?p=334","url_meta":{"origin":715,"position":3},"title":"MSt tutor Rebecca Abrams reviews Susie Boyt’s novel","author":"MSt Creative Writing","date":"November 22, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"MSt tutor Rebecca Abram's review of Susie Boyt's new novel, appeared in the Financial Times: \"Bittersweet redemption\".","rel":"","context":"In "MSt News"","block_context":{"text":"MSt News","link":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/?cat=4"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":817,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/?p=817","url_meta":{"origin":715,"position":4},"title":"MSt tutor Marti Leimbach’s novel “Age of Consent” to be published in 2016","author":"MSt Creative Writing","date":"September 16, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"MSt tutor Marti Leimbach's new novel Age of Consent is to be published by\u00a0 Penguin Random House in the US and Fourth Estate\/Harper Collins\u00a0 in the United Kingdom. Read what Marti has to say about it on her website.","rel":"","context":"In "MSt News"","block_context":{"text":"MSt News","link":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/?cat=4"},"img":{"alt_text":"1c50aff","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/1c50aff.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1467,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.conted.ox.ac.uk\/mstcw\/?p=1467","url_meta":{"origin":715,"position":5},"title":"MSt tutor Alice Jolly’s novel “Mary Sate, Imbecile” launch on 20th June 2018, London","author":"MSt Creative Writing","date":"May 15, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"MSt tutor Alice Jolly's novel Mary Sate, Imbecile will be launched in London on Wednesday 20th June 2018 at Daunt Books. 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