Argh, the voices! The voices. Sometimes, I regret my decision to put the comtemplative one in italics. It makes things so complicated, not least, the dividing line between the two. It’s sometimes not really clear whether a sentence is contemplative or narrative. Sometimes, it seems like it might be both.
I’m editing the very beginning of book 1: UI, which was first written before I made this decision. Content I wrote after the decision is more clear, probably because I realised it would have to be, but anything before that could be anything. So, the contemplative often seems too formal and the narrative, too casual, and I find myself trying to change that in the edits, with varying degrees of success.
When you write three books over three years, the style is bound to change a little because, as people, we change over time too, don’t we? If I think about a long series like Harry Potter or Outlander, the style of the earlier books is quite different to the later ones and that’s okay. I’m sure this will be okay too, if only I could stop worrying so much.