Getting to know your characters

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I’ve always found it challenging creating characters for a new novel before I put pen to paper. Some people advise compiling a list of the details of each character, such as their birthday, likes, dislikes, character traits, and appearance, before starting the story, but I have always found this rather tricky.

When the idea for a story comes to mind, so do the bare bones of the characters, or at least the main protagonist. I know their age, name (although this can sometimes change along the way), and their role in the story. I am not a planner, although I was when I was writing crime novels, so after letting the initial idea percolate in my mind, I open a new notebook, and begin writing.

As mentioned in a past post, the first draft is for me to explore the story and get to know my characters. But I’ll admit, I’m 40,000 words into the first draft of a new novel, and I’m still getting to grips with the characters. I still haven’t entirely worked out who they really are, how they respond in certain situations, and what makes them tick. However, I am ploughing on with the first draft, knowing that by the end, I will have a clearer idea of who the players are and their story arc. It is only through subsequent drafts that they will finally emerge as more rounded and believable people.

I was so relieved to hear Tayari Jones, author of four novels, most recently An American Marriage, say that this is how she got to know her characters when she was a guest speaker at The Novelry. Her words were like honey on a sore throat, soothing and comforting. I felt validated in my method of working. It is, I acknowledge, ridiculous that I need the reassurance of a famous author to justify my means of working; I’m old enough to be more confident in my methods – but I am not improving with age in the confidence arena!

I like to let the characters inhabit my mind during the day, so even when I am not writing, I listen to them, trying to hear their voices and understand their actions. Throughout writing a novel, there is plenty of time to truly get to know them, fall in love with them, or despise their personality or actions. I have faith that it will eventually happen.

I hope some of this chimes with you.

Happy Word Flow, One & All.

Doubt Is Your Shadow

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I have always thought that when you give birth, not only do you have a baby, but you also give birth to worry, which is your constant companion. You worry not only about the newborn, but it remains in the back of your mind even when your children have flown the nest.

In much the same way, when you become a writer, doubt becomes your constant shadow. It appears when you start writing your first novel, nibbling at your confidence, telling you the story is rubbish and your writing is below par. Even on the days when the words are flowing and the characters are speaking to you, the shadow of doubt will be looming over your shoulder, reminding you of your weaknesses.

I had hoped the shadow would diminish as the years rolled by, especially after taking numerous writing courses, being a member of a fabulous writing community at The Novelry, having several books published, and gaining a literary agent. But it is tenacious. After listening to numerous well-known authors talk about their writing process as guests at The Novelry, I found that doubt was also a constant companion in their writing lives, which was reassuring.

I have come to the conclusion that I must accept my shadow and acknowledge its presence. However, I should attempt to minimise its power and not let it control me. I know that my writing has vastly improved over the years through study, practice and reading, but I also know that there is always room for improvement, which is something I strive for every time I put pen to paper.

Sometimes, I should approach my desk with the relaxed attitude of Alfie, in the above photo, and let the words flow and my characters speak while ignoring the marauding shadow behind me. That’s what I intend to do later today – let’s see how that goes!

Happy Word Flow, One & All.

It’s Still A Waiting Game

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Sculpture in Canterbury.

Even with a Literary Agent by my side, waiting for a publisher to acquire my novel is still a painfully slow journey. I had been warned, but even so, I hadn’t anticipated just how arduous it would feel at times. I did wonder if it was because I’m an unknown name until I heard an inspirational and uplifting talk by Kirstin Chen, who came to The Novelry via Zoom (what a wonderful invention!) to discuss her writing process and her experience of being published.

Chen’s first novel, Soy Sauce for Beginners, initially received nineteen rejections from publishers, and it took her agent eight months to finally sell it, then a further two years before it was published. Chen went on to become a New York Times best-selling author. Her third novel, Counterfeit, became a Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick and a New York Editors’ choice, as well as numerous other illustrious accolades.

The fact that Chen’s journey had an arduous beginning gives me hope that all is not lost for my novel, Margot Baker Knows Best. However, this doesn’t mean that the wait is any easier, but I have a better idea of what to expect.

So, to keep me from checking my emails too frequently, I’m writing my next novel, reading avidly, and feeding the wildlife in my garden – the fledging blackbirds and starlings are looking nice and plump!

I am delighted that writing brings me so much joy, so I’m happy to sit at my desk five days a week, creating characters and plotlines, and then typing up my handwritten notes over the weekend. But there are no hard and fast rules. Find what works for you, and don’t judge yourself harshly against what other writers do. Ha, if I could adhere to this, I’d be delighted! I’m quick to judge my writing every time I read a new novel, and never in my favour. But that’s another blog post altogether!

I am fortunate to have a few friends at The Novelry in the same boat, so we are supporting one another through this nail-biting time. I have removed the bottle of fizz from the fridge and put it back in the cupboard for now, as seeing it every time I opened the fridge door reminded me that I didn’t have the right excuse to drink it.

If you are waiting, at whatever stage you are at, remember you are not alone. Write something new, read, go for a walk, or whatever takes your fancy. Glass of fizz anyone? No…I didn’t think so

Happy Word Flow One & All

The First Draft Is Always Sh*t

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I spent around two years writing Margot Baker Knows Best, during which time I wrote eleven drafts before finally sending it to my agent. I am now writing the first draft of a new novel, The Quiet Room (working title), and I’m currently on 45,000 words.

The issue with a first draft is it’s always sh*t, with plot holes gaping at me, parts lacking in energy to move the story along, not quite hearing the characters’ individual voices, and so on. I have a constant negative voice in my head telling me that what I’m writing is rubbish and that no one will want to read it anyway. On the notice board above my next, I have the comic strip (pictured above the wrong way around, but my IT skills don’t go as far as changing it to landscape) by Tom Gauld from August 2018 in The Guardian, which really says it all about my writing day.

Yes, the story is pants, and I’m writing words which will be deleted in the next draft. Yes, I must do all of my chores before sitting down to write. Yes, I can easily get sucked into social media, especially Twitter (but for how much longer?), and my new favourite Instagram (do join me via the Instagram button above, if you want to see photos of Alfie, our rescue cat and photos of all the books I buy and read.) And yes, I used to be a great fan of napping in the afternoon, but I seem to have overcome this issue most days now, thankfully.

The mantra I need to repeat to myself is, yes, the first draft is sh*t, but that’s okay – the story will develop, as will the characters, and I can rectify all the worrying issues in subsequent drafts (although hopefully not the eleven as I needed to do with Margot).

So, for now, I must sit at my desk (which is messy today, so I’ll tidy it after posting this on my website) or in my local indie café, keep the faith and get those words down, especially as I prefer editing to writing the first draft.

Does this chime with you, or have you mastered the art of muting the negative voice in your head? Let me know, and I’ll see if it can work for me!

Happy Word Flow One & All

Taking A Break

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We’ve just had a few days away visiting Amsterdam and Antwerp, our first holiday abroad since the COVID times.

A few weeks before taking this break, I had been attending The Golden Hour at The Novelry via Zoom, where a group of writers would sit in silence and write for one hour. I found that being able to see the others hard at work encouraged me to keep going, and I felt less isolated. In just one hour a day, over fifteen days, I doubled my word count from 13,000 to 26,000. I returned from holiday yesterday and will start attending The Golden Hour again, which is running until Christmas. Hopefully, I will have the first draft of this new novel completed and ready to tackle the rewrite. I am thoroughly enjoying writing in a notebook during this time, then typing up the pages and undertaking the first edit as I do so.

Being on holiday has helped broaden my mind – I even managed to speak French when ordering food and shopping in Antwerp, even though almost everyone spoke English. I spent time reading The Past by Tessa Hadley and The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, but only managed to handwrite a few pages of my new novel. However, the break has fired up my brain, and I can’t wait for the hour to begin at one o’clock today.

The photo above is a statue of Nello and his dog, a Belgium equivalent of our story of The Little Match Girl. Nello was homeless and visited the Antwerp cathedral every day to look at the Rubens paintings, which he loved. One winter’s day, both Nello and his dog were found dead in the cathedral. Antwerp is a stunning city, with beautiful Medieval architecture and the cathedral of Our Lady housing some gorgeous Rubens paintings as well as some modern sculpture. I will post some photos below. We also visited Amsterdam, but for some reason, I haven’t managed to upload the photos.

As much as I enjoyed my time away, I’m happy to be back at my desk to work on my new novel; I did miss my daily writing routine. After posting this, I will type up what I wrote whilst away and kick my brain into writing gear.

Thank you for reading this, and Happy Word Flow One & All

A Bit of a Pickle

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Canterbury

When my May 2022 copy of Writing Magazine dropped through my letterbox, I felt one article had been written primarily for me. The article, ‘The shock of the (shiny and) new’ by Gary Dalkin, talks about how to cope with writing one novel when a new idea pops into your head about another book. I read the article with relish as it’s the situation I find myself in currently.

I have written 42,000 words of one novel and 7,000 of another, and I’m enjoying writing them both. They are both women’s fiction, both with an element of suspense, and I’m enjoying writing both protagonists and cast members. I start writing one, then moving to the other, which is utterly ridiculous, as I’ll never get one finished at this rate, dear reader.

So, I wrote a synopsis for both novels and today I showed my long-suffering hubs, my youngest daughter and her partner who have arrived for the weekend, and I’ll show my eldest daughter when she arrives later this evening. So far two votes have gone to the longest novel and one vote to the other one. If my eldest daughter votes for the one which would make it a tie, I’ve no idea what I will do.

You are probably saying, why don’t I continue writing the one which is already 42,000 words, you crazy fool. And yes, that would make sense, but there’s an irritating voice in my head saying, which one will hook an agent? I know I’ve had several books published previously, but my heart is set on finding an agent – perhaps I have a foolish heart. However, two agents who were not grabbed by my last novel said that they would love to consider any future books I write. This, dear reader, made my heart sing.

However, I believe this is the reason I am in this pickle; I feel so close, and yet…

Perhaps I will have my answer come this evening – let’s hope so, otherwise, I risk wasting valuable writing time jumping from one novel to the other. I can, of course, ask my tutor at The Novelry, and it may come to that after this evening, but it’s fun seeing how the votes pan out.

Thank you for taking an interest, and I will update you when I know which novel I have nailed to the mast.

Happy Word Flow One & All