books

Letting an idea percolate

/ hemmiemartin / 2 Comments

I recognise I can be pretty impatient when it comes to writing. I think of an idea, see the character in my head, know the beginning and the denouement of the story, and my fingers itch to start writing the story. This scatter method had worked in the past when I had novels published by Winter Goose Publishing, and perhaps my brain was more alert back then, or I was less scared of failure; who knows?

I have recently been working diligently on a novel, reaching 64,000 words, and entered the first chapter or 500 words into three competitions after rewriting the beginning of the novel so many times that I felt I could do no more. However, I failed to even get longlisted, which crushed my confidence in the novel, and I have now consigned it to a drawer.

So, I decided to look for the USP of a story – the unique selling point – and I am now percolating the idea instead of jumping straight in. It’s a shock to the system, as I’ve been doing this for a few weeks. I have been jotting down ideas in a notebook, asking myself ‘what if’ questions, and why the story matters. To save myself from getting stumped too soon, I’ve started outlining chapter ideas and giving myself a plan to follow when I’m ready to start writing in the new year.

I have purchased a few non-fiction books for research, hoping I won’t get lost down a rabbit hole if I search the web. I also purchased a BBC Maestro writing course, which was on sale, so I will work through this and absorb the lessons at a gentle pace.

This is a new way of working for me, and I hope it will be a pleasurable experience – I’m sure I’ll tell you either way in a future post!

Christmas is almost upon us, so may I wish you all a happy festive season; however, you celebrate it, and I hope 2025 is full of joy, peace, and good health.

Happy Word Flow One & All, and see you in the New Year!

Pushing Through The First Draft

/ hemmiemartin / 3 Comments

If you read my last post, you may remember I was oscillating between which novel to concentrate on. Well, I’m pleased to say I have been diligently working on one for the past few weeks. However, when I reached 54,000 words, I found myself feeling stuck, but rather than feel dejected, I searched for solutions.

The first thing I did was write chapter outlines on sheets of A4. This proved invaluable as it gave me a helicopter—or should that be a drone—view of the novel and its direction. It also highlighted which chapters lacked action and didn’t move the story forward. But this was rather gruelling work and exhausted me, so I went on to the next solution.

This solution was far more invigorating. As I know the denouement of this novel, I decided to write the climax chapter at the end of Act 2, which is full of tension, action, and a twist. The twist came to me as I wrote the chapter and ties in nicely with something I mentioned in Act 1, which boosted my energy levels and joy.

My next plan is to write the resolution chapter as I know what happens, and then all I have to do is work out how to get to these chapters from where I left off. Easy? No! But at least I will know the story’s arc and where I need to add more action and agency for the main character.

This has taught me an invaluable lesson for the next novel I write. I will write the chapter outlines as I go along. That way, I save myself a headache, and when I get stuck, I have the helicopter view to hand.

I am an avid reader, and sometimes, reading a novel ignites something in my brain which is pertinent to the story I am writing. I call it sideways thinking, in that the book I am reading bears no resemblance to what I am writing, but it broadens my mind and relaxes it so I can see things in my peripheral vision. I’m unsure if that makes sense to you, but it works for me!

Happy Word Flow One & All

Getting to know your characters

/ hemmiemartin / 2 Comments

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.