Thanks to my lovely twitter pal Emma Greenwood, I’m dedicating this
post to talking about what - and how - I write, as part of The Writing Process blog
tour.
So for the tour, I answer 4 questions about writing, and then hand over
to 3 writer friends to post their blog posts next week. Neato.
1. What am I working on?
Right now I’m getting
ready for my debut YA novel, BLACKFIN SKY, to be released in the UK. It comes
out on 14th May over here, so I’m preparing for this by doing blog
posts and interviews, author events and festivals, and generally doing
promotional stuff and stalking my book online.
I’m also editing
another manuscript and starting to outline a couple of short stories that I’m planning
to write over the next month or so, and catching up on my reading.
2. How does my work
differ from others of its genre?
BLACKFIN SKY is very
much a dark thriller, but it’s also magical realism, which sort of sets it
apart right away. Very odd things happen in the town of Blackfin - the Penny
Well will pick your pockets if you pass too close to it; failing to salute the
haunted weathervane as you pass results in foul weather; and the Blood
House might lock its doors if it doesn’t like the person trying to get in. All
these things are par for the course in Blackfin, though, and can make it a
tricky place to look for logical answers, as Sky discovers when she shows up at
school after everyone believing she was dead for 3 months!
3. Why do I write what I
do?
I love anything that’s
quirky and makes you think, and that’s what I aim to do with my writing. I take
my characters on adventures, having a hundred crazy things happen to them that
they have to figure out. I hope my excitement as a writer comes through in the
story.
4. How does my writing
process work?
I’ll preface this by
saying that a) I am a control freak, and b) I have a shocking memory. Both
those things add up to me being a very methodical plotter.
How I plot:
As the title of this
post suggests, I do a lot of plotting in the bathtub. I find a good
ceiling-stare is vital for figuring out a new plot, although you can substitute
the bathtub for lying on the floor, in a pinch.
By the time my
fingers turn pruny, I’ll want to know the overall plot, and the hook of the
story – the idea that can be summed up in a sentence or two to snag the
interest of an agent, editor, or reader. Once I have this, I begin to outline.
How I outline:
I begin with a new
Word doc. (Mind blown, right??) Now, insert five numbered ‘Part’ headings: Part
1, Part 2, etc. In between these, put in at least 5 ‘Chapter’ headings, so you
end up with around 25 chapters, separated evenly by the Part headings. These ‘Part’
separators are where I, in my brain, will want to put a WTF moment into my
book. They’ll shift around during the writing and editing, but if I at least
start with them evenly spaced, it should help with the pacing.
I work to the idea
that each chapter is about 3k words long, so if I wrote exactly according to
this outline, I’d have a book about 75k long at the end. If you tend to write
shorter chapters, add in more Chapter headings in between the Part headings.
You see, it’s starting to make sense now, right?
Now, under each
chapter heading, write a sentence or two saying what happens in that chapter: ‘Brian
gets run over by a bus. Wakes up in hospital speaking Portuguese.’ Something
along those lines. Having this guide helps me know where I’m heading as I
write, and avoid those chapters where the MC spends 2k words musing on the
intangibility of clouds.
The outline shifts
and changes as I’m drafting, but I prefer to have it as a steer to keep me from
writing myself into a dead end. It’s also handy to use as a basis for the
synopsis/pitch when the manuscript is complete.
How I edit:
I use a double-sweep
method, which I affectionately call the Peanut Butter Method. The first editing
sweep (Chunky
Edits) focuses on major plot holes and reshuffling events for continuity
and pacing. The second sweep (Smooth
Edits) focuses on characterisation, world-building, smoothing out the parts
I’ve shuffled and plugged in the Chunky Edits, and then line editing.
I’ll usually read my
manuscript aloud to my husband after completing the Smooth Edits to refine the
language more, and take out the clunky parts that have snuck through editing.
Then I send my manuscript off to my beta readers – usually 2 rounds, to
make sure I cover my bases. If all is well, and I’m confident my manuscript is
the best I can make it, I’ll send it off to my agent to work her magic on. That’s
it!
*****
With it being UKYA month in April, I’ve been thinking a lot about all
things UK…and writing…so all 3 of the awesome writers I’m passing the baton to
are from 'ere in’t UK. Their posts will be up on their blogs on 6th
April, so be sure to check them out!
Clare Davidson is a character driven fantasy writer, teacher and mother, from the UK. Clare was born in Northampton and lived in Malaysia for four and a half years as a child, before returning to the UK to settle in Leeds with her family. Whilst attending Lancaster University, Clare met her future husband. They now share their lives with their young daughter, a cranky grey cat, called Ash and an insane white cat, called Pirate.
Check out Clare's blog here: http://www.claredavidson.com/
Visit Blue's blog here: http://chynnablueink.com/ or tweet her @chynnablueink
