99 percent perspiration
June 11, 2008
..and one percent inspiration. I don’t think that’s always true about writing a novel. You never can predict the balance, I’ve discovered so far!
But I feel quietly satisfied this morning (for the first time in about six months I might add.) I thought of a way to resolve an issue in the book, that will also ramp up the tension between the characters even more. Just Say Yes, seemed to flow, fully formed from my mind. This book has taken twice as long to write and has gradually layered itself up, evolved and changed.
If you’re a writer, do you find each book develops in a different way or do you generally have a pattern?
On this very subject, there’s a brilliant post by Neil Gaiman here on Susan Hill’s site. Read it now for your own sanity.
Posted by Phillipa @ 7:01 am | Leave a Comment
Ray-Anne Says:
Sorry to say that despite all of the hard work, careful characterisation and general outlining that I do upfront, my first draft tends to be the ‘discovery draft’ as someone clever once said – and the real writing takes over from there, as I try and hack this hunk of multipointed marble back into the Venus de Milo. With arms.
Thank you so much for that link to the Neil Gaiman post- I have just read a similar comment from the screenwriter John August which I am going to use for my own blog.
Yes. I am at the stage in re-writing my current thriller [ 120K and I am nowhere near finished the re-write] where I truly am flagging. The new story idea is lurking, devilishly, seducing me to come over and live in the dark side and leave this pile of ??? behind as a lost cause.
The next person who says that they could ‘churn out’ a novel if only they had the time, may well hear my scary ‘assertive voice.’
Only good times ahead. 🙂
Phillipa Says:
Ray Anne – I was asked how ‘we churn them out’ by a bloke only last week. That was in the hearing of two best selling members of the RNA. I had just finished eating but happily, didn’t have a knife in my hand at the time. Writing is hard work – sometimes it is bliss but far more often, it’s just a really hard slog!
Christina Phillips Says:
My process has changed a lot over the years – when I first started writing I planned and plotted everything out even down to chapter breaks and snippets of dialogue. Now, I’m lucky if I manage a couple of paragraphs outlining the main conflicts before i plunge into the mist. To be honest the pantsing method terrifies me, but now days my muse just goes off in a sulk if I try and hammer things out too far in advance!!
Phillipa Says:
Christina – I still haven’t got it right after five books! last one was planned off a 6 page proposal and largely ran like clockwork but this one has shot off in all kinds of directions.