Talking It Through

Those of you who follow my blog may remember that I spent quite a time planning novel number two back in the autumn. I got to know my characters really well. I plotted the story, another dual narrative, and felt I was well prepared to start writing. After a break when I had edits to do for novel one, the writing is now going well again especially after meeting up with the wonderful members of my little writing group last week. As always, I came back inspired and couldn't wait to get back to my novel. As I get immersed in the story in the company of my characters, I soon find they are telling me snippets of information, letting me know their innermost thoughts and doing things that I hadn't planned for. For me, this is the exciting part about writing but sometimes I get carried away and the expression 'losing the plot' takes on a literal significance for me! It got me thinking back to an excellent blog post from Susanna Bavin on December 10th last year. It was entitled The Day I Did The Impossible. Writing A Synopsis Before Writing The Book. She'd been asked by her editor for a synopsis of her new novel that she hadn't actually written. In the blog, she questions whether that can even happen but by the end of the post she has shown us that it most definitely can. The bonus was that she then had a very detailed view of the plot and characters that gave her extra confidence and motivation to write the novel. Please  CLICK HERE to read the whole post. Sue's debut novel, The Deserter's Daughter, is a 1920s saga and will be published this summer by Allison and Busby. On the strength of her synopsis for the second book mentioned above, the offer was for a two book deal. 

What triggered my thoughts back to Sue's post was a meeting planned with writing friend and Honno author, Judith Barrow. I knew we'd be talking about what we were currently writing and decided that instead of rambling and telling her the gist of what my novel was about, I'd attempt to do exactly what Sue had been asked to do. I started by summarising what the novel was about in a short paragraph. Then, I outlined the novel giving details of what happens when, how the characters interact, right through to the end. I didn't have the pressure of getting it right for an editor to scrutinise but what I did have to take with me was a story in its entirety that I could talk through with Judith. We talked about the characters, where they fit in and how they move the story on. For example, I couldn't show that Lyra, a young Greek girl who appears in both narratives, does that and the story would still be the same without her. That hadn't been clear to me when I just had my basic outline but by writing the detailed version, I could see my novel as a whole rather than a series of incidents.  Judith was generous with her time as always and the afternoon flew by. It was good to hear that Judith's latest novel, a prequel to her Shadows trilogy, will be available from Honno press in August 2017. Set between 1910 and 1924, it's the story of Mary Howarth's mother, Winifred, and father, Bill. Judith is currently running a series of blogs about saga writers and you may find the latest interview with Terry Tyler HERE.

My new detailed outline is going to help me no end and hopefully make the writing of a one-page synopsis much easier in the future. However, I also know that I'll enjoy the 'light-bulb' moments that strike when I'm busy writing away. Since meeting Judith, I have gathered much more evidence about the death of Stavros. I was shocked when I found out the identity of his murderer. It's not who I planned it to be at all! 

How detailed are your outlines or are you a true 'pantser'? I'd love it if you left a comment. Thank you for reading.

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