The process, part 6 - Writing!

Finally, it’s time press quill to parchment or, in my case, fingers to keyboard; yes, it’s story time!

Now, as any writer will tell you, writing the first draft only serves the purpose of telling the story to oneself. Then, each subsequent draft, or edit, refines the manuscript to a point where it is ready to be sent to the editor for a copyedit and proofread before being unleashed into the world.

So, armed with my brain storming notes, plot structure and tracking spreadsheet, I opened a new project in Scrivener and started to write the first word of the first sentence of the first scene in chapter one. But, it isn’t just free-wheeling. There are rules to be followed and, just occasionally, broken.

I always begin the story with an independent action clause which also introduces the main character.

And I use Oxford Style modified by some personal preferences. For example, Oxford Style dictates that ‘ ’ should be used for speech and “ ” for quotes within speech. This is the UK style standard but I chose to use “ ” for speech and ‘ ’ for quotes within speech like the Chicago Style guide for US publications. Over half a century ago when I was at school, I was taught to use “ ” for speech, so that’s my choice.

Because I had a detailed plot for The Connickle Conundrum (TCC), I was able to write scenes dependent on a) my mood and b) what I wanted to achieve in any particular writing session. For example, although most of the manuscript was written in the chronological order of events, after the first scene in TCC, I wrote the inciting incident in chapter three and the epilogue before writing the remainder of the first chapter. Control was an important part of my creative process.

But because this time around my new process for the second instalment of the trilogy didn’t provide a detailed plot, I didn’t have that luxury. Although I wrote an epilogue between writing the first and second chapter, I then wrote the story, almost entirely, in the chronological order of events. And as I ‘pantsed’ many scenes, the characters took the narrative in directions I hadn’t always anticipated. Sometimes, it was like wrangling cats, but I always managed to get them back on track!

This approach was an more comfortable mix of control and freewheeling and, I believe, the freedom is reflected in the writing.

Now, I am not a fast writer. On a good day, I will write 2,500 to 3,000 words over six or seven hours. But, for shorter sessions I set a target of between 300 and 1,000 words. For me, writing should always be a pleasure, never a chore.

In my next blogpost, I will cover the importance of, and difference between, author and character voices.

This week’s featured author and musicians lean to the dark side -

H P Lovecraft - American style Gothic horror writer and creator of the Cthulu mythos.

Lacuna Coil - Italian Gothic metal band, touring the UK in the summer of 2024

Next time… Voice.