Although I
regularly facilitate creative writing classes, I’m probably the last person to
hold up as an example of a good writing process. While I hear many writers say
they work best in the mornings/evenings and reserve two hours of their day
before breakfast/before bed to write, I’m more of a serial dinner-burner and
non-hooverist, squeezing in my writing at any point of the day I can – and then
getting carried away to the exclusion of all else.
“Mum, the
dinner’s ready!” are the usual cries ensuing as the smoke detectors go off, but
as an expert at juggling my time and prioritising, my response is usually,
“Okay, just one more line…” A slightly burnt sausage really doesn’t taste that
bad, but a thought or idea or precious line of dialogue allowed to evade the
memory forever could lead to stomach ulcers and other severe nervous disorders.
Because fiction
writing is not my full-time profession (very few writers, sadly, earn a living
from their novels) I have to fit it in where I can, but luckily I am addicted
to writing and find other distractions more of an inspiration than a hindrance.
I am able to write anywhere, at any time, with any amount of background
interference. My best environment is on my sofa, with my laptop, and rock music
blaring out at stadium decibels. I find silence a little harder, but
conversation, television, or playing ball with the dog, one-handed as I type,
is of no inconvenience whatsoever.
For me, the
process of writing a novel does not only involve typing. Away from the
keyboard, the characters are still holding my attention in my mind for much of
my day. In any given situation I find myself, I’m also wondering how this
character or that might cope. It probably takes me about two to three years to
actually write a novel – although once I begin to set it down on paper, it’s
usually completed within nine months. The closer I get to the finish, the more
I exclude other activities, such as housework and the day job!
My physical
writing process is very tight, but slow. I always begin by reading over what
I’ve previously written, which can slow me down as the book grows. In a typical
two-hour period I will be happy if I complete a paragraph. I edit and refine as
I go, often deleting more than I type in any one session. When I type my final
Full Stop, that generally is my novel finished and ready for publication. I may
go back over and find the odd typo, but basically it has been proofed and
edited while in progress. My day job is a sub-editor and proofreader, but long before
that role it just seemed to be in my nature.
I would guess
that always reading good writers and well-crafted books helps. I have always
written, as soon as I could write words, and I tended to mimic my favourite
authors. A precocious reader, I wrote Toyland stories about my own toys, á la
Enid Blyton, as a pre-schooler and later had my friends and I on great
adventures, á la Richmal Crompton. Solving crimes like the Famous Five wasn’t
for us, but finding a plot (and innocent mischief!) within the daily mundane
world around us, like William and The Outlaws, was.
My fiction has
always been character driven. As a reader I need to identify with and empathise
with the hero. William and the outlaws were my best friends. Some very strong
characters, such as Anne Rice’s vampire Louis, have become lovers. So when I
write, I want to feel that same depth of passion for my hero. The plot is
secondary. The reader has to care what happens to the hero and I am the reader
– I always write the book I want to read.
I know much more
than is necessary about all of my characters – their childhood, schooldays,
parents, etc. Little things in their past provide me with clues as to how they
will react within the plot. That’s why, even though none of my books are
prequels or sequels, they do tend to have the same characters cropping up,
particularly previous bit-players promoted to antagonist. As a reader, I like
to feel the need to reach out to a hero and offer help, and experience the
dread of danger. So I tend to be very hard on my hero; some authors play God
with their characters, but for me it’s much more rewarding to play the Devil!
I have a rough
idea of plot and certainly ending, before I begin, but the characters take over
as soon as they hit the paper running. They respond to things in a sometimes
unexpected manner and say things I never envisioned. Occasionally they’ll even
turn the plot in a new direction, which leaves me with a bit of re-thinking to
do. My whole writing process is thought first, typing later, so I’m often
looking in on a scene, which I then recreate on paper. I always watch them
first, then write what I’ve observed. A statement that should probably get me
locked up! They’re pure fiction, of course, I could never base a character on a
real person, as I would lose my creative input and leeway. A person known to
you is too rigidly known to you – I imagine it would be difficult to break them
down or witness their collapse on paper.
I would be
hopeless at an English paper (even though I passed one some 34 years ago)
because I’ve no idea what pronouns and adjectives and suchlike are – I just
know how to use words and structure to my best advantage. Writing is definitely
a craft. I love the power of punctuation, punctuation frightens many writers,
but it’s the author’s best friend. It ensures the reader reads at the pace I
intended, pauses where I want them to, sees the emphasis exactly where I put
it. I love breaking the rules that I do remember from English at school. Never
begin a sentence with And or But! In fiction, doing just that gives you such
power.
As a paragraph,
it would lose you your Pass Grade, but stuck in a thriller – what tension it
creates!
Because I only
write the books I want to read, my hero is always male. I’ve never had an
interest in heroines or ‘The Love Interest’. I would have avoided it
altogether, but a writer pointed out what a great tool love is – it makes
people behave irrationally and take chances. Of course, being a Devil with a
pen, I immediately thought how much more powerful unrequited love would
be! I’m exploring that right now and I think the novel in progress is going to
be my darkest yet. So watch this space!
Lissa is a freelance journalist who writes and broadcasts on horseracing. A regular contributor to the Irish Field, she is the European correspondent for Racetrack magazine. She has been nominated for the Clive Graham Writer of the Year Trophy at the Derby Awards each year since 2008. In 2010, she received a special commendation for her work. She lives in Co Kildare with her family.
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