This is probably a good point to blog; I am starting a new novel so you can go on the journey with me.
I finished the fourth draft of Exit Plan (the first draft was completed over Nanowrimo 2015 and you may have heard me on BBC Radio 4 talking about it). I have been 'in between books'. What have I learnt from this? I'm pretty grumpy if I don't have something to work on! It's taken a while, but I now have an idea I am enthusiastic about writing.
This is how the idea came into being:
There's a character in history who is largely forgotten and it struck me that he would make a good character in a time travel novel. I wasn't sure what else was going to happen, but I knew the main character would be his 'love interest'. Because of the character's age at this specific period in history the characters are sixteen/seventeen so this lends itself to a Young Adult novel.
I didn't know anything else. So, two characters and two time periods...
When I get stuck for ideas I sometimes look at premade book covers and seek inspiration that way. Pre-made covers are cheaper, because they aren't being made to your specifications, so you have to shop around. Luckily there are some really good designers out there. I found one I liked the look of and contacted the designer who I have used before.
Then I needed a title to put on the book cover. I am really fussy about titles, they have to be right. I chatted on Facebook to my friend Ellie and threw titles her way. Then I stumbled on one I liked: Cracked Glass. It resonated with a poem I once wrote as a teenager and have slightly misremembered: shattered glass always holds the most light. Shattered Glass is going to be the title of book two in the series and if it goes into a trilogy the third will be called House of Glass.
Characters - check
Era - check
Genre - check
Cover - check
Title - check
Now time to get writing. Like the rest of you, I find real life gets in the way. I contemplated two ways of motivating myself to write Cracked Glass: publishing a chapter at a time on line or swapping work with a friend. I have tried the former in the past and did not find it successful. Luckily, a friend and I had just agreed to swap 500 words of something a week so Cracked Glass has become that work in progress.
A couple of days in and I have a short 600 word prologue and almost 2 000 words of chapter one. I aim to make each chapter about 4 000 words and loosely follow 'The Hero's Journey' as a template.
I have an outline for chapter two and I know vaguely one of the big events that will happen either in this book, or book two. I prefer not to know the rest as I like seeing where the characters take me.
The adventure begins!
I finished the fourth draft of Exit Plan (the first draft was completed over Nanowrimo 2015 and you may have heard me on BBC Radio 4 talking about it). I have been 'in between books'. What have I learnt from this? I'm pretty grumpy if I don't have something to work on! It's taken a while, but I now have an idea I am enthusiastic about writing.
This is how the idea came into being:
There's a character in history who is largely forgotten and it struck me that he would make a good character in a time travel novel. I wasn't sure what else was going to happen, but I knew the main character would be his 'love interest'. Because of the character's age at this specific period in history the characters are sixteen/seventeen so this lends itself to a Young Adult novel.
I didn't know anything else. So, two characters and two time periods...
When I get stuck for ideas I sometimes look at premade book covers and seek inspiration that way. Pre-made covers are cheaper, because they aren't being made to your specifications, so you have to shop around. Luckily there are some really good designers out there. I found one I liked the look of and contacted the designer who I have used before.Then I needed a title to put on the book cover. I am really fussy about titles, they have to be right. I chatted on Facebook to my friend Ellie and threw titles her way. Then I stumbled on one I liked: Cracked Glass. It resonated with a poem I once wrote as a teenager and have slightly misremembered: shattered glass always holds the most light. Shattered Glass is going to be the title of book two in the series and if it goes into a trilogy the third will be called House of Glass.
Characters - check
Era - check
Genre - check
Cover - check
Title - check
Now time to get writing. Like the rest of you, I find real life gets in the way. I contemplated two ways of motivating myself to write Cracked Glass: publishing a chapter at a time on line or swapping work with a friend. I have tried the former in the past and did not find it successful. Luckily, a friend and I had just agreed to swap 500 words of something a week so Cracked Glass has become that work in progress.
A couple of days in and I have a short 600 word prologue and almost 2 000 words of chapter one. I aim to make each chapter about 4 000 words and loosely follow 'The Hero's Journey' as a template.
I have an outline for chapter two and I know vaguely one of the big events that will happen either in this book, or book two. I prefer not to know the rest as I like seeing where the characters take me.
The adventure begins!
