Post: Reply | Quote

Hi Fiona,

I was hoping you wouldn't mind if I asked you a few questions. I realise all authors do things there own way but I'm rapidly reaching the end of Revenge and a few questions keep popping into my head.

As I'm writing my own novels I guess I read a little differently than I used to. I often find myself thinking about how elements are added to a story and I look for clues for future developments, and it makes me think about my own writing progress and whether I've added sufficient motivation for characters to fuel events and all sorts of other things.

You mentioned in another thread that you like to let the characters take charge, and don't tend to plan events in
advance.

Near the end of the 2nd book (and I'll be vague here just in case someone hasn't read it yet) we get to the anxiously awaited explanations of key aspects of the story, and of course the climatic scene we've been bracing ourselves for.

These explanations are pretty detailed and complicated, and I'm wondering how much of this you knew at the start and how much grew while you were writing? Did you know what the trinity would be when you started? (I still don't know - I have the final chapter awaiting me!)

I ask because I've always tried to write fairly linearly from the start to finish. With my current effort though, I am basically writing scenes.

I had a vision of a start and some basic characters, a defined history of the world and it's creation and what went wrong to cause the current problem looming etc.

But when I started writing, things started going quite unexpectedly. Now I find things shooting off in all directions, and since I didn't want to forget these developments at later stages, I have started writing the scenes as they come to me.

As things develop I have to keep going back and adding information to previous events so it all ties together.

Although I've written quite a few chapters I'm finding more and more I'm collecting numbers of future scenes that are not yet connected. I hope I will be able to join the significant dots when I go back and put it all together.

I guess I'm looking for reassurance really, because although I have attempted to write novels on numerous occasions, I have never finished one. I have bever tried this approach before and I'm hoping its going to work. So far, I've managed to progress further than ever before so perhaps that's a good sign.

I noticed in your first book, a reference made to book 2 as Resurrection not Revenge. Was this a simple title change or did you actually find that what you planned to write came out quite differently?

I hope you don't mind all these questions. I'm just a literary infant, stumbling around in the dark, trying to find my own torch.

cheers,
Darren.

---

Life is a containment field for thought. (A Slatz original.)

Post: Reply | Quote

I don't mind in the least - never feel shy to ask questions.

Yes, I have always known what the Trinity is. It's one of the few things I did know when I began writing Betrayal but I had no idea how I would present that Trinity or when. The how and when emerged as the books came to life and the detail you speak of only came to life on the day I was writing that scene. I really plan nothing ahead and probably frustrate those around me by not being able to produce a synopsis because I have no idea what's going to happen. What I start with is a storyline. The new series I'm writing I can sum up in one sentence because all I know about it is a particular piece of very strange magic. Beyond that, it's a journey of discovery.

As I find it very natural to craft in this odd manner of seeing what each day's writing unfolds, I can't imagine doing it any other way. It never occurred to me to worry about it until a number of people queried it. Now I realise I cannot write any other way.

So first, relax! Your characters will definitely take you to places you didn't expect so just let it rip. Cipres was never even a vague entity until Tor set out to find Goth and then all those things happened between Saxon and Cloot and Tor found himself on a ship. Everything that happened on Cipres was like a magical mystery tour for me too!

The truth is when I opened with the execution scene in Betrayal, all I knew was where book three should end. Everything in between I just trusted myself to discover as my characters and I went along. Give it a go - see how you get on writing in this manner. It will depend on your mood to some extent but that's why I do write in a fairly disciplined manner. I can't leave it for weeks, for example, because I lose all track of where I was headed. So I just write something every day, no matter what's happening in my existence, and I can hang onto some continuity that way. You may need to do same if you have no notes or detailed synopsis to work with.

By the time I got to the close of Destiny, it was not what I had envisaged 18 months ago and I surprised myself with the end.

Just trust yourself and see what happens. If it doesn't work for you, you'll soon know.

...and make a promise, you'll finish this book. We'll certainly all nag you anyway! Good luck - F

Post: Reply | Quote

Thanks for the encouragement Fiona!

---

Life is a containment field for thought. (A Slatz original.)

Post: Reply | Quote

I knew at which point the story would end but not necessarily how and when I got there it was only vaguely similar to how I imagined when I set out writing the Prologue for Betrayal.

As for did I know it was a trilogy? No I didn't. HarperCollins wanted a trilogy so that's how I craftd it but halfway through Revenge I thought, uh-oh, it's going to be a quartet! But I dug in and stuck with the plan or it would have been a headache for the marketing team.

This new tale I'm writing was presented as a stand alone novel. Publisher came with "would really love another trilogy from you."

So that's how it goes. Just write and see what happens. But you need to understand that each of the books in your trilogy or quartet or whatever you choose to present need to stand alone as very decent reads on their own merit. Your readers need to feel satisfied that they've read a complete story but obviously want more of the same.

It's fantastic to hear how dedicated you are. Discipline wins the day. If you write every day, you will have a finished manuscript before you know it and that in itself is a fabulous achievement.

Post: Reply | Quote

Thanks very much for your reply Fiona.

I am trying very hard to be disciplined with this one, and I have been writing daily. My wife told me last night she has never seen me so dedicated to my writing before. I hadn't really realised it, but she is right, I have been more committed than ever this year.

Sometimes I can only find a few hundred words to add, sometimes I can write a few thousand. But as long as I keep adding to it, I guess one day I'll reach an end.

I wonder, since you only knew a few of the details at the start, did you know the ending? And did you know that there would be three books when you started?

I have no idea how long mine will be. My beginning is about 5 times longer than I had imagined so I hope it's not going to take me forever!

---

Life is a containment field for thought. (A Slatz original.)