Writing Process Blog Tour

Thanks to Lisa Goll for inviting me to take part in this Writing Process Blog Tour. You can read her post here.

What am I working on?

I am currently writing a novel called Beverly, about two best friends who live together in London. One needs a favour from the other and in return she is asked to give something up. The exchange of favours changes their dynamic and a theme running through the story is how hidden parts of our character can surprise us in extreme circumstances and a question is whether or not friendship can last forever. But it’s beginning to develop as a love story too as one of the subplots is becoming more dominant.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I’m not sure what genre I fit into - women's fiction / commercial fiction - but I am attracted to original stories. For example, my first book, Orla’s Code, is about a woman who works in I.T. Mostly set in her workplace, we see the I.T. world through the eyes of a female programmer and I think it might be the first of its kind! Beverly is also original in a certain way but I don’t want to give away what that is yet.

Why do I write what I do?

I think the desire to write about a subject that hasn't yet been written about is what drives me. I am a software programmer so Orla’s Code was close to my own experiences. The plot formed without my trying to think about it and that’s when I caught the bug. But before Orla’s Code and again, before Beverly, I didn't think I would write – until the plot came to me and then there was no escape!

Unlike a lot of writers, I didn't write when I was young or even dream of writing. In fact I hated essay time in school! However I did a creative writing course many years ago just to try something new and although that still didn't spark any writing ambition, I remembered how much I enjoyed it and thought every now and then that I'd like to try writing again in earnest. Finally the idea for Orla's Code came and suddenly I had to get it out of my system.

So basically sabotage is what makes me write.

How does my writing process work?

Working full-time, I have to fit writing around my schedule. I tend to try to save a weekend day or at least a morning for writing. I also do a bit of editing on the week evenings if I’m not too tired. During the week, usually on my work commute, I make notes and try to resolve issues in my head. Actually something that worked very well for me in the late stages of Orla’s Code was printing out a chapter each week, editing it on the way to work, then typing up the changes at the weekend and printing out the next chapter. 

I took last week off work to concentrate on writing and actually was surprised at how demotivated I was. With all the free time I found myself restless and distracted. I am beginning to wonder if the slow pace of dipping into what I am writing every now and then actually suits me better - I like leaving sections for a while and then coming back to them with fresh eyes. So maybe I don't want to give up the day job after all. This is a surprise to me!

One of the things that distracted me last week - thankfully - was answering these questions. So I would now like to introduce the three people I am passing the baton to....

Matt Bone lives and writes in Bath, UK, where he is steadily working through the city's supply of caffeine. He has degrees in both Astrophysics and English Literature, supporting his ambition to be entirely unemployable. His debut novel is Endless, the first in the Crescent fantasy series. His website can be found at

www.writingmattbone.com.

Melissa Pearl was born in Auckland, New Zealand, but has spent much of her life abroad, living in countries such as Jordan, Cyprus and Pakistan... not to mention a nine month road trip around North America with her husband. "Best. Year. Ever!!" She now lives in China with her husband and two sons. She is a trained elementary teacher, but writing is her passion. Since becoming a full time mother she has had the opportunity to pursue this dream and her debut novel hit the internet in November 2011. Since then she has continued to produce a steady stream of books. Recently she signed with Evatopia Press and her first Evatopia book came out in February 2014 - True Colors, The Masks Series #1. She is very excited to be trying out new things this year while continuing to publish under her own name as well. She has six books planned for 2014 and is excited about writing each and every one of them.

"I am passionate about writing. It stirs a fire in my soul that I never knew I had. I want to be the best writer I can possibly be and transport my readers into another world where they can laugh, cry and fall in love."

http://www.melissapearlauthor.com

Dave Higgins has worked in law and IT for both public and private sector organisations. When not pursuing these hobbies, he writes poetry and speculative fiction.
He was born in Wiltshire, England. Raised by a librarian, he started reading shortly after birth and has not stopped since. He currently lives in Bristol with his wife, Nicola, his cats, Jasper and Una, and many shelves of books.

http://davidjhiggins.wordpress.com/

Full-Time Writer

I have discovered something shocking. I don't think I would like to be a full-time writer. I have always assumed that's what I would do, if my job wasn't in the way. But I took this week off work to write and I'm going a little stir crazy. I'm also watching a lot of daytime T.V. and I've washed nearly every stitch of clothing that I own - I'm actually quite excited about that. I'm also writing a blog post as part of a blog tour - my turn is next Monday. And now I'm writing this post. 

In between all that I am progressing with Beverly, and I'm quite happy with it and really enjoying it. But, I am not utilising this time the way I thought I would. When I have an evening here and a morning there to write I actually make much more use out of it. Could it be, feeling my time is limited helps me to focus?

Maybe it's down to the nature of how I write. I do short sections and then I like to leave them for a while before coming back to them. If dipping in and out is my natural pace then perhaps I would never be suited to full-time writing.

And another thing: I would like to do a bit more marketing for Orla's Code except I have been putting it to one side in order to progress with Beverly. I could have gone away this week or visited home. Why am I in such a rush? Of course there's the desire to complete the novel but I don't have an agent imposing deadlines. I can set my own targets. 

On the other hand, maybe I'm just suffering from a lack of discipline. I hear writers talking about it all the time and I'm like: I don't suffer from that. But that's because I don't usually have enough time to write. Maybe I just have to do what everyone does: turn off the T.V., log out and get on with it!

Awesome Indie Approved!

How do you like my shiny new badge? Orla's Code has been awarded a place on the Awesome Indies list of quality independent fiction! Awesome Indies is a critically acclaimed site that reviews and showcases excellent Indie fiction. What a great idea, to help readers in their search for quality independent books. Their mission is "to identify and honour independently published books that meet the same standard as books published by major mainstream publishers and their imprints." I'm feeling proud that Orla's Code has been placed among them.

Here is their 5 star review of Orla's Code. And if you're taking a look around, why not check out their many categories including genre fiction, literary, YA, experimental, and contemporary fiction, including Orla's Code.

Character Building

I have finished the first draft of Beverly and while I feel I know the characters instinctively, they have not been more than an outline, a bit like clothes pegs, holding up the plot. A few months ago I went to a talk with Eleanor Catton who spoke about her characters having star signs in her novel The Luminaries. I thought this would be a good exercise while fleshing out my characters. Then I thought of some other character definitions to work with. 

Here are the three main characters: Beverly, Ella and Roland, described through popular templates.

Star Signs

The Crab

Beverly - Cancer

A predisposition towards shyness means the Cancerian tends to internalise emotion, but their desire usually centres around security and love. While known for being passionate and loyal, the 'moon-child' is also known for her moodiness and jealously. When hurt she tends to shut people out but can also strike back with venom.


Ella - Aries

The Ram

A real Aries - Ella is enthusiastic, spontaneous, competitive and a natural leader. Pace of life tends to be hustle and bustle with a positive attitude. Meanwhile, others can be overwhelmed by the Aries, experiencing their self-centred or overbearing side. They are also known to be trusting and have faith in people which can lead to their getting hurt.







Roland - Taurus

The Bull

A calm exterior with good self-possession while deep desires remain hidden. The Taurus can be easily charming but doesn't let people in more than he wants. Creature comforts, security and balance in life are real motivators. Determined and reliable, the Taurus tends to think deeply before making a decision and thus can find change stressful. They are also known for their stubbornness and insecurity.


The Colour Code

"The Color Code Personality Profile also known as The Color Code or The People Code, created by Dr. Taylor Hartman, divides personalities into four colors: Red(motivated by power), Blue (motivated by intimacy), White (motivated by peace), and Yellow (motivated by fun)."

If you have ever worked for a multinational corporation then you have probably been assessed in this manner. It is really helpful to managers with no natural people skills ... if only they could put stamps on us ... Anyway here's how I think the three would measure up:

Beverly - White

Thoughtful, perceptive, a good listener. Private, comfort seeking. Avoids conflict.

Ella - Yellow
Charming, highly sociable, wants to reach her potential and help others. Can be self-centered. May go outside the rules.

Roland - Red
Determined, focused, reliable. Can be dominating, can be stubborn and calculating.

Pop Culture

Beverly 

Likes electro-pop and techno. Anything with a strong beat, including music with native rhythms like Ladysmith Black Mobaza. Finds drums soothing, earthly - stirring. She doesn't really like dancing but Ella can sometimes get her up on the dance floor after a few drinks. Movies: Forest Gump, Big Fish, rom-coms - anything comforting and sentimental is an outlet for her. She mostly reads fantasy and Sci-Fi - she likes to read about worlds other than her own.

Ella

Likes any music that she can dance to. Movies: Donnie Darko, Seven, The Princess Bride - Dark thrillers and broad comedy. Hates rom-coms - thinks they stereotype her as a single thirty-something and feed on female insecurities. Reads autobiographies of people who inspire her.

Roland

Doesn't really get music. He hates dancing. He used to pretend he liked music when he was young but decided this was a bit silly when he was about sixteen and thought that it was better to just be himself. Movies: he identifies with stories where a person changes their circumstances: The Shawshank Redemption, The Godfather, Kane and Abel. He reads biographies about interesting people.

Facebook Pages

I don't think I'll actually create these, but here's what they would look like:

Beverly

As a shy person, Beverly has a small number of friends on Facebook: school friends that she grew up with, some college mates and a handful of people from her adult life. She never accepts requests from people she doesn't know or like - and she does not mind if people think she is being rude - Ella points it out but Beverly shrugs and says something, like, It is of no consequence. Her activity is mostly music related: when she goes to gigs, she uploads photos and links to the band's Facebook page. She experiments with baking and puts her recipes on Facebook. 

Ella

Holiday photos, selfies, shares jokes, joins communities, debates with people online. 'Likes' articles so they'll be linked to her Facebook page. Where other people feel uncomfortable with their private life being exposed, Ella loves sharing things about herself.

Roland

The bare minimum. Doesn't have a photo up. Likes to stay connected with his two older brothers in The Netherlands who both have families. He has set up a Facebook account for his parents but they never go online.

On to Siblings

Beverly is an only child. It might have been the chaos in school in contrast to the quiet of home that planted a sense of being an outsider in Beverly. Her older parents used to pray for her self-confidence to improve.

Ella has three older brothers who she always tried to play with. They were into gaming and gadgets and she followed. A little tomboy who turned herself into a glamorous swan but who still likes to show she can hold her own with the boys.

Roland also has three older brothers. But since the second youngest, Theo, is the black sheep of the family getting in trouble through drugs and general recklessness, Roland feels like Theo is the youngest. He always aspired to be accepted by his older brothers, the twins, who did take him under their wing.


Politics and Papers

Beverly is left wing. She feels the suffering of others and rejects Ella's point of view as being ruthless and weakly thought out. She would love to work with a charity and sometimes day-dreams about it. The only paper she reads is The Guardian online. She thinks magazines are a waste of time and finds herself getting depressed about her looks whenever she picks up one of Ella's magazines.

Ella is a pure capitalist. She believes in the power of the individual to better themselves and that a good life is available to everyone if they work hard. She believes Beverly is overly sympathetic for the sake of political correctness and her ideas unrealistic. She reads gossip magazines and is addicted to rolling news. She also reads the Daily Mail which Beverly throws out whenever she finds. Ella likes the hit of sensationalist journalism but takes and leaves the opinions as she likes.

Roland believes generally in a welfare state like The Netherlands model, in contrast with the corrupt version of capitalism he sees in other western countries. But he also thinks the Dutch system is taken advantage of. He is more interested in finance than in politics. He reads The Financial Times - he likes feeling he needs to, and The Guardian. Occasionally he reads De Telegraaf to keep up with what is going on at home.

What is their deepest desire?


Beverly: Security, stability, to be loved
Ella: To be the best she can be. To lead by example
Roland: To be successful in life, marriage, and finances




What is their worst fear?


Beverly : Speaking in public
Ella : Not reaching her potential
Roland : Not succeeding in life




First Memories

Beverly
A roundabout in the school playground. It's Beverly's turn. Momentum has picked up and the kids just have to tap the frame to keep it spinning around. Beverly is trying to say Stop but the wind is whipping the word out of her mouth, so only st-st can be heard. It is a moment of delight.

Ella
She remembers the squeaking of her arm-bands in the swimming pool and echoing shouts. Her legs are kicking below her but there's no ground. She has a moment of panic as she slips down in the rubber ring around her waist, but then realises what floating is as she bobs in the water.

Roland
His family are all sitting in the living room with rugs around everyone because the electricity has gone out. He is in between his brothers, under one rug on the couch. Everyone is laughing at his dad, wagging his dog slippers. Roland is frightened by the candle light dancing up the walls.


How do you develop your characters? Do you have a method? Do you let them develop organically? It is at times like this I wish I could sketch. These people are living inside my head and they keep telling me about themselves. It's a bit like having ghosts.

Click on images for source.

Orla's Code in Readers' Choice Award!

I am excited and feel honoured that Orla's Code has been nominated for a Readers' Choice Award! 

Big Al's Books and Pals - recently selected as the Best Review Site

by Indies Unlimited - receives thousands of books for review and nominates what they consider exceptional writing each year, in 13 categories.

The voting has already begun so if you would like to vote for Orla's Code in the Chick-lit/Women's Fiction category then click on the badge and follow the steps. Your vote also entitles you to an entry in Big Al's Giveaway!

You can find Big Al's Books and Pals' 5-star review of Orla's Code here. 

Rolling News

I am chuffed at having my poem Rolling News included in Forward Poetry's National Poetry Competition Collection! 

ForwardPoetry run anthologies and competitions regularly and were winners of the Best of Britain Undiscovered Poetry Award 2012, by The Great Exhibition.

I have republished Rolling News here on my blog: Check it out. Now I realise I actually have a few poems inspired by T.V. Hmmm, what does that say about me? Check out My Couch Says and Sitcom Drops.

Goodreads Giveaway!

I am excited to announce that Orla's Code is being given away for free!

Sign up to get your paperback copy, courtesy of a Goodreads Giveway!

Read Orla's Code extract on Goodreads