A Horse With No Name

I’m writing this post on Monday 13^th June, in order to have it on the blog on Wednesday 15^th June. I’m organised, see? Well it’s organised for me... Besides, tomorrow is our annual Ascot day and I possibly won’t be able to function post midday. Note to self – don’t forget to go online and ‘study the form’ of the ‘gee gees’.

Okay, I won’t really be going online to read The Racing Post. I will do what I always do; pick a jockey with my favourite colours or a horse with a good name, which sort of (tenuous link alert) leads me to think/write about book titles and the ‘look’ of a book.

Being truthful, it’s often what I do in the 3 for 2 section. If I like the look of the book and the title THEN I pick it up and read the blurb. If I like the blurb, I often read the first page. If I like that, it becomes one of the three purchases.

I love a good title, me. I love short snappy ones, and have a bit of a penchant for ones that contain three words e.g The Horse Whisperer, Pride And Predjudice, Brave New World, or more recently Water For Elephants and Cutting The Stone.

Why then did I send out a manuscript to agents with the title ‘Journey To The Monkey Nut’? Eh? Granted, it was a couple of years ago, but I’ve recently revisited the novel, made some changes to the plot and I really dislike the original working title. Don’t get me wrong - it sort of made sense at the time and was explained in the old 'blurb', but today two years later, it feels completely wrong. Weird...

So, here’s where I ask for help. I haven’t got a new blurb for the re-worked novel yet, so I can’t give you a hint. I haven’t got a new synopsis written nor have I got a new title... mainly because I’m immersed in finishing my current WIP. But it’s there, nagging at the back of my mind (tenous Ascot link alert). So, here’s the first scene – Go on! Challenge yourselves! Work backwards! What would YOU call it?

Chapter One - Beth Who?

‘My husband is a philanderer,’ I answer her. She sits, legs crossed, taking notes in her feint lined legal pad. ‘That’s a four syllable word for a cheating dick-wit. How am I supposed to feel?’ I’m twitching slightly at the futility of the question and my words seem to come out in a venomous spit. ‘He’s moved in with a waitress!’ I pause to catch my breath. In my head, I apologise to all the nice waitresses in the world. Aloud, I finally reveal how I really feel, as my right hand clutches my upper left side. ‘I feel betrayed. It feels like physical pain...’

Dr Caroline Gothenburg seems sympathetic. At least she has an effective sympathetic nodding of the head motion. She has long legs encased in glossy tights and I wonder if she has ever been betrayed in her shiny life. With beautiful green eyes, set in a heart shaped face, flanked by titian curls - she’s very good looking. Lots of qualifications adorn her wall.

‘I’d like you to do me a time line for the next session,’ she interrupts my thoughts, explaining what she means. I frown. I’m an intelligent woman. What the hell am I doing here? When did I become this ‘last to know’ cliché? How long has this woman got? I look again at her neat ordered frame.

‘It will help me get to know you,’ she says. ‘Who is Beth? What makes Beth be Beth? I’d like to understand who you are, where you come from?’

‘Me too,’ I whisper.

………………………………………..

How Is It For You?

So you’ve decided to write a novel... You know what genre you want to aim for, be it commercial women’s fiction (Don’t you just hate that genre title? That’s a whole other blog post!) or sci-fi, vampire busters whatever. Where do you start? By writing a few lines? By exploring some themes? By writing some dialogue that the persistent character who has been loitering with intent in your head for weeks would say? Or do you simply have a story you want to tell and the device of telling it happens naturally? If so, you’re one lucky writer!

For me, I start a project by listening to the voices in my head. Yeah, I know – there are places for people who do that... I usually have a couple of imaginary people to begin with. They’re nattering to each other and after a few pages of writing the chatter down, I can normally tell quite a lot about them. Who they are, where they might live, what they look like, how old they are, whether they have a wart on the end of their nose, an unusual giggle, or a five o’clock shadow that no razor cures. I always have several theme ideas and sometimes the way the characters talk to each other, what they say or how they say it may indicate the main theme. Friendship, loss, personal growth, betrayal? These conversations rarely appear in the actual opening chapter – being a pure research tool - but what they often do, is hint at what the opening line could be?

What comes next is absolutely imperative in order for me to get away from the above starting blocks. I HAVE to have a title. It may end out changing through the process of writing a novel but one that I believe in has to be in place for the real writing to begin. I have to see it there in the ‘Header’ of the page on my laptop...I love brainstorming title ideas and have an entire notebook of titles for, as yet, unwritten stories. I search through books of poetry, some of Shakespeare’s idioms, pages of novels, song lyrics, seeking inspiration for that hooky title that will instantly evoke a response from the reader.

Then the fun begins! The highs and lows of storytelling; the risks your protagonist may or may not take; the potential transformation he or she may undergo; the conflicts and struggles that create the drama; the jeopardy they are placed in order to get where they need to get to.

And what happens me at around thirty five thousand words? I get stuck! Always and without fail... I then leave it for a few days until someone starts talking in my head again. The character, normally the main one, is often quite indignant, like I’ve been rude and ignored them for a while – but once they’re talking again the words seem to flow and flow until the typing of ‘The End.’
Though the joy of completing the first draft is amazing, that’s just what it is – a first draft - an almost complete work ready for re-drafting, editing, slicing and dicing. At this point I normally find a hole to crawl into rather than face that final hurdle.

But a revised, alas often even rewritten work, is more likely to be the complete work. And when that happens, it’s pure magic and worth every single moment of self doubt and agonising along the way.

This isn't intended to be a 'How To...' piece - more a snippet of how it happens for me. And I'm a nosy Norah. I want to know how it unfolds for other novel writers. Do you have OCD type ways of doing things, favourite snacks, writers block at certain word counts?

Er, voices in your head?