Diary of a Newbie Novelist tagged posts

Diary of a Newbie Novelist

March 20, 2012 Diary of a Newbie Novelist  2 comments

Something was wrong. It was like an irritating itch I couldn’t scratch, preventing me driving the story forward. And then I realised. One of my principle character’s names wasn’t right.

Our characters’ names are important – they define them in our mind, form the basis of the many layers it takes to build them, making them feel real.

When writing An Unfamiliar Murder, I opted for a combination of traditional and conventional for my lead, DCI Helen Lavery. This mix defines Helen: a strong, independent woman with a passion that pushes her to go that extra mile, occasionally adopting unorthodox methods to make a difference, to keep us safe. Yet, she is also a mother, juggling the challenge of single parenting teenage sons with managing one of the most responsible and demanding jobsRead More

Diary of a Newbie Novelist

January 9, 2012 Diary of a Newbie Novelist  4 comments

“…writing so good, I didn’t notice it.” When I first read this line in a book review, some years back, my initial thoughts were – the poor author.

As writers, we agonise over words to convey just the right message, layer our descriptions to build a certain atmosphere, craft phrases to achieve the correct imagery in readers’ minds.

There are those inspired sentences: ones that come to you into the night, those that spring into your mind in the supermarket queue. Lines that need to be scribbled down on the back of old receipts, scraps of paper, backs of hands; caught quickly before they slip away into the deep, dark abyss within our heads.

When my writing tutor cast her red pen across these precious lines, I wanted to wrap my arms around them, my babies to protect. As she whippedRead More