Tag Archives: writing

My Writing Process – Tora Williams

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A bit about you. 

I’m one of those people who was always wanting to write a book, but could never find the time to write. Not that I wrote nothing at all—I used to write fan fiction and short stories purely for my own entertainment—but I never quite believed that anyone else would be interested in reading anything I might write. Then about ten years ago I signed up for an Open University course on writing fiction and was encouraged by the feedback I got. Suddenly writing a novel didn’t seem such an impossible task, and I started writing seriously. Much to my parents’ horror, I resigned from my job and set up as a maths tutor and freelance proofreader to give myself more time to write.

What you have written, past and present.

I write historical romance, set in medieval Wales and the Welsh Marches. My debut novel, Bound to Her Blood Enemy, was published by The Wild Rose Press last year. They’ve now published two more of my books, the latest one being His Clandestine Bride, published in March. I’m currently editing a fourth medieval romance with others at various stages of completion.

A bit about your process of writing. 

I try to get up early and write between about 5 and 7am. I then get on with my day job until mid-afternoon, then return to writing. If I don’t write first thing in the morning, I find it really difficult to write later in the day, so I have to be strict.

Do you plan or just write?

A bit of both. Before starting a new story, I plan the hero and heroine’s characters and have a rough idea of where the plot is going, but after that I write as the story comes to me.

What about word count?

I try to write 1000 words a day. If I can get down 500 words in the morning, writing another 500 later on never seems like too terrible a task.

How do you do your structure?

I don’t consciously follow a structure when writing the first draft, but when editing I always find the story falls roughly into a 3-act structure and I edit to firm up that structure.

What do you find hard about writing?

Every day it’s a struggle to force myself to silence the inner voice telling me the story is rubbish and no one will want to read it. Once I get going that voice goes away, but dragging myself out of bed every morning to turn on my computer is never easy. 

What do you love about writing? 

I love dreaming up the characters who inhabit my stories and get a real rush planning how they’re going to achieve their happy-ever-after. It’s the best job in the world. Who else can say they’re a professional daydreamer? 

Advice for other writers.

Take every opportunity to connect with other writers. Writing is a lonely business and rejections can be hard to handle. Meeting others going through the same experience can help you stay sane and provide the motivation and encouragement to keep going, especially when your family and friends think you’ve lost your mind!

 

Ditching the daily grind and taking off in a camper van was novelist Rosanna Ley’s fantasy. Then she and her husband actually tried it… 

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Who doesn’t fantasise about getting away from it all? Escaping the daily grind, travelling to somewhere warm and wonderful? Who doesn’t occasionally dream of cloudless blue skies, golden beaches and a sparkly Mediterranean sea – not just for a week or two on an annual holiday, but for longer… much longer?

Ten years ago, my husband Grey and I resolved to make this fantasy a reality. We were both in our frivolous 50s. We had both spent our adult lives working full-time. And we were both a little weary. Where had the excitement in life gone? We seemed to have reached some sort of turning point – a bit ‘do or die’. Now that the children had left home – almost – shouldn’t we be thinking about doing something we’d always dreamed of?

Need Text

‘If we weren’t working,’ Grey said mournfully one day, ‘we could just up sticks and leave.’

‘Leave?’ I echoed. It sounded so final. My younger daughter was still living at home, although she too had the travel bug and was planning to visit Australia for a year. How could we just leave? And what about all our… stuff?

‘We’ve got far too much,’ he declared dismissively. ‘We’ll do a car-boot sale, put the rest of our stuff in storage, rent out the house and go.’

Grey made it sound so easy. I thought of those clear blue skies, imagined the writing inspiration that might be had from such a trip.

But this shared dream was just a fantasy – wasn’t it? Couples talk like this all the time – well, we do. We go somewhere on holiday and by day two we’re looking in estate agents’ windows. It doesn’t mean we’ll be moving there anytime soon.

But a few days later, we spent our savings on a camper van. (Yes, the woman who dithers over cans of beans in the supermarket can spend £20,000 on a second-hand camper van in the blink of an eye.)

Should we have done this earlier, later, never? Were we too young or too old for a camper van? Who cared? We so fell in love with that van and were soon trundling off happily for weekends in Dorset. But it wasn’t enough. It was like a drug. We needed more of the open road. We needed to be living our dream.

So we took the plunge. I gave up my teaching job, Grey wound down his client diary. We cleared the house and begged the loan of friends’ garages for storage of all our worldly goods. We organised shelter for my younger daughter until she went to Australia and for my elder daughter who had moved back home to save up for a trip to South America. What was going on with this family?

We redecorated the house and advertised it for rent – this would be our income. We would go on a road trip – for six months or more. We would live close to nature. We would make our own entertainment – Scrabble and reading, no TV for us! We would be free to go wherever the wind blew us. It was a fantasy, yes. But we would make it come true.

Our day of departure dawned. We waved goodbye to my daughters and headed for Dover. We had done it. We were on the road and heading for Italy.

The first two weeks were wonderful. OK, there were some minor hiccups. We hadn’t taken into account the hilly terrain in Liguria – many a steep, narrow road proved too much for our van. Nor had we realised that campsites in Italy were so expensive. And we hadn’t dreamed it would be so hot. (I will never complain about air-conditioning in an apartment in the Med ever again.)

Getting stuck up a mountain on a tight bend, damaging the camper van’s back panel in a complex manoeuvre designed to get us to the beachfront then getting lost while scrambling down a hillside of olive trees… Such things are bound to make tempers fray – especially in that heat. And in our haste to be free of all our possessions we had forgotten a few vital pieces of equipment – such as the coffee maker and the duct tape. But that’s what it’s all about, we reminded ourselves, as we settled in for another interminable game of Scrabble. It’s about having exciting adventures, new experiences, being free. And there’s always another camper vanner around with an unfeasibly large toolkit to help out in times of trouble.

But, two weeks in, things were not going as smoothly as we’d hoped. Our van was small – with the table erected, the person trapped on the far side could barely breathe, let alone move – and we had to make up the bed from scratch (or should I say slats?) every night. Yes, every night. It’s surprising – even when you have little else to do all day – how very tedious this can become.

It turns out that – surprise, surprise – size matters. Claustrophobia set in. We tried to stay outdoors most of the time but, actually, it rains quite a bit in Italy. Still, we remained cheerful. This was our shared dream, remember. If this was what it took to make that dream come true…

By week three, like Napoleon once was, we were exiled on the island of Elba. And very nice it was too, we agreed, as we sampled the delicious gelato. But money was getting tight, which meant two things. One, we had to eat in – every day. And two, we couldn’t afford to stay in campsites. But, hey, weren’t we at one with nature? Heating up bottles of water on the dashboard for an outside shower after a day on the beach only went to show how resourceful we had become.

And, as all camper vanners know, there is an alternative to campsites – it’s called ‘wild camping’. In our fantasy, this meant finding deserted beauty spots in which to park the van and gaze out at an unspoilt landscape. In reality, it meant car parks (marginally safer and quieter than roadside parking, though I didn’t say this the night half a dozen youngsters practised their motorbiking skills around the car park at 2am).

How to keep the shared dream alive

  • Remember that sometimes a fantasy is more fun when it stays in your head
  • Check from time to time that you still want the same things
  • Value what you leave behind – you won’t know how much you miss it till it’s gone
  • Have a back-up plan
  • And don’t forget the Scrabble dictionary!

In one such car park we met some friendly Italian camper vanners, immune to the hordes of mosquitoes we fought to escape from at twilight every night, who showed us around their (much larger and homelier) van with pride. There was a language barrier, which may explain why they left the car park and we stayed – only to wake up at 5am with a raucous Italian market setting up around us and no way out. But, well, it’s all part of the fun.

Back at home, we had friends, family and colleagues to chat to; on the road we had each other. It was good to have so much time to talk. But… in small spaces, over time, conversations with your nearest and dearest can become a little, shall we say, intense. Past misdemeanours and misunderstandings that you may or may not have forgiven may once again rear their heads. But we could get through this – together.

It was lucky we were so close, we kept telling ourselves. But did we want to be quite that close? All the time? We had given up material things – but had we also lost sight of civilisation? When we eventually left Elba, Grey was following a camper van with GB plates at breakneck speed. I glanced across at him (by this point we didn’t need words).

‘They’re British! Why don’t they pull over and talk to us?’ he asked me through gritted teeth.

This, let me tell you, is what travelling in a camper van can do to a person.

And then autumn arrived, and it began to get cold. We realised with a feeling of mounting horror what this meant – more time in the van, together. More talking, more Scrabble, more opportunity to examine our relationship. Did we really want that? Could we survive?

We considered travelling further south in search of sunnier climes. But funnily enough, driving was beginning to feel monotonous, too. And finding places to sleep at night was also becoming a strain. It was still great to be on the road – but wouldn’t it be even better to stop in one place for a while?

‘Why not just dump the van and rent an apartment?’ Grey suggested.

I stared at him. Dump the van? Rent an apartment? What about our shared dream?

‘Somewhere hot,’ he continued. ‘The Canaries?’

Which is how we came to leave our van in Italy – to be collected in the spring – and book a flight to Fuerteventura. Sod the expense. We rented an apartment with entire rooms to be alone in. It had a bed that remained a bed, day and night, and a bathroom with proper drains – no chemical toilet to empty and clean. Pure bliss.

We started enjoying each other’s company again. We began looking forward to returning home. That’s right. Going back home became our new shared dream.

Rosanna’s latest novel The Lemon Tree Hotel is published by Quercus in hardback, priced £20.99.

 

My Writing Process – Helen J. Christmas

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Helen J Christmas, authorI am a website designer and an author and have written a five-book mystery thriller series. 

When I was out and about one day, walking our dog along the beach, my imagination ran wild and I remember getting my first ideas for a story. It started with the characters but grew into a suspenseful saga that spanned four decades; this was my inspiration for ‘Same Face Different Place,’ a series I completed in 2017.

Writing is something I’ve always loved, but working full time, it was difficult to find enough hours to write a novel. Once I started however, I found myself waking up earlier (5-6am). So why was I lying there, restless, thinking about my book, when I could be up writing it? This became my prime time for getting the bulk of my story written.

I spent seven years writing my series and it wasn’t just the writing I loved but the planning, the research, the development of new characters and the way the storylines fused together. I always started out with an outline plot but the best ideas flowed when I was creating the scenes. At the time I wasn’t bothered about word count. I tended to include a lot of description and dialogue but this can be whittled down in the editing process to give a tighter novel. 

I derive a huge amount of pleasure from writing but the biggest reward is getting good reviews. No-one can describe the euphoria an author feels when they see a glowing testimonial from a reader. Just the thought that someone has enjoyed your book is a wonderful boost, something that really makes it worthwhile.

I confess to feeling an anti-climax when I reached the end of my series but fortunately, had an idea for a new book. After writing such a huge saga, I wanted to try writing smaller stories. Such was the thinking behind Rosebrook Chronicles, The Hidden Stories. This novel follows the lives of three lesser known characters, all of whom are abused as teenagers. It is the interlocking stories of these characters that drive the plot, a blend of social history and psychological suspense, told from the heart and quite different from my thriller series. It also provides a background.

Writing this, I also experimented with different writing styles, one being present tense, the other first person, which I really took to. So with all this experience under my belt, what would I advise other writers?

This year I started a standalone psychological thriller set in modern day Sussex. I found it a little difficult to get into though, with a whole new cast of characters. It helps to have an outline plot to base your story on, but the one thing that works is getting to know your characters. Try to imagine how they think. Plot their back story, consider their family and friends network, where they work, maybe even what music they like. I’m sure this why my series became so easy to write in the end, because the characters to me felt like real people.

I occasionally end up writing extracts based on one character or scene; something to focus on if the writing process becomes cumbersome. So don’t give up. 

Reading helps too. I like to lose myself in a good book as much as I like writing and with so many good psychological thrillers around, it is inspiration for the soul.

BIO: Helen lives in Sussex with her husband where they work from home in their idyllic 17th C cottage. They began their web design business in 1998 (still running) and other than writing, Helen loves walking, cooking and photography.

Books by Helen J Christmas: 

Beginnings

Visions

Pleasures

Retribution: Phase One

Retribution: End Game (series: Same Face Different Place)

Due to be published in July

Rosebrook Chronicles, The Hidden Stories.

 

My Writing Process – Morton S. Gray

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I am a published writer living in Worcestershire, UK with my husband, two sons and tiny white dog, Lily. I wrote my first novel when I was fourteen. It was a swashbuckling seafaring adventure, complete with galleons, cannons and a dashing hero. The story was heavily influenced by the Errol Flynn films I used to watch with my grandmother on Sunday afternoons. I got swallowed up after that by the education and work system and didn’t write much more than reports and meeting agendas for many years.

Starting to write more seriously when I was taking a break from work due to ill health, I took lots of writing courses and began to shortlist in writing competitions. Then in 2016, I got my publishing break, I won Choc Lit Publishing’s Search for a Star competition!

I have had three books published by Choc Lit so far – The Girl on the Beach, The Truth Lies Buried and Christmas at Borteen Bay, these are all romances with a mystery to solve and set in my fictional seaside town of Borteen. I am promoting the three Borteen Bay series while I finish my next books.

I write almost everywhere I go the old-fashioned way with notebook and pen – cafés, appointments, waiting for trains. I have piles of notebooks filled with stories. I generally prefer to write away from home, as I get too distracted by things that need doing in the house and, of course, by the dog. At least writing longhand in this way, the first time I put the words onto my computer it acts like a first edit of the manuscript.

My genre is romantic suspense, but I usually get so carried away with the mystery part of the book that I have to catch up with the romance when I’m editing. I don’t plan, I just write, that way the novel writing process is enjoyable for me as I don’t know what is coming next. My novels appear to naturally evolve. I read a book called Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert (the same person who wrote Eat, Pray, Love) and in it she talks about ideas and stories floating in the ether waiting to download to a receptive person and this is truly how it feels when I’m working.

I love writing, but with a teenager doing exams, a dependent mother, a husband who works abroad and a demanding dog, I often struggle to find time to myself (hence the haunting of coffee shops!). Nothing can compare to the feeling I get when the words are flowing and I get very twitchy if I haven’t had space to write.

For aspiring writers I think the most important thing is to write a story that sings to you, because that will allow you to write a story that sings to your readers too.

 

Biography for Morton S. Gray

Morton lives with her husband, two sons and Lily, the tiny white dog, in Worcestershire, U.K. She has been reading and writing fiction for as long as she can remember, penning her first attempt at a novel aged fourteen. She is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and The Society of Authors.

Her debut novel The Girl on the Beach was published after she won the Choc Lit Publishing Search for a Star competition. This story follows a woman with a troubled past as she tries to unravel the mystery surrounding her son’s new headteacher, Harry Dixon. The book is available as a paperback and e-book.

Morton’s second book for Choc Lit The Truth Lies Buried is another romantic suspense novel, The book tells the story of Jenny Simpson and Carver Rodgers as they uncover secrets from their past. This book is available as an e-book, paperback and audiobook.

Christmas at Borteen Bay is Morton’s first Christmas novella. It is set in her fictional seaside town of Borteen and follows the story of Pippa Freeman, who runs the Rose Court Guesthouse with her mother, and local policeman Ethan Gibson, as they unravel a family secret as Christmas approaches.

You can catch up with Morton on her website www.mortonsgray.com, on

Twitter – @MortonSGray, her Facebook page – Morton S. Gray Author – https://www.facebook.com/mortonsgray/ and 

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/morton_s_gray/

Purchasing links for The Girl on the Beach at http://www.choc-lit.com/dd-product/the-girl-on-the-beach/

Purchasing links for The Truth Lies Buried at http://www.choc-lit.com/dd-product/the-truth-lies-buried/

Purchasing links for Christmas in Borteen Bay at https://www.choc-lit.com/dd-product/christmas-at-borteen-bay/

My Writing Process – Juliette Forrest

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My writing journey began quite late. After I left school, I moved to London and worked as an art director in advertising. It was years later, during an evening class at Glasgow School of Art, that it finally dawned on me I was awful at life drawing. So, I gave it up to attended my first writing class on a Saturday morning at Glasgow University. I wrote a piece for the group and the teacher suggested I could have the beginnings of a children’s book. I thought he was bonkers – but decided to give it a go. When I won a New Writers Award from Scottish Book Trust in 2014, everything changed. They gave me a bursary, a mentor, time away at a retreat, social media training and voice coach sessions. It was their belief in me that spurred me on to finish my first book, Twister, which was published by Scholastic in February 2018. It was a Sunday Times Book of the Week, The Guardian’s ‘must-read’ kid’s book of the summer and won the Calderdale Book of the Year Award 2019. I’ve just finished as Writer in Residence at All Saints Primary in Greenock and my second novel The True Colours of Coral Glen launches on July 4th.

What is your process?

I tend to work quite early in the morning because there are fewer distractions. I think one of the most positive influences on my writing process is my dog. He won’t let me sit at my laptop for too long and walking him gives me the space to work out plot or dialogue. Plus, I meet colourful characters in the park, who always make their way into my novels.

Do you plan or just write?

I use my synopsis as a guide and think carefully about what needs to happen to drive the story forward. I let it rattle around inside my head for a while, so I can tinker around with it and explore different options. It helps for me to imagine the story as a film playing out – so I tend to visualise each chapter before I begin writing.

What about word count?

Some days, I don’t seem to be able to write much at all, and others, I can whizz through entire chapters. I don’t adhere to a strict daily word count for this reason. If it’s not happening, I never berate myself, but turn my attention elsewhere for a while. There is always something to be getting on with like research or answering children’s letters.

What do you find hard about writing?

I’m often convinced I’ve got a great plot idea and I’ll spend ages working on it, only to discover at the very last minute that it’s flawed. I find this frustrating – like it is precious time wasted. However, I do believe it’s good to go down the wrong path because when you eventually hit the right one, you feel confident the story is the very best it can be.

What do you love about writing?

I absolutely love creating characters. There is one I’m working on for my next book who is going to be so much fun to spend time with. It’s brilliant when a character comes alive and tells you what is going to happen next. If you’re surprised, you can be sure the reader will be too. The next best thing about being a children’s author is chatting with the kids at events. It makes all the blood, sweat and tears worth it.

Advice for other writers?

I think it’s important you always celebrate when good things happen with your writing because any achievement in this industry is huge. And I firmly believe there is no genius except for the genius of hard work.

 

Published on 4th July.

 

My Writing Process | Holly Wainwright

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I’m Holly Wainwright and I’m a writer and a journalist, editor and a podcaster – all the things.

Most recently and significantly, I have written two novels – The Mummy Bloggers and How To Be Perfect, about women who write on the Internet and whose online personas don’t much match the chaos and artifice of their real lives. The books are really all about the lengths people will go to for Likes.

Latest Book.

The Mummy Bloggers. It was my first book, it’s just come out in the UK via Legend Press and I’m very proud of it.

A bit about your process of writing.

I find I have to treat writing a book in the same way I treat a job – I sit down every day with a number of words in mind and I just do it, even if I don’t love the words. The idea is that I can fix that later. Some days the discipline works, others not so much!

I also mostly write sitting on my bed, in silence. Other than when my kids come and ask, ‘What you doing?” and proceed to make a mess of everything.

Do you plan or just write?

A bit of both. Our bedroom wall at home is covered in Post-It notes, which is how I plot out a book with the characters and then, Chapter by Chapter. Post-its are great because you can move them around, but I do find myself procrastinating by obsessing about colour and placement!

But once all the Post-Its are up, often the conclusion of plot-points come to me as I’m writing. That’s the best kind of day, when problems are just solving themselves on the page.

What about word count?

I would often give myself a daily word-count. I wouldn’t get to it every day, but I’d aim for most. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the feeling of hitting the word count on my first book, I was so bloody proud.

How do you do your structure?

See aforementioned Post-It note wall – very high-tech.

What do you find hard about writing?

The constant self-doubt. And the amount of tea I drink while I’m doing it…. lots of toilet breaks.

What do you love about writing? 

Everything else. On a good day, when it’s working, there’s nothing that makes me happier, puts me in a better mood and feels more like the thing I should be doing with my time. Creating people and worlds is the best job in the world.

Advice for other writers. 

Don’t assume it’s easy for everyone else and you must just be the untalented one. Writing is difficult for everyone who does it well.

That, and to lay off the cups of tea a bit.

Holly is the author of The Mummy Bloggers (Legend Press, out now) and How to be Perfect (out 1st November)

Our social media is:

Legend Press @legend_press on Twitter, @legendpress on Instagram
Holly is @hollycwain  on Twitter and @wainwrightholly on Instagram

 

My Writing Process | Deborah O’Donoghue

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sea of bones author , Deborah O’Donoghue,How I write.

I tend to be inspired by theme and place, and then characters and situations start to come to me. I write scene by scene, then I go back, layering in descriptions and character information.

A bit about you. 

I live in Brussels at the moment, which is a fantastic city, really international. I grew up on the south coast of the UK and always wanted to write and tell stories. I was very into theatre and acting as well, but I soon realised you had more creative control if you were writing. My parents encouraged both my sister and I along these lines; there were always books in the house, Dad would make up silly rhymes at the dinner table, and Mum spent hours typing up my stories before I learned to do it myself.

What you have written, past and present.

I wrote lots of stories at school and had great teachers who were kind enough to put them into the school library! Aged eleven, I sent a manuscript to Faber and Faber. It was about a gang of kids and a brother in the army and something to do with the Ministry of Defence, so I guess thrillers are in my DNA! A kind editor at Faber wrote me a letter with some excellent tips!

At university I adapted a short story by Muriel Spark into a play and took it to the Edinburgh Festival. I had a brief exchange with the Dame herself, to get permission. I contacted her through her agent and she lived in a farmhouse in Tuscany which seemed enchanting to someone who’d grown up on a British housing estate. It was really exciting and inspiring!

I went into teaching, which I loved, but it was so all-encompassing I only really had time to write short stories. So that’s what I did. I was shortlisted in a Commonwealth Broadcasting competition for a flash fiction piece.

In 2015, I left my job and moved to Brussels to be with my partner. I decided it was time to put my money where my mouth was and sit down and write a novel.

What you are promoting now. 

Sea of Bones – my debut novel. It’s out on 1 July 2019. It’s a psychological thriller with a political backdrop and a strong female protagonist, set in Scotland as well as taking in London, Manchester, Liverpool, and Wales! I’m really lucky it found such a good home with Legend Press, and now I’m working several ideas for a follow up. I’ve a sequel in mind, but also two other thrillers – one set between the UK and Spain, and one about the entertainment industry.

What is your process of writing?

I try to write every day, for three or four hours at least. I do some exercise in the morning, then I usually go out to write because if I’m at home I get distracted by chores. There’s a wonderful café near me overlooking some lakes and I go there and they are very kind to me. It’s lively, which I like – a bit of stimulation. I tend to edit as I go, which many people say is bad practice, but my inner critic is too loud for me to ignore.

When I started, I put out a call to published friends to see if any would be prepared to have coffee occasionally and share their wisdom. I was amazingly fortunate that Rosie Walsh responded and ever since we have sent each other writing regularly, encouraged each other and helped solve each other’s plot issues. It’s easier solving someone else’s problems than your own!

Do you plan or just write?

I do plan. I spend enough time looking at a screen, so I have a physical whiteboard, covered in post-its of different colours for different plot elements, with scribblings and ideas for scenes. But the plan changes as I write. As you get to know the characters in situ, you realise you need to add scenes in, move things around and so on.

What about word count?

I try not to worry about word count although when you’re up against a deadline you do have to take that seriously. It obviously feels good when you’ve written a decent amount in a day, but so much of the work of writing is research and thinking that being obsessed by word count can be counter-productive.

How do you do your structure?

I’m interested in the theory of writing and I like form to reflect content. I compare what I’m doing to things like Blake Snyder’s beat sheet. I’m also re-reading The Way of the Writer by Charles Johnson at the moment. But sometimes the theory can make you freeze up, if what you’re doing doesn’t seem to fit. It’s important to see how other writers do it and what they can get away with. That can free you back up again.

What do you find hard about writing?

I’d already had a career in education where there’s a clear pathway, so it’s quite disconcerting entering a new industry and feeling your way, understanding how it works. In teaching you get immediate feedback on what you’re doing, from classes as well as colleagues, so it’s quite a change learning to wait and be patient. What else? For me, it takes sustained periods of concentration and investment to really get going, so it’s hard chopping and changing and combining writing with other tasks, but that’s just life. Maintaining confidence in your vision and balancing that with listening to others’ views can be difficult too, but I’ve found I really enjoy picking my way through other’s opinions on what I’m doing, working out what I agree with and what don’t. It’s a great way to find your voice.

What do you love about writing? 

I love words. I love that you can create atmosphere with words and that they have a feel of their own. Zenith, peak, high point, summit – they have their own sound and shape and feel within a sentence. Plus, it’s wonderful doing a creative job, where I get to meet and talk to people and research and learn about all sorts of things. Being a teacher was very rewarding but it meant having my day divided into little blocks and not being allowed to leave the premises even for breaks or lunch, so it’s a complete privilege managing my own time.

Advice for other writers. 

There’s the all-important one, which is . . . write! But also read of course. More practically, if you want to be published it’s important to learn about the industry, network (which can be anathema I know, as many writers are quite solitary people!) and put your writing in front of others and hear what they say. Attending writers conferences and meeting agents and editors is a good way to do it because you can get lots of advice from different people all in one go.

 

Deborah’s debut novel Sea of Bones is out on 1st July.

My Writing Process | Rosanna Ley

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How I write.

A big question! To be brief… Once I have a detailed synopsis I tend to write each new scene longhand in a notebook and then edit it as I get it on to the computer. More edits follow and then I move on to the next scene. Once I get to the end of the book I’ll go back for more editing and consider if I’ve got the structure right. Final edits are about fine tuning and polishing.

I’ve written all my life and also done a lot of teaching of creative writing here and abroad with a particular interest in both novels and life-writing for therapeutic practice. I moved to West Dorset, my ‘soul-home’ seven years ago and find it inspirational and peaceful. I love travelling and my books are always based in foreign climes as well as either Dorset or Cornwall or occasionally somewhere else in the UK. I like to think of the books as mainly relationship driven – I’m very interested in people!

What you have written, past and present.

I’ve written 8 books for Quercus including The Villa and Bay of Secrets as well as numerous short stories and articles.

What you are promoting now. 

The Lemon Tree Hotel out in paperback 13th June 2019.

Do you plan or just write?

Plan. I do a lot of planning which gives me a good structure to come back to if I then decide to go off piste. Organic writing is lovely and spontaneous but it tends to require a lot of editing…

What about word count?

My books are between 115,000 and 130,000 words long and they always turn out that way…

How do you do your structure?

Before I begin, I think about timeline, viewpoint and narrative tension and decide on the main structure of the novel. I’ll change it if it doesn’t seem to be working. I don’t work to any kind of formula in terms of narrative arcs and points of tension – I don’t want my books to become formulaic and prefer to trust to my instincts.

What do you find hard about writing?

I may have lots of ideas but it’s often hard to form these into an outline that will give me a sufficiently strong story-line (or two) and which will work on all the levels I need it to work. Structural editing can also be very difficult and requires a lot of clear head-space!

It can be hard, working to a deadline and for all writers there is a lot of pressure and often anxiety to deal with. I also hate waiting to find out if readers like my book…

What do you love about writing? 

I love the feeling when I know I’ve written a good scene or even a good paragraph and I’m totally satisfied with it – there’s nothing like that feeling for me. I also love being able to go off in my imagination and take control of another world (control freak – haha). I love it when a character starts speaking to me in my head and I love the process of writing a first draft on a fresh page of my notebook whilst sitting on a warm beach somewhere. I love going to new or much-loved places and planning how to set a novel there. I love research but sometimes get too interested in it. I love it when the finished book is delivered and looks beautiful – but I’m already worrying about the next one and whether it is good enough! 

It turns out there’s a lot I love about writing, which explains a lot…

Advice for other writers.

Read a lot. Write about what you want to explore. Don’t start writing fiction until you hear the voices in your head. Plan or don’t plan – do whatever feels right. Listen to advice from people who know what they’re talking about. Don’t listen to advice. Don’t give up. Go for a walk or do the ironing if you get stuck. Enjoy. (Turns out there are a lot of contradictions in writing advice too)

 

The Lemon Tree Hotel by Rosanna Ley will be published by Quercus in paperback on 13th June, £7.99