A piece I wrote soon after completing the first draft of The Vanishing Lord…
I should know.
Being an author is about so much more than just writing – the writing itself is the relatively easy part. It’s everything else aside from the writing that makes being an author hard. I can string a few thousand words together as well as the next chap, but getting those thousands of words into a format that one would recognise as a novel is a considerable challenge. Story arcs, turning points, conflict and resolutions – all these things have to happen at certain times and in particular ways for your magnum opus to take leap from creative ramblings to an actual, bone fide proper novel.
And all that – not to mention the endless editing and weeping – can seem somewhat dull and certainly detracts from the great, all-encompassing joy of simply sitting down with your characters and having a fine old time of it.
Fair enough. A story has to make sense. I get it. It is a reasonable enough expectation.
Other author-y exploits aside from writing include a degree of self-promotion. I don’t mind a bit of Twitter action here and there and a few social media posts with links to my fine tome, but it will be a cold day in Hell before I do a book signing and I try to avoid interviews where I can because, quite frankly, without the prose to hide behind I am actually a bit weird in real life.
But, you know, nothing worth having ever comes easy and I really do want to become a good author. In fact I want to become a great author, because I don’t do anything without the intention of being the very best. Not something I often achieve, but it’s the thought that counts. Besides, no job is perfect, right?
The next PorterGirl novel, The Vanishing Lord, has landed with my publisher and I am currently revelling in that ‘golden period’ of feeling slightly smug at having completed another book, blissfully unaware that an editor somewhere is gleefully ripping it to shreds. There is certainly a plot. There are proper clues and red herrings and, by jingo, there is conflict. Every main character is gnashing their teeth about something or other. There are even illicit assignations in cleaning cupboards – but this being Old College, we are mercifully spared any graphic detail. Most of the thousands of words are pretty good and I am confident that the characters can hold their own against the great and good of the literary world. But is it a good novel..?
At this moment, I suspect it is not a good novel. It is most probably a crap novel. But once the edits come back and the wailing and tears subside, I will sit down with it again and again until I can push the thing – kicking and screaming, no doubt – over the threshold from being merely good writing to being a good novel. Because if I want to be a great author, that is exactly what I have to do. And keep doing it.
In the meantime, I will amuse myself with the everyday delight of being a good writer, continuing with the grand nonsense that is Who Shot Tony Blair? and a completely pointless yet entertaining (for me, anyway) Poirot parody, inspired by my good friend FictionFan and an overwhelming compunction to replace Sophie Hannah’s irritating new sidekick with the formidable Captain Hastings.
Oh, I almost forgot. Buy my books, etc etc…
Lucy Brazier 
I always suspected that writing and authoring are worlds apart…
as are Technical authoring…and the interesting authoring that you do…the one whereyou write things people want to read! 😀
I tell you, it is all far more complicated than it looks! Mind you, I reckon that the technical authoring is very important. Lots of people might not want to read it, but when someone does want to read it, it had better be bloody informative or there will be trouble!
yes, I think accuracy is an important trait in technical writing…
at least I don’t have to contend with story arcs though O_O
Right – you can’t just make it up as you go along like I do! There’s a lot about this novel writing malarkey that strikes me as utter pant-contents. If we all did what they say on the creative writing courses all books would be pretty much the same and you can spot the ‘trained’ creative writers a mile off. Too heavy on the training, not enough creativity, I say. But anyway. I shall do as I am told just barely enough to get away with sneaking through another book 🙂
yes! I have seen lots of “how to write a novel” etc books and they all seem to give you formulae. It is sad too when you read books by writers who have just started to follow a formula and you can more or less predict what is going to happen next.
A lot of the best novels do have things like story arcs probably but don’t seem to follow a lot of the rules…
It is a tricky balancing act, from what I can tell. The ones that follow no rules do suffer for it. I reckon it is a case of having to know the rules before you can know how to break them properly. I can’t believe I am still getting away with not giving names to most of my main characters! I must be getting some of the other rules right…
they do have names…sort of…
or designations at least which is enough to know who is being referred to!
easier than some of the fantasy novels who give names to characters in made up languages which are practically indistinguishable from each other!
I suppose it is like photography…you have to know the rules in that so that you know how to break them!
Or just rely on luck…like i do…but I don’t think this would work all of the time…
When I was younger I found a stash of noir-ish Russian spy novels in my nan’s loft (novels about Russian spies, not spy novels written in Russian). I rescued them and read them, but the names were so random to my little head that I never knew who anyone was! At least with my characters, you know who they are and what they do for a job. It’s a good start!
If I found spy novels in russian, the names would be the least of my problems!!
I had the problem with David Eddings books…that and they were really formulaic after a while and annoyed me becuaase they were all the same!
I think character designations is perfectly fine 😀
I’m not great with fantasy anyway, but the daft names certainly do not help. I believe that if the characters are well written, you can call them all Bob and it won’t make a jot of difference. Actually, not Bob – all the characters in the next book are from this moment forward renamed BERNARD.
**FOR THE BERNARDS!!**
I used to love fantasy novels…but eventually they all seemed to be the same so now I don’t bother…
yes!! All characters should be called BERNARD!!
that is your next challenge…a book featuring only BERNARDS!!
*FOR THE BERNARDS!!*
Oh yes when I was younger I thought they were great – but yes, it’s all the same nonsense after awhile.
It will be a book about Bernards, for Bernards, by Bernards (my name is now Bernard). The Book Of Bernard – got quite a ring to it. I shall just call the publisher and recall the manuscript…
**FOR THE BERNARDS!!**
Oh yes!! The Book Of Bernard will be mighty fine!! I can barely wait!!
Get to it Bernard, love Bernard (my name is also now Bernard)
**FOR THE BERNARDS!!*
Now, we are all Bernards! Thank you, Bernard. Much love from Bernard.
**FOR THE BERNARDS!!**
And our mascot shall be a St Bernard with a barrel of gin 😀
**FOR THE BERNARDS!!*
YES!!!!! 😀
😀
Just remembered – I’ve named a College after you in the new book – St Samantha’s College! And there is a new character called Hugh who could just as easily be called Bernard…
awwww!! yeay 😀 I am honored to have a college named after me!!
Well done for the draft!! I’m in the thick of it too. Just hoping the plot will develop! And Happy New Year.
I thank you! Keep at it, my dear chap – no doubt it will all come together when you least expect it. Keep me posted! A big, lovely happy new year to you too 🙂