Tag Archives: Novel

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August: Return to ‘Baby Grand’

Well, the craziness of July is behind me — vacations, home improvements, block parties and lots of freelance work — and now it’s time to focus once again on Baby Grand. The final edit. (At least I hope it’s the final edit.) As I mentioned yesterday on my Facebook page, I always get nervous knots in my belly when I’m about to read the manuscript again. What will I think? Will I like it, love it, like I did before? I’ve given myself the month of August to edit. I’m hoping that’s enough time, because I’m eager to finish Novel #2, which had to be put on the back burners in June, by the end of the year — edits and all. If I can do that, then I’m on schedule, and I can write the sequel to Baby Grand next year, as planned.

My 14-year-old son asked me yesterday why I put this kind of stress on myself, these self-imposed deadlines. My answer was simple: If I didn’t, nothing would get done.

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Writing Tip #18

Read your work aloud. As you can imagine, in a house full of noise — crazy kids running up and down stairs, chasing one another — reading my work aloud  helps me focus and block out all the hubbub. But even when my children are in school, I find myself reading aloud. Why? During quiet time, reading aloud helps me smooth out ripples in the narrative, such as awkwardly phrased sentences, and also to find silly mistakes, including tense changes or incorrect pronoun/antecedent agreement, that I may not find otherwise. (Keep in mind that I’m not shouting as I go, but talking softly or whispering.) And my reading aloud doesn’t stop with my novel. I do it with essays, term papers, emails, letters, even texts. I actually do it all the time. Including right now.

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Writing Tip #17

Not every novelist is an island. I think most of us have this image in our heads of the solitary novelist, the writer chained to her desk, hanging a “Gone Fishing” sign on the door and pounding away on a computer keyboard with empty microwavable trays around her, undisturbed, until the Great American Novel has been written. Front door bolted. Phones turned off. Internet unplugged. This is apparently the process that Jonathan Franzen has, to shut away the world so that he can process all the things he’s noticed about that world.

Totally makes sense. But the problem is: I can’t write that way. I just can’t. Trust me, I’ve tried.

Well, first of all, I have three kids. And as I much as I’ve thought about shipping them off to military school while I finish my novel (just kidding, kids), I find that I enjoy the little reprieves of a quick hug or kiss or making a quick meal for them while I’m writing. It’s like a reset button.

Then there’s the matter of the internet. I just can’t unplug. I can for vacations, when I rarely take my computer with me unless there’s something pressing, but when I’m working, even if it’s on my novel, I must be connected. I can’t really explain why other than to say that when I’m unplugged, I concentrate less than when I have the internet at my fingertips. When I’m unplugged, all I tend to think about is the fact that I’m unplugged, and if I need the answer to something, I can’t get it. For me, internet access is like knowing where the fire exits are in the school auditorium. They’re there, lit up, just in case I need to use them. And it calms me.

Plus, sometimes I just need to know something fast. I mentioned in Writing Tip #7 that writing “TK” into your manuscript when you need to research or confirm information is something that has helped me stay focused when I’m in the throes of writing and don’t want to be disturbed quite yet. “TK” can be a lifesaver, a placeholder that lets you know all the information that needs to be filled in later on. However, there are many other times when the writing isn’t quite so feverish and I like to go off and check a fact. Or surf a bit. Or check email. Or post on Facebook or Twitter. Sort of a virtual “stepping away” so that I can return to my manuscript clear-headed. Again, like a reset button.

So if you’re like me and thrive under constant interruption (most of it self-imposed), don’t sweat it. You’ve got enough to worry about.

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Writing Tip #15

Keep ‘em guessing — incorrectly. I’m one of those readers who likes to guess what’s going to happen in a book. “Oh, I just know that So-and-So is the mole!” or “The hero is going to find the treasure under the fountain at the mall! You’ll see!” Hence, the pressure on the novelist, particularly the mystery or thriller writer, to keep her readers interested enough to want to try and figure out the ending but confused just enough to get it wrong.

On Friday, I received feedback from one of Baby Grand’s readers, one of several who have read the book in its early stages, and I was very surprised to hear that this particular reader guessed all my little mysteries and surprises ahead of time. And here I thought I was being so thorough and clever and inscrutable. (Cue rain on parade.) Granted, she was the only one so far to make such a comment, but she certainly has me thinking about my story and whether or not it can be made less transparent — if, indeed, it is.

Right now, I’m reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and my mind is already racing with ideas for what’s going to happen — although I’ve been told that I’ll “never” guess (which makes me want to guess even more). And my feeling is that, since this is such a meaty and carefully plotted novel, if I do manage to predict correctly, I’ll likely credit myself with being such a perceptive reader rather than blame the book for being flawed.

Perhaps the same can be said of this reader, that her “guessing” the ending of Baby Grand was an aberration — a credit to her rather than a fault of mine. Still, it’s a good idea to take another look at my story and tighten the leaks, make sure my red herrings aren’t red flags. Because if I can keep even the most intuitive and seasoned thriller readers in the dark, then I will not only have done my job, but will have done it well.

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There’s Nothing Like Your First Time

We talk a lot about debut authors around here. As a freelance journalist looking to publish her first novel, I’m interested in hearing about the first-timer’s road to publication. (Yesterday, Kathleen Rodgers told us about hers.) Today, Carol Garvin posted a list of debut novels on her blog, many of which I’ve read and enjoyed. I remember when I read A Time to Kill, the first novel written by John Grisham — I read it after The Firm, the book that launched Grisham into the stratosphere. In his author’s note to A Time to Kill, Grisham wrote something that always stuck with me: “This one came from the heart. It’s a first novel, and at times it rambles, but I wouldn’t change a word if given the chance.”

Although my mind right now is focused on another round of revisions, my hope is that when Baby Grand (fingers crossed!) is published one day, I will feel the very same way.

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Meet Author Chris Nickson

Hey, kids! It’s time for another installment of Debut Author Q&A. This week, longtime music journalist Chris Nickson gives us the inside scoop on his first work of fiction.

Name: Chris Nickson

Name of book: The Broken Token

Book genre: Historical Mystery

Date published: October 2010 in the US, May 2010 in the UK

Publisher: Creme de la Crime

What is your book about? Ian Rankin meets Charles Dickens. Seriously, in 1731 the Constable of Leeds has to catch a killer who’s murdering prostitutes and their clients. To his astonishment, one of the prostitutes is his former housemaid, whom he thought happily married and living in the countryside.

You are an accomplished music journalist and nonfiction book author. What made you decide to cross over to the world of fiction? I’ve always written fiction, have done since I was 11, and I have six thankfully unpublished novels. My father was a writer, with TV plays produced, and his own unpublished novels, so I grew up with the idea of writing, especially novels. I think most of us who write feel that the novel is the pinnacle, it’s “real” writing. I’ve published about 30 nonfiction books and no idea how many reviews and interviews, but this feels like really making it.

Most challenging part of the novel-writing process: The start. The first couple of pages have to be just right for me to be able to move forward.

What motivates you to write? Truthfully, I don’t need motivation. Writing is just so much a part of who I am that it really defines me. In the last 18 years, I doubt there have been three months overall when I haven’t written something. In part that’s because it’s my bread and butter as a freelance writer. More than that, it’s because I love writing. Being paid to write is my dream job. It’s not work. It’s pleasure, whether fiction or otherwise.

Did you experience writer’s block during the writing of your novel? No, I can’t say I did. For me writing is a habit. I had setbacks, bits I had to delete, but never a block. Mostly it’s just a case of writing down what’s happening in this movie playing in my head.

How long did it take you to write this book? With revisions and so on, probably about nine months.

What was your favorite aspect of the writing process for this book? Seeing it unfold, which isn’t always easy. At times it can be like walking through a tangled wood where you can barely see a yard ahead. Then it opens up a little and you see where to go. Sometimes, on those rare occasions, you turn a corner, and the path is across open country. When you hit that, it’s a glorious feeling. The other part was the character of Amos Worthy, a pimp, who appeared fully formed and could have taken over the book. I love him.

How difficult was it to find a publisher? Do you think your success as a nonfiction author helped in any way? My nonfiction success made no difference at all. It was very hard to find a publisher. I had a bad experience with an agent – I’ll leave her nameless – and that put me off for a while, so I let it sit fallow. Then I found a book published by Creme de la Crime, which is a small publisher specializing in crime and located close to where I was living. I thought, hmm, and sent it in. Lynne, the publisher, really liked the book and got behind it completely. I’m very grateful to her for that.

What is the biggest misconception about writing a book? That anyone can do it. It takes real perseverance to actually complete a book, and I have admiration for anyone who’ll stick to it. The adage about it being 90 percent perspiration and 10 percent inspiration is very true. But it’s also a craft and one you have to master. Whether I’ve actually mastered it is for readers to decide, I think.

I understand that you have already finished the sequel and are beginning work on a third book in the series. What made you decide to create a series rather than write an entirely different novel next? Yes, the second in the series is done. Because of various things, it’s up in the air who’ll put it out at the moment, or even if anyone will, but I’ve had some interest from a couple of publishing houses. With my main character, Richard Nottingham, and his family, as well as his deputy, I feel I have some good creations, people I wanted to know more about, so I wanted to go back and see what was happening to them. I’m about 10,000 words into the third book and they still seem to have things to say or do. Going in, I never envisioned a series, but it actually felt right and natural.

Oprah has famously said that there is no such thing as luck, without preparation and a moment of opportunity. Would you agree or disagree with regard to your own success as a writer? I’d agree. You make your luck, and usually there are years of hard work behind it. There’s 40 years of writing behind The Broken Token. The trick is to make it look effortless!