Debbie Robson's Blog - Posts Tagged "manuscript"
Bookcrossing Novel
I have decided to regularly upload excerpts from my manuscript "Crossing Paths". I'm going to concentrate, for the moment at least on the releases.
Here's how one of my characters, a New Age writer named Jonathan Fairlight, discovers Bookcrossing at Polruan in Cornwall.
"While eating his lunch Jonathan couldn’t help staring at the woman opposite him. She seemed vaguely familiar. Where had he seen her? He was about to give up on the puzzle when he noticed that she had stood up and was walking towards him. She had left a book behind on her table. He got up to move to the back of the teashop to retrieve it when she stopped suddenly at his table and placed another book down near his left hand. He paused to try and read the title but it was upside down and in that moment she was off again, walking out of the teashop. He turned around and grabbed the book from his table and followed her outside into the warm sunshine. Jonathan stopped still and called out,
‘You left your book behind and another one too I believe.’ He watched as she turned to him slowly, in a rather aggrieved fashion.
‘Don’t worry about the other one. What’s it say on the front of the one you’re holding,’ she asked tiredly.
‘I’m sorry?’
‘What does the post-it note say on the front?’
Jonathan raised his eyebrows in surprise and bafflement.
‘What does it say?’ she repeated.
He looked down at the book in his hands. ‘It says, ‘Hi! I’m free. I’m a Bookcrossing book. See inside for details.’ Jonathan read this out slowly and clearly, feeling like a schoolboy.
‘It’s for you.’
Jonathan quickly read the title: 1979: A Big Year in a Small Town and the blurb on the back. It appeared the book was about a young schoolgirl’s coming of age in a small Scottish fishing village.
‘I don’t think so. You must have made a mistake. I mean this book….’
‘It’s for you to take home. I think you may know of someone to give it to.’ And with this she was off towards the quay where he noticed the ferry had returned and was churning towards the wharf.
He ran to catch up with her and as he came up beside her, he remembered where he had seen her: at Mr Bistro with Melloney. She had been two tables away. So the book was for Melloney.
‘I remember you from Mr. Bistro. You heard us talking? So you’re not psychic.’ He voiced the idea that had been running through his head a moment before.
‘Oh, I wouldn’t say that.’ With this remark she bustled onto the ferry, leaving Jonathan standing bemused, laughing until he remembered his half finished pot of tea and his quiche, which was probably cold by now. He returned to his table having missed by just a minute, an American woman pick up the other book, remarking to her husband, ‘Honey, would you look at this! It’s a Bookcrossing book. Why don’t I take it back home? Won’t that be fun!’
‘They’ll get a heck of a surprise when they see where it’s got to!’ her husband answered. Both of them laughed happily as they left the teashop with Jonathan passing them as he went back in."
Here's how one of my characters, a New Age writer named Jonathan Fairlight, discovers Bookcrossing at Polruan in Cornwall.
"While eating his lunch Jonathan couldn’t help staring at the woman opposite him. She seemed vaguely familiar. Where had he seen her? He was about to give up on the puzzle when he noticed that she had stood up and was walking towards him. She had left a book behind on her table. He got up to move to the back of the teashop to retrieve it when she stopped suddenly at his table and placed another book down near his left hand. He paused to try and read the title but it was upside down and in that moment she was off again, walking out of the teashop. He turned around and grabbed the book from his table and followed her outside into the warm sunshine. Jonathan stopped still and called out,
‘You left your book behind and another one too I believe.’ He watched as she turned to him slowly, in a rather aggrieved fashion.
‘Don’t worry about the other one. What’s it say on the front of the one you’re holding,’ she asked tiredly.
‘I’m sorry?’
‘What does the post-it note say on the front?’
Jonathan raised his eyebrows in surprise and bafflement.
‘What does it say?’ she repeated.
He looked down at the book in his hands. ‘It says, ‘Hi! I’m free. I’m a Bookcrossing book. See inside for details.’ Jonathan read this out slowly and clearly, feeling like a schoolboy.
‘It’s for you.’
Jonathan quickly read the title: 1979: A Big Year in a Small Town and the blurb on the back. It appeared the book was about a young schoolgirl’s coming of age in a small Scottish fishing village.
‘I don’t think so. You must have made a mistake. I mean this book….’
‘It’s for you to take home. I think you may know of someone to give it to.’ And with this she was off towards the quay where he noticed the ferry had returned and was churning towards the wharf.
He ran to catch up with her and as he came up beside her, he remembered where he had seen her: at Mr Bistro with Melloney. She had been two tables away. So the book was for Melloney.
‘I remember you from Mr. Bistro. You heard us talking? So you’re not psychic.’ He voiced the idea that had been running through his head a moment before.
‘Oh, I wouldn’t say that.’ With this remark she bustled onto the ferry, leaving Jonathan standing bemused, laughing until he remembered his half finished pot of tea and his quiche, which was probably cold by now. He returned to his table having missed by just a minute, an American woman pick up the other book, remarking to her husband, ‘Honey, would you look at this! It’s a Bookcrossing book. Why don’t I take it back home? Won’t that be fun!’
‘They’ll get a heck of a surprise when they see where it’s got to!’ her husband answered. Both of them laughed happily as they left the teashop with Jonathan passing them as he went back in."
Meeting All My Helpers
Crossing Paths, my novel that is to be published in September, is unusual in that although it is a work of fiction, it is inspired by a real online book club and 40 real BookCrossers feature in the manuscript.
When I first started researching and writing the novel a lot of BookCrossers were helping me with my research and rather than make up BC names for the countless journal entries that were beginning to be a feature in the book, I asked my helpers if they would like a journal entry. Along the way 40 said yes.
Four years later I have been able to recontact all but four of my helpers. Some I still write to regularly and one day I would like to meet all of them including a lot of others that although they don't appear in the book helped me by answering often bizarre questions about places such as Lake Shawnigan and Turin; the traffic in Paris and a magnificent hotel in Looe, to name but a few. They will be listed in the acknowledgements along with a lot of other people not associated with bookcrossing.com
Here's to us getting together one day!
Debbie
When I first started researching and writing the novel a lot of BookCrossers were helping me with my research and rather than make up BC names for the countless journal entries that were beginning to be a feature in the book, I asked my helpers if they would like a journal entry. Along the way 40 said yes.
Four years later I have been able to recontact all but four of my helpers. Some I still write to regularly and one day I would like to meet all of them including a lot of others that although they don't appear in the book helped me by answering often bizarre questions about places such as Lake Shawnigan and Turin; the traffic in Paris and a magnificent hotel in Looe, to name but a few. They will be listed in the acknowledgements along with a lot of other people not associated with bookcrossing.com
Here's to us getting together one day!
Debbie
How Many Drafts of Your Novel Should You Do
This post was put up on wordpress on 2nd September.
My answer is six and that is probably my average. If the book proves problematic then I’ve reached eight but that’s generally my maximum. I’ve heard other writers speak of astronomical numbers such as 18, 27, 34 and even fifty odd. I immediately think how do they do that many drafts? But me being a suspicious person, when I hear such amazing figures I often wonder what they consider constitutes a draft. Say, maybe a quick adjustment of a few words here and there, a scan and then start again? Is that what they call a draft? Put the thing away for a week or so, pick it up again, flick through, change another paragraph and that’s draft 25 for you? I don’t know of course. I can only tell you what my methods are so here goes...
Draft 1 is obvious of course. That’s where you get the main storyline down including what scenes to put in, what to leave out and from whose point of view. Last Tuesday I completed the first draft of my work in progress The Grey Silk Purse. Strictly speaking it is not a complete first draft. It is missing one final chapter and the epilogue which is a letter. Both I can’t do at this point until I’ve done heaps more research.
And this is where the 2nd draft comes. I will now go back, look up and check 95 # points of research such as the uniform of staff working in a stationery shop in Newcastle in 1920. In my novel Tomaree. In Crossing Paths I actually don't remember that I had as as many things to check. I managed to do most of my fact-checking as I went along.
Before I generally start writing a novel I have already done a fair amount of research. Whilst writing the first draft I’ll check as many points as I can but when fact checking starts to really slow me down that’s when I put a # in and move on. With the second round of research I will often have to change the narrative slightly to accommodate facts I have recently discovered. I will also tidy up my prose and check overall length of chapters. Is that scene really necessary kind of thing. With The Grey Silk Purse I have a massive construction problem two thirds of the way through. I will tackle that and will also have to keep a good eye on it in the next draft.
In the 3rd draft I will usually start drilling down, checking my word usage (okay for that particular character or time etc) my paragraphs (are they too long?) I also check how the writing flows. This is a good time to actually really look at any scenes or chapters that still trouble you. Can I do without it altogether or do I need to rewrite? Any extensive rewrites at this stage will have to be checked closely because they will not have been read anywhere near the amount of times of the rest of the work. This is where I often check odd things like the colours of the diaries in The Grey Silk Purse. There are four different diaries that feature in the manuscript and they are all different colours. I will probably check the word count of each diary and that I’ve got the colour correct for each one (particularly as these are referenced later in the novel).
It is usually around the 4th draft that I like to print the whole manuscript out and work at it on paper, pretending I’m a ruthless editor working through page after page, slowly but very carefully. It’s where you really get to see how the manuscript will look in hard copy.
It’s funny how many things you can pick up and fix in this different format. You’ll find it is very handy when looking at dialogue. I also generally write my edits on the page and then do another draft putting them in to my word document. This will then be the 5th draft.
In this draft I will not only put in my changes but do a global search for a particular word that I think I might have used too much. (This is why it is a good thing to keep your manuscript all in one document!) I’ve done this with all my novels and it is never the same words that keep cropping up. It is generally different words for different books. When you realise you’ve got 162 “wondered”s you can then push yourself to find alternatives. (In this 900 word essay I have 13 “check/ed/ing”s. Maybe too many but hey this us what this piece is about.)
The 6th draft (if all is going well) is the final read through. It’s a chance to read the manuscript for the umpteenth time. (Because if you are like me you will often re-read it a lot of times before you even start the second draft). You can check every word for typing errors and watch out for those slippery little suckers the closing quotation marks which (for me anyway) have a habit of disappearing at a great rate. Are there any missing? Can you find any more typos? Realistically you will not find them all so that’s where a friend can come in handy and do a read through for you. Another pair of eyes will always pick up things you’ve missed. That’s my experience anyway.
And now your baby is ready for an amazing journey. Kiss it goodbye and wish it luck.
My answer is six and that is probably my average. If the book proves problematic then I’ve reached eight but that’s generally my maximum. I’ve heard other writers speak of astronomical numbers such as 18, 27, 34 and even fifty odd. I immediately think how do they do that many drafts? But me being a suspicious person, when I hear such amazing figures I often wonder what they consider constitutes a draft. Say, maybe a quick adjustment of a few words here and there, a scan and then start again? Is that what they call a draft? Put the thing away for a week or so, pick it up again, flick through, change another paragraph and that’s draft 25 for you? I don’t know of course. I can only tell you what my methods are so here goes...
Draft 1 is obvious of course. That’s where you get the main storyline down including what scenes to put in, what to leave out and from whose point of view. Last Tuesday I completed the first draft of my work in progress The Grey Silk Purse. Strictly speaking it is not a complete first draft. It is missing one final chapter and the epilogue which is a letter. Both I can’t do at this point until I’ve done heaps more research.
And this is where the 2nd draft comes. I will now go back, look up and check 95 # points of research such as the uniform of staff working in a stationery shop in Newcastle in 1920. In my novel Tomaree. In Crossing Paths I actually don't remember that I had as as many things to check. I managed to do most of my fact-checking as I went along.
Before I generally start writing a novel I have already done a fair amount of research. Whilst writing the first draft I’ll check as many points as I can but when fact checking starts to really slow me down that’s when I put a # in and move on. With the second round of research I will often have to change the narrative slightly to accommodate facts I have recently discovered. I will also tidy up my prose and check overall length of chapters. Is that scene really necessary kind of thing. With The Grey Silk Purse I have a massive construction problem two thirds of the way through. I will tackle that and will also have to keep a good eye on it in the next draft.
In the 3rd draft I will usually start drilling down, checking my word usage (okay for that particular character or time etc) my paragraphs (are they too long?) I also check how the writing flows. This is a good time to actually really look at any scenes or chapters that still trouble you. Can I do without it altogether or do I need to rewrite? Any extensive rewrites at this stage will have to be checked closely because they will not have been read anywhere near the amount of times of the rest of the work. This is where I often check odd things like the colours of the diaries in The Grey Silk Purse. There are four different diaries that feature in the manuscript and they are all different colours. I will probably check the word count of each diary and that I’ve got the colour correct for each one (particularly as these are referenced later in the novel).
It is usually around the 4th draft that I like to print the whole manuscript out and work at it on paper, pretending I’m a ruthless editor working through page after page, slowly but very carefully. It’s where you really get to see how the manuscript will look in hard copy.
It’s funny how many things you can pick up and fix in this different format. You’ll find it is very handy when looking at dialogue. I also generally write my edits on the page and then do another draft putting them in to my word document. This will then be the 5th draft.
In this draft I will not only put in my changes but do a global search for a particular word that I think I might have used too much. (This is why it is a good thing to keep your manuscript all in one document!) I’ve done this with all my novels and it is never the same words that keep cropping up. It is generally different words for different books. When you realise you’ve got 162 “wondered”s you can then push yourself to find alternatives. (In this 900 word essay I have 13 “check/ed/ing”s. Maybe too many but hey this us what this piece is about.)
The 6th draft (if all is going well) is the final read through. It’s a chance to read the manuscript for the umpteenth time. (Because if you are like me you will often re-read it a lot of times before you even start the second draft). You can check every word for typing errors and watch out for those slippery little suckers the closing quotation marks which (for me anyway) have a habit of disappearing at a great rate. Are there any missing? Can you find any more typos? Realistically you will not find them all so that’s where a friend can come in handy and do a read through for you. Another pair of eyes will always pick up things you’ve missed. That’s my experience anyway.
And now your baby is ready for an amazing journey. Kiss it goodbye and wish it luck.
How to get distracted writing historical fiction and/or the girl on the beach
Originally posted on wordpress on 22/8
Yes, it's a serious problem for historical fiction writers when doing research - staying on track. In the 1980s I went through all the photography books (and there was a lot) at Dee Why Library. Of course I didn't need to look at all the photos - most didn't have anything to do with the manuscript I was writing but what the heck! Now with the net the problem is magnified 100 times over. The number of photos that are available is staggering. Google images, Instagram, Flickr, Trove - all waiting quietly (Hey, don't mind me!) to lead you away from words on a screen/page.
In this instance Pinterest was the culprit. I had been googling 1920s clothes and pinning them on my board Research for my next novel. Pinterest, being very helpful, kindly said "You might like this!" and there was a board on the 1920s that I decided to follow. Some boards are small of course and only take a few minutes to glance over but occasionally I would find myself drifting away from my writing. You know how it is! I love that dress of Audrey Hepburn's! And really, Warren Beatty was pretty good looking when he was young. Wow, I want to go to that French village right now. This sort of thing happens frequently when I'm on the net but no harm here! This board was on topic - the 1920s. I scrolled down through the images and there she was! Simply a girl on a beach, looking sad yet sort of posed at the same time. I was done for! My writing and research lost for the rest of the evening.
I found myself really studying the photo. Gosh, it does look posed. A publicity shot for a now unknown actress? A photographer friend suggested it was actress Edna Purviance, Charlie Chaplin's leading lady in many of his films. I googled images of her and decided no, it wasn't her. I then did a Tin Eye reverse image search. The one that was pinned on Pinterest had no name or details. Maybe another image might have more information. Tin Eye came up with 24 results and it appears the original photograph is a Getty image taken by the French photographer Roger Viollet with a title of "Swimmer on the beach of Deauville (Calvados), about 1925". A location but no name!
I searched her face again. She really was very pretty! Maybe it was a lucky snap that became a bit of a hit and the damsel was pinned up wherever males congregate. I’m guessing she might have been extremely popular with the French Foreign Legion when the state of her chest was noticed! She is actually striking a pose similar to Farrah Fawcett in that that red swimming costume back in the seventies!
None of this helped me identify her of course and why is she sitting by herself? Is she waiting for someone?I believe she wasn’t an actress because I’m sure if she was, she would have been identified by now. I mean, how many photos do we view a day? Even when we aren’t researching, people put up posts asking please identify. Photos are multiplied over and over in vastly different locations. Gradually the dots are joined but not for the moment for my girl at the beach.
Three hours later after originally viewing her picture, my manuscript is pushed to the back of my mind. I have lost valuable time and asked unanswerable questions, such as: Who was she? Was she a model? What did she do with her life? She’s about the same age as my character. I wish I could chart her life through known facts so that I can have a few signposts for my girl; be made aware of what it was like to be young and beautiful in the 1920s.
She has led me on a merry dance but then I stop and look at her once more. Actually she hasn’t. I’ve only just realised why she caught my attention in the first place. She has abundantly thick and wavy hair - auburn, I’m guessing, just like my main character Sarah Montague’s. I haven’t lost time. Here is a real life sister for an imaginary young woman that I need to return to.
Yes, it's a serious problem for historical fiction writers when doing research - staying on track. In the 1980s I went through all the photography books (and there was a lot) at Dee Why Library. Of course I didn't need to look at all the photos - most didn't have anything to do with the manuscript I was writing but what the heck! Now with the net the problem is magnified 100 times over. The number of photos that are available is staggering. Google images, Instagram, Flickr, Trove - all waiting quietly (Hey, don't mind me!) to lead you away from words on a screen/page.
In this instance Pinterest was the culprit. I had been googling 1920s clothes and pinning them on my board Research for my next novel. Pinterest, being very helpful, kindly said "You might like this!" and there was a board on the 1920s that I decided to follow. Some boards are small of course and only take a few minutes to glance over but occasionally I would find myself drifting away from my writing. You know how it is! I love that dress of Audrey Hepburn's! And really, Warren Beatty was pretty good looking when he was young. Wow, I want to go to that French village right now. This sort of thing happens frequently when I'm on the net but no harm here! This board was on topic - the 1920s. I scrolled down through the images and there she was! Simply a girl on a beach, looking sad yet sort of posed at the same time. I was done for! My writing and research lost for the rest of the evening.
I found myself really studying the photo. Gosh, it does look posed. A publicity shot for a now unknown actress? A photographer friend suggested it was actress Edna Purviance, Charlie Chaplin's leading lady in many of his films. I googled images of her and decided no, it wasn't her. I then did a Tin Eye reverse image search. The one that was pinned on Pinterest had no name or details. Maybe another image might have more information. Tin Eye came up with 24 results and it appears the original photograph is a Getty image taken by the French photographer Roger Viollet with a title of "Swimmer on the beach of Deauville (Calvados), about 1925". A location but no name!
I searched her face again. She really was very pretty! Maybe it was a lucky snap that became a bit of a hit and the damsel was pinned up wherever males congregate. I’m guessing she might have been extremely popular with the French Foreign Legion when the state of her chest was noticed! She is actually striking a pose similar to Farrah Fawcett in that that red swimming costume back in the seventies!
None of this helped me identify her of course and why is she sitting by herself? Is she waiting for someone?I believe she wasn’t an actress because I’m sure if she was, she would have been identified by now. I mean, how many photos do we view a day? Even when we aren’t researching, people put up posts asking please identify. Photos are multiplied over and over in vastly different locations. Gradually the dots are joined but not for the moment for my girl at the beach.
Three hours later after originally viewing her picture, my manuscript is pushed to the back of my mind. I have lost valuable time and asked unanswerable questions, such as: Who was she? Was she a model? What did she do with her life? She’s about the same age as my character. I wish I could chart her life through known facts so that I can have a few signposts for my girl; be made aware of what it was like to be young and beautiful in the 1920s.
She has led me on a merry dance but then I stop and look at her once more. Actually she hasn’t. I’ve only just realised why she caught my attention in the first place. She has abundantly thick and wavy hair - auburn, I’m guessing, just like my main character Sarah Montague’s. I haven’t lost time. Here is a real life sister for an imaginary young woman that I need to return to.
