Pauline Rowson's Blog - Posts Tagged "research"
I've nearly finished writing the first draft of the next in the DI Andy Horton marine mystery crime series
I've now written 70,000 words of the next DI Andy Horton marine mystery crime novel which will be number eight in the series. Number seven, A Killing Coast, is scheduled for publication in hardcover early in 2012. As soon as I have the jacket image and more information on the publication details of A Killing Coast I will obviously post them on my official web site. Meanwhile there is the paperback and e book version of the sixth in the DI Horton series, Footsteps on the Shore, to come, more about that on my web site next week.
I was looking back on my blog to last year's entries when I was writing A Killing Coast and saw that on July 2 2010 I had written 10,000 words so I'm pleased that I am so far ahead with this new Horton novel, which I have promised to get to the publisher in January 2012. So far, so good.
Writing a first draft is always exciting but it is also irritating because I am so keen to get everything on to my PC as quickly as possible, while my head is swimming with the plot and sub plots.
I try to resist editing too much as I write the first draft because this slows down the creative process and it is very easy to get hooked on editing and therefore postpone finishing the novel. However, because I research as I go along some editing is inevitable.
Now, on this new Horton novel, I am at the stage when I am eager to bash out the final few chapters as quickly as possible, which I should be able to do over the next week, or couple of weeks at the outside. Then I can have the wonderful pleasure of going back through the novel, adding character details, refining plot and sub plot, adding colour and depth, inserting clues and red herrings, and making sure that everything ties up and Andy Horton lives to fight another crime in DI Horton marine mystery crime novel number nine!
I was looking back on my blog to last year's entries when I was writing A Killing Coast and saw that on July 2 2010 I had written 10,000 words so I'm pleased that I am so far ahead with this new Horton novel, which I have promised to get to the publisher in January 2012. So far, so good.
Writing a first draft is always exciting but it is also irritating because I am so keen to get everything on to my PC as quickly as possible, while my head is swimming with the plot and sub plots.
I try to resist editing too much as I write the first draft because this slows down the creative process and it is very easy to get hooked on editing and therefore postpone finishing the novel. However, because I research as I go along some editing is inevitable.
Now, on this new Horton novel, I am at the stage when I am eager to bash out the final few chapters as quickly as possible, which I should be able to do over the next week, or couple of weeks at the outside. Then I can have the wonderful pleasure of going back through the novel, adding character details, refining plot and sub plot, adding colour and depth, inserting clues and red herrings, and making sure that everything ties up and Andy Horton lives to fight another crime in DI Horton marine mystery crime novel number nine!
Setting targets for the number of words to write in a day or weekend doesn't always work
I'm not usually one of those authors who set targets for the number of words written in a day or a week but over the weekend I wanted to hit the 10,000 mark of the DI Horton crime novel I'm currently writing, which is number nine in the series. I'm sorry to say I failed but only by about 600 words because other factors intruded on my weekend. I'm not worried though, in fact I'm pleased with how the novel is shaping up and that's more important than a word count, at least it is to me. I've left DI Horton in chapter three interviewing someone and I know where the chapter is heading, which is always helpful! So time to press on with it.
I'm witing the first draft and although I've done some research prior to starting the creative writing process I like to research as I write. This week I need to conduct some further location research, so it's a trip to Old Portsmouth, and the Historic Dockyard where the beginning of this novel is set, whether the location will remain there at the beginning of the novel by the time I come to do revisions who knows. For now I will stop counting words and return to my usual method of writing for at least a couple/few hours every day.
A Killing Coast, the seventh in the DI Andy Horton marine mystery crime series is now published in hardcover.
Footsteps on the Shore, the sixth DI Horton is now available in paperback and as an e book.
I'm witing the first draft and although I've done some research prior to starting the creative writing process I like to research as I write. This week I need to conduct some further location research, so it's a trip to Old Portsmouth, and the Historic Dockyard where the beginning of this novel is set, whether the location will remain there at the beginning of the novel by the time I come to do revisions who knows. For now I will stop counting words and return to my usual method of writing for at least a couple/few hours every day.
A Killing Coast, the seventh in the DI Andy Horton marine mystery crime series is now published in hardcover.
Footsteps on the Shore, the sixth DI Horton is now available in paperback and as an e book.
Pauline Rowson discusses how she researches police matters and police procedure for her crime novels
I'm often asked how I research police procedures and police matters for my crime novels and while the DI Horton crime series certainly doesn't conform to policing in the real world there is an underlying reality about some of the situations and procedures.
So where do I get my research from?
From talking to real live police officers, those working on the coal face and those who have also retired and my thanks here to the officers in the CID, the Major Crime Unit and the Marine Unit of Hampshire Police.
From the Internet blogs and twitter feeds of serving police officers - a great source of a snapshot on the unofficial and real world of policing, warts and all, the gripes, heroics and the banter all make for great background
From the official websites of the police agencies, establishments and organisations, the intelligence services and the European police agencies
From my fellow members of the Crime Writers' Association, by reading articles in the CWA magazine and attending lectures
From online sources, magazines like The Investigator, websites run by specialists and organisations such as CEPOL (the European Police College)
And from newspaper articles and media feeds.
All this is combined to give me a flavour of how things work but of course they are constantly changing and I could never portray exactly how an investigation is handled or the real world of policing because then it would read like a police manual and it is after all fiction.
So where do I get my research from?
From talking to real live police officers, those working on the coal face and those who have also retired and my thanks here to the officers in the CID, the Major Crime Unit and the Marine Unit of Hampshire Police.
From the Internet blogs and twitter feeds of serving police officers - a great source of a snapshot on the unofficial and real world of policing, warts and all, the gripes, heroics and the banter all make for great background
From the official websites of the police agencies, establishments and organisations, the intelligence services and the European police agencies
From my fellow members of the Crime Writers' Association, by reading articles in the CWA magazine and attending lectures
From online sources, magazines like The Investigator, websites run by specialists and organisations such as CEPOL (the European Police College)
And from newspaper articles and media feeds.
All this is combined to give me a flavour of how things work but of course they are constantly changing and I could never portray exactly how an investigation is handled or the real world of policing because then it would read like a police manual and it is after all fiction.
The Perfect System For Writing A Novel
All writers have different ways of working and finding the ‘perfect system’ for planning, researching, plotting, structuring and writing a novel is often a matter of trial and error until something clicks. That’s how it was for me anyway.
Before I struck on my 'perfect system' I tried all sorts of ways of compiling my research, plotlines, and character outlines, from using note books to wall maps, from card indexes to ring binders. None of them worked. The ring binders looked nice and neat, all properly indexed, but because of my civil service training my mind told me that something in a file, was 'filed away,' and therefore actioned, finished with and a novel is a work in progress.
Read full article on my website blog at http://www.rowmark.co.uk
Death Lies Beneath
Before I struck on my 'perfect system' I tried all sorts of ways of compiling my research, plotlines, and character outlines, from using note books to wall maps, from card indexes to ring binders. None of them worked. The ring binders looked nice and neat, all properly indexed, but because of my civil service training my mind told me that something in a file, was 'filed away,' and therefore actioned, finished with and a novel is a work in progress.
Read full article on my website blog at http://www.rowmark.co.uk
Death Lies Beneath
Lovely audience at Bognor Regis Library
Had a great time talking to the audience at Bognor Regis Library on 20 May. They were a lovely friendly group of people and I was delighted to meet many die hard DI Andy Horton fans.
If you haven’t tried the DI Andy Horton novels yet, there are currently eleven in the Horton series, with the latest, Shroud of Evil published in April 2014 in the UK and in August 2014 in the USA.
They are set in the Solent area on the South Coast of England, primarily in Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight. I've also written two stand alone crime novels, In For The Kill and In Cold Daylight.
US Reviewer Booklist has compared them to the novels of Ed McBain and Joseph Wambaugh and their British counterparts, John Harvey and Peter Robinson.
My next speaking engagement is to members of Solent U3A on 11 June.
You can read about all my crime novels and view my diary of speaking engagements on my website at http://www.rowmark.co.uk
Shroud of Evil
If you haven’t tried the DI Andy Horton novels yet, there are currently eleven in the Horton series, with the latest, Shroud of Evil published in April 2014 in the UK and in August 2014 in the USA.
They are set in the Solent area on the South Coast of England, primarily in Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight. I've also written two stand alone crime novels, In For The Kill and In Cold Daylight.
US Reviewer Booklist has compared them to the novels of Ed McBain and Joseph Wambaugh and their British counterparts, John Harvey and Peter Robinson.
My next speaking engagement is to members of Solent U3A on 11 June.
You can read about all my crime novels and view my diary of speaking engagements on my website at http://www.rowmark.co.uk
Shroud of Evil
How long does it take to write a crime novel?
It's always a scary moment when I press 'send' on the keyboard and a completed MS for a new crime novel wings its way through the ether to my publisher, Severn House. It's rather like waiting for an exam result or a report from the teacher - could I have done better? Should I have rephrased something or added or omitted something? It's also an equally nerve wracking moment (although also joyous) when the novel is published, because then it is absolutely too late to change anything.
I have sent the twelfth DI Andy Horton to my publisher and have heard the great news that this is to be published in Spring 2015. More on this to follow.
I'm often asked how long it takes me to write a crime novel. At present I'm writing the thirteenth in the DI Andy Horton series, which I started at the beginning of August 2014. I aim to have this finished by the end of January 2015 so I can leave you to work how long it takes me to research, plan, plot and write a novel. At present I am writing two crime novels a year, a DI Andy Horton and a new crime series, featuring a new hero, more on that soon.
Meanwhile what does DI Horton get up to in DI Andy Horton number twelve, the title of which I'll announce shortly?
Well, obviously there is a new crime to solve and there is a new twist in his private investigations into the disappearance of his mother over thirty years ago. I'm not going to say any more than that! I wouldn't want to spoil it for readers.
In the meantime there is Shroud of Evil (DI Andy Horton 11) to hopefully tempt you, which is now available as an e book and in hardcover.
In Shroud of Evil Horton is forced to protect a secret. He has no choice, but withholding information in a murder investigation could cost him his job.
And there are plenty more in the DI Horton series in addition to my two standalone crime novels, In Cold Daylight and In For The Kill.
Happy reading.
I have sent the twelfth DI Andy Horton to my publisher and have heard the great news that this is to be published in Spring 2015. More on this to follow.
I'm often asked how long it takes me to write a crime novel. At present I'm writing the thirteenth in the DI Andy Horton series, which I started at the beginning of August 2014. I aim to have this finished by the end of January 2015 so I can leave you to work how long it takes me to research, plan, plot and write a novel. At present I am writing two crime novels a year, a DI Andy Horton and a new crime series, featuring a new hero, more on that soon.
Meanwhile what does DI Horton get up to in DI Andy Horton number twelve, the title of which I'll announce shortly?
Well, obviously there is a new crime to solve and there is a new twist in his private investigations into the disappearance of his mother over thirty years ago. I'm not going to say any more than that! I wouldn't want to spoil it for readers.
In the meantime there is Shroud of Evil (DI Andy Horton 11) to hopefully tempt you, which is now available as an e book and in hardcover.
In Shroud of Evil Horton is forced to protect a secret. He has no choice, but withholding information in a murder investigation could cost him his job.
And there are plenty more in the DI Horton series in addition to my two standalone crime novels, In Cold Daylight and In For The Kill.
Happy reading.
