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Pauline Rowson's Blog, page 84
February 20, 2010
Book titles are like buses
Book titles are like buses, you wait for ages for one to come along and then they all come together. I've been working on the new Inspector Horton marine mystery crime novel (number six in the series) and have been struggling to find a title for it. Now I've got two.
They came to me last week, one while cleaning my teeth, and the other during the early hours of the morning. I like both of them and now have the dilema of deciding which one best suits the novel. With the Andy Horton series the title also needs to contain a 'marine' element because the novels are all set against the backdrop of the sea.
I won't reveal the chosen title yet because I need to mull them both over and check out who else, if anyone, has used them. There is no copyright on novel titles, and many are duplicated, but I want to make sure that they've not already been used by someone writing in my own genre. I have a vague suspicion I've heard one of them before, but that might just be my imagination. And where to check? Well Amazon or Google seem to be the font of all knowledge, and Goodreads, of course, so that's where I'll look.
They came to me last week, one while cleaning my teeth, and the other during the early hours of the morning. I like both of them and now have the dilema of deciding which one best suits the novel. With the Andy Horton series the title also needs to contain a 'marine' element because the novels are all set against the backdrop of the sea.
I won't reveal the chosen title yet because I need to mull them both over and check out who else, if anyone, has used them. There is no copyright on novel titles, and many are duplicated, but I want to make sure that they've not already been used by someone writing in my own genre. I have a vague suspicion I've heard one of them before, but that might just be my imagination. And where to check? Well Amazon or Google seem to be the font of all knowledge, and Goodreads, of course, so that's where I'll look.
February 8, 2010
Deciding on a title for a novel
Some titles can come instantly, almost the moment the novel hits the page (or rather the computer screen) Dead Man's Wharf was one such case. Others are like pregnancy, taking months to develop and even then when the novel is finished I might still have no idea for a suitable title. A bit like the Horton novel I'm currently working on.
It doesn’t matter when the title comes to me though, what does is that it must suit the novel, and if possible be memorable, although in my experience people rarely remember the title of a novel unless it's been made into a film or a television series. Occasionally the Publisher will help with the title, or can suggest changing it to one they think more appealing or suitable. And titles are often changed in translation to suit the country, and sometimes even when it is an English speaking country but with different spellings of a word. For example, Deadly Waters started out as Deadly Harbour but was changed because of publication in America where 'harbour' is spelt 'harbor.'
There are many different types of crime novel so equally there are many different types of crime novel titles. The title needs to reflect the mood of the book, as well as its structure and tone.
The Suffocating Sea conjures up the body on the burning boat in a marina on a foggy November night and how Horton feels as the novel progresses and he begins to discover some uncomfortable things about his mother's past.
Tide of Death represents the body washed up on the tide and how one death triggers a series as the killer gets more and more desperate to cover his tracks. And Blood on the Sand, reflects the bloody body found in the sand of a bunker on an abandoned golf course on the Isle of Wight. With the Horton marine mystery crime novels I try to add a ‘sea’ element to the title. The stand alone thrillers are slightly different.
Even though these too are set against the backdrop of the sea it wasn't so essential to reflect this in the title. In For The Kill was a title that sprang instantly to mind as Alex Albury will fight to the bitter end to expose the man who stole his identity, framed him and destroyed his comfortable life and reputation. He is out to kill or be killed.
In Cold Daylight started out as The Cold Light of Day. The title represents the fact that Adam Greene, the reluctant hero, emerges from the story a different man than when he started. His journey forces him to relive past traumas and face up to the shame of his mental breakdown on a quest that was forced upon him to discover the truth behind the death of his friend, fire-fighter Jack Bartholomew and several of his colleagues of cancer.
Titles do matter because people can choose a book because of its title, and the look of the cover, especially if it is a new author for them, and one that hasn't necessarily been recommended by someone. And if the book becomes a treasured one then the title will stick, even if the name of the author has been forgotten. http:www.rowmark.co.uk
In Cold Daylight
It doesn’t matter when the title comes to me though, what does is that it must suit the novel, and if possible be memorable, although in my experience people rarely remember the title of a novel unless it's been made into a film or a television series. Occasionally the Publisher will help with the title, or can suggest changing it to one they think more appealing or suitable. And titles are often changed in translation to suit the country, and sometimes even when it is an English speaking country but with different spellings of a word. For example, Deadly Waters started out as Deadly Harbour but was changed because of publication in America where 'harbour' is spelt 'harbor.'
There are many different types of crime novel so equally there are many different types of crime novel titles. The title needs to reflect the mood of the book, as well as its structure and tone.
The Suffocating Sea conjures up the body on the burning boat in a marina on a foggy November night and how Horton feels as the novel progresses and he begins to discover some uncomfortable things about his mother's past.
Tide of Death represents the body washed up on the tide and how one death triggers a series as the killer gets more and more desperate to cover his tracks. And Blood on the Sand, reflects the bloody body found in the sand of a bunker on an abandoned golf course on the Isle of Wight. With the Horton marine mystery crime novels I try to add a ‘sea’ element to the title. The stand alone thrillers are slightly different.
Even though these too are set against the backdrop of the sea it wasn't so essential to reflect this in the title. In For The Kill was a title that sprang instantly to mind as Alex Albury will fight to the bitter end to expose the man who stole his identity, framed him and destroyed his comfortable life and reputation. He is out to kill or be killed.
In Cold Daylight started out as The Cold Light of Day. The title represents the fact that Adam Greene, the reluctant hero, emerges from the story a different man than when he started. His journey forces him to relive past traumas and face up to the shame of his mental breakdown on a quest that was forced upon him to discover the truth behind the death of his friend, fire-fighter Jack Bartholomew and several of his colleagues of cancer.
Titles do matter because people can choose a book because of its title, and the look of the cover, especially if it is a new author for them, and one that hasn't necessarily been recommended by someone. And if the book becomes a treasured one then the title will stick, even if the name of the author has been forgotten. http:www.rowmark.co.uk
In Cold Daylight
February 3, 2010
Generating ideas for crime novels
People are genuinely fascinated to learn where writers get their ideas from and many people tell me they'd never be able to come up with an idea for a book let alone enough ideas for a series of novels. But ideas really are the easy part of writing - once you have trained your mind to openly look for them, or spot them when they miraculously occur - it is turning the ideas into a novel of 80,000-100,000 words that is the tricky bit.
Ideas for novels come from a variety of sources: overheard conversations, stories relayed by others, personal experience, locations and the news, which pops up in my Google Reader: for example a Windsurfing Festival on Hayling Island could serve as a potential investigation for an Inspector Andy Horton marine mystery crime novel. Or the first steam passenger train returning to Hayling Island since 1963 could lead to Murder on the Hayling Seaside Express
There was an unexploded bomb trawled up by fishermen in the Solent, which sparked an idea or two, and an article in the Isle of Wight County Press asking for witnesses to come forward in a suspected arson case involving toilet rolls, a young man walking on stilts, a woman with pink hair and a group dressed as Goths made the mind boggle. I kid you not.
Then there was the time when I was in London and a cab driver told me of a fare he’d just picked up from a hotel and dropped only fifty yards further down the road to a house. The man was of a swarthy complexion carrying a suitcase, Murder And The Suitcase Man.
And the surf’s up with twenty foot waves at Freshwater Bay on the Isle of Wight in January, and suddenly you’ve got a body rolling in with the waves.
As to my novels, well the idea for In Cold Daylight came from an overheard conversation in the fire station where my husband was a fire-fighter. The fire fighters were talking about the high number of men from one watch who had all contracted cancer. No one knew why and no one had investigated the cause. I picked that up and turned it into a thriller.
In For The Kill was sparked by a visit to the Isle of Wight and seeing the signs for the prisons. Suddenly I imagined a man standing outside the gates and I wondered who he was? What crime had he committed? Was he innocent or guilty? What would he do next? Already the plot was forming.
And my marine mystery crime novels featuring my detective, Inspector Horton, are all originally inspired by locations around the coast of Portsmouth, Hayling Island and the Solent: the marina in The Suffocating Sea; Southsea beach in Tide of Death Kendals Wharf in Dead Man's Wharf; the mulberry in Langstone Harbour in Deadly Waters, and St Helens Duver on the Isle of Wight in Blood on the Sand. The ancient remains of Portchester Castle is the inspiration behind the Inspector Horton novel I am currently writing.
Every idea is written down and kept in an A4 folder, alphabetically indexed for that day when I start a new novel. So far so good but how do you turn these ideas into a novel?
I usually start by taking the idea and putting it in a spider gram and then asking myself a series of questions around it, for example: what could happen when the steam train comes to Hayling? Could there be a body found on it? If so whose? How did it get there? Or was someone pushed under the steam train and no one saw it happen? How did the bomb get into the Solent? How old was it? What type is it? Is there a story behind it? Or perhaps there's a story around the fishermen finding it? And we all know what we can make of the swarthy man with the suitcase.
It's only by continually asking open questions such as who, what, where, when, how and why can I begin to flesh out the characters, the theme, the plot and sub plots. Sometimes I run down blind alleys, sometimes one idea or question sparks another. It's all ifs, buts and maybes until some months later and much hard graft I have something that resembles a crime novel.
Ideas for novels come from a variety of sources: overheard conversations, stories relayed by others, personal experience, locations and the news, which pops up in my Google Reader: for example a Windsurfing Festival on Hayling Island could serve as a potential investigation for an Inspector Andy Horton marine mystery crime novel. Or the first steam passenger train returning to Hayling Island since 1963 could lead to Murder on the Hayling Seaside Express
There was an unexploded bomb trawled up by fishermen in the Solent, which sparked an idea or two, and an article in the Isle of Wight County Press asking for witnesses to come forward in a suspected arson case involving toilet rolls, a young man walking on stilts, a woman with pink hair and a group dressed as Goths made the mind boggle. I kid you not.
Then there was the time when I was in London and a cab driver told me of a fare he’d just picked up from a hotel and dropped only fifty yards further down the road to a house. The man was of a swarthy complexion carrying a suitcase, Murder And The Suitcase Man.
And the surf’s up with twenty foot waves at Freshwater Bay on the Isle of Wight in January, and suddenly you’ve got a body rolling in with the waves.
As to my novels, well the idea for In Cold Daylight came from an overheard conversation in the fire station where my husband was a fire-fighter. The fire fighters were talking about the high number of men from one watch who had all contracted cancer. No one knew why and no one had investigated the cause. I picked that up and turned it into a thriller.
In For The Kill was sparked by a visit to the Isle of Wight and seeing the signs for the prisons. Suddenly I imagined a man standing outside the gates and I wondered who he was? What crime had he committed? Was he innocent or guilty? What would he do next? Already the plot was forming.
And my marine mystery crime novels featuring my detective, Inspector Horton, are all originally inspired by locations around the coast of Portsmouth, Hayling Island and the Solent: the marina in The Suffocating Sea; Southsea beach in Tide of Death Kendals Wharf in Dead Man's Wharf; the mulberry in Langstone Harbour in Deadly Waters, and St Helens Duver on the Isle of Wight in Blood on the Sand. The ancient remains of Portchester Castle is the inspiration behind the Inspector Horton novel I am currently writing.
Every idea is written down and kept in an A4 folder, alphabetically indexed for that day when I start a new novel. So far so good but how do you turn these ideas into a novel?
I usually start by taking the idea and putting it in a spider gram and then asking myself a series of questions around it, for example: what could happen when the steam train comes to Hayling? Could there be a body found on it? If so whose? How did it get there? Or was someone pushed under the steam train and no one saw it happen? How did the bomb get into the Solent? How old was it? What type is it? Is there a story behind it? Or perhaps there's a story around the fishermen finding it? And we all know what we can make of the swarthy man with the suitcase.
It's only by continually asking open questions such as who, what, where, when, how and why can I begin to flesh out the characters, the theme, the plot and sub plots. Sometimes I run down blind alleys, sometimes one idea or question sparks another. It's all ifs, buts and maybes until some months later and much hard graft I have something that resembles a crime novel.
January 29, 2010
Thrilling and Scary!
I've just received the author copies of my new Inspector Horton crime novel, Blood on the Sand, and I must say it looks great. It is the fifth in the series of contemporary crime novels set in the Solent area on the south coast of England. It is due officially to be published in the UK on 26 February 2010. American readers have to wait a little longer, until April or May, I believe. It is always a thrilling (and scary) moment when you receive the first printed copies of your novel. Thrilling, because it is at last a tangible thing after months (and years if you count the time it takes to get published in the first place) of hard work. Scary, because it is there now in black and white for anyone to read, review, enjoy, hate, love, scorn, enthuse, whatever.... And when I turn to that first page I'm always thinking, could I have changed that? Could I have written it differently? Too late. But the novel looks good and thanks to Severn House, my publishers. Hope my readers enjoy it.
January 27, 2010
Deadly Waters Selected for Independent Bookshop Initiative
I'm delighted that my second marine mystery contemporary crime novel, Deadly Waters, featuring my fictional detective, Inspector Andy Horton, has been selected as one of ten titles to be featured in a special independent bookshop and library promotion in the UK from 10 February to 10 March called Exclusively Independent and supported by the Arts Council.
Deadly Waters will be featured as part of an "Arts Council initiative in conjunction with Legend Press called ‘Exclusively Independent’ aimed at bringing independent bookshops and independent publishers together to feature some of the best books from new and burgeoning talented authors." Books are selected on a monthly basis by an industry panel.
I believe that Independent bookshops and libraries play a valuable role in our communities. I give many talks in libraries and it's always good to meet readers.
Deadly Waters is the second in the Inspector Andy Horton series with number five, Blood on the Sand being published in the UK in February and in the USA in May. Deadly Waters is in paperback, in hardcover, Large Print, e book and available as a talking book.
Deadly Waters [image error] Blood on the Sand
Deadly Waters will be featured as part of an "Arts Council initiative in conjunction with Legend Press called ‘Exclusively Independent’ aimed at bringing independent bookshops and independent publishers together to feature some of the best books from new and burgeoning talented authors." Books are selected on a monthly basis by an industry panel.
I believe that Independent bookshops and libraries play a valuable role in our communities. I give many talks in libraries and it's always good to meet readers.
Deadly Waters is the second in the Inspector Andy Horton series with number five, Blood on the Sand being published in the UK in February and in the USA in May. Deadly Waters is in paperback, in hardcover, Large Print, e book and available as a talking book.
Deadly Waters [image error] Blood on the Sand
January 18, 2010
Writing routines and the life of a writer
Each writer has his or her own routines. Some are larks up before the dawn to scribble away or pound a keyboard. Others are owls writing late into the night. When and how much you write can also depend on your family or work commitments. For many years while I was running my marketing and training company I could only write at weekends and during holidays so I used to write every Saturday afternoon and frequently all day Sunday. Now I have the luxury of being able to write every day.
My writing routine varies, but I do write every day and usually every evening from about 5pm to 7.30pm. I still also write every Saturday and Sunday afternoon.
And when I am not writing what do I do? Well a lot of thinking, often while taking long walks by the sea on Hayling Island or in the countryside of the Isle of Wight. Then, when wrestling with a plot, I might pick up the knitting needles and think and knit. I could be mapping out a character or a plot outline, which I do in pencil. And aside from the writing and thinking there are other things to be done such as keeping up to date with book news and what is happening in the world of publishing; writing my blogs and spending time on my social networks sites, answering e mails. I might also be preparing for a radio interview or talk, or reviewing a press release or attending a book signing/talk. I could be undertaking research for my novels, visiting a location, or talking to people who can help me.
My writing regime often depends on the stage of the novel and deadlines. When writing a first draft I always want to crack on with it as quickly as possible and have been known to write for seven hours non stop over many days to get it on to the computer. It's almost as though I need to get as much down as quickly as possible in case my mind dries up. I will also work non stop on very final revisions when I need to read the novel through in one hit.
At other times I will take a more leisurely approach. Are there days off? Rarely and even then I am usually thinking about the novel or project I'm working on or getting ideas for the next book. No complaints though. It's a pleasure and a privilege to be living, breathing, thinking writing, oh and writing.
My writing routine varies, but I do write every day and usually every evening from about 5pm to 7.30pm. I still also write every Saturday and Sunday afternoon.
And when I am not writing what do I do? Well a lot of thinking, often while taking long walks by the sea on Hayling Island or in the countryside of the Isle of Wight. Then, when wrestling with a plot, I might pick up the knitting needles and think and knit. I could be mapping out a character or a plot outline, which I do in pencil. And aside from the writing and thinking there are other things to be done such as keeping up to date with book news and what is happening in the world of publishing; writing my blogs and spending time on my social networks sites, answering e mails. I might also be preparing for a radio interview or talk, or reviewing a press release or attending a book signing/talk. I could be undertaking research for my novels, visiting a location, or talking to people who can help me.
My writing regime often depends on the stage of the novel and deadlines. When writing a first draft I always want to crack on with it as quickly as possible and have been known to write for seven hours non stop over many days to get it on to the computer. It's almost as though I need to get as much down as quickly as possible in case my mind dries up. I will also work non stop on very final revisions when I need to read the novel through in one hit.
At other times I will take a more leisurely approach. Are there days off? Rarely and even then I am usually thinking about the novel or project I'm working on or getting ideas for the next book. No complaints though. It's a pleasure and a privilege to be living, breathing, thinking writing, oh and writing.
January 4, 2010
Re writing – pain or pleasure?
Rewriting comes in many guises and brings with it both pain and pleasure. For me it all depends on when I am rewriting. If I have to rewrite on the editor's request then it is a pain, because, by then, I am already well into the next novel. If it is during the revision stages of a novel (before it has been sent to my editor) then it is often a pleasure with one BIG exception, and that is when I am struggling with the ending. Here I want to make the novel as exciting as possible and, it being a crime novel, I want to surprise the reader, and myself, which sounds a bit loony but although I often think I know who the villain/killer is, it sometimes turns out to be someone completely different. And that means a rewrite. Once I've cracked the ending though there is a certain pleasure in going back over the novel taking it apart, questioning each word and passage, exploring, and generally testing my prose until I feel it is the best I can possibly do, and even then I always feel I could do better!
I ask myself as I am rewriting if there are sections that I want to skip over, are there enough peaks in the novel and places where the reader can pause to catch his or her breath? Does each chapter finish on a hook compelling the reader to read a little bit more... and more...?
Is there a section that I am fond of but really adds nothing to the pace and body of the novel? If so then it has to go, no matter how painful. I simply dump it into another word file on the computer. Have all the loose ends been neatly tied up? Is the story told in the right voice?
I first wrote In Cold Daylight in the third person singular point of view through the eyes of my reluctant hero, Adam Greene, but when I reached the end of the first draft I knew it wasn't right. So I decided to change it to the first person, but still through Adam's eyes, and that made it a much more gripping novel. It's fun sometimes to play around with different voices, chapters or sections and this is where writing on a computer with the cut and paste facility is such a boom.
There are many courses that aim to teach you how to write, or how to write better, and they have their advantages, but nothing beats actually doing it and then experimenting: taking it apart, exploring different styles of writing, trying out different words and different characters. This gives you an understanding of how you use words on the page. It is painful, but if you enjoy writing (and let's face it why else would you be doing it unless you enjoy it) then it is also a pleasure.
More can be found on my blog http://www.paulinerowson.com and on my official website http://www.rowmark.co.uk
I ask myself as I am rewriting if there are sections that I want to skip over, are there enough peaks in the novel and places where the reader can pause to catch his or her breath? Does each chapter finish on a hook compelling the reader to read a little bit more... and more...?
Is there a section that I am fond of but really adds nothing to the pace and body of the novel? If so then it has to go, no matter how painful. I simply dump it into another word file on the computer. Have all the loose ends been neatly tied up? Is the story told in the right voice?
I first wrote In Cold Daylight in the third person singular point of view through the eyes of my reluctant hero, Adam Greene, but when I reached the end of the first draft I knew it wasn't right. So I decided to change it to the first person, but still through Adam's eyes, and that made it a much more gripping novel. It's fun sometimes to play around with different voices, chapters or sections and this is where writing on a computer with the cut and paste facility is such a boom.
There are many courses that aim to teach you how to write, or how to write better, and they have their advantages, but nothing beats actually doing it and then experimenting: taking it apart, exploring different styles of writing, trying out different words and different characters. This gives you an understanding of how you use words on the page. It is painful, but if you enjoy writing (and let's face it why else would you be doing it unless you enjoy it) then it is also a pleasure.
More can be found on my blog http://www.paulinerowson.com and on my official website http://www.rowmark.co.uk
January 1, 2010
It's shaping up to be a busy 2010
2010 is shaping up to be a busy year with lots of writing activity, talks and book signings to look forward to. I've added details of the first six months of the year as it stands at the moment on my blog at http://www.paulinerowson.com and there is a new Calendar of Events page on my official web site at http://www.rowmark.co.uk. If you would like to be kept up to date with my events and book news you can register for my free regular e newsletter on my web site on the mailing list page at http://www.rowmark.co.uk. Most of my events are also posted on here.
2010 will see the publication of the new Inspector Horton Marine Mystery crime novel, Blood on the Sand, the fifth in the series. Dead Man's Wharf, the fourth Inspector Horton crime novel is released in paperback, and In Cold Daylight and In For The Kill will be published in Turkish. If you'd like to read more book news please check out my blog at http://www.paulinerowson.com or my web site at http://www.rowmark.co.uk
Wishing you all a peaceful and prosperous 2010.
[image error]
2010 will see the publication of the new Inspector Horton Marine Mystery crime novel, Blood on the Sand, the fifth in the series. Dead Man's Wharf, the fourth Inspector Horton crime novel is released in paperback, and In Cold Daylight and In For The Kill will be published in Turkish. If you'd like to read more book news please check out my blog at http://www.paulinerowson.com or my web site at http://www.rowmark.co.uk
Wishing you all a peaceful and prosperous 2010.
[image error]
December 22, 2009
Christmas Greetings
As 2009 draws to a close I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has contributed to my success as a crime writer, not least the wonderful people who have bought my crime novels, or borrowed them from the libraries, and those who have been kind enough to tell me how much they have enjoyed reading or listening to them. Thank you so much.
I would certainly like to thank my publisher, Severn House, for their continued support and belief in me, so much so that they are publishing the new DI Andy Horton crime novel, ‘Blood on the Sand’ in February 2010 (UK) and the trade paperback of ‘Dead Man’s Wharf’ in the same month.I believe they are being published in the USA in April 2010.
I have met some interesting and lovely people during the year at my talks and book signings and I'd also like to say a big 'thank you' to all library staff both in the UK and the USA for their continued support. It is much appreciated.
At the risk of this ending up sounding like an Oscar Award acceptance speech I'd better sign off now with my sincere wishes to you for a merry Christmas, a happy holiday and a healthy, peaceful and prosperous 2010.
The Official web site of crime writer Pauline Rowson http://www.rowmark.co.uk
Deadly Waters
I would certainly like to thank my publisher, Severn House, for their continued support and belief in me, so much so that they are publishing the new DI Andy Horton crime novel, ‘Blood on the Sand’ in February 2010 (UK) and the trade paperback of ‘Dead Man’s Wharf’ in the same month.I believe they are being published in the USA in April 2010.
I have met some interesting and lovely people during the year at my talks and book signings and I'd also like to say a big 'thank you' to all library staff both in the UK and the USA for their continued support. It is much appreciated.
At the risk of this ending up sounding like an Oscar Award acceptance speech I'd better sign off now with my sincere wishes to you for a merry Christmas, a happy holiday and a healthy, peaceful and prosperous 2010.
The Official web site of crime writer Pauline Rowson http://www.rowmark.co.uk
Deadly Waters
December 7, 2009
The perfect system for writing a novel
"Once they find a favourite way of getting their words on paper - or screen - novelists normally stick with it, says Philip Hensher," in the Daily Telegraph recently, and that is true because it takes a writer some time to evolve the perfect system that works for him or her. It did with me anyway.
Before I struck on the 'perfect system' I tried all sorts of ways of compiling my research, plots and character outlines, from using note books to wall maps, to A4 folders. None of them worked. The A4 folders 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,' actioned, finished with and a novel is a work in progress, or at least it is with me until I am holding the actual printed book in my hand. Notebooks worked for a while but I got tired of flicking through various pages trying to find the precise piece of information I needed, when I needed it. And they weren't much use for containing the research pulled off the Internet, and from other sources. Wall maps were soon a no,no. They looked messy and very rapidly got covered with notes pinned over them. So what next?
I'm not really sure how I evolved my current system of working but gradually it came together so that now all my plot lines and character outlines are executed in pencil on recycled bits of A4 paper. The plot line and each character outline is held together by a treasury tag (or India Tag). The individual characters have their name flagged up at the top of the paper. The research from various sources is then tagged on to that character and/or the plot line, and all this stays on my desk in a three tiered tray system until the novel is finished and sent to my editor, when it moves to a table behind my desk and sits there while it progresses to the printed version and I turn to writing the next novel. Nothing is filed away until the novel in question has been printed.
As to the actual writing tool - then it is straight on to the computer for me, so easy for editing.
Developing the method that works for a writer is much like developing his or her style of writing. It takes time, and trial and error until something clicks and, as the man says, once you find what works for you, you usually stick with it.
Visit the Pauline Rowson official web site for more about this author at http://www.rowmark.co.uk
Before I struck on the 'perfect system' I tried all sorts of ways of compiling my research, plots and character outlines, from using note books to wall maps, to A4 folders. None of them worked. The A4 folders 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,' actioned, finished with and a novel is a work in progress, or at least it is with me until I am holding the actual printed book in my hand. Notebooks worked for a while but I got tired of flicking through various pages trying to find the precise piece of information I needed, when I needed it. And they weren't much use for containing the research pulled off the Internet, and from other sources. Wall maps were soon a no,no. They looked messy and very rapidly got covered with notes pinned over them. So what next?
I'm not really sure how I evolved my current system of working but gradually it came together so that now all my plot lines and character outlines are executed in pencil on recycled bits of A4 paper. The plot line and each character outline is held together by a treasury tag (or India Tag). The individual characters have their name flagged up at the top of the paper. The research from various sources is then tagged on to that character and/or the plot line, and all this stays on my desk in a three tiered tray system until the novel is finished and sent to my editor, when it moves to a table behind my desk and sits there while it progresses to the printed version and I turn to writing the next novel. Nothing is filed away until the novel in question has been printed.
As to the actual writing tool - then it is straight on to the computer for me, so easy for editing.
Developing the method that works for a writer is much like developing his or her style of writing. It takes time, and trial and error until something clicks and, as the man says, once you find what works for you, you usually stick with it.
Visit the Pauline Rowson official web site for more about this author at http://www.rowmark.co.uk
