Suzy Davies's Blog: Book News - Posts Tagged "writers-and-writing"

Elsewhere on my Goodreads blog, I have provided an introduction to my writing process, which I state is more instinctive than organized. But when I am writing a longer work, in this case, a novel of around 50,000 words, I really have to concentrate all my efforts, and that means that a great deal goes into the planning stage and the final stage, polishing before it goes to editing.

My process for “The Snow Queen” was as follows:

Reading and Researching

Naming Characters and Writing Notes about them

Writing the First chapter…Revising The First Chapter

Planning The Story Outline in Notes

Writing Each Chapter

Writing The Final Chapter

Rewriting The Final Chapter

Reading My Work

Devising Questions that Expose any Plotholes

Developing and Exposition of Chapters

Rewriting The Final Chapter

Final Revision of The First Chapter

You can see from this brief at-a-glance outline of the process, that a great deal of back and forward motion went on. I also have to admit, that a great deal of planning went into the book. Maybe I should call this article “Making Progress - from Pantser to Plotter!” It certainly reflects my writing journey. The more I write, the more I discover just how much forward planning is a brilliant strategy that is so very rewarding. At the same time, inevitably, I have to revise and rewrite what I have written, making subtle changes in plot direction as I go along when the characters want things to progress in a slightly different way than I have planned.

I’ll explain each stage of the process, the logistics behind it, and why I think my methodology paid off.

Reading and Researching

Would it be illogical to say a writer can “do research” without planning to do it? Well, never mind! I do in fact believe this is exactly how it all happened for “The Snow Queen.” Maybe writers subconsciously seek out “writing material” in their own lives as they live them, then they squirrel these experiences away, to unearth them as resources later, in their books.

Anyway, the first piece of my research, although I was far too young to realize it, was reading Hans Christian Andersen’s original “The Snow Queen,” a hand-me-down book from my late mother. I did not read much into it as a child, and of course, I did not notice the richness of the subtext to the story. At about 8 years old, I just felt the book was the most enchanting fairytale I had ever read. Each winter, when there was snow, I imagined I might get a visit from the fairy Snow Queen, who would tell me all the secrets of her magical Queendom, and then she would wave, and drive off in her sled made of ice, pulled by reindeer. Sometimes, when I saw this, in my mind’s eye, I would stand completely motionless, peering through my bedroom window, through the icicles that made a miniature winter wonderland in my imagination, on the glass.

My fascination as a child with Hans Christian Anderson’s masterpiece did not end there. I remember having a musical box of a Snow Queen dancer, and she came alive to me every time she spun and twirled round and round to the melody that was so haunting. So for me, The Snow Queen was also a dancer, and this gave me the clue to my Roma character, Bryony, the wanna-be queen in my new take of The Snow Queen story.

Those of you who follow my blogs will already know, I “went back to school” to study the works of Hans Christian Andersen as an adult. I studied him through an online course provided by The University of Aarhus, and it was so very worthwhile.

When I read “The Snow Queen” for the around fifth time, (I think I read it around 4 times as a child,) I saw the story through new adult eyes and loved it all the more for the deep insights into human nature Andersen depicted. More than anything, I knew I was hooked on the incredible magic of it all. I just had to write my own version.

One very strong motivation for me was the knowledge, gained from my dad’s cousin, a former tv producer for B.B.C Wales, that we are descended from Roma people on my late dad’s side of the family.

I have always loved drama and reality shows, so I drew on one of my all-time favorite tv series, “My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding,” to create a magical story that had a thread of Romance through it - a love theme - that would be suitable for my Young Adult audience to read.

My thoughts turned to how to pay tribute to H.C.A, and write something reasonably good. The biggest challenge was how to write the magic, how to write beautiful descriptions in the story that would paint enchanted snowscapes, in the country and in the city in the mind’s eye of the reader. Fortunately, memories of my beautiful Wales, The Land of my Father, provided me with all the knowledge I needed.

I knew that The Ice Palace was in Scandinavia - “The Snowlands” - in my book. Again, it was lucky I had visited the birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen, Odense, in Denmark, and had traveled throughout the land which has a real fairytale castle of its own, and a real Danish fairytale about it. I decided that The Snow Queen did not live here - she was further North in the deepest, coldest part of The Snowlands, but that a fairytale Princess lived here, who would provide Cerise, sister of The Lost Boy, Adam, (originally Kai in the Andersen story,) with a pleasant detour on her quest and journey to The Ice Palace.

I wanted the story to have a happy ending. The resolution takes place in Eire, a favorite place I have visited on several occasions; the most memorable being at Waterford Writer’s Festival. Of course, Rathkeale is an important setting in the book, and I borrowed from my knowledge of weddings to write the final chapters. I included some gypsy traditions in my story, and of course, I had to mention the Emerald Isle’s lush gardens, fairytale castles, and Irish rain!

Naming Characters and Writing Notes about Them

I always enjoy “christening” my characters when I have found names that seem to fit them perfectly. Some names I take from real life, and some I research in baby name books to find their origins and meanings.

I’m particularly pleased with the name for the heroine Roma warrior woman - Bryony - in my story. It means vine, which fits perfectly with the extract from the Roma song at the front of the book, “Gelem, Gelem.” Bryony’s eyes are like dark grapes!

I’m also delighted with my name for the magical artist and acrobat Troll in the story. Dvalin means to dawdle, and when he visits The Ice Palace on a mission, he measures out The Palace’s grounds in dwarf steps.

All the other characters you will meet when you read the story.

Writing The First Chapter and Revising It

I am always excited when I write the first few sentences of a new book. But I always know that the first chapter is always going to be revised when I have completed the whole work. It is such an important task to get it right because it sets up the entire story - mood, characters, plot direction - the essence of the whole thing. For “The Snow Queen,” I decided that magic was the word that best described the overall theme and heart of the story so it seemed a good idea to open with The Wizard - a villain in the story who has a redeeming quality in spite of his evil nature - that of his love for “Mi Lady” - The Snow Queen.

Planning The Story Outline in Notes

Once I have a rough draft of the first chapter, I then sit quietly, thinking about the big picture and the overall arc of the story. The first question I ask is about motive and motivation. What does the character want? What is at stake? What happens if the protagonist does not get what he/she wants? I then think carefully about conflicts in the story, and how one character’s aims or goals clash with another’s. Finally, I think about conflict resolution - or otherwise - and how the whole thing comes to a head and is then resolved. What effect has the journey or rite of passage had on the characters? Who or what has changed them, and in what ways, however subtle? I may take a couple of days or so “playing” with alternatives before making the first outline, which I may revise as I am developing the story.

Writing Each Chapter

This is when I really pull out the throttle and I am in full flow unless I see something I have forgotten to show along the way, in which case I will go back and forward as I write. I tend to write the first draft as fast as possible in the knowledge that this IS only a first draft. Inevitably, there are several revisions.

Writing The Final Chapter

The ending is important in order to satisfy the reader and make the story believable. I tend to write my endings very slowly, and they go through several revisions with each revision of the main body of the story.

Reading My Work

When my first draft is complete, I read the story out loud. With a long book, I usually do this in two or three-part readings, right to the end. I get a second pair of ears to listen. If anything does not sound quite right, I scrap it and rephrase it to make it flow better. I always check dialogue for naturalness. I pay particular attention to cadences.

Reading for Plotholes

I read my work silently a second time, in several sittings, chapter by chapter to see that everything makes sense and that there are no plotholes. I find it helps to make a list of questions and to ask yourself the answers to each one. For example, “How does X know Y?” If you ask questions about your story, it exposes things that you may have glossed over or overlooked.

Developing and Exposition of Chapters

Sometimes, it is helpful to develop a chapter or two if they haven’t fulfilled their potential or function in the work as a whole. Sometimes, this is needed to say more about a character, setting, or event or to ease the flow from one chapter’s ending to the beginning of the next. Again, I may do this several times over until I am satisfied.

Rewriting The Final Chapter

You can say the same thing in a final chapter in so many different ways, and it will make sense. What I always bear in mind is creating a satisfying, believable ending. I tend to prefer happy endings, even with a dark read. The important thing is to think of the reader as a guest and your book is the table. What kind of feeling do you want to leave the reader with when they have read your book? A certain amount of ambiguity I love because it lets the readers' imaginations in. I usually have 2 or 3 alternative endings before I decide on the best and final one.

Rewriting The First Chapter

Once the whole work is done, it’s time to revisit the beginning. I always ask myself, “Does this beginning hook the reader? Does this beginning draw them in? Is this beginning the very best I can do?” if the answer to all these questions is “Yes!” I have completed my book, ready for editing. I have found it very useful to see how great writers begin and end their books; it gives me something to aspire to.