Creative Writing Course – Week #17 OR 'What biscuits do you recommend when writing?'
Week 17 was the final class for the second term, so it was also submission day. I submitted my second chapter after some last minute edits, but I can't shake off the feeling that I basically just scan-read it, hit print and handed it in. I'd spent some time the previous night making edits and adding an extra event to a scene, but it still felt rushed. I'm not too concerned by this, as I find the comments and feedback a lot more helpful than the numerical mark/grade it will recieve. Plus it's not like the grades contribute to a degree or a vocational certificate etc.
As it was the last class of the term for the second chapter, we turned our attention to the third chapter, which will be the focus for the third and final term. It was suggested that the third chapter should really have a kind of mini-ending to the previous chapters, but also lay some more foundations for the rest of the story. Answer some questions, but ask some more for the reader to engage with.
It was also pointed that in the main, you should have introduced all the major players by the third chapter, either directly or indirectly. To generalise, there are often about thirty chapters in a novel, so three chapters in is roughly ten per cent of the whole novel. Another key element to tackle at this point in the novel is the sense of 'world' you are creating. A reader should grasp very early on what kind of world your characters inhabit. I fell foul of this recently when it was pointed out by readers/listeners of my work from the group that they only realised it was set in London due to geographical references I made in the second chapter. This can be easily fixed by refering to the setting much earlier on. Mental note; shoehorn in a reference to London in chapter one. This doesn't necessarily have to be the use of the town/country the scene is set in, it could just as easily be something that is universally recognised that puts a pin in the map for the reader. A reference to the Statue of Liberty would say New York straight away. A reference to pubs or pints is a bit more subtle, but it would suggest Britain to most readers.
Other time was spent talking about the road by publication in general and routines and practices that various people employ, which I always find interesting to hear about. There was also some discussion of the best kind of biscuits to accompany the act of writing. Ginger Nuts were highly recommended, as were chocolate digestives I think. Personally, I think I'd have to place a ban on myself eating biscuits while writing. In fact, we don't often buy biscuits due to the simple fact that I usually nail them in about two sittings, so it's best not to have them around.
We then went to the pub where a lot more bollocks was talked, mostly by me.
So, what kind of biscuits/cookies do you recommend to accompany the writing routine?
