A.J.’s Comments (group member since Jan 02, 2014)

A.J.’s comments from the Q&A with A J Waines group.

T.B. wrote: "I read On Writing as well and have followed most of his advice, but not all. Each writer is different and has to figure out his or her comfort level. I have a general idea of where my stories are g..."

I agree - absolutely - you can't possibly plan everything and it would be very dull if you set everything in stone, beforehand. I love it when characters pull the story I'm working on in another direction! Sounds like you do, too. Then it feels alive, don't you think?

T.B. wrote: "A.J. wrote: "T.B. wrote: "A.J. wrote: "T.B. wrote: "Hello! I'm curious how you balance giving clues without giving it all away too early in the story?"

Hi TB

I think it’s all a matter of judgemen..."

Hi TB
Yes - I agree! Endless possibilities. I can't remember who said it, but some great advice is to find five options at each plot-point in the story and take the 6th!

I think with any genre of book you're writing it's worth reading it through and asking yourself after each chapter - 'what does the reader want to know now?' 'What threads are up in the air?' 'What will make the reader want to read on?' etc. It works for romance, thriller, family dramas - anything.

My very first book came before this one. I'd read Stephen King's book 'On Writing' and he said start with an incident and get the story down. I thought that was great advice and never having written any fiction before, I started a short story. Only - when I got to 2,500 words, I couldn't stop. I had no plot planned at all and literally made it up as I went along. It was good enough to get me an Agent, but it didn't sell and I can see why, really - it didn't hang together properly! I don't risk that again - I usually have a reasonably clear idea of where the story is going before I get started.

T.B. wrote: "A.J. wrote: "T.B. wrote: "Hello! I'm curious how you balance giving clues without giving it all away too early in the story?"

Hi TB

I think it’s all a matter of judgement. Personally, I try to re..."

Hi TB

Thanks for your question. I do have a reader, who checks for continuity mostly and he lets me know if he thinks the clues give too much away etc. Yes, it is hard as the writer to get distance, but I usually find if I leave a story for a while and then come back to it I can recreate some level of freshness when reading. My agent will always point out lots of changes too.

No - I didn't know how it would end up at the start. I literally had one idea - the image of the body in the water wearing the protagonsist's own clothes. Once I had the sub-plot, I knew the killer also had to be linked in with that - and then who-did-it came quite quickly.

T.B. wrote: "Hello! I'm curious how you balance giving clues without giving it all away too early in the story?"

Hi TB

I think it’s all a matter of judgement. Personally, I try to reveal enough to keep the reader’s interest, but not so much that I give too much away. I also try to keep things ambiguous, if possible. I often find I alter the order of events/scenes to give the most dramatic outcome. The order of reveals is key.

It’s useful to keep going back inside the story to try to see it from the reader's point of view – that’s quite hard when you know what’s coming as the writer! After the first draft, I always go back through the story several times with a specific view to looking at it afresh and asking ‘what does the reader know by this point?’ ‘What is still unresolved?’ ‘what sort of questions would the reader be asking?’ This is very helpful in checking the clues and reveals.

Cheers
Alison

Marie-Laure wrote: "Hello Alison,

first, thanks a lot for the opportunity to discuss your book with you. It was really a great read and it's awesome to be able to dig into things a bit more with you.

I visited your ..."

Thanks, Marie-Laure, for your question and for your interest in my writing!

In my very first (unpublished) novel, I had no plot or plan at all and just started writing. That story got me an Agent, but it didn’t go on to sell, because it didn’t really hang together!

Now, I tend to have a method of writing that seems to work for me, as follows: I usually begin with a single hook or concept (with The Evil Beneath, it was the visual image of a woman’s corpse in the Thames and then the sudden shock when I looked carefully and saw she was wearing my own clothes). That was all I had at the start, but I was really excited by that idea.

I tend to think of the structure in three acts and get down a general outline for the whole thing with high points marked in towards the end, then I do outline various key scenes. I do profiles of my main characters and a list of any research I need to do (although this mostly crops up during the writing itself). I like to have a title early on and even a mini ‘jacket blurb’ (even if both these change later on) – as a focus for the real essence of the story.

Best wishes
Alison

Carol wrote: "Yeah! I am excited and thanks for the invite. l can tell from reading your books (have started the 2nd) that you use your skills as a psychologist. My question is, have you ever been totally at ..."

Hi Carol

Thank you for your kind comments about the book; I’m very pleased you like the psychotherapy content. I DO have more books in the wings – I’m just liaising with my agent to work out the best way forward for them.

To answer your question – on the bigger scale, I usually map out where the entire story is going first, so that I don’t have that horrible situation where suddenly none of the loose ends will tie up! I like to have several different story threads going on at once, so I can’t afford to come adrift.

On the smaller scale, I’m often in a situation where I can’t find exactly the right word in a sentence, so I just put X, and then go back and fill it in later. Generally, I’m very lucky in that I don’t seem to suffer from writers’ block. I also like problem-solving, so when I come across a section in my plot where I think ‘Oh, no – that isn’t going to work…’ I quite like the challenge of having to wriggle out of it somehow.

Best wishes
Alison

Matthew wrote: "Hello A.J.

I'm interested to know if any elements of the plot have anything to do with your own work as a Psychotherapist?

Thank you
Matthew (I know this is early, but I wanted to be head of the ..."

Hi Matthew
The short answer is Yes, although the story itself doesn’t come from any consultations I’ve actually had. My experience as a therapist does underpin the novel – I share some similarities with Juliet in that I used to see clients at home, although there were other people around at the time. Some of the characteristics of the clients in the story stem from people I’ve worked with over the years. No one would recognise themselves, though – too many details have been changed – as they should be. I have to be careful about what I write about - I have a responsibility to maintain confidentiality!

Bset wishes
Alison

T.B. wrote: "Hello! I'm curious how you balance giving clues without giving it all away too early in the story?"

Thanks, TB - interesting question - I'll give that some thought and post a reply on Friday!

Marie-Laure wrote: "Hello Alison,

first, thanks a lot for the opportunity to discuss your book with you. It was really a great read and it's awesome to be able to dig into things a bit more with you.

I visited your ..."

Thanks, Marie-Laure, for your good question and for checking out my website. I will give it some thought before I post up on 31st January! Feel free to ask more. I'm very glad you liked the book.

Best wishes
Alison

Thanks, Carol - great question - I'll have time to think about it before the 31st!

Best
Alison

This thread is for discussion on AJ's second book, Girl on a Train, future projects (and even her psychology self-help books, The Self-esteem Journal and Making Relationships Work!).

This thread is designed to include any spoilers on The Evil Beneath (such as details of the ending and the killers involved). Be sure you have read the book if you're reading posts in this thread!

It's a pleasure to connect with you here on Goodreads. I look forward to receiving your questions about my books or writing in general at any time during January. I'll be available online to answer them on January 31st, 2014. No spoilers please, except in the spoiler-friendly thread!

Cheers
A J