Vive la difference
24 Feb
Ann Cleeves and I spent yesterday on the road again in the north east, first in a busy event at Newcastle City Library, then last night on the coast at North Shields. I have to say to those authors out there who haven’t done an event in this part of the country: you really are missing something. The enthusiasm of the libraries and audiences is enthralling — and the turnouts big, for Ann, not me I’m sure, even in this rotten weather.
Here’s one more little snippet that emerged last night when Ann and I were answering questions about how we work. I will, not often but occasionally, write out of sequence. In other words I will sometimes find myself in this situation.
- I’ve just finished one scene
- I’m not that much enthused about writing the next just yet, perhaps because it’s not sufficiently clear in my head
- But I do have a very clear and pressing picture of a later scene in mind
What do I do? Sometimes I write the later scene. In fact for next year’s book I actually wrote the final scene, or at least part of it, two thirds into the book because I knew what was needed and wanted to set it down. Mostly I write in sequence. But I don’t feel tied to that format and will break it from time to time.
And Ann? When I described this roundabout way of working she thought for a second and said, ‘No. Never do that. I write a book the way readers read it. As it comes.’
Ann never even jots down notes about future scenes. She just writes.
Proves once again: we all work differently, and part of the challenge, a large part probably, is finding what works for you.
Two more north east gigs today — details in the calendar above. Then I leave the north east and Ann’s wonderful and enlightening company for a solitary event in Wigan tomorrow. After which it’s back home.
Tags: Writing
I write like Ann, generally speaking, but I'm working on a sci-fi novel and it's been more as you describe. Primarily, unfortunately, I had gotten to a point where my three heroes had to split up. Well, one of them is taken to the planet's capitol to be determined if she's a prophet. The other two are kept in a military facility to be used for genetic experimentation. To that point the POV had been strictly from one of the two. I knew I needed to spend some time with the prophet-to-be, but didn't know how to do that, so I just stayed with the two guys until I got to a point in their adventures where I needed a break, then went back and started filling in scenes from the prophet's POV. Not my favorite way of working, but… whatever works.