Never Look Back
(drafting and editing my second novel)
For the last week I have been blissfully happy. I’m at the stage of writing my second novel where the story is on the page, and my only job now, is to ‘make it good,’ before it goes off to my actual editor, (‘make it good’ is, of course, a technical writing term). I love this part of the process so much, and this, combined with the gorgeous spring weather in my part of rural Somerset has reminded me of the intense joy that writing in solitude and sunshine can bring.
As so many people responded positively to my note on Substack about it, I have decided to write about my drafting and editing process this week. I had wondered whether it might be either boring or self-indulgent or both, but given I am always curious about other people’s habits and ways of doing things, it seems logical that many of you might be too.
Also, it probably goes without saying, but I will say it anyway; this is what works for me. It is definitely not the ‘right’ way, as there is quite simply, no such thing. I claim no particular process expertise. It’s one of the things I love about writing; the process is as individual as writers are. With all those caveats, here is how I go about it.
The stages of the process look something like this: -
Stage 1 - Make sure I have a story that works.
I am definitely a ‘story first’ writer. I am obsessed with storytelling and spend a lot of time before I start work on the book visualising and mind mapping this out. I always begin with a rough plan/outline, and the first draft is about making sure that story is compelling enough and hangs together, no matter how roughly.
Stage 2 - Make sure I tell the story well
In this draft I tighten up the structure and add all the details of place, time, context and emotion that might be missing from the first draft. It’s like colouring in a sketch. I love this part. It’s where I get to make the story come alive.
Stage 3 - Make sure the reader will care about the people in the story.
This is arguably the most important, but I’ve learned that the way my brain works means I struggle to do this until I’ve done 1 and 2. I have to put structure around my creative brain for it to really fly. This final stage is about doing justice to the people in the story, so that they are as real to the reader as they are to me. My favourite character in The List of Suspicious Things is Omar, and I spent literally months just working on him.
How this has worked in practice for book two.
Stage 1 - Make sure I have a story that works
This first draft has taken around nine months to write and is 78k. It would have been quicker had I not had the paperback publication and ensuing madness around The List of Suspicious Things in January this year, along with the corresponding brain freeze I wrote about here. I am a relatively fast writer, helped by the fact that writing is my full-time job, the fact that I am a chronic underwriter, and most importantly because I never look back. It’s one of my only ‘rules’ when it comes to my first draft, and it serves me well.
I learned early on that if I read back over my work while drafting, I am easily sucked into editing/judging/deciding there is absolutely no point in continuing, which defeats the object of this first stage (for me) which is just to make sure I have a story that works. Once I know the story hangs together, I can then spend time adding layers of detail and character work to it and focus more on the sentence level.
While I am writing my first draft, there are inevitable deviations from the plan, and I also get to know the characters more deeply, so, while I am drafting, I make endless notes of things I become aware of or know I need to change/add in the next version. Because I didn’t want to look back, I write of all of these on the notes app of my phone.
Stage 2 - Make sure I tell the story well
Once I have finished the first draft, I put it away for a while (in this instance for two weeks) then before I embark on my first readthrough I take all the notes I have made and create a list. It will be no surprise to anyone who has read The List of Suspicious Things that I love lists. The only way I could manage the gargantuan task of writing my first novel was to structure the whole thing around one. Lists somehow makes things more manageable for me.
The first list is granular. Everything goes on there, from the tiniest change (like a character’s hair colour) to the more structural (e.g. adding in an additional POV or moving whole scenes around), then I put all of these into a spreadsheet and sort them. There are three main narrators in this novel, so for this one I sorted them into which POV they relate to, with a final section for ‘overall’ things to look for/be aware of as I read through.
I know from writing my first novel that there are common areas where I tend to underwrite. There are about five major ones, mainly to do with the kind of detail that makes a place or a character ‘sing.’ I then print out and read through the entire manuscript with my spreadsheet side by side with it, making detailed notes on the page of where I need to make additions or changes, adding to the list where necessary.
I am just going to pause here for a second.
I realise as I am writing this that I am making it sound like this is a completely mechanical, easy process. If you have been reading my Substack for long enough you will know that I am not that person. There is much angst and over-thinking (and frequently tears) along the way, but my very methodical way of working helps me manage the angst, if that makes any sense at all.
Also, while I attack my edits in a very structured way, identifying what these actually are and how to tackle them is mostly instinctive. Sometimes I will discuss a thorny issue with a writing friend, and there is one particular challenge with this book I think I will need the extensive expertise of my editor on, but the rest is all intuition. I don’t use formal story structures, beat sheets or character workbooks, though I know they can be enormously helpful.
With this novel, the prospect of the first readthrough was so terrifying for me (I’ve written before about the enormous expectation I have placed on myself given the success of The List of Suspicious Things) that I actually asked someone else I trust to read it first. I wouldn’t normally do this so early in the process, but I needed an objective perspective. Someone I trusted would have the courage to say ‘it’s not working’ if it wasn’t. Thankfully, they didn’t (in fact they loved it!) but they did highlight for me some areas to think about, which went straight onto the spreadsheet.
A really important part of this process for me is to only work directly on the manuscript for 2-3 hours a day then go and do something else. Anything else. Because that’s actually when the real magic happens. Somewhere in the recesses of my subconscious mind, connections are made, puzzles are solved, and ideas are hatched. I just have to give that part of myself enough space and time to get to work.
Yesterday for example, I got all my errands done and by the evening I had also sent around twelve emails to myself with notes of things to add and change that had come up while I was out and about. When this happens, I just know I’m the zone and it makes me inordinately happy.
Stage 3 - Make sure the reader will care about the people in the story.
In the coming week I will make the changes and additions I identified during this first readthrough then will read again on my kindle, this time paying particular attention to the characters and making notes that add colour and depth (as per the ‘overall’ list of things I tend to miss) as well as giving the whole manuscript a more detailed proofing. If I feel comfortable then, I will ask a second trusted reader to read it (usually this would be the first time, but these are special circumstances!) before it goes to my actual editor and the whole process will begin again!
The editing relationship is THE most important in the whole publishing process and I am lucky that mine is not only a Penguin legend but is one of the most insightful and emotionally intelligent women I’ve been lucky enough to meet (she won’t read this, so I’m not just saying it!). She tells it exactly as it is but in such a way that I never feel that she sees me as anything other than a capable, talented writer. We rarely disagree, but when we do, the discussion is always about what is best for the book. I value her insight deeply. This new manuscript will go to her around the end of the month, and oh my goodness I hope she likes it.
I will keep you posted and will continue to write through the process (if it turns out you don’t find this boring and self-indulgent, although there is no need to tell me directly if you do!) as I have discovered I find it enormously helpful to write about writing while I am writing :-). Until next week…
I love to read about process and thank you for sharing yours.
It was very interesting to read thank you for sharing. Can’t wait for the new book 😊