Category: Writing and Self-Publishing

I just enjoyed a city break to Budapest. It was fantastic; great sights, great bars, great beers. I recommend it. But for my two nights in Hungary I was dogged by a monster, a monster that stalked me, never farther away than the snatch of its claw. It got its teeth into me while I waited for my flight at Gatwick Airport and wouldn’t let go until I defeated it. The monster’s name was Cujo. The reason it gripped was due to Stephen King’s writing style

Cujo is Stephen King’s seventh novel. Ostensibly, it’s about a good-natured St Bernard, the titular Cujo, that is infected by the scratch of a rabid bat. But it’s also about the two families that Cuje’s violent, rabid spree affects. It’s gripping; as gripping as anything King has written. I could barely put it down, even with all the excitement of my holiday. I finished it after my first night in Hungary.

It’s been a while since my last blog post, and I’m sorry.  But I’m sure you’ll like what I’ve been up to: finishing a novel.

Back in March I talked about Writing a Novel: The Midway Point.  Midway wasn’t a bad estimate; I started After Life (yes, we have a title now) last November, and I finished the first draft on the last day of July.  Of course, writing a novel isn’t like competing in a race –  it’s like a triathlon, and there a few finish lines to make it through.  But first thing’s first: let me tell you all about finishing a novel.

Actually finishing a novel: the final push

Oh, it got hard towards the end.  Nine months is a long time to stick at anything, let alone writing one story.  My routine really helped here – the more I wrote, the more I came to know what my five thousand words a week translated to in terms of narrative.  I knew the end couldn’t be far away and I stuck with it, matching the increasing pace of the story with more and more writing.  By the end I was fitting in writing where I could; mornings, lunchtimes, evenings.  I was desperate to have it done.

It’s been about three months since I started work on my novel, Rosetta, and a little over two months since I described my first impressions of writing it.  I hit 50,000 words last week. That’s a little over half my forecast completed word count, which means I’m near enough halfway through.  At the very least, I’m in the thick of things! And I’ve got some new reflections on the subject of writing a novel to tell you about.  Some of them are pretty surprising; at least in light of my first impressions. It’s taught me a lot about how to write a novel.

I’m so glad I have a plan

A quick one this. I’d never have made it this far without a plan, telling me who is where and what they’re doing at any one time.  Using a plan means that everything is always facing the right direction, even if I can’t keep track of every plot strand at once.  Not everyone writes using the same techniques. But I couldn’t imagine taking on this, or indeed another novel, without a plan. It’s not an especially detailed plan, more just  broad strokes of the plot. But I wouldn’t know how to write a novel without it!