READER QUESTIONS! My Writing Process

Hello, Dear Readers! Happy Monday and happy September - I hope that the week and the month are shaping up to be pleasant for you all. Humanity damn well deserves some form of seasonal hot drink (maple rooibos tea in my case), a nice fluffy jumper, some crisp, golden leaves and a run of sunny, frosty days after the year we've had so far. 

In an attempt to start autumn off right, I bring tidings of great joy for US Dear Readers - a Kindle Countdown deal on The Book of Snow & Silence over on Amazon.com. The book's currently 99 cents (sorry, my UK keyboard doesn't have a cent symbol) and will slowly increase in price over the next week, so it's in your interest to grab it as early as possible if you want it. Don't feel too left out, my UK lovelies - there's a similar deal on British Amazon coming up shortly.

Today's post is in response to reader AS, who left a delightful comment on another post, and asked:

"If it isn't too much trouble, then can you please do a blog post on your writing process? How you research, edit and take final decisions etc? And whether you pen the draft first or type it directly?"

I've talked about this a lot in various posts and interviews, but I'm not sure if I've ever collated all my answers in one place - and I always find glimpses into other authors' processes fascinating - so I decided to make this a new post.

A Disclaimer: This is not The One True Way to Write. There is no one true way. This my own method that I've developed over years of hit-and-miss, trial and error experimentation - it's what works for my particular creativity, with my particular routine, utilising my particular brain circuitry. Feel free to try any or all of the methods I talk about, but also to read with interest and then decide that every single thing I do is completely wrong for you. The only 'Right Way' to write is the way that makes you happy and productive. Ok? Ok.

First up, I am a long-hand drafter. 

It's a habit that I developed from 2001, back when I was working as an extremely underpaid and overworked civil servant, scribbling in my notebook during breaks and on the longish bus journey to and from the office. Frankly, there were days when being able to dip into my imaginary world whenever I had a spare moment was the only reason I managed to keep my grip on reality in this one, and this being before smartphones or tablets (because I am ancient, kids), writing in longhand was my only option. 

In 2010 I became a full-time carer for my father - who relied on me to administer his haemodialysis - and decided to try and speed up my writing process by hauling my laptop with me while I was looking after him, and drafting directly into a Word doc. This was a huge mistake: swiftly capturing all my darting thoughts in the form of scribbles and then transcribing those handwritten scribbles into the screen, editing and rethinking along the way, turned out to be a massive part of my drafting process. Without it, the 'first draft' that I produced was a complete mess, painful to read even for me, and torture to edit. I learned my lesson and have been a hardcore notebook collector ever since.

However, there's a downside to writing by hand for hours everyday, and that downside is Repetitive Strain Injury. In order to combat this, I usually write either with a fountain pen (nothing fancy - I lose them too often for that) or a brush pen, as they don't require a strong grip or much pressure to work. I also utilise the Pomodoro Technique, which basically requires that you work flat-out for short periods of time with no interruptions, then take a short break, then work again. 

I try to do four thirty-minute writing springs in the morning (with a five minute break between to bathe my hands in warm water and gently stretch them, as well as to visit the bathroom, refresh my drink, or chuck a toy for my dog) before breaking to take the dog for his mid-day walk and have some lunch. Then, in the afternoon, I re-read and edit everything I typed up the day before, and finally type up my newest scribbles. This technique can yield between 600-6000 words in a day (my record was 9000 words in a day, but my writing hand swelled up and became intensely painful for weeks afterward, and, as above, I learned my lesson and don't push it anymore) and it effectively means that the completed 'first draft' of my novel is actually more like the third or fourth draft.

I'm also a hardcore researcher. 

Most of my novels have been inspired in one way or another by elements of the real world - a setting/landscape, a culture, a piece of folklore or mythology or history. When I get an idea for a story that really grabs me (generally when several tiny idea fragments that have been floating around in my head for a while suddenly collide and become one Big Idea) I pick out one of my extensive collection of notebooks, something that feels like it would suit the main character to use, and label it with the date and my working title.

Then I start reading. First, I'll use the internet - yes, including Wiki - to figure out how much I don't know, which is usually A LOT. Then I'll start visiting all of the local libraries I can get to in order to borrow or order any and every book relating to my story that I can. These might be books, for instance, on the architecture and art of Edo era Japan, or on the landscape and wildlife of Northern India and Tibet, or every version of the Beauty & the Beast story throughout world history. Once I've munched my way through every book that I can get my hands on for free, I will start ordering the ones I a) feel I can't live without and b) can manage to afford on my budget. I'll also start ordering or streaming any documentaries, drama series, music, films, cooking shows, art history programmes... anything related to my research topic. 

If I can afford it (which is sadly not always the case) this is also the stage where I will arrange a research trip or too, to scout out possible locations and take photos, or visit museums or exhibits.

My aim is to immerse myself so completely that I feel like I'm walking around in a cloud of information 24hrs a day. If possible, I want to be *dreaming* about this stuff. And through it all, I'll be writing ideas and information and key details down in the back of my notebook (starting with the last page and working forwards).

At a certain point, I'll feel this sort of internal 'click' and know that my research has reached critical mass and it's time to start writing. This doesn't mean I stop researching or that I know every detail that I'll need to know; it's more that I know enough to start, and I also know that if I don't start at this point, the fragile framework of the story might begin to collapse under the weight of all the facts and figures. Basically, writing is now the full-time job, not research. Once I start drafting/scribbling, I switch to writing in the *front* of the notebook (like a normal person) but I still make research notes or put down ideas for future scenes in the back. When drafting and research meet in the middle, it's time for a new notebook. On average I go through two to three notebooks, as well as a couple of 'refill' pads of paper per book.

For insight into how I make the choices that will turn my ideas about a story and characters into a coherent plot, you can listen to this podcast over on the RLF website (my section starts at about the 15min mark), or read this three-part blog series from my archive. This is actually the step that I struggle with the most, so it's the thing I've talked about the most extensively. 

I'm generally a linear drafter.  

I start at the beginning of a story - what will be the prologue or first chapter for the reader - and work my way through until I get to The End. That's not to say that I'm never struck by blinding inspiration about a scene that's chapters away, or that I don't write those scenes down. It's just that, once I've written it, it'll stay in scribbled form in the back of my notebook until I've worked my way forward in the story to that point, at which point I'll type it up. So far, at least, I've never felt the need to write a whole book, or even most of it, out of sequence, and then put it all together afterwards. It can take me anywhere between six months and eighteen months (again, so far!) to complete a 'first draft'. 

When it comes to editing, I start by going back to pen and paper. Here's an archive post that basically covers the process - but I'll note here that 'optional extra' I mentioned back then, of completely changing the format of the document before I print it out? Is now one of the most vital steps. It actually makes a massive difference to me, because by the time I've completed that draft I've often been staring at certain parts of it for months on end and I've stopped being able to distinguish between 'head story' (which is what I meant to say) and 'page story' (which is what the words arranged on the page actually convey to a reader). I know where every word, comma and piece of dialogue are *supposed to be* on the page, which means I don't notice what is *really there*, even if there are missing words or I've copied and pasted something random in. By rearranging all those words, commas and formating choices, I make it much easier to come back to the manuscript with a genuinely fresh eye. 

I like to change the portrait format of the document to landscape and then set the text into two columns so that it resembles the page layout that I'll often get from a copy-editor/proofreader. 

Then I amend my line spacing (from double to single) and reset the font (from Times New Roman into something that's sans serif, like Calibri) and the text size (from 12 pt down to 11 pt, uusually). 

Coincidentally, these changes can also potentially save me a chunk of paper in the printing, bringing a 300 page ms down to around 150 (yes, it's that dramatic).

So that's my (current) writing process. And that's also where I'll leave today's post. I hope that it was useful or at least interesting, AS - and anyone else who is reading. Do you have a writing process, or are you still experimenting? Do you have any tips or tricks to share? If so, sound off in the comments, and in the meantime, have a great week, muffins!

READER QUESTIONS: What is Plot?

Hello and happy Wednesday, Dear Readers! I hope your week is going well so far - or at the very least, that it can't get worse from here (ah, pessimist humour, you are so grim).

Today I'm bringing you a post sparked by the loveliest message from reader Hana, who emailed me via my website (and also a little bit inspired by a conversation about plotting on Twitter that got my brain working). But before we get to that, it's time to announce the winner of last week's giveaway! This is actually happening a bit sooner than I expected, because I set the giveaway for two weeks to give people plenty of time to enter. Apparently Rafflecopter had other ideas. And when I checked the entries today I found that the giveaway was closed, but they didn't email me to let me know so... I dunno. I'm as confused as you, Dear Readers, but let's not dwell on the past.

Onward to the winner, who is...

*Drumroll Please*

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RACHEL J ROWLANDS!

Congratulations, Rachel! I'll be emailing you a little later today to ask for your shipping address so that I can get this prize package out in the post to you. I hope you enjoy all the books, and that you remember that ancient and wise proverb: If you love a book and leave a review, the writer will have good luck and so will you. 

I mean, I'm not trying to tell you what to do, but I'm preeeeetty sure Plato said that, so you really ought to pay attention. To Plato. Ahem.

Now for today's Reader Question! The lovely Hana asks:

I just wondered: how you plan out... a story - how does an author like you, of whom I look up to, draft things out? I have book ideas and I like writing in my spare time, and I'd love to understand your technique! I myself am stuck with thinking mostly of the cool, climactic scenes in my stories, but struggle to piece it all together and make it clever without getting too overwhelmed. If you could get back to me - any quick tips would do - I would be super grateful.

Lovely Hana, I have GOT THIS. Listen, some authors just *get* plot, you know? They don't ever have to define it, or plan it, or stress about it, because it is IN THEIR BONES. They're natural storytellers, and it flows for them totally organically. These are the writers who weave the most awesome tapestry of plot threads together and for whom plot twists and narrative balance are like breathing.

I kind of hate those authors?

Most of the writers I know struggle with plot - and me most of all. What you say here about having ideas for cool and climactic scenes but no real idea how to turn that into a story? This makes me feel so seen. Honestly, this is what most writers spend most of their time discussing, worrying over and asking each other for advice about. And that's good news for you! Because it means we have come up with practical answers to these questions which are actually useful!

So here's my run-down of resources that should hopefully help you to understand and construct plots. First up, this three part series that I created a while ago that guides you through the whole process from 'Oooh, I have a cool idea!' to 'Oooh, I have a fully coherent story!'

TURNING IDEAS INTO PLOTS: Part One, Part Two and Part Three

You can click on the diagrams to make them large enough to read all the small writing, btw. Now, this is a method which has reliably worked for me, and I know that it's good for others too because writer-friends of mine have actually used this to teach creative writing courses. BUT! Every writer's mind works differently, and you might be looking for something that goes into a bit more detail about the ways that plot, character, theme etc. interact.

And so next, here's Rachael Stephen's video about her favourite plotting method, the Plot Embryo.



I've used this for my last two books - after coming up with a basic story plan using my own Plot Diamond - as a sort of narrative MOT, to make sure that all the elements of the story are actually working together as they should be.

I also highly recommend John Yorke's book Into The Woods, which is another very different but compelling and useful examination of how plots work and why. The first time that I read it, it honestly blew my mind a little bit, and I think a lot of writers have that reaction, so brace yourself!

If you're looking for something slightly less novel-crafty and more thinky, here's a post I did a little while ago (which includes another video from Rachael Stephen) about the importance of figuring out your thesis, or the 'truth' of your story, and how you can use essay planning methods to ensure you demonstrate this throughout the developing narrative. The triangle structure is maybe more useful for short fiction, but the idea that you should work out your story's thesis first and use that as a 'North Star' to guide you in working out what your novel/essay/short story is truly about, and therefore what stuff should be in it, is universally useful in my opinion. I did another essay about this on the Royal Literary Fund Website, which you can check out if you'd like some more depth.

And finally, there's a wealth of other writing advice here on my All About Writing page, which covers everything from rooting cliches out of your work to how to create a character, so check that out too, Hana. I hope this is useful and gets your story-writing muscles quivering with anticipation to get to work!

A QUESTION OF QUERY LETTERS

Hello, hello, hello, Dear Readers! Happy Monday - I hope you all had a great weekend, or at least are glad that it's over and a fresh week has begun. Today's blogpost is brought to you by a question that floated into my Twitter feed last week, as follows:

"Would really appreciate advice. Told not to mention the 3D's (divorce, death and disease) in submission covering letter. My pitch YA fantasy fiction is partly about death & comes from experience. Am I safe to mention the personal experience or avoid at all cost?"

I had to read this a couple of times before I could actually decipher it, which is nothing to do with the asker's clarity of expression, and everything to do with the strangeness of the actual question. Surely I must be misreading? So I tweeted back asking them to shoot me a quick email (and for permission to include my answer in a blogpost, to benefit all). I received the following reply via my website contact form: 

"The 3D's that were referred to concern their inclusion within a "pitch admissions letter".

The YA Fantasy Fiction I have written does deal with death throughout the story (not as dark as it might sound). As a family (myself and three children) we have been unfortunate, as are many families, to be visited by a succession of close family deaths, the majority of which were very unexpected, sudden and violent.

This was one of the reasons why my book deals (all be it in a fantasy manner), as it is something I have watched my own children struggle with.

From what I understand, some agents ask for personal experience connected to your writing whilst others have given the 3D's as something to never mention.

I am just concerned that if I dare to mention one of the 3D's then no agent is going to get beyond my initial letter."

I'm not gonna lie - I'm still super confused by this. I even Googled 'the 3Ds' and 'Pitch letters' to try to find out if this is some kind of common maxim that I'm not aware of. After all, it's been a long time since I wrote a query letter to an agent, and I've never taken part in #pitmad or any of those more recent online pitch-competitions. Perhaps there was something I was missing? Well, perhaps there is, but I still can't find anything about this odd prohibition online, so I'm just going to go with my instinct and answer as common sense dictates.

There are two questions here, really. The first is: Should I dare to mention mention death, divorce or disease in my query letter?

The answer is straightforward. Yes, of course - if these are important themes in your work.

The point of any kind of pitch or query is to tell the targeted publishing professional what your book is about. That's what they're for. If your book deals heavily with bereavement and you don't mention that in the query letter then that query letter is no good. You can't just find and replace the word 'death' with 'cheese' and hope the reader won't notice. And if you write a query that cunningly manages to gloss over that whole death theme and somehow convince the agent or editor that the book really is about cheese and not bereavement, they're going to be extremely annoyed when they request it and find that there is no mention of Gorgonzola but much mention of grief and loss.

If there's actually an agent out there who is refusing to read any submissions which deal with these three topics - and if there really are, then they must be vanishingly rare - then that's their loss, since I'd say about 75-85% of books (not including picturebooks... probably) touch on at least one of these, and many two or more! Including most of the best and most important books. I mean, agents and editors are free to say that they're not interested in whatever topics they like - I guess - although I seems like a random and counter-productive demand.

But what's really crucial is that you're not going to want to pitch to any of these agents or editors. Your work isn't going to interest them because it's literally about the thing that they've said they don't like. So steer clear. As fas as I'm aware, the vast majority of agents and editors still don't dictate that major themes of human existence be erased from a writer's work. I've never met or heard of one, anyway. This sounds like junk advice to me. The kind of Chinese Whispers stuff that has moved so far from its real basis, if it ever had one, that it has become complete nonsense.

Now for the second part: Should I mention my own family experience with grief, and how this has influenced my writing, in my pitch?

The answer to this one is more complex, but basically boils down to: Yes... if you're comfortable with sharing that information AND CONVINCED IT'S RELEVANT.

You are not required to bare your family tragedy to an agent or editor in order to convince them that you have the right to write about death, loss and grief. If you're worried that people won't understand the authenticity of your work without that context and are forcing yourself, with teeth gritted, to justify yourself: please don't. #Ownvoices is a wonderful thing, but it is not about writers herding themselves into ghettos where only semi-autobiographical work is valued.

If you're worried that people won't understand the authencity of your work and are eager to share the context... I guess go ahead? But be sure, first, that your own experiences really are relevant to the themes in the work. I'll mention here that all of my books deal with death, loss and bereavement to some extent and in some form. My own experiences with those things have absolutely, undoubtedly, indisputably informed those stories... but the books stand on their own. No one needs to know about my family's history of suffering to read, understand, or be moved by those books.

Perhaps there are unique circumstances surrounding your own experiences and those of your children and these inspired the book in a really direct way. I can't specuIate on that. I don't know you and I haven't read your book. If you're absolutely convinced this information is vital then include it. But do so very briefly and in such a way that it's clear this is only background to the book, not any kind of emotional appeal to the publishing professional to give your book a break because of what your family has been through. I'm sure that's not what you're intending, but unfortunately people do make emotional appeals like this in query letters all the time. I even get requests like this sometimes, from people who want me to refer them to my agent, or editor, or even just publish them myself (somehow???).

These appeals are often coming from a good place in someone's heart - but it just makes the person reading their letter intensely uncomfortable and irritated because it feels like emotional blackmail and what's more, no matter how heartbreaking the story, they CAN'T do what the query writer wants and publish something purely because they feel bad for them. Once you've recieved a few letters like this, you become very sensitive and prickly about them, so be careful.

It probably won't send up any red flags if you briefly mention:

My children and I were caught up in the events of this natural disaster in this year, and lost two close family members. Following our struggle to come to terms with our own grief, the inspiration to write a story dealing with the aftermath of such devastating natural disasters was born.

Or maybe:

After a losing three members of my extended family within one year, I witnessed my children's bewilderment and their attempts to make sense of their loss, and felt compelled to explore these topics in my book...

On the other hand, if your story is really strong and has a compelling premise of it's own? It is probably unncessary to mention the background at all. That doesn't mean it's VERBOTEN, but just that it's not likely to influence the editor or agent's decision to request your work either way. What always counts the most is the work itself.

Ultimately the decision on how much and what to share is up to you.

I hope this helps! I wish you the best of good luck with your query and your journey to publication.

ARE YOU A PATREON OF THE ARTS?

Hello, Dear Readers! BIG ANNOUNCEMENT today!

No, I'm not giving up on writing and moving to Tibet to herd yaks. I'm not changing my name to Lady Floreline P. Scumbletrump, getting a nose job, or switching genres to sexy romance novels with barechested hunks on the cover and titles like 'Seducing the Laird's Virgin Mistress'.

It's far more exciting than that.

I've launched a Patreon page!

Right here: https://www.patreon.com/zoemarriott

What the flying pamplemoose is a Patreon page, you ask? I would be happy - nay, delighted - to explain, Dear Readers.

But first we need to back up a little bit.

You see, for years and years and years here on The Zoë-Trope - since 2010, eep - I've been writing in-depth essays about all aspects of the writing craft and providing individual advice on issues like writer's block, motivation, publishing and the reality of the writing life. The blog's grown from teeny-tiny beginnings to the point where it gets around 1500 hits per day - nearly 50,000 a month. That's more than I ever could have dreamed when I started out! I used to get excited if I got 30 hits a week!

Professional writers have (with permission!) reproduced my essays in their classrooms order to teach creative writing at university level. My words have been quoted in writing magazines and even national newspapers. The All About Writing Archive contains hundreds of posts, hundreds of thousands of words, and represents years of my life. It's helped make me so many friends and I also believe that it's made me a better writer.

What it doesn't do at the moment is help to support my actual job, which (to my continuing surprise and joy) is writing ground-breaking, diverse, Feminist fantasy novels for young adults.

I'm a full-time writer. This means I'm effectively running a small business on my own. I spend a lot of time on things like organising receipts, keeping accounts, writing and sending and chasing up invoices, completing tax returns, arranging and attending book events, and promoting my work. If I don't have a contract with a publisher (and right now I don't) I need to find the money to support myself through other work (like my Royal Literary Fellowship) or through writing grant applications and entering competitions and prizes and crossing my fingers.

All of this takes time. A LOT OF TIME. I can't emphasize this enough. Actual writing doesn't even make up 50% of the time I spend working. Every writer I know is the same: we're constantly scrambling for any extra moment (in a cafe, on the bus or train, while in the hospital waiting room) to actually get some writing done.

And one of the biggest draws on my time, historically, has been my blog.

Now, I love this blog. I love YOU GUYS and having the chance to interact with you and talk to you about books and publishing and writing. I can't even express how much it means to me. But if I spend a day organising my receipts and chasing invoices, that has a direct and positive result on my business - I know what money is going out and am making sure I have money coming in. If I go to a book event to promote myself and sell a bunch of signed books, that is literally keeping my business afloat. And if I spend a day writing, and produce 2000 words, then that's contributing towards my art AND hopefully producing a piece of work which I can one day sell so that I can keep my business going for another year.

But if I spend a day writing a 2000 word essay for this blog, or answering someone's writing related question? It doesn't contribute towards my income or the well-being of my business at all. This isn't promotional stuff - it's not like sharing updates on book releases or events or even snippets of what I'm working on. In fact, it's taking time away from tasks that DO help to bring in some income. In other words, running the blog basically costs money that I (and, you know, my dog and the cats) need to live on.

As a result, the busier I've got trying to keep my business going - and the more worried I've been about money - the less time and joy I've had to dedicate to answering questions and writing essays.

That's been pretty sad for me, if I'm honest. I'm sure it's also been sad for you, Dear Readers. I've let Reader Questions and Tips for Young Writers nearly disappear from the blog at this point. The All About Writing archive hadn't been updated for over a year, and it was never really complete. Given the somewhat sucky search function on Blogger, that's a lot of advice and information that's not being utilised to its fullest extent, and a lot of questions going unanswered.

And that's where Patreon comes in. 

Because Patreon is a rather cool platform on which artists and other creative people like myself can offer exclusive content and rewards to fans who help support them.

I've taken down the (somewhat crappy) All About Writing page that used to live here - and I'm going to recreate it there. But better. I'm going to re-write, revise and refresh every single essay and piece of advice I've ever given and then repost it on my Patreon feed. I'll post at least one, preferably two pieces of writing or publishing related content every week, and sometimes more. I'll go back to answering reader questions on a regular basis. Once I reach a certain number of followers I'll open up a monthly poll that Patrons can vote in to tell me what aspects of writing they'd like me to explore, explain, and offer advice on.

This blog will still exist, and will still be updated a couple of times a month. I'll still rant here occasionally about Feminism, offer book reviews, and talk about what I'm working on and what I've got happening in terms of book releases and events. But readers who want more than that - which I know isn't everyone! - can subscribe to the Patreon for as little as about two quid a month in order to have access to that archive of in-depth, up-to-date writing advice. People who subscribe at the higher tier get to ask questions and have them answered, and those on the top tier (still under eight quid a month) get all that AND will get to see their names in the acknowledgements of all my books, as well as receiving advanced copies and other cool things.

Readers who chose to support me and want that extra content will have an ever-evolving resource where they are always guaranteed to get exactly the stuff they want, every week. And I can spend the time required to maintain and expand on that resource without feeling harried and guilty about taking the time away from 'real' work. Because creating writing essays and answering questions will now BE PART OF MY JOB.

How cool is that?

Head over to my Patreon and check it out, lovelies. There's one free post already available there and two more in the Patron only feed waiting. If you feel it's good value for money, you can become a part of a brand new community of writers there. And even if you can't subscribe yourself - which I totally understand! - you can still really help by sharing the page on social media and sending links to any of your writing friends you think might be interested.

I'm very excited about this. So like it says on the Patreon page itself: JOIN ME! We'll have fun and learn stuff :)