It took me two and a half years to finish
my first novel, 'The Caves of Etretat', Book One of the Sirenne Saga. Two years
later, I wrote 'The Greyman', the fourth and final book of the series, in four
months. What happened to speed up the process?
When I sat down to write 'The Caves of
Etretat', I did so without preparation. I thought writing a book would be a
simple process of latching sentences together until the thing was done. I'd
written a fair bit before, all of it short material.
I had no idea what I was getting into.
Writing book one proved cathartic. The
errors I committed forced me to examine all of my personal weaknesses in order
to fix my book. Nothing escaped. My habits, my fears, my basic approach to
life, my desires versus my needs, all had to be torn apart and rebuilt in order
to become a better writer. This was
because I was writing reflexively. It was an unthinking process, creativity
without structure, creativity from the subconscious.
Over the next three books of the Sirenne
Saga, I faced my demons and learned my lessons, returning to book one and
re-writing it more than ten times. The lessons I learned changed me into a
competent writer, confident in my abilities and confident that the stories I
wrote accomplish what I set out to do.
I'd like to list my five most important
errors:
1) Writing without a story summary.
My first story was written on impulse. The
end result was an original story but without much cohesion between the various
story elements. My next books all had a story summary, increasingly refined as time
went on. An interesting side effect was to eliminate writer's block. I couldn't
write what I knew nothing about. The more complete my summary, the less trouble
I had writing about it.
2) Writing without a schedule
Although 'The Caves of Etretat' was
intended to be my first serious effort, I was still looking at writing as a
part-time endeavour, not a career. The result was that I wrote when I felt like
it, which was not all that often. Any life activity could interrupt writing. It
was often at the bottom of the pile. Eventually, I developed a routine, based
on my most creative time. For me, that was working between nine AM to twelve
noon. Breaks were necessary, to deal
with life requirements, but the mornings increasingly became sacrosanct.
Eventually, I felt guilty if I did not sit down to write. I also found
creativity tended to come more easily when regularly called upon.
3) Writing without prepared characters.
When I wrote book one, I had no characters
to draw upon. The result was that I drew on real life for examples, using
myself as the source for the main character, Paul Sirenne. His soulmate,
Raymonde Leblanc, was loosely based on my partner. There's a limit to that and
originality paid the price. I often got lost in who said what. Characters all
sounded the same. Over the next three books, the characters developed
sufficiently enough to choose their own reactions. They became individuals.
Character comments became slanted, some expressions favored over others. My
next book has twenty characters. I have not written a single word of it but I
know all their names and their personal quirks. Each scene can be reviewed
before writing, looking at the summary and memorising the characters involved.
4) Writing without research.
To write a convincing story, you simply
cannot talk through your hat. Your facts must be verifiable. When you make a
small observation, it has to be accurate. Do not write about what you don't
know. Research became an essential aspect of story development. I would often
find story links during research. Eventually, some research was done on the
fly, specifics obtained on the day of writing, to be discarded once finished.
It became a fast process, broken into three sections. Research for summary
writing, research while writing, and research during editing. The last phase
would be used to fill in specific dates and locations.
5) Writing perfectly.
When I started writing, I was always
looking for the perfect phrase, the right word, the best expression, the
funniest comment. The problem was, I was wasting my creative time looking for
all these things instead of writing. Creativity has a flow. It improves the
more you do it. If you constantly interrupt the process, your creativity never
blossoms. It is stilted by seeking perfection. The solution is to write almost-perfect
words instead and let it go until editing time. Editing is a key component to
writing, or if you prefer, first draft-second draft. Use the second draft
process to gloss up the book. The first draft is to give you material to gloss
up.
The result of my efforts was a four-book
epic series unlike any you have ever read, with meat on its bones and multiple
levels to challenge you. It is a rollercoaster epic adventure, where nothing is
as it seems; fiction with a powerful message.
 |
| Matt Chatelain |
Discover more about the Sirenne Saga at my
website www.mattchatelain.com. You'll find audio excerpts, interviews and
various articles as well as other goodies. 'The Caves of Etretat' is available
at Kindle as Ebook for $3.95, and at Amazon.com in hardcopy for $14.95. Book
two will be out by end of May 2012. All four books will be published by end of
2012. Sign up to win signed copies of the series on my website. Don't forget to leave a comment.
Guest post By Matt Chatelain
Matt will be awarding a $20 Amazon GC to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour as well as to the host whose post receives the most comments (excluding his or the host's) during the tour. So I encourage you to follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here: http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2012/03/virtual-book-tour-caves-of-etretat-by.html
advice for writers
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How to become a better author
Matt Chatelain
Sirenne Saga
The Caves of Etretat
6 Comments
Thank you for sharing. I always love the work process behind the story.
ReplyDeletemarypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
I loved reading the evolution of your writing. I think you were very wise to realize what was needed to write a convincing story.
ReplyDeleteIt didn't come easy, Momjane. Those first two and a half years were the toughest. It makes such a difference to have some experience behind you.
DeleteHi everyone. Thanks for inviting me here today. I hope my advice will turn out to be helpful to some of you. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I will be returning to this blog off and on today.
ReplyDeleteGreat tips and wonderful post! I found you through LinkedIn and would like to follow you but I'm unsure how. I'm sure I will figure it out! For now I am sharing you and adding you to my Google reader.
ReplyDeletemuch luck and blessings,
Kimmy
HTTP://www.withoutalabel.me
Best of luck with book 2! Here's to a wonderful imagination, courage and ambition! Cheers, Matt! :)
ReplyDeleteI love to hear from you. So feel free to comment, but keep in mind the basics of blog etiquette — no spam, no profanity, no slander, etc.
Thanks for being an active part of the Writers and Authors community.