First day of winter means ... a new book!

I’ve talked before of how my writing and reading life revolves with the seasons. Here’s my schedule:

FALL: Starting on the first day of fall, I concentrate on new ideas that have been percolating in the brain kitchen all summer. By now, I’ve probably decided which idea will get the novel treatment. These sparks of ideas come from song lyrics, overheard conversations, mashups of two or more works of art, an image I see at a museum … just about anything. So once that magic idea is on stage, I start researching and outlining. (I am a RABID plotter. It’s my secret weapon.)

WINTER: By the first day of winter, I’m ITCHING to start. Itching to write. Itching for that butt-in-chair, goal-forward feeling that it’s finally time to start my new project. So off I go! Winter and Spring are for writing. I’ve found that, with a great outline, I can write a novel in about 6 months.

SPRING: More writing! The goal is to finish by the last day of spring.

SUMMER: So now — if all went well — I’ve finished my novel by the last day of spring. This gives me about a month to revise, and then I send my manuscript off to my agent. And then the reward — a whole season of reading! Of course I read throughout the year, but Fall/Winter/Spring means writing is my priority. In Summer, I take a break and catch up on my reading (while new ideas start percolating again in the brain kitchen!).

So tomorrow — December 21 — is the first day of winter 2023, and I’m ready to write. The outline is done and I’m ITCHING to get started.

Read. Write. Read. Write.

It’s the writer’s struggle — reading time vs. writing time. We’re supposed to stay on top of the books that are out there, but how do we do that when we spend all our spare time writing?!

I typically read about 50-75 books per year. Here’s how I do it:

Summer: Read. Autumn: Write. Winter: Write. Spring: Revise.

Summer seems to be the season when I have the most reading time, with the long daylight hours and a lighter load in my day job, so I’ve made Summer my Reading Season. From the first day of Summer to the last, I take a break from writing and I just read like a crazy reading fiend, about two books per week.

Then, first day of Autumn, I start outlining my next manuscript (which has been percolating in the brain kitchen all summer); after about a month, when the outline is done and my agent has given feedback, I start writing again. Throughout Autumn and Winter, I write like a crazy writing fiend. Write, write, write. Lots of research along the way too, but lots more writing. So Autumn and Winter are my Writing Seasons.

I’m a rabid plotter and a slow, careful writer, so the first draft is in great shape by end of Winter. By first day of Spring, I’m ready to revise. (I use Pacemaker to push myself throughout my Writing Seasons, giving myself six months to finish the book. That’s what it typically takes me.) I send the revised draft to my agent and incorporate feedback. So Spring is Revising Season. By first day of Summer, I’m done and ready to start reading again!

Since the pandemic, I’ve written two books and read 150+ books with this system, which works for me. We’re now out on submission with those two books. I find that by end of Summer, I can’t wait to start writing again. Then, by end of Spring, I can’t wait to start reading again. I do read a bit throughout Autumn-Winter-Spring, but nowhere near as much as Summer.

Hope this helps!

My Summer of Reading

Is your To Be Read list as long as mine? Seems I’m constitutionally unable to visit a bookstore without buying at least three books. Last week I picked up THE TORQUED MAN by Peter Mann, THE ENGLISH HERETIC COLLECTION by Andy Sharp, and THE ART OF SLOW WRITING by Louise DeSalvo.

Two days later, I added THE SANATORIUM by Sarah Pearse and GUTTER CHILD by Jael Richardson (for my book club). And I’m still reading the monstrous (672 pages) ORDINARY MONSTERS by J.M. Miro.

And, of course, my bookshelves are sagging with books that I will get to someday … if I live to be 200 years old.

I find a great comfort in buying books and giving them a home on my bookshelf. It’s a nod to the author’s hard work as much as it is a symptom of my extreme bibliophilia — a condition I nurture like a beloved pet who demands food and attention every day.

I spent hundreds of hours in the past two years writing two books, and I found that my reading time had greatly suffered. When I would finally pick up a book to read for pleasure, I found my focus easily slipping. Either I would quickly get impatient and put the book aside, or my critique demon would sit on my shoulder and pick the book apart. (I would have written that this way …)

So when I finished my second book and turned it in to my agent, I was ready for my Summer of Reading. I vowed to get back my powers of focus. I would once again be able to sit up all night with a good book and music in my earphones. It took about a week to retrain my brain, but it worked. Just last night, I stayed up reading til 2am — and still I didn’t want to go to bed. My reading brain is back.

I write literary speculative historical, but I also enjoy reading thrillers, mysteries, horror, sci-fi, fantasy. Writers are often told to read as much as possible across multiple genres. After all, reading is the best writing coach there is. But it’s a common complaint among writers — How are we supposed to find the time to write a book AND read everything we can get our hands on? (Not to mention work full-time jobs to pay the bills AND take care of our families?!) And I’m a bit wary that the voices and idiosyncrasies of other authors will bleed into my own writing, if I don’t take care to separate reading time from writing time.

There’s no easy answer … but my Summer of Reading is a great start. Each of my first two books took about 6-7 months to write, followed by 2-3 months of editing before submitting. So at that pace, I can spend fall, winter, and spring writing, and then relax with my TBR list under the summer sun.

Book 2!

After a round of revisions, my second book, THE LAIRS, is now in the hands of my agent.

Whew.

The plot of THE LAIRS is less complex than that of THE GALLANT, which made the writing a bit easier, but I used a few structural elements that caused their own headaches.

Where THE GALLANT’s narrative is linear and written in close third person, THE LAIRS features seven POV characters who take the stage in three acts throughout seventy-five chapters, all written in first person. As the plot of THE LAIRS is centered in the world of Victorian-era theatre, the book is written as a play-within-a-play.

Wouldn’t it be nice if I could just sit down and write? But no, I have to meticulously plot everything out beforehand, so I know what happens in every single chapter before I write it. Some say this takes the fun out of writing, but I find just as much fun in the careful plotting. When it’s time for the actual writing, I have a roadmap. Sometimes the characters insist on taking detours at times, but that’s part of the fun too. I ride along and see where they want to take the story, with the final destination always in sight.

So THE GALLANT is now out on submission, soon to be followed by THE LAIRS. (No, they’re not related in any way.)

After writing two books in two years, I decided to take a break and do a lot of reading. A LOT. In the past three months I’ve read nine books that have been lingering on my TBR list. Right now I’m reading ORDINARY MONSTERS by J.M. Miro. Wow!

But I’ve missed writing, and so I’ve started plotting out my third book … I have a tentative title, but I think it’s bad luck to share it too soon. (Let’s just say M— of F—.)

I hope you are reading or writing good stuff this summer!

What's In a Name?

I choose my characters’ names very carefully, after doing quite a bit of research.

Before I started writing THE GALLANT, I knew I wanted to name my main character, James Dwelly, after Edward Dwelly (1864-1939), who compiled the authoritative dictionary of the Scottish Gaelic language. He was an Englishman but married a Scots woman and fell in love with everything Scottish. Fearing his work wouldn’t be respected when published under an obviously English name, he took the pen name Eoghann MacDhòmhnaill. With 70,000-plus entries, it is still widely regarded as the most comprehensive Scottish Gaelic dictionary compiled to date.

The character of the pirate, the Seoniadh (pronounced SHO-nay), is based on a mythic figure that was said to inhabit the Hebrides isles. Every year, the Seonaidh was given an offering of ale, which was brewed from malt provided by each village family. One village man was chosen to wade into the sea with the cup of ale; when he reached waist-deep, he cried aloud: “Seonaidh, I give thee this cup of ale, hoping that thou wilt be so good as to send us plenty of seaware [seaweed, used as fertilizer] for enriching our ground during the coming year.” He then flung the ale into the sea, hoping for a year’s good harvest. In THE GALLANT, I recast the Seonaidh as antagonist.

Jacquotte, the Seonaidh’s lover, is based on the legend of Jacquotte Delahaye, one of the very few 17th-century female pirates purported to haunt the Caribbean. Tales of her misdeeds were passed down orally, sometimes making it to print, but there is no evidence that she actually existed.

Other characters took Scots Gaelic names according to their traits — sometimes good, sometimes bad.

Maeve (“intoxicating woman”) is Dwelly’s tragic wife.

Mr Kellagh (“battle suffering”) is the Seonaidh’s treacherous quartermaster.

The chatty Mr Calder (“harsh and cold waters”) meets a violent death at sea.

The kind and wise Kenna (“pretty”) MacTammas is the blinded cook at the lighthouse.

Mr Mackinney (“God has heard me”) is the village minister.

Eithne (“little seed, kernel”) is a dulse (seaweed) thrasher.

Grizel (“fighting in darkness”) is the village midwife.

Leith (“damp, moist”) is drowned in the first chapter.

Dwelly’s sister, Anne, marries Mr Murdoch (“seaman, mariner”), who abandons her for a life at sea.

And lastly, the fir ghorma (pronounced feer GOR-muh) existed in Scottish myth; they were believed to be storm kelpies that inhabited the stretch of water between the northern Outer Hebrides and mainland Scotland. They have the power to create storms, and they seek out sailors to drown and stricken boats to sink and pillage. These mythical creatures looked much like humans except for their blue colouring.

So that’s what’s in a name!

COUNTING WORDS

THE LAIRS — my second book after THE GALLANT — is now in the hands of my agent, Christopher. He read the first 10 chapters a few months back, made some great suggestions on direction, and then I spent the next few months finishing it. (More on that later.)

THE LAIRS is a definite turn in tone from THE GALLANT … it’s an easier and quicker read with a linear timeline, short chapters, and more humor. It’s set in the theatre world of 19th century London. No pirates, sea kelpies, or magic senses, but there is a ghost who plays a central role in the narrative.

I found THE LAIRS to be a much easier writing experience … maybe because it was my second book? And the story is much less complex than the first book, with no lengthy flashbacks to juggle. I mapped out highly detailed outlines of both books before I started writing, which makes the process so much easier for me.

THE GALLANT took 6 months to write and about 5 months to revise before I started querying — so almost a year. THE LAIRS took about 6 months to write and about 2 months to revise.

Christopher says he loves a prolific client, and that’s what I hope to be. If I can keep up this pace, I believe I can write a book a year.

The typical novel in my genre (literary historical) is between 80,000 and 100,000 words. My comfort zone is to write about 1,000 words a day — which translates to 80-100 days, but I sometimes take days off or just feel lazy and write about half my goal. I use wordcount software (Pacemaker Press) to keep track of where I am in the process. With both books, I estimated writing would take about 6 months, so the software calculates how many words I need to write each day to make my goal by the endpoint. Every morning I get an email with that day’s wordcount goal, which gives me that fun push to strive for.

If 80,000 words in 6 months sounds difficult, consider:

6 months = 180 days (roughly)

That’s about 128 weekdays (roughly)

If you write only Monday-Friday, taking weekends off, you’ll have an 80,000-word manuscript in six months by just writing 625 words a day!

Or heck … take a whole year to write your novel. That’s just over 400 words a day. (Considering that most emails are at least 100 words, that’s nothing.)

You’ll also find that the more regularly you sit down to write, the higher your wordcount will be. When I started writing THE GALLANT, a good day for me was about 750 words. (Keep in mind that I edit as I go.) Now, a couple years later, I find I can easily hit 1,250-1,500 a day.

My point is, writing a novel sounds daunting. But if you take it seriously, and if you put in the time, you can do it.

MY FIRST LOVE

Here’s how I came to write my first novel.

Although my day job is in the visual arts (photography & design), I’m equally comfortable in the world of words. I’ve written short stories and magazine articles for many years, but I never dreamed I could one day write a novel. I remember thinking, how could I possibly sustain a story for that long?

And then three tornados hit me: Harry Potter, Humphrey, and COVID.

I was very late to jump on the speeding train that is Harry Potter and the Wizarding World, but when I finally got around to reading the books in 2019, I was hooked. I read all seven books in about six weeks. 

Around this time, my husband John and I welcomed a very active puppy into our home. He is a Portuguese Water Dog, and his name is Humphrey. (You’ll see his photos on my Instagram page.) Of course we immediately became obsessed with him, but that’s a story for another day. And what does one do with a long-haired puppy? Walk him and brush him. Every day. That was a lot of time to spend with Humphrey, and right away I started talking to him about Harry Potter: which books were my favorites, which characters were my favorites, why I’d rather have an Owl than a Frog or Rat, and why I was destined to join the house of Ravenclaw.

I started looking for something else to read in the same genre, but for adults instead. I couldn’t find anything that struck me, and I complained about this to Humphrey.

So I thought, I should write something myself.

I started thinking of what kind of magic system I’d like to read about. I came up with a system based on heightened senses: smell, sight, touch, etc. Then I imagined a main character. Then a setting. Then a plot. Then a hook. By then, it was early spring, 2020.

On our walks, I outlined the book to Humphrey over and over again, chewing on plot holes, pondering additional characters, solving puzzles, until the whole story finally came together.

Humphrey is a very good listener.

In March 2020, when Humphrey was about 10 months old, the third tornado hit: COVID. I was laid off to part-time hours at my magazine job, and suddenly had a lot of free time to myself.

The perfect time to write a novel.

So I sat down and wrote out the novel outline that had lived in my head during those long walks with Humphrey. The outline came to 20+ pages. I made character sketches. I researched the setting (Scotland). I studied how the human body processes sensory input, to make my magic system more believable. The outline actually took about a month to complete. Finally one night, I said: OK, it’s time to start writing.

Next thing I knew, I had written my first novel! (Or if I’m honest, about six months later.)

That novel got me signed with an agent. We went out on submission but it stalled — heartbreak. It’s still my first love, and one day it simply must be published. Some writers say their first novel lives happily in a dark drawer, never to see the light of day, but I’m proud of my first one. Some day, it will be published!

Meanwhile, I kept writing. I’ve now finished two more novels, both now out on submission. Waiting for that one YES.

SOUNDTRACK

While many writers prefer to work in silence, my tent is pitched by the fire in the music camp. Listening to music on headphones while I write helps me focus. It has to be instrumental (no vocals), and I prefer film soundtracks, ambient electronica, classical, and even drone.

Many writers compile pretend soundtracks for their novels-in-progress — a set of songs that either conveys the spirit of the writing, or a playlist that follows the actual narrative. For THE GALLANT, I chose the latter; my faux soundtrack has an opening theme, interludes for certain characters and events, and even a choral version of the central poem (The Gallant Weaver, by Robert Burns) that provided my title.

You can listen on iTunes or a slightly different version on Spotify… enjoy!

WRITING FRIENDS

Late last week, I got my manuscript of THE LAIRS back from my friend Carly. She offered to beta-read the ms for me, and of course I said yes. I met Carly through The Shit No One Tells You About Writing podcast community, where I’ve met the bulk of my other writing friends. Having a great beta reader like Carly — a natural fit for my my target reader audience — is such a gift. She’s smart, clever, funny, and adorable. She made insightful comments within the ms and we talked about them on a Zoom meet last week. I’m now working on incorporating her suggestions into the ms.

The podcast also led me to three of my other beta readers — Tara (who is also in my writing group, The Bumbles), Hannah, and Kit. Also in The Bumbles is Emily, Bridget, and Ashley, who read several chapters of both THE GALLANT and THE LAIRS in the writing process, and offered brilliant suggestions. The manuscript is also in the hands of my friend Zilpha, a great copy editor and a whip-smart reader of literary fiction. I’ve also been lucky enough to have my best friend, Dan, read for me, as well as Robbie (a fellow author) and Sharon (an author and creative-writing teacher).

Once I get the ms back from everyone, I’ll read through their suggestions and comments and tweak the manuscript as needed. If more than one reader flags the same issue, I’ll know I have a bit of work to do before sending to my agent.

How lucky am I to have great beta readers like these kind people! I know what a time commitment it is to read a book for a friend, and I appreciate it more than they’ll ever know. One day I hope to add their names to an acknowledgements page!

MOODBOARD FOR THE LAIRS

In yesterday’s post I shared my moodboard for THE GALLANT. Today, it’s the moodboard for THE LAIRS. The new novel is set in London, 1878, and the settings include the main character’s estate (an old abbey) and also a Victorian-era theatre. All the photography is my own.