My Process

I am so excited about this middle grade contemporary science fiction I'm writing. I realise that perhaps no one else would be interested in it, but I'm excited to read it to my own children once it's finished.

I started writing this novel at the beginning of the school summer holidays in July. It began as a few ideas here and there until I could rewrite the entire thing and work with the first draft I have today.

My Process

The way I write my books is like this. (If there is a better method, please let me know!)

First, I write my novel by hand. This is slow and sometimes infuriating as I can't write it as fast as I think it, and I certainly type a good deal faster than I can write. However, I find that I'm more careful about the words I use when I have to write it slowly.

So the first draft of all the books I've written and the future books I write will most likely be hand written. I think I went through four pens writing this book. I didn't quite finish my pad of paper, however.

Second Draft

After that, I spend time typing the hand written copy onto the computer. This is mainly a copy typing exercise but I do some editing along the way.

I leave notes to myself when I'm writing the first draft for changes to make when I type up the second draft. I may include a new scene or completely rewrite a paragraph or two.
I type the manuscript double spaced so that when I type it out I can scribble corrections or alterations all over it.

Third Draft

Once I've typed up and printed the second draft, that will be scribbled all over, making it into my 3rd draft. I'll also add scenes or delete scenes where needed and rewrite paragraphs yet again. I find it easier to edit the paper copies. I can carry it around with me and read it whenever I want to.

This is a precious draft. It's the first time my book will have been printed on paper in a sort of book format. Hopefully, it won't be the last.

I find that sometimes it's easier to read printed text than it is on the computer, and I sometimes miss mistakes if they're on the computer.

Fourth Draft

Once all the changes have been added to the third draft, my forth draft goes to Beta readers (any volunteers?). From there, I take on their ideas and suggestions and make the changes that are needed.

Final Draft - Complete

This copy of my book contains all the changes, the suggestions and ideas that have appeared in the process. This copy is the one I will send out with queries. Hopefully then it has been edited and changed and adjusted within an inch of its life, it's the best it can ever be.

High Hopes

When I had a bout of writers block during this process, I thought about what I wanted from my book: I wanted to write the book I'd like my son and daughter to read.

They are only young and don't have much experience of Science Fiction. I wanted to write a middle grade novel that would be a good introduction to Science Fiction. Children already know about aliens and space, but I hope that this story would inspire them to think of Science Fiction more seriously.

I really love this story. It has two plucky protagonists, an evil antagonist, mystery, questions, a problem to solve. I hope that my own children enjoy reading it and the other children I read it to.

That's my first hope for this book, that the children I read it to enjoy it. I hope it inspires the children to imagine their own adventures and to introduce children who don't know about Science Fiction to the genre. If I could inspire children to read or watch other Science Fictions, that would be amazing too.

So, fingers crossed it all goes well! I'm currently typing up my second draft.

I am on 11,623 words so far this draft. I wrote about 5000 words today and will in theory write the same all this week. If I can, I'll have this second draft finished so that I can start editing the paper copy.

I'm really looking forward to holding the paper copy of my in development novel.

Second Draft

After the huge panic of the complete rewrite, I've caught up and only finished the entire novel!

There is nothing like the feeling of actually telling the story you want to tell. When I wrote 'The End' at the bottom of my manuscript, it was just the best feeling.

My last book, the Young Adult Science Fiction story I last completed, I wrote the ending when I was half way through. I'd had a clearer picture of the ending than the middle of the book, so I didn't have this feeling of completion.

My Middle Grade Contemporary Urban Science Fiction, I wrote in the order in which the events happened, with the exception of a few ideas I'd had, so writing The End was really the end of the first step in my journey to completing my novel.

It is far from finished, however. At one part, I was just scribbling to get the story out as fast as I could before the ideas ran away, and the ideas were coming so fast that I didn't write them down properly. I know those scenes will need a complete rewrite with a heavy edit.

Also, I'm pretty sure in some of the scenes, my characters are acting out of character. This is ok in some circumstances as I know we don't always act the same in every situation, but at the same time, I don't want them behaving in a way that isn't in their nature.

The Next Step

So, next I will be typing up my manuscript. I find it easier to edit as I go and then to edit what I've typed. I know this is a lengthy process but I hope that means I've really gone through the story with a fine tooth comb.

yWriter

I am writing my story up in word, so I can make sure all the spellings are correct, and then I'm dropping it into yWriter This helps me keep track of my scenes, my word count and lets me track people and objects through the story. (There's not much in it just yet!)

I like this story a lot. I think it might be The One. I like the characters, I like the twists. I like how the characters grow and change and learn. I like the equality and the ending.

I hope my audience likes it too. Crossed fingers!

Complete Rewrite

Okay, so the book needs a complete rewrite from the start.

That's fine, I'm being really zen about it. I will admit, I wasn't very zen about it last night when I realised this isn't my best work.

I am zen about it now and looking forward to really bringing out my story in a way that will delight and inspire awe.

What I've done to help me realise my dream is to print out some artwork I've found online which is inspiring. Some pictures that will keep me focused and on track. I've printed out some drawings of how I envision my characters and hopefully that will keep me on the right track.

I wish I had a writing room where I could put these pictures up and use them to focus. Polly Pockets in my folder will have to suffice.

One of the elements that was letting me down was not having a title. Working title is Galactic Team. This title is crap but it helps me to focus on the end game here. The book will not be submitted under this title but the gist of the thing is there.

So... word count right now is currently: 0.

New Characters

Tim and Lexi

My current work in progress features two protagonists, Tim and Lexi. I wanted both a male and female character not because the female character needs the male, but because I wanted to show equality.

I wanted to create realistic and fun characters that are cheeky, brave and impulsive. I don't go into a lot of detail about what they look like because to me, that's not important. I want the children reading my book to imagine themselves and their friends in the roles of Tim and Lexi.

Whether or not this will remain true after I've edited the second draft, I don't know.
This is what I have so far.

Lexi

Alexia comes from a single parent home. She has a brother and a sister who live with her dad and his new girlfriend, and she has her mum. She recently moved with her mum to the town in which Tim lives and have moved in on the same street as Tim.

She's loud, outgoing and plucky. She loves adventure but there's something quiet about Lexi. While she is loud, she has a quiet thoughtful side. She has a thinking side of her which processes what's happening and makes her ask questions that are important but are also unexpected.

Lexi is an experience collector. She likes to do things and find out what happens later. However, she's not completely careless and knows when she needs to use caution. She has her own boundaries and is very happy with them. She is smart and while her impulsiveness doesn't always allow her to show how smart she is, she has a depth of maturity that is very heartwarming.

Tim 

Timothy is the youngest of two boys. His older brother David is a teen

and the possessor of all the best computer games, which Tim covets. It's not until he meets Lexi that he's brave enough to pinch one of his brother's games to play with her.

Tim is used to being one of the cleverest people in the room. At school, he's learnt that the teachers know he's clever and he acts accordingly. He's reserved, thoughtful and proud. Yet, there is a vulnerable side to him. He knows he's not as clever as people make out and he's not as 'spur of the moment' as he would like to be. He envies Lexi's ability to just give things ago and see what happens.

Tim is not an experience collector. He picks and chooses what he wants to do and if he feels a bit out of his comfort zone, he may withdraw. The one thing that makes Tim shine is where something is out of his comfort zone, particularly in the climax of Book 1 where Tim can put aside his worries and reservations.

Tim is kind, loyal and friendly. He welcomes Lexi as a friend on their first meeting and while he doesn't agree with everything she says or does, he accepts her immediately as someone he can trust and be friends with.

How I Feel 

I really like these characters. When I'm writing about them, and I know
other writers have said this as well, I almost picture my own children. They are very loosely based on my own children although my own are much younger than the characters here and haven't quite settled on their own personalities yet.

What I Wanted to Achieve

I want to show that while they are different genders, there's an equality between them. Lexi and Tim both have strengths and weaknesses and they support each other. I want to say that it doesn't matter that one is a boy and the other is a girl, they are both people who can achieve anything they want to.

Stories of my Absense

Have been fairly accurate

So where have I been? And why haven't I been blogging? Well.

I just finished a contemporary middle grade fantasy where the main protag flies away to a magical land where she meets a number of interesting characters, solves the mystery of why she, over everyone else, was chosen to go to this magical land and... well, I can't give away the ending.

It was nice, and a cute story. I read it to some children who found it gripping. They don't pick up on the subtle clues, though, but it was ok. I pointed them out. Ha har! I had the Faraway Tree

And now?

I'm currently writing a contemporary middle grade science fiction. I'm not sure what made me move away from my young adult novel. I still have it, it's not been binned but I'm currently working on middle grade.

I was thinking about my own children when writing this science fiction. I was thinking about what sci fi my own children are exposed to.

I am a huge sci fi fan. I like fantasy and contemporary, I even like historical fiction but science fiction is my favourite.

I was thinking about introducing my own children to science fiction and what I'd want their first experiences of science fiction to be. So, I came up with the current story I'm writing now.

There are two main protags: Tim and Lexi. Tim is smart, knowledgeable and brainy. Lexi is also smart and she's impulsive, brave and practical. Unusual happenings have been in the news and then something particularly unusual happens to these rather ordinary children. Then the adventure begins.

Blurbs are not my forte obviously. I will work on it.

The reason I haven't been blogging is because I have been writing. Furiously! Once my fantasy had finished I was able to focus on this science fiction.

I do suffer with a lot of self doubt as a writer. I wonder if it's any good and if anyone would actually enjoy reading it.

I think that it's a very honoured position to be in, being a successful published author. It sort of means, in a way, that people have looked inside your imagination, liked what they see, and have come back for more. I think it's amazing.

A Need to Focus

Three Novels at the Same Time

So I have started writing a third novel. It’s a middle grade fantasy novel and I really love it. I’ve got some ideas that I really like to make it unique and different but also familiar.

I also have another middle grade fantasy that was inspired by my son playing, and also partly inspired by the above story.

But what about my scifi novel?

My Favourite Authors

The Authors I Love
Please forgive me, I’ve used a stock image here. I will use images of my actual self at some point, I promise.

Writers really need to be readers too.

I don’t really have a particular genre I like to read. I seem to stumble upon books I really love and then end up reading everything the author has written.

Mainly because everything else they’ve written is pretty good too.

This happened to me when I discovered Sir Terry Pratchett. I found him in a train station.

A New Way to Think About Scene Structure

I Found This Amazing Article!

I am following Angela Ackerman on Twitter and she posted this amazing article about how to rethink scene structure.

It’s really helped me to rethink how I’ve written some scenes in my latest books.

You’ll have to read it to really appreciate it, but what she’s saying is that each scene has it’s own question and what happens in the scene is the answer to that question.

Is the baddie hiding something? Yes or no.

Is the prince going to climb into the castle? Yes or no.

I strongly suggest reading the article as it’s rather good and easy to follow.

It’s something I’ve been thinking about my writing too. Why am I writing this scene? What do I want this scene to do to the plot?

More on World Building

The Specifics

Let’s get down to the nitty gritty. You have decided that your world needs a lot of detail, if not for the plot but for yourself, to give yourself an idea of how it all works and fits together.

You need the rules.

You have decided that your world will take place in a pre-technology magic land, or it will take place in the modern day. Maybe it’s hundreds or thousands of years into the future. But whatever it is, you’ve got it. Now you need the specifics.

Let’s get on with it.

World Building

The Tricky Bit
For a novel to be popular, I think, people want to lose themselves in the world behind it.

For example, I love the Discworld novels, by Sir Terry Pratchett. I have often dreamed of going to Ankh Morpork to explore the streets and meet the characters who live and work there. I imagine Angua giving me a suspicious look, and Dibbler offering me one of his delicious pies. I imagine the smell of the Anhk as it slides its way through the city and the tower from the Unseen University reaching up above the rooftops.

In the Harry Potter books there is a whole wizarding world. They have a sport, newspapers, modes of transportation, education institutions, there world is real and substantial. A reader can imagine themselves living there, and thanks to the magic of cinema, they can even visit the set themselves.
So, a world that is believable is essential.

This is how I build mine:

More About the Characters

What are they all about?

In a previous post I talked about the teenagers in my science fiction worlds. In this post, I’d like to focus on my fantasy characters. They are a little younger than my sci fi teenagers, their journeys are a little different.

In contrast to the teenagers who are hard and brash and want to be antagonistic just for the sake of it, the younger characters are more in awe of the magical worlds around them.  They see through simpler eyes, not childish eyes, but eyes that don’t angst yet.

But, who are they?

Creating Your Online Presence

This is all new to me!

At the risk of sounding incredibly old, creating an online presence is a bit tricky. I’m not entirely sure what to do.

But that’s ridiculous. I have an eReader myself, needing to save space and carry lots of books about at once. I’ve been on MySpace and Facebook for as long as they’ve been about. I look up celebs online, using Wikipedia or Twitter. I’ve even communicated with a few of my favourite authors through tweets, (Hi @DjangoWexler!) Which clearly shows that I know having an online presence is important.

But where do you start?

So, I’m Thinking..

Free Fiction?

I’m obviously starting out and I don’t have a very large online presence (thank you for reading my blog, the 10 people from UK, US and Poland!) so I was thinking, should I offer some short stories for free?