Review, Plan and Keep Going

I’m back from holidays and have spent the last week or so editing chapters six-ten. I had several things in mind when doing it: is my protagonist driving every chapter?; is it clear in every chapter what she wants and what is stopping her?; use of secondary characters purely to bring out my protagonist’s character; and then language, historical accuracy, balance between dialogue and description etc. Finally, I wanted to ensure that it was working on a macro level. The latter is the part that was most interesting. Each chapter is a scene but it was the joining of the scenes and running threads between them and leaving them set up for future chapters that is my latest challenge. This has meant the adding of another character which not only provided more confrontation for my protagonist but who will also turn up later and cause trouble. I have now sent it off to my tutor ready for a tutorial at the end of next month.
This morning I sat down to start chapter eleven and reviewed my novel plan (in spreadsheet form which I have discussed before). Immediately it was clear that the macro issue needs resolving here before I can start writing. When I did the initial plan I didn’t know my characters as well or much of the detail of their world. I have now commenced going through all my research and linking it with the general plan that I currently have. This is already sparking ideas as to how my protagonist can move through the events that I want her to. I will then review the plan in terms of the other characters and create as many situations for my protagonist that bring out the different sides of her and make a good page turner. I have also decided that I will probably have to give in and have a ‘romantic’ element but there is no way it will turn into a romance. In actual fact, I will probably end up breaking the poor woman’s heart...
I am feeling excited about the next ten chapters. The first ten set the scene and now the action really begins.

Stewing

A couple of weeks ago I finished Chapter 10. This also marks the close of the first ‘act’ of the novel. It’s finished in one sense but it seems more like the beginning of the real work. I intend to leave it to stew for another fortnight while I go away on holiday. When I return I will spend a few weeks editing before moving on to the next ‘act’. Editing is yet another skill in its own right. During my MA and the commencement of this novel, I have improved my ability to read my work objectively and have learnt what my strengths and weaknesses are. For example, I know that I tend to write economically and not fully develop key scenes. This is normally because I feel the need to get something down, as well as a desire to edit long pieces to ensure balance. I have recently come across two interesting web links. The first is from Mslexia http://www.mslexia.co.uk/magazine/features/feature_49.php. This relates directly to editing. The second is a useful post by Emma Darwin on scenes/chapters and how they are linked. http://emmadarwin.typepad.com/thisitchofwriting/2011/09/making-a-scene.html.
The latter is something that I will need to consider when editing. Of course, there is also editing in terms of historical research, continuity etc. It should keep me busy but it reminds me of the advice given by many established authors – if you want to write a novel then get on and write. You can do a great deal with a draft but absolutely nothing with a blank page.