Week 9 - Early Humbug?

They’re starting to do it. I have lost count of the times I have read interviews with authors who have said that their characters have taken on a life of their own. Whenever I read this, I always think, “Oh come on, how precious can you get?”

Well, what do you know? There I was writing the introduction for one of the two main characters in my book. I always knew when they would first appear within the novel (about a quarter of the way in), but I assumed that they would say what I wanted them to say.

As I was typing the initial description of my character, I started to get a weird nagging feeling. A bit like when you have headphones on and the music is blotting out the rest of the world, but you suddenly get the feeling that someone is talking to you.

As my fingers tapped away at the keyboard and I approached the first lines my new character would speak, a voice in my head was saying, “I wouldn’t say that, I would be more likely to say this…”

The really odd thing is that the voice was right.

So, the second of my two main characters is now in the novel and is already thinking for himself. This is even stranger because my other main character is quite happy for me to get him to say whatever I want.

This raises an interesting question: does this mean the second character is a stronger/better character?

Only time will tell.

In the meantime, I am continuing to try to write a chapter a week. But how and when?

When I started this blog nine weeks ago, I was writing at the weekends and tying up loose ends in the week. Since then I have noticed that my writing week is changing. I am tending to write almost every day - with perhaps one day off a week - and this seems to be working.

I would be interested in finding out what sort of writing weeks others have: email me at: jimmymac53@googlemail.com and let me know!

This was prompted by Kate Mosse’s Tip Number 9: Don’t Spend Your Ideas Too Freely. In essence, this means the more you talk about something the less effective it will be when you come to write about it, as the mystery will have been revealed.

This is especially interesting for me as I am writing a mystery novel. When my wife asks me how I am doing, can I give away any plot developments, or will this lessen their impact?

It’s a moot point, because I am not telling her anything: she will have to read this blog! It’s the only place where I will be revealing elements of my story as I progress.

Kate should be proud - I am not just avoiding spending my thoughts too freely, I am turning into the Ebenezer Scrooge of Ideas!