Character Sketches -- 2

Another character from my novel, this time the gifted but ruthless ‘hero-turned-bad’ Adam Lang. He is the archetypal golden boy, back-slapped off the rails by excessive praise of his talents -- brought up to aim so high that he despises everyone below him. I think we all went to school with someone like that. Adam stalks through the story re-arranging the past so that those who don’t fit his vision of the world were never even born in the first place. And when he’s finished, even those who survive can’t be sure he was ever there.

Click for a closer look, but don’t hold his gaze for too long…       

Character sketches -- 1

My novel won’t be illustrated, but that hasn’t stopped me doodling the main characters. I’ll post some of the sketches here while I wait to hear what my editor thinks of the latest revision. This cluster of heads shows my search for a clear sense of Eddie, a troubled fourteen-year-old boy who spends most of the book (and the year 1940) on the run from a ghost he believes is trying to kill him. He’s right about that, but not in the way he thinks.

As ever, click for a closer look.  

Six Days

Here’s a boost for fellow Chicken House author Philip Webb, whose debut SF novel, Six Days, is about to be published. I was privileged to read this book a year ago (back when it had a whole other title and publication date) and hearing a little of its progress towards publication has been fascinating and very instructive for me. Find out more here.

Six Days is a fine book indeed, with a truly epic scope (prehistoric stone circles, organic space craft, a billion-year old computer with dangerous hang ups…), but its heart is surely in the 'scavs' and their hand-to-mouth existence in the ruins of London. The voice and voices are strong, the questions intriguing, and I found it easy to follow Cass, Wilbur, Erin and Peyto in their struggle. Philip Webb knows how to tell a story and conjure vivid imagery, as well as balance a sentence perfectly. Strongly recommended for readers 11 (ish)+ who enjoy using their brains.   

Harry Potter and the Mysterious Wizard.

This post has been moved to my new blog. Please follow the link to read it.

(See also: Harry Potter and the Missing Artist)

How to Survive Being Edited and Still Love Your Book/Editor/Self (and Even Occasionally Smile:-)

This wasn’t lifted from a guidebook or a ‘How To’ blog, it comes direct from the Sharp End. I find revising my novel under editorial guidance a bit like experiencing assisted indigestion. Of course, gas is always better out than in, but now I’ve got someone to kick it out, and then give me soda water and interesting new stuff to eat afterwards. It’s exhausting, it’s essential, and I cope with it by being…

-NERVOUS. Don’t let anyone tell you to be relaxed about your work. Nervous energy is good – it prevents complacent or comfortable writing, and keeps you out of the biscuit tin. And fortunately there’s loads to be nervous about, especially if it’s your first novel. So bite those nails! Drink too much coffee! And don’t worry if a little cold sweat seeps into your keyboard -- there really is everything to play for and everything to lose. A nervous brain is a very active organ, a nervous brain gets things done. So keep it real, brothers and sisters -- keep it twitchy.

-HUMBLE. You are not in complete control of your novel, only the writing of it. And this is good because no way can you be expected to bring much objectivity to something you’ve been giving birth to for years. If it’s rubbish, you need to be told. If your editor spots a useful connection you could make, or a logical flaw you shouldn’thave, just be grateful. The only question you should ask is, ‘would this change improve the book?’. If the answer is yes – and somewhere deep down you’ll always know the answer to that question – then go for it. Just remember to also be...

-RUTHLESS. You’re living on your nervous system and your ego is in chains. Now you are loose in a world of your own making with the most powerful weapon a creator can have: the delete button. Even your main character reaches for a spare pair of trousers as you clank by, your senses straining in every direction for signs of plot device, flabby prose and vile non sequiturs. You have already driven cliché to the edge of extinction, and reduced vast herds of Adverbs to a few captive specimens. On your keyboard, no button shines as brightly as the one that used to say ‘Delete’.

A huddle of emaciated back-stories spot you. They point at each other and shriek, ‘Him! Do it to him!’ but you merely scatter them with your passing – you’re after new prey now. Up ahead, a minor character who no longer pulls his weight is too busy ordering pizza to notice your approach. It’s only when your monstrous scales disrupt his wireless connection, preventing him from uploading his third best Mahjong score, that he looks up into your pitiless lens. In a second, he’s off his chaise longue and running, but it’s already too late.

You know where he lives.

Getting the Title Right, Getting the Title Wrong...

 Regular readers of this blog will know that I have a novel due out next year, a supernatural thriller entitled The Ghost Effect. I’ve been a bit sparing with details of this event until now, mostly because I have been up to my mind’s eye in rounds of heavy revision. But as time slips by and things begin to speed up, I can start reporting milestones in the book’s progress towards publication, starting now with the news that my book almost certainly won’t be called The Ghost Effect.

Now, I always suspected this might happen, even though I did put a lot of thought into the issue of titling over the two years of the book’s creation. The story is about kids who can travel in time through their dreams. Because it’s non-physical time-travel, they take on an ethereal form as they do this, being spotted throughout history as ghosts. The title was conceived as a combination of the creepy Germanic ‘ghost’ with the  Latinate, science word ‘effect’, a mis-match that was intended to create an intriguing whole. Like the Butterfly Effect, only spookier. At least, that was the idea. However, I always felt that ‘effect’ was a weak title word, and, as it turns out, so does everyone else.

So, what will the title actually be? Well, that’s being debated right now. There is one strong contender, but I won’t say anything about that just yet. What does strike me though is how closely those involved in marketing books think about these things. And also just how popular one-word titles have become. Finding a single word that captures the essence of my book, is universally relatable, and looks/sounds fab, though, now that’s a tall order! Even the English language has its limits. But one thing is certain – it’s crucial to get it right. Watch this space.