Christian Klaver is the author of the Empire of the House of Thorns series, starting with SHADOWS OVER LONDON. He also wrote SHERLOCK HOLMES AND COUNT DRACULA, the beginning of the Classified Dossier series.
Christian’s Tip: The thing I wish I’d understood earlier in my career was the dual nature of editing. You absolutely need extensive editing (self-editing, and also editing from others) to get things into proper shape. But editing is also the siren call that can keep you from ever finishing your novel or story. Just about every new writer I've ever met, myself included, has spent endless time noodling over the first three chapters in their book to an extent that they're in danger of never actually finishing the book. Figuring out how to avoid this destructive cycle varies from writer to writer. Some writers, discovery drafters I know, just limit the amount of time they're allowed to edit before they have to press on to the next chapter. Some jump whenever they get stuck, often writing the book out of order and piecing it together later. There's an interesting book called The Weekend Novelist that recommends writing the linchpin scenes first, including the first and last, then going back and connecting the dots. I used to discovery-draft my way through a book, but eventually became a convert for the outline. (It's important to remind yourself constantly that the outline isn't etched in stone.) In fact, the outline is often wrong (occasionally VERY wrong) by the time I finish the book. I usually do several 1 page outlines before I start the book, and often re-write the entire outline or parts of it, several times before I complete the book. I like to do this on paper to get me away from the computer. Once you have a first rough draft, fixing any problems in the draft becomes so much easier, but I still continue to take notes. In fact, in addition to the Outline for Plot, I keep notes on Character, Setting, and Research, too. I used to use some fancy programs for this, but eventually just stuck to using Word or Notepad. There's a notepad-style program called Keynote NF (not the Microsoft one) that's useful for this, but that's hardly necessary. Good luck and happy writing! |
