Susanna Calkins, Author
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Is it time for the monkeys?  Seven questions to ask when starting a new novel!

10/10/2012

14 Comments

 
Picture
Maybe the trick is to think like a monkey?
So I'm thinking about starting a new novel, since I'm still in the revision phase of From the Charred Remains. Even though I'm super excited to start book 3 in my Lucy Campion series, it could be problematic to do so. Especially if my beta readers or my editors tell me I need to rewrite the ending of book 2. That hasn't happened, but who knows?

So here are the questions I'm pondering as I procrastinate, er, reflect on this new novel. Most are questions I wished I had asked myself--but of course, didn't--when I began my other novels. There's a bit of choose-your-own adventure quality to this novel-writing business, I find.


1. Do I have an idea that can be developed over 85,000 words?  Do I want to spend years with this idea, draft after draft? 
If yes, I'll continue.  If I don't, then I'll stop now.   If its not compelling enough to me, than why bother?

2.  Where am I going to set this story?  Since I like to set my stories in the past, I've been spending some time mulling over backdrop and scenery.  While I expect to research details, I find it easier to frame my novel during a time period for which I already have a basic understanding of larger political, social, economic and gender developments and trends. Paging through history texts help me envision specific aspects of the setting. However, I do of course need to find ways to make the "real" world my own.


3. Do I have a point-of-view character?  Is this a character I enjoy writing about?  Have I thought about what motivates, scares, excites, infuriates this character? Where does this character fit--or not fit--into society? Do I have a sense of her voice? Do I have the image of this character in my mind?   Only after I get a semblance of the main character do I feel I can move on.

(Here's where I cheat. I usually find a celebrity who looks something like the character I have in my mind; this helps me remember what I think this person is supposed to look like). 

4. Do I have a main problem at the heart of my story?  If it's a mystery, that's easy. Whodunnit?  But I'm writing a different kind of story this time, so I need to think through the central problem. Until I've worked out why this is even a problem, I find I can't proceed effectively.

5. Do I have a general sense of what the other characters want in life?  What kinds of quests, problems, motivations do they possess? Are the goals of my minor characters aligned with--or at odds with--those of my point-of-view character?  I do figure this out along the way but I find it helpful to have some starting ideas.

6.  Do I have a sense of the ending, and perhaps more importantly, a sense of the middle?
I think most writers--and perhaps most readers--would agree sagging middles can really ruin a novel.  So I like to think through the middle a bit before I start floundering. I've been in that morass before, and I don't like it. Jump in with a line to the other end, is how I like to think about it! (Yet, I've messed this up twice.  Note to self:  IN MYSTERIES, FIGURE OUT WHO THE KILLER IS BEFORE STARTING WRITING!).

7. And one last question...How will I ever string together another 85,000 words in a meaningful way?  (There's a related question here: Why am I doing this crazy thing?)  While I've thought about hiring 1000 monkeys to type for a 1000 years, I'm going to try the best approach I know:  After figuring out the shape of my story, I will just take one scene at a time.  If necessary, one paragraph at a time. And if really necessary, I will just-peck-one-word-at-a-time-until-the-first-draft-is-done.  And that's it! 

What about you?  What questions would you (do you) ask, when you sit down to create a new novel from scratch?  And how many bananas will you need to feed the monkeys?


14 Comments
Matt
10/10/2012 12:27:41 pm

Another insightful entry! A non-mystery, eh? Intriguing.

By the way, there's no need to hire all 1000 monkeys. Just hire one, then "monkey see, monkey do" will take care of the rest!

Reply
Susie link
10/11/2012 02:59:58 am

Matt, yes, but won't they just write the same things. The total nerd is me is like, I guess we'll get Marlowe instead of Shakespeare that way!

Reply
Susie link
10/11/2012 03:03:31 am

Now the double nerd in me is saying, "Geez, I meant Johnson!"

bekerys
10/10/2012 08:51:31 pm

I think it would be cool for you to continue the little "Larry and the Pebble" story that you set in the far-off future. Science fiction/fantasy is a blast, 'cause you can make it all up and as long as it sounds plausible and you are consistent, who can tell you you are wrong?

Reply
Susie link
10/11/2012 03:01:24 am

No I think my readers did a better job with that then I did. Maybe YOU should write that sci-fi novel! but that reminds me. Maybe its time for another prompt!

Reply
Julia link
10/16/2012 02:11:21 am

Love this post! I've recently started writing and this is very helpful! The question I am asking right now is similar to your number 5: What are the motivations, stories, and personalities of the other characters?

Reply
Susie link
10/16/2012 02:30:55 am

Julia, For me, I sometimes find it easier (and more fun!) to discover these back stories and motivations as I go along. Now that I'm on my fourth novel, I'm coming to realize that for me it works to remind myself of my characters little quirks and traits in a separate document; that helps me remember to emphasize them in later drafts. This way each character, no matter how fleeting his or her presence, has a purpose and some individuality.

Reply
bekerys
10/20/2012 06:27:29 am

wait....4th novel? There's Rosamund's Gate, Charred Remains, the new one, and another new one? Which one did I miss?

Susie link
10/20/2012 08:07:43 am

Yup. I have another mystery, which I wrote when A Murder at Rosamund's Gate was on submission (before I wrote From the Charred Remains). I figured I shouldn't write a sequel until the first book sold. So after I've written a few in my Lucy series, then I'll have this one to try out. Set in 1930s Chicago, is all I'll say! :-)

Reply
bekerys
11/10/2012 03:42:09 am

So--right in the Prohibition period?

Reply
Susie link
11/10/2012 05:04:30 am

Yup, another time period which is really interesting to me. But I didn't want it to be in the roaring 20s, but rather set right at the beginning of the Great Depression.

windows support tools link
8/8/2013 04:25:48 pm

I have read your book, 'A Murder at Rosamund's Gate' recently. I should say it is totally awesome. Appreciate the way of your writing. I am looking forward to read 'From the Charred Remains'. I think it's scheduled to be released in 2014, right?

Reply
susie link
8/8/2013 11:19:36 pm

thanks! I appreciate it! Yes the next one is scheduled to be released April 22 2014. I know the specific date because of all-knowing amazon!

Reply
Eli Graham link
9/8/2013 02:38:14 am

Lovely blog, thanks for posting.

Reply



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    Susanna Calkins

    Historian. Mystery writer. Researcher. Teacher.  Occasional blogger.

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  • Home
  • Lucy Campion Mysteries
    • A Murder at Rosamund's Gate
    • From the Charred Remains
    • The Masque of a Murderer
    • A Death Along the River Fleet
    • The Sign of the Gallows
    • The Cry of the Hangman
    • Death Among the Ruins
  • The Speakeasy Murders
    • Murder Knocks Twice
    • The Fate of a Flapper
  • Short Stories
  • Blog
  • News & Events
    • Event Photos
    • Archived Guest Posts & Interviews
  • The Roaring Twenties
  • 17th c. England
  • Writing Resources
  • Nonfiction
  • New Page