Good morning. The news this Wednesday is quite simple. My recent work in progress, 1892, is now out in Kindle format and on KU. The paperback version will be a little while longer because we needed to adjust the spine and its text (my fault), but hopefully, it will be with us within the week. This means I can get back to my other work in progress, ‘Follow the Van’ which I have started revisiting after a few weeks away.
It’s always a good idea to keep notes as you’re writing a first draft, and I have a book beside me with the notes I make when writing or rereading a chapter. This is particularly important with a mystery or a detective novel because there are so many tiny facts which have to be consistent. I reread my notes, put them in order again, transfer them to the main, larger notebook on my writing table, and then completely forget what I’ve just noted. Each time I go through the draft chapters to refresh myself, I make more notes, until I have all manner of lists and ideas, details and pointers hanging around beside me.
Another thing I’ve started doing with the Delamere series is to make some notes within the manuscript. I use footnotes to remind myself to check I have tied up a thread or answered a question. Put another way, when I write something I know needs explaining later, I put a footnote to remind myself ‘Make sure this is explained later’ kind of thing. Then, when I read the draft back, I check the note, and if I’ve explained later, I delete it. If I haven’t, I leap forward to where it needs to be explained and make the change. While I am doing this, I am also going through my book, crossing out what’s been done, and preparing a separate list of what still needs to be clarified, cut or developed.
For now, I am going to work on ‘Follow the Van’ up until Christmas, and then take two weeks off – we’re all going to Athens for New Year; more about that another time. More about the WIP and other matters in time too. I’ll have my usual Saturday and Wednesday blogs up until 23rd December, and will then be away. So, if you’ve not downloaded your copy of ‘1892’ yet, here’s the Amazon.com link, though the book is available in other Amazon stores.
