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Writing Process

Getting sneaky with ‘Easter Eggs’

I attended a book launch in July 2023, for a debut novel set in Tasmania. When Q&A came around, I asked the author: “what’s next?” She said she was already working on a new novel, but it wasn’t related, although she may put one of the characters from the last book into the next book. 

“Like an Easter egg,” the moderator said. “Where you bring other characters from another book into a completely new story”. 

The lightbulb in my head went on. It’s like someone finally explained to me how my brain works.

First, let me explain first what an ‘Easter Egg’ is, in case you’re not aware of the term. In literary terms, ‘Easter eggs’ are a little extra something that authors hide in their books for their fans to find. It can be a character, a place, an object, or a bit of dialogue.

But I’ve never thought of ‘Easter Eggs’ in a literary sense. Some of my themes, motifs, whatever you want to call them, would be classed as ‘Easter eggs’. For example, when I use the nickname “sweetness” in every book, it’s technically an ‘Easter egg’. 

When I wrote THE DECISIONS WE MAKE, I was on the fence about joining the novel to CAMINO WANDERING. 

THE DECISIONS WE MAKE is not set on the Camino de Santiago, but in Tasmania. The Camino wisdom is woven into the story, but not in an obvious way. There are characters from CAMINO WANDERING in the book, but they aren’t the primary characters. The book is a standalone novel. 

But I kept being told that I had to write a series. “It’s the only way to be successful as a writer,” I was told – repeatedly.  My intuition was telling me otherwise – and you know something? I should have listened to my instincts.

When I did some research of my own, I discovered that writing series is popular with fantasy, science fiction, thrillers… but not so much with women’s fiction. When I look at some of the authors I love, whose books I devour, I realised that most of them are standalone books.

Plus, I’m beginning to realise that I’m not a series writer. I love standalone. When I think of my novel FINDING THE WAY (2024), I don’t want it to follow the same path (no pun intended) as CAMINO WANDERING. I need Merritt (the main character) to find another way for herself. There may be other characters from other novels (hello ‘Easter Eggs’) but it will be a standalone novel. Not connected to CAMINO WANDERING. Not connected to THE DECISIONS WE MAKE. And now I know that, I’m finding strength in the story now. 

But this is what I love about self-publishing. I can make changes when it makes sense to do so. Sure, I have books already published that will need updating. New covers, disassociating them from each other etc… And those are time-consuming changes, but it feels right doing this.

My footing feels solid with this plan.

Besides, maybe a reader will read one of my books and wonder, “I wonder what else she has written?”

Why There Are Heavy Themes in my Storylines

I have always written short stories. In fact, I got a Corona typewriter when I was 12 or 13. I drove my parents nuts with that thing! I still write short stories, but they aren’t the light, fluffy romance stories of a hormonal teenager.

Now they focus around decisions women must make in their lives around relationships, death, and everyday life. All of my main characters centre around women overcoming seemingly insurmountable challenges as they reveal who they are and what they’re made of.

That’s a brilliant line, isn’t it? Who they are and what they’re made of.

A fellow author, Lori Oliver-Tierney, who wrote a fantastic memoir titled “Trudge”, about her journey walking the Pacific Crest Trail, wrote that line. When I read her book, it was like someone had shined a spotlight on to the page. The line jumped out at me. I was writing CAMINO WANDERING at the time and struggling with it. Suddenly, that line brought it all together for me. I reached out to Lori and asked her if I may use it. She shared with me it was something her mother used to say to her, and she’d be honoured if I used it. Since CAMINO WANDERING has been published, that line is the undercurrent for all of my novels.

My novels share powerful messages, social issues I suppose, and tend to be raw and emotive, but nothing women don’t face in real life. Sometimes the imagery is vivid, as in BENEATH THE SURFACE (my first suspense novel), but I include trigger warnings when necessary… and isn’t that a controversial decision?!

But my novels aren’t completely dark.

Humour is always woven throughout because if we don’t laugh about stupid stuff, when can we? There’s always a character who offers a lightness to the story, or there’s a banter between characters that evokes a chuckle.

 

Friendships are key, especially friendships between women.

How I Wrote My First Novel

My writing journey has been slightly different to most. I like to think of myself as a bit of a crackpot writer (hence the name of my website), but once I explain this, you may understand why.

In 2016, I was working as a travel blogger, building an audience for when my husband and I would hit the road and travel full time in 2017. But one morning, I woke from a dream so vivid, I couldn’t ignore it. I thought, ‘Wow! That would make for a great scene in a novel!’ And so, I grabbed some coffee and headed downstairs to my home office to write.

Eighteen hours later, I was still writing.

 

That dream was the start of BENEATH THE SURFACE. Thankfully, my husband kept me ‘fed and watered’ during those eighteen hours because somehow, I couldn’t stop writing.

I didn’t publish BENEATH THE SURFACE until 2021, and that scene never made it into the published version. The book started as a romance novel, but in the end, I dug deep and took it in a whole other direction. I also realised then that I really wasn’t a fan of ‘white knights’ coming to save the day of the damsel in distress. She could save herself, thank you very much. She just had to find her confidence first.

 

 

Since then, I’ve been ultra-aware of my dreams. A lot of time, while I’m deep into the drafting process, I’ll often have my characters ‘chat to me’ in that period between asleep and awake. In fact, the twist in BENEATH THE SURFACE came through in a dream, and I also thought it fitting to use dreams as an element in the novel as well.

If you’re curious about how that book ended up, check out this link which will give you more information the book. 

Do you listen to your dreams?

 

What Has Influenced My Writing 

I have been cranking out stories since I was about ten years old. When I was thirteen, I received an old Smith-Corona typewriter for Christmas, which quickly became a gift my dad regretted giving. I used to drive him nuts with the clickity clack of those keys! 

Throughout my childhood, in a time without internet or cell phones (I’m aging myself here), I was surrounded by stories. We listed to vinyl records on Saturday mornings while we cleaned the house with Mum. Since my dad was in the Army, we were constantly moving, which meant always making new friends and discovering new places. We spent our days outside with new friends, playing no further than the streetlamp at the end of the street, until Mum yelled to for us to come inside, usually around sunset.

Many years later, when I took a writing class in Sydney in 2016, one of the first questions our instructor asked was what influences your writing? To be honest, the question threw me. I had no clue, nor had I really thought about it. I just wrote down what was in my head. What I learned because of that question, is one of the most important lessons I took from that class.

What has influenced my writing over the years?

The short answer? Everything. Memories. Books. Music. People. Dreams.

Let’s start with books.

I grew up reading Amelia Bedelia and Pippi Longstocking. I loved Amelia Bedelia’s bumbling flaws and beautiful intentions. She was an absolute mess, and I loved that. It was like reading Mary Poppins without the magic and ‘holier than thou’ prissiness. Amelia Bedelia taught me it was okay to fumble your way through, because you got there in the end. If you had a good heart, kindness, and the best intentions, you would eventually achieve any goal you set your mind to.

Now Pippi Longstocking had adventure in her soul. Because we moved a lot, I was always starting new schools and trying to make new friends. Pippi provided a way to escape into an adventure and get into mischief. I was that goody-two-shoes kind of kid. I always wanted to fit in, and my parents had enough going on, without me getting into any real trouble (that came later). Pippi became the rebel inside me. 

 

I moved from Amelia and Pippy into – I groan as I write this – Danielle Steel. I distinctly remember reading “Summers End” when I was 15. I ran down the outdoor corridor at school, past the library and economics room, yelling (spoiler alert), “she’s pregnant with Ben’s baby!” Okay, so I know it wasn’t classic literature. I was getting enough of that through my English classes. Reading Danielle Steel made me believe that I, too, could be a writer someday and bring the same joy to others through story twists and turns.

And that brings me to my current day obsession with J.D. Robb. Until the 2000s I was a chick lit/romance reader. I still read new Danielle Steel releases, a guilty pleasure that always puts my head into ‘holiday mode’. But Nora Roberts, who writes as J.D. Robb, can draw you in to gore and mayhem like no other. Add in some gorgeously interesting characters – I’d love to have Peabody as a bestie – and you’ve got a reader for life. I think she’s up to Book 54 with her next release in the “In Death” series. It’s with Ms. Roberts that made me feel that I, too, could write a thriller. Not as good as hers, mind you, but a story with some twists and turns of my own.

People.

Mum faced constant change as an Army wife. She never knew where home would be in a year or two. She made the most of what we had and made sure we enjoyed the simple pleasures in life. Seeing my mother’s strength and resilience, when faced with a lifestyle so different to her own upbringing, well, that was an enormous influence with my writing. (Mum continues to be influential when writing about ‘mother hen’ characters overflowing with generosity and kindness.)

My paternal grandfather thought travel was the best thing you could ever do. His later letters spoke of travels with my grandmother and how travel quickly became an addiction. He was always asking us of places we’d like to see when we grew up.  My grandparents often wrote to me, especially once I moved overseas. I loved those letters. In my novel, The Decisions We Make, I weave the idea of letter writing into the story. (You’ll have to read it to understand how.) My grandfather’s handwriting was beautiful and spoke of far-away places. My grandmother’s, scratchy and rushed, told stories that were so blunt they made me laugh out loud (like the time my grandfather slept through his electric blanket catching fire. He was okay, but the way my grandmother described it, you could imagine her shaking her head and saying, ‘Oh Keith….’)

People watching is one of my favourite things to do. Living in the country (now) doesn’t allow for much of it, but whenever I travel, I’m devouring everything that is happening around me. It’s always the little things. Like the old man on the train playing peek a boo with the toddler. The dad reading to the baby strapped to his chest, as he waits for his partner in the nearby shop. I received a tip I received from that Sydney writing instructor: Note everything around you as there’s a story in everything. Best advice ever. 

There is a joke that floats around the writing community: “Be careful or you’ll end up in my novel”. It is probably no surprise that most characters are inspired by real people. 

Friends say they see traces of me in each character from Camino Wandering. It’s true I suppose. I am spiritual like Aubrey (and was called an Indigo Girl on both my Camino wanders, both times by complete strangers). I am creative like Georgina. I love photography and it took me a long time to pluck enough courage to become a professional photographer before I pivoted to be a writer. And, yes, I’m a mother hen and a Camino tragic like Pam – and have been known to swear like a sailor at times too. These characters are also influenced by others I’ve met too. And no, I won’t reveal who.

 

Music.

I’ve recently asked for a vinyl record player for an upcoming birthday. I loved the days of popping on a record while pottering around the house when I was a kid. It’s a favourite memory of my mother (she passed away in 2001) and the best days of my childhood. 

Billy Joel was often played in a house. “For the Longest Time” had us all singing our various roles to that tune, while suds dripped from the dishes. One would sing lead vocal, while the others sang backup. Billy Joel was (is) a master of storytelling. So were Peter Allen, Stevie Wonder, and Barbra Streisand in their heydays… all family favourites.  Eventually I moved on to Noiseworks, Crowded House, then Cold Chisel (once you could interpret Jimmy Barnes slurring vocals). While the beat was great, I was enraptured by the lyrics.

Dreams.

None of my writing could have begun without two things that kicked me into gear. My dreams and that writing class I took in Sydney.

Beneath the Surface was my first manuscript. The storyline was inspired by a dream. I woke thinking my dream would make for an excellent scene in a book, and so I began writing… and was still writing eighteen hours later. Ironically, that scene never made it into the book. (I’ll have to find it to share some day.) The story began in a completely different direction.

Critiques.

The layers of the story (Beneath the Surface) unfolded in the writing class. My fellow writers asked questions in the critique component that made me dig deeper, and the deeper I dug, the more I disliked the romance angle it started from. “White Knight” was thrown around a lot. Thus became the start of multiple rewrites. No wonder it took so long to finish the book!

Since then, I’ve noted my dreams. If you write them down when they are fresh, you can sometimes use them as writing prompts or, if they are vivid, use them as specific scenes. I find dreams a powerful source of influence.

The Camino de Santiago.

Let’s not forget one of the biggest influences in my writing adventure: the Camino. When I finished my first (solo) Camino, I was still working as a travel blogger and so it made sense to write a memoir. But the more I researched it, the more I was put off by the idea. I pondered the idea for a time, and in the meantime, walked another Camino with my husband. By this time, I thought I’d write about the differences between the two experiences. How walking solo opens conversations and connections while walking with another person can create a built-in buffer to others. 

Then I saw one movie that influenced the direction of that book. “The Way” starring Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez. The movie is a fictional tale of grief and connection, while walking the eight-hundred-kilometre trail. That’s when it clicked for me that my Camino story would be a fictional one, and so Camino Wandering emerged.

 

Influences come in all forms. People. Books. Music. Dreams. I know I’m a different kind of writer than many, especially when it comes to taking close note of my dreams. But I think everyone could benefit from the question:  What influences your writing? 

7 Recurring Motifs in My Novels

 

After writing three books now – and now working on the fourth – certain topics are emerging in my novels. Some are intentional, but others seem to be born through the writing process.

To start, there is always a woman with gumption.

Gumption. It’s an interesting word, isn’t it? I LOVE this word.

Why? It’s because of a few scenes in one of of my favourite movies: The Holiday. It stars Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Jack Black, and Cameron Diaz (who completely overplays her character, but I’ve learned to ignore that). My favourite character in ‘The Holiday’ is played by the delightful Eli Wallach. The scenes between Kate Winslet and Eli Wallach (Iris and Arthur) are beautiful. You can feel their natural chemistry. In this movie, they talk about old movies of the thirties, forties, and fifties, and how so many actresses of that time had gumption. (And Iris – spoiler alert – eventually finds hers.)

I love writing about women, like Iris, like these older characters in movies, who face seemingly insurmountable challenges. I mean, that’s life, right? But it’s exciting to write how they find the way through the thicket to discover who they are, and ultimately, what they are made of. It’s this idea that keeps centred on what’s important when writing these stories. I know what I want to get across, but the journey, the path, is always different.

There’s always a mystery.

My books are classified as ‘Women’s Fiction’, even Beneath the Surface could be classified as that. No matter what novel I write, there will always be some kind of mystery. Something that hooks you in, prompting you to keep reading.

I always use ‘sweetness’, either as a nickname or an actual name in another language.   

In Camino Wandering, Ben’s husband’s name is Kanmi—meaning sweetness in Japanese.

In Beneath the Surface, Lowell’s nickname by his mother is Zaki. It means sweetness in Hausa, his mother’s native Nigerian language.

In The Decisions We Make, I use Danmus, which is the nickname Brooke’s Korean mother gives her.

I’m not sure why this word is important to me. It’s a word I find to be both beautiful and powerful. It’s a word filled with love and softness, and it brings joy to my heart. That’s why I use it in every book in some meaningful way.

The LGBTQI+ community is always represented.

In Camino Wandering, there are three characters who are a part of the LGBTQI+ community: Ben, Lee, and Simon (Aubrey’s son).

In Beneath the Surface, it’s Lowell and Claire (Daniel’s best friend).

In The Decisions We Make, Dae & Jase are two men who have a lovely marriage. There is also another character I can’t give away just yet.

So, why do I do this? To start, because I’m a strong ally for the LGBTQI+ community. This incredible community is a part of our everyday life — everyone’s life — whether we are aware of it or not. I don’t draw attention to the fact that the character is LGBTQI+, but write these characters into the storyline as I would any other character. For many in this community, being LGBTQI+ is part of their identity, who they are. But whether they are ‘out and proud’ or just living their life, they fought hard to be accepted, and I want to honour that by including them in all of my novels.

There are always coffee snobs/addicts in my novels.

I am a self-professed coffee snob, as many Australians are. Our vast Italian immigrant population greatly influenced us! In fact, we mostly drink Italian coffee at my house, so there you go!

Georgina leads the quest for a decent ‘cuppa’ in Camino Wandering. She even gets teased about it by her camigas! As a café owner, she has her reputation to consider, of course. While I walked in Spain in 2018 and 2019, I can attest that finding a decent coffee on the Camino was a challenge at times.

Grace is more of a caffeine fiend than a coffee snob in Beneath the Surface. Grace will take any coffee and plenty of it! I’ll stick to my one cup a day but, truth be known, I make it strong enough to go the distance.

In The Decisions We Make, Sam works in Georgina’s Café (Camino Wandering) so it’s hard to tell if it’s just part of the job. But when Sam runs out of coffee and scrounges for whatever she can, even instant, we feel the tragedy she endures. Lachie is a quad shot guy, so that automatically qualifies him as a snob.

Plus size characters exist!

I don’t know about you, but I almost never find realistically sized people in books. Why are they all skinny and athletic? Or slim and bookish?

As a plus sized woman myself, it’s an important element to bring reality into my books. We are all different shapes and sizes. Tall, short, skinny, curvaceous… We need realistic characters!

In Camino Wandering, Georgina, Pam and Aubrey all wear a size 14 or higher. It’s not just skinny women walking the eight-hundred-kilometre trek. In the first few chapters, I reveal how they all struggled to find hiking gear for their size. This was my reality when preparing for my first Camino.. It’s damn hard to find hiking gear that caters to the plus size market. In the end, I went with yoga pants and leggings (which are not attractive). Thankfully, there are more options available now (at writing, in 2022), which is great to see.

In The Decisions We Make, Georgina, Pam and Aubrey all appear in the book, but it is Merritt that is plus sized. She’s short, curvaceous, and fabulously styled.

As I write this, I realise I didn’t write a plus size character into Beneath the Surface. But that’s hard to do when you have a half-starved teenager and a hot yoga instructor as her best friend!

I include male characters who are supportive and but also flawed themselves. 

One of my readers highlighted this theme to me. I guess I do this subconsciously.

I am not a fan of the ‘white knight’ character. I believe in the strength of women and in finding their own way. The male characters I write provide support, but they never ‘save’ the main characters.

In Camino Wandering, Ben and Paolo are great examples of this. Ben struggles with a life-changing decision, but his true character proves he’s ready for that change. (He just has to realise it!) Paolo is goes kicking and screaming against convention, but underneath it all, he knows what his path is. But it’s Paolo and his roguish ways that teach them all that you need to enjoy every moment of your life, no matter what the path looks like.

In Beneath the Surface, the main character is Lowell. So many readers have said ‘we all need a Lowell in our life’. I could not agree more! I can’t write too much about Lowell without giving away the plot, but it’s by trusting Lowell that changes the course of Grace’s life.

In The Decisions We Make, it is Lachie/Lachlan. And like all the other supporting men, it’s great when we have a Lachie in our lives. Lachie is there when we need him most, but he has his own baggage. He’s not a knight, just someone who really cares about the people around him.

Have you discovered any other interesting topics I’ve included in my novels?

Learn from My Lesson and Use a Book Outline!

 

I’ve been writing novels now for over two years and learning about the importance of an outline has been a eye opening experience for me. It’s a lesson I’d like to share with you.

I have posted about outlines before. Re-reading that article showed me how little I knew about the process in the beginning.

For my first novel, Beneath the Surface, I thought writing a book amounted to simply sitting my ass in a chair and banging on the keyboard while my brilliant ideas flowed. Sure, the story poured out of me. I remember being so excited when I was done and so determined to send my baby out into the world for all to gush over.

But the truth was, Beneath the Surface was a hot mess. It took ten rewrites and five years to write. It was a hard lesson to learn, but for the final rewrite of Beneath the Surface, I finally used an outline to get the story sorted. It was a ‘slap against the forehead’ moment for me when the outline revealed the clarity I needed.

 

 

Writing a book is like any major project in life.

There must be a plan. A builder can’t construct a house without architectural plans. A baker can’t create a masterpiece without a recipe. And think of the essays we all had to write in high school – there was always a beginning, a middle and a conclusion.

It’s all about structure.

With a novel, or even a short story, structure is essential. The reader will lose attention if the house you’ve created is on a wobbly foundation. Thoughts will wander and your reader will no longer be captivated by your words. They won’t be eager to keep reading unless those pillars of structure in place.

Once you know about the way outlines work, you’ll see it in every great story you read or watch. You will find an inciting incidence, some conflict, a fall of some kind, another struggle, to finally reach a climax and ta-da – the character(s) finds their answer, or the issue is resolved, and life can move on.

If you want some examples of how this works, check out this post. It uses famous movies to show you how the outline was done.

 

After I learned the importance of outlines, writing one became straightforward for me. Yet it takes a while for me to get to the outlining stage. Once I have an idea, I let the story percolate a while. As I think of scenes, I write them down. When I think of conflicts, I write those down. I create the characters using another template and all of those pieces go into either “Notes” on my iPad or Scrivener on my laptop – whatever is closer.

Once I am ready to write the outline – when all the characters have been created, when all the jiggly ideas have been wrangled – I can usually crank an outline out in a day or two. Granted it’s taken me a while to get to this place because…

Deciding HOW to write the outline – that’s where I’ve struggled.

I listened to a marketing podcast recently, where the podcaster said something that really resonated with me. The episode was around being distracted by the ‘bright, shiny tools’, hoping there is the ‘perfect’ tool to save time and make things easier.

Ah yes, the golden goose. We get sucked into the hype, the promise, hoping there is a dream tool that will solve all our issues. But let’s be honest, and this was her point, we use always use the bright, shiny new tool for a week, maybe or a month or two. But when our plan is disrupted, when something goes awry, we give up on that new tool and return to our fall-back solution.

Finding that solution – what works for you – is what you should be using. It could be bits taken from all kinds of tools. But whatever it is, that solution needs to work for YOU.

(I don’t know about you, but I felt like this woman knew me way too well.)

This could be the case with a lot of tools in business. Scheduling social media. Project management. For me, I have been searching for the Shangri-La of outlining tools.

Plottr is a relative newcomer to the space, so I found it particularly shiny. While many people have had success with Plottr, I tried it when I was initially working on The Decisions We Make. But the tool was still in beta, and it didn’t give me everything I needed. I was so, SO, frustrated by spending more time working out how to use the tool than getting the outline written.

I have also tried Scrivener, but basic Index cards are just as useful, if not more so. Scrivener is great for writing the drafts and corralling the ideas. But for outlines, it is seriously lacking.

After trying all those ‘bright shiny tools’, I realised that I kept going back to my old standby – my excel spreadsheet. Yep, good ‘ol Microsoft Excel.

 

When I started to outline The Decisions We Make, I realised it was time I developed a system for outlining any novel. So, I sat down and created a template. It worked great for The Decisions We Make, and I was able to smash out the next outline for the book after that – in two days.

 

My point here is two-fold.

  1. Always use an outline when writing a novel. Otherwise, you may be rewriting that story for the next decade, or you may publish a novel that doesn’t work, and readers will tell you that through poor reviews.
  2. Find a way to outline that works for YOU. It may be a tool like Plottr. It may be pen and paper. Mine just happens to be an excel spreadsheet.

Helpful links:

If you’d like a copy of my outline template, click here.

If you’ve written a novel, what tool do you use to outline? What works for you? 

 

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Deep POV: What it is, and Why It’s a Game-Changer!

I have an embarrassing confession: I wasn’t aware of ‘POV’ as a writer until five years ago. Yet, it’s kind of a ‘Writing 101’ technique all authors need to know – and master – before writing a novel.

My first writing class made me (painfully) aware of my horrible “POV switching” when writing the first draft of Beneath the Surface. Once you’re aware of POV, you will always be aware of it, in everything you read. (Try reading a Danielle Steel novel – she’s all over the place when it comes to switching POVs!)

 

Getting it all done.

 

What is POV? And what’s POV-switching?

POV is short for Point of View. It’s the narrator’s perspective in how the story is told.

In first person, the story is narrated directly by the character (using ‘I’, ‘me’, and ‘my’ as the point of view).

Using second person, which is fairly uncommon, the story is being narrated using ‘you’. It’s rarely used because it’s super hard to pull off.

In third person, using ‘he’, ‘she’, ‘they’, the lens is filtered for the reader through a single character at a time.

Writing from multiple points of view is tricky when first starting out. This is when POV-switching can get in the way. POV-switching is when the author flips from one character’s point of view to another, either either mid-chapter, mid-paragraph, and sometimes even mid-sentence. Another way of thinking of ‘POV switching’ is ‘head-hopping’ when the story jumps from one character’s head to another. Readers get confused and frustrated about who is currently talking or telling the story.

You can have multiple POVs in a chapter, but they need to be separated by creating an extended return, so the reader knows something is changing.

Let me give you some examples, using Camino Wandering as a reference:

First person: I had the idea of walking eight hundred kilometres across Spain, so I could forget my past.

Second person: You’re walk eight hundred kilometres across Spain to forget the past. You put one foot in front of the other and just ‘be’ for a while.

Third person: Aubrey knew walking eight hundred kilometres across Spain would help her forget the past.

Multiple POVs:
Aubrey figured walking eight hundred kilometres across Spain would help her forget the last two years of her life.

(New Chapter/section) Pam was excited by the prospect of finally walking the Camino de Santiago. It was just what she needed in her life.

(New Chapter/section). Georgina needed to sort out her life, so walking across Spain sounded like the ticket to do just that.

 

When I first drafted ‘Camino Wandering, I wrote from three points of view: Aubrey, Pam, and Georgina. They all had a story to tell. But I quickly realised the reader would be throwing the book across the room by the fourth chapter – if not sooner. Even I was bored by how it was coming along. How many times do you need to read how anxious people are with the prospect of walking eight hundred kilometres across Spain? After writing about ten chapters into the draft, switching POVs in each chapter, then trying separate chapters for POV, I went back and started again. I wrote the final novel from Aubrey’s point of view, in third person.

The tricky part of writing Camino Wandering was to not bring Pam or Georgina’s thoughts into the story. It all had to come from Aubrey, either by discovering it for herself, or bringing it to light through dialogue. The challenge was to figure out how to weave the storylines, but all from Aubrey’s perspective. I found myself slipping a few times, only to pull myself back and work out how I could reveal something without it being from another character’s point of view. (Now wouldn’t Camino Wandering be interesting from Pam’s point of view?! But I digress…)

Beneath the Surface was written from third person as well, but it was always Grace’s story to tell. There were times I wanted to bring in Lowell’s point of view, and I did ponder what it would look like from her father’s point of view too. But ultimately it was always Grace’s story.

 

 

Deep POV – Why It’s a Game-Changer.

Most popular fiction these days is written in the third person. Good fiction employs the Deep POV concept. But what does ‘Deeper POV’ mean?

Let me start with this: Third person POV can be either subjective or objective. Deep POV is subjective.

Objective POV is when you are witnessing something. You are watching what’s happening. You can see and hear the characters, but you have no idea what they are thinking or feeling. The reader can only assume based on mannerisms or actions. For example, when you see ‘she wondered’ or ‘she felt’ in a book– those are objective POVs.

Let me give you an example of objective POV:

Aubrey lay on the bed and felt her heart pounding out of her chest. She wondered if this was what anxiety felt like. She worried about who would help her if she injured herself.

Subjective POV (or deep POV) is when you are in the character’s head. You know everything they know, feel, see, and understand. The author conveys that in the storyline. Subjective POVs is when you strip out all of the ‘felt’, ‘saw’, ‘thought’, ‘watched’ and ‘wondered’ when writing your story.

Now an example for subjective (or deep POV):

Aubrey lay, heart pounding and suffering from an anxiety level she’d never experienced before. What the hell was she thinking? Did she honestly believe she could walk the entire length of northern Spain? What if she injured herself? Who would help her?

See how stronger that makes the sentence and, ultimately, the story? You are there, with Aubrey. You are connected with her. You feel her pain. You can understand her emotions. You’re not just sitting back and watching from the sidelines. As many reviewers have said of Camino Wandering, they feel like they’re walking the Camino along with the Lovelies. This is because of deep POV.

Learning about Deep POV was a game-changer for me. I always wondered why my editor was always on to me when I used ‘felt,’ ‘saw,’ etc. I didn’t understand. I’d read books written this way plenty of times, but this way of writing has only become popular in the last thirty years or so. Then I read this article, explaining what Deep POV was all about. It was then that something clicked for me. When I brought it up with my editor, they told me they’d been trying to tell me this for a year. I laughed. Sometimes you have to read it from a complete unknown source to finally understand.

Hopefully this has enlightened you too.

 

 

Here are some other posts that may be of interest to you: 

7 Apps All Indie Authors Need To Write A Novel

How To Write A Book Outline

Creating Complex And Believable Characters

How To Find And Work Successfully With Beta Readers

Frequently Asked Questions about NaNoWriMo

November is NaNoWriMo or National Novel Writing Month. Many people shorten it to NaNo, for obvious reasons. (Yeah, try saying NaNoWiMo fast three times.)

I look forward to this event each year as this is the time for my hard-core writing. 2021 is my third year of participating in NaNo and, as I’ve been asked by a number of people what’s it about, I’m going to write this post as an FAQ and share my experiences so far.

The NaNoWriMo logo

What is NaNoWriMo?

I’ll use the official NaNoWriMo site as a guide for this:

National Novel Writing Month began in 1999 as a daunting but straightforward challenge: to write 50,000 words of a novel in thirty days. Now, each year on November 1, hundreds of thousands of people around the world begin to write, determined to end the month with 50,000 words of a brand-new novel. They enter the months as school teachers, mechanics, stay-at-home parents, but they leave as novelists.

Why do (I) participate in NaNo?

Having this challenge pushes me as an author. Having a flexible schedule is great, but I can get easily distracted, especially when you consider that writing is only about twenty percent of the job when you’re an indie author.

Knowing I have the challenge before me, I spend October putting together a detailed outline, so that when November 1st comes around, I’m ready to write.

It also connects me with other writers, both online and in person. I find NaNo joins all writers in this endeavour, no matter where they may be in their writing journey. I’m part of an incredible group in Tasmania. Had it not been for NaNo, I may not have found these incredible individuals. Not only do we encourage each other with our individual pursuits, but we share information and experiences. We lift each other up when we accomplish our goals and provide that push that’s we need some days.

Is it hard to write 50,000 words in a month?

It depends. To get to 50,000 words, you must write, on average, 1667 words a day. To share a NaNo term, there are pantsters and there are planners. (Pantsters go by the seat of their pants.). I’m somewhere in between.

I believe, if you go into NaNo thinking “I’m going to write a novel” with nothing more than a vague idea, you will find it very challenging. Some people can do it, but I would guess they have an idea somewhere in their heads, they have a good grasp of the characters and, so when they finally start writing, the story flows out.

When I began writing Beneath the Surface, it started with a dream. I woke up thinking it would make a great scene in a book and was still writing eighteen hours later. And then the writing stopped for a while. I was a long way from 50,000 words. After taking a writing class, I sketched out the story further. But, from the first sprint, to what became the published version, there were about ten rewrites over five years. The final rewrite was done during 2020’s NaNoWriMo.

My recommendation, and this is based on my experience and understanding my own writing style, is to create a solid outline before you head into November.

Is it hard to stay focused?

When I know I have one book to focus on, it’s not too difficult for me. I find it hard to focus on anything else. Once I’m immersed, the book consumes me. I spend every waking hour thinking of the characters, the plot, the holes (!), the timeline… then it tends to blend into my sleep as well. Often times, when I’m deep into the book, the characters talk to me in my dreams. The climax of Beneath the Surface came from a dream. I woke suddenly, realising I’d finally found the missing piece of the story. Maybe it has something to do with my brain being relaxed, but I consider my dreams a HUGE part of my writing process.

The 2023 Municipal Liaison logo for NaNoWriMo.
I decided to become a Municipal Liaison in 2022.

 

How do you manage your life while writing 50,000 words in a month?

I’m lucky because I have a flexible schedule and remember, this is my full-time job. It is my business. My career. But even with that, there’s a lot of other stuff that still needs to get done with the rest of that business. Marketing. Sales. Newsletters. And yes, log posts!

I’m very fortunate to have an understanding partner who knows this is a key time for me. The first year I handed him a letter from the NaNo Prep page that is addressed “Dear Important Person”. It outlines how to support the NaNo participant. My husband has taken every word of that letter to heart.

Even if you don’t have that, NaNo does take some preparation. If you have a family, rely on family and friends for support. Plan easy meals. Get help for errands and chores or give yourself permission to slack off from your regular duties for the month. Turn off your television (let’s be real, we all know how much of a time suck it is). Set yourself a timer. Do word sprints. I have a friend who is a single Mum, works full time and she still manages to crank out 3-4 books a year. She gets up before the sun and writes for a few hours before the rest of world wakes up. (She is my inspiration although, since I’m a night owl, you won’t see me getting up before the sun. Not unless I’m heading off on a grand adventure somewhere.)

My point is: understand your priorities this month. If writing a novel in 30 days is important to you, you’ll find a way.

Is NaNo a competition?

No. It’s not. You are challenged to write 50,000 words, and there are rewards if you ‘win’, but any competition is internal. You compete with yourself to achieve the goal.

I’ll be honest, I have a love/hate relationship with NaNo. I love NaNo because this is the part of being an author that I love most. But I hate it because I feel an undeniable pressure to finish writing an entire novel. This pressure is not from any outside source. It’s an internal thing. I know I write more than 50,000 words for each of my novels, and I am driven to get the entire novel written. That pressure percolates the entire month.

How do you sign up for NaNoWriMo?

Once you know what you will be working on, sign up on the official NaNoWriMo.org website and declare you project. The website helps track your progress, set milestones, you can connect with other writers (be sure to add me as a buddy- crackpotwriter!) and you can even join a local NaNo group. I LOVE my Tasmanian NaNo group. I’ve never met a more supportive group. We encourage each other and our leaders provide writing prompts to help keep the words flowing. There are even write-ins, although they are virtual thanks to the pandemic, so you can participate in word sprints and other writing activities to keep you accountable. The Tasmanian NaNo group use Facebook and Discord for our virtual write-ins.

How much does it cost to join?

The best part about NaNoWriMo—it’s free.

A white cup on a table with the word BEGIN. etched into it.

What happens when NaNoWriMo is over?

When December 1st rolls around, you need to do one thing: collapse. You’ve just written 50,000 words (more or less) in a month and you will be exhausted. Writing takes a lot out of you. AND you’ve WON the NaNo challenge.

Look, even if you only get 20,000 words written, that’s a great start. You’ve begun to write your book. That’s huge. But it’s still taxing, especially if you’ve managed to juggle a full life around it.

To receive the rewards offered by completing the challenge, you must upload your draft to the website as proof. The rewards mostly pertain to tools that will aid you in continuing your writing journey. I have all the tools that I need for writing now so I haven’t submitted my drafts since my first NaNo.

I recommend once you’re written your draft, put it aside for a while. Leave it for a week or a year. The time is up to you, but you need to separate yourself from it before you begin revision. Now the hard work truly begins. And you MUST edit it yourself before you send it to an editor or let anyone else touch it. As much you may believe it’s worthy of a Pulitzer, it’s not. That’s harsh, I know, but first drafts tend to be rough. Mine sometimes amount to vomitus drivel. But that’s the magic of revision. And that is the next step in the writing journey.

If you have questions about the NaNo process, feel free to pop in a comment. I’ll be happy to share my experience with you.

Tara Marlow at work, writing books.
Head down… writing.

 

mock-00065

The Secret to Writing Books and Staying Focused

Writing a book is bloody hard. 

No, that’s wrong. Writing a draft is easy. Easy-ish anyway. Thoughts flow like water and the words magically appear on the page. (A solid outline helps.) 

After a time, the draft emerges from the drawer for a fresh look. The masterpiece that Reese Witherspoon will have on her book club list is finally revealed. You can’t wait to read what you’ve got. Coffee is poured, eyeglasses sparkling clean, and you begin to read in horror the hot mess that’s supposed to take you to the best seller list. 

Here is where the real work begins. Everything that comes after writing the first draft is hard. Revise and polish. Repeat. Repeat until your eyes burn, and your fingers bleed. Revise and polish until you’re so sick of the story you want to poke your eyes out with your red marker. But finally, a work is produced that you are proud of. 

Then comes the harder part. You have to sell the book to keep the lights on and the dream alive.

So why the hell do I put myself through this? And how do I stay sane? That’s probably the more important question. 

Being an author is an invigorating, stressful, frustrating, exciting, emotional rollercoaster.

Within one year, I will have published two novels plus a short story epilogue for one of those books. Some writers can churn out multiple books in a year. I’m not sure I would even try to do that. Finding balance is a serious enough challenge for me. 

When I published Camino Wandering in December 2020, I never in my wildest dreams would have thought I’d put out Beneath the Surface nine months later. Nine months… yes, it does feel like I’ve given birth!

Want to know how I did it?  

I created a solid book outline and stuck to a publishing timeline. 

As an Indie Author/Publisher, I’m always juggling multiple balls at once. Staying focused is paramount. It’s been a roundabout journey for me to discover that I’m deadline driven. I have the flexibility to set my own publishing dates. But with that flexibility, comes, well, temptation. A pile of books to read, a garden to potter in, a lovely state that itches to be explored… Ironically, my kryptonite is social media, which can be a total time suck, but I rely on it to spread the word about my stories. See? Juggling while performing a high wire act is hard!

If I know I have to get something finished by x date, I’ll stay focused. Without that, I’m jumping in the car and disappearing for a few days. Anything to avoid the editing process. I would rather clean a toilet than edit my own writing. Oh! But I love editing other writer’s work. But my own? Hate it. 

But I know it has to be done. So, I build it into my process, knowing there are days or weeks when I will want to storm away from it. And I do initially. After that first draft is done, I put it away for a few weeks or a month, then come back to it. But THAT is built into my timeline, knowing I need to do that. Giving me that space revs me up and gives me distance so I can look at the work objectively. 

So, what does this publishing timeline look like?  

Well, it’s an excel spreadsheet. Yeah… sexy, right? 

Listed on this spreadsheet are things like:

  • Creating characters.
  • Creating the world they live in, if it doesn’t already exist (like for Camino Wandering). 
  • Time to write the first draft, then leave it for a while. 
  • Providing enough time for the editor to red-line it. Then time for me to review their suggestions, make changes and send it back to them again. 
  • Remembering the other tasks I have to complete, like writing the blurb, the acknowledgements, and various marketing tasks. 
  • Giving myself enough creative time to create a compelling cover.
  • Providing time for the beta readers, then advanced readers to read the book and provide their feedback or reviews. 
  • Setting pre-ordering timeframes. 
  • Setting up marketing pre-release and post.

That’s just a rough idea. 

I picked up the idea somewhere when I was looking for some guidance. I’d love to give credit to the person I borrowed the idea from, but I honestly don’t remember the source. The timeline has been butchered and revised many times since. I tweak these things to fit my work style. (But if you are the original creator, please let me know. I’m HAPPY to give the well-deserved credit!)

This is the document that keeps me on track. The document that holds me accountable. 

The best part, when I’ve accomplished every task on my timeline, I can take time for that road trip…. Or, when the pandemic is over, maybe I’ll return to the Camino.

If you’d like a copy of my publishing timeline, click here. 

(Just a note, by clicking, you’ll be added to my monthly newsletter list. You can unsubscribe, but I hope you won’t.)

PLEASE NOTE: Affiliate links were used in this post. I do not promote anything I have not used or experienced myself or had recommended highly to me. All opinions are my own. Please follow our advice at your own risk. By clicking these links allows this website to continue running. For that, I thank you.

How To Write a Book Outline

One of the best things I’ve learned as a writer is the power and importance of a book outline. This is one of those things I wish I’d known about years ago. Certainly something I wish I’d learned in the writing classes I’ve taken over the years. Writing exercises are great, but I wish writing teachers would spend more time on how to flush out a book outline.
 
It’s one thing to say, “I’m going to write a book one day” but once you have a book outline, that book then has the chance of not only being written, but a chance at being published.
 

Knowing the details of each chapter helps not only stay focused on writing the story, but also on moving the story forward.

I’ll be honest, I struggled with the ‘moving the story forward’ part when I first started writing. I believed a new chapter began with a different scene. But I learned that a chapter ends when you’ve laid out something that changes the character from the beginning of the chapter. Something that propels the book forward.
 
How did I move past that? I read. A LOT. Once it was in my head to look out for it, I noticed it everywhere. One of my favourite authors, J.D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts, although I love her ‘In Death’ series more) does this very well.
 

 

What goes into a book outline?  

The book outline is the document that guides your book. Someone should be able to read your outline and get a clear sense of what your book is about and know the form it takes. They should understand the character arcs, who the villain (real or imaginary) is. They should be able to see the inciting incidences played out, know where the climax is, and then be clear on what the protagonist accomplishes – or doesn’t – in the end.
 
Before you even start writing, you need to have an outline laid out in detail. You should know your characters inside and out. You should be able to visualise the ‘world’ you are creating clearly. Then, by the time your outline is complete, you will be ready to write your manuscript.
 
A book outline is where you detail out, chapter by chapter, what the storyline is, what’s revealed in that chapter, how the story advances, who’s point of view (POV) each chapter comes from, and any notes you have about that chapter (the things you can’t forget and what is imperative to the story).  

 

Let me share with you how I write an outline.  

I use multiple steps. Not all authors do this, but I find it helps take the ‘idea of a story’ and create it into a full-scale manuscript.
 
1. Before I’ve begun this process, I know clearly who my characters are. 
 
I’ve already created the characters. I’ve followed what I laid out in the post “Creating Complex and Believable Characters“.  I know the character’s quirks, their strengths, and their challenges. Now, with the outline, it’s writing out how the story will unfold. The big question is: What do they want and what’s in their way of getting it? 
 
2. I do a rough outline on my sketchpad. 
 
This is taking the idea of a story, what I’ve most likely scribbled down on my iPad at god-thirty over coffee and flushing it out further on a sketchpad. The idea gets tossed aside sometimes; the story doesn’t go anywhere. But most times, it becomes clearer as I sketch it out.
 
On the sketchpad I sketch out the beginning scene and then each main thing of what happens in each chapter as I continue down the page.  I also note who the POV is, if I am writing with multiple POVs.
 
Here, I ask myself: Is the setup clear, before moving to the inciting incident, then to the climax, then to the falling action and finally to the resolution?
 
 
3. Then it moves to index cards. 
 
Seeing the story on a sketchpad is one thing, but it’s difficult to change things up. It can quickly become an eligible mess. Once I have the idea sketched out, I get out the index cards. I write the chapter outline on individual index cards to visualise the story.
 
Then, I shuffle things around to ensure the story makes sense, and that the story flows. It’s a great way to understand where the gaps are. I can move chapters around, remove parts of the story from one chapter if it doesn’t work and move it to another. I can add chapters. The index cards allow me to figure out details.
 
 
4. Once I am happy with everything flows, I open up Excel. 
 
This is my last stage in the outline process. This is the final document that keeps me in line, focused. I sometimes wander as I’m writing, so with this document right next to me, I keep on track. It’s saved my story on many occasions.

  Here are some other posts you may find helpful in the writing process:

·      Creating Complex and Believable Characters

·      How To Find and Work Successfully with Beta Readers

·      Traditional vs. Self-Publishing: Determining My Publishing Path

·      How To Write A Novel

·      The Power of a Writer’s Group

 

 

PLEASE NOTE: Affiliate links were used in this post. I do not promote anything I have not used or experienced myself or had recommended highly to me. All opinions are my own. Please follow our advice at your own risk. By clicking these links allows this website to continue running. For that, I thank you.

 

 

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