On Writing a Novel
I’ve been writing novels for about seven years. Most of my writing is done under the name Mark Treble, although I’ve used a few other pseudonyms and actually wrote two non-fiction business books under my own name. Exploring a number of genres, I’ve had the most success with mysteries. I’ve sold two to a publisher seeking crime novels to rewrite; the terms of the sale allowed me the right to use the characters.
Most of my writing has been exploring the question “What if?” For example, my first novel, Power, has been serialized on a few sites. The question was “What if Forrest Gump was of normal or slightly above normal intelligence? What would the story look like?” I just sort of wrote what I wanted to read, not something that would appeal to others, and the result was absolute crap. I asked other “What if?” questions, and tried several approaches. One was, “What would happen if a high school basketball team won games not on talent, but on screwing with the other team’s minds?”
That novel is currently stuck. It’s called “The Head Game,” and my first attempt at writing it crashed and burned. Two characters took over control and wanted to tell their own story about dealing with the aftermath of trauma. Thus, Four Seconds on the Clock. The two main characters are gay, and the book was favorably reviewed on several LGBT book sites. I never understood that; their sexual orientation was not the focus, it was the aftermath of trauma.
In the mystery genre, the writing process is quite different. I’ve tried two distinct processes; one works well, the other not so much. The first is to write the key scenes and then figure out how to connect them. My signature is accuracy down to the street level and to local dialects, medical and legal processes, etc. I tried that with Life Struggles, which effectively told the story I wanted to tell, but was a failure in terms of reviews. The most common complaints were too much cursing and vulgarity, the other, unnecessarily graphic content. The worlds of crime, police procedures and investigative journalism are messy and crude; I could be inaccurate. or I could write a commercial failure. I made the wrong choice. The investigative reporter’s search for his step-son turns into a medical mystery, with the, blood groups and medical procedures all aligned with reality. Not successful.
I returned to the process I used with the two mysteries I sold, and the process resulted in Seamonsters, published yesterday on Amazon Kindle. It is difficult because you have to write the plot in your head before you write it elsewhere. It’s necessary to determine what the turning points will be, approximately how many there will be, how many clues to drop where, how much misdirection to provide, and what the solution will be. It also necessitates determining what the elements of proof will be for the denouement of the wrong-doer. One can choose to write this all down, and many do. Too many then become a slave to the outline. “But I need to write that he leaned against a tree and spied on his girlfriend kissing someone else!”
To prevent that, you get help. I know a bit about ocean cruising – it’s been the only kind of vacation my wife and I have taken for years. I know only what I’ve seen on the various “Below Deck” reality shows about crews on luxury yachts. The only thing I know about reality shows is that they are unreal, more scripted than the “unreality” variety. But I do know undercover work and I know investigations. Thus, I wrote from my own experience what happens in those.
I advertised for help, and received many offers from people who thought I was looking for someone to crew a luxury yacht. They quickly discovered that wasn’t the role. I got an offer from a delightful woman in Croatia who worked on luxury yachts in the Mediterranean, and she carefully and politely told me I didn’t know crap about what actually happens in an engine room. I then called my default real cover artist. I didn’t want this to be a stock photo, but something that conveyed mystery. I also called a specialized digital artist who provided graphics in motion to use in my author blog. And, I chose a sketch artist to turn a real luxury yacht into a series of pencil drawings.
The most difficult and indispensable role is played by the developmental editor. Mine is a very talented woman with whom I’ve worked for about six or seven years, but she didn’t answer e-mails. I went out and advertised for beta readers, seeking several to read the book; that experience was detailed here.
Finally, one needs a proof reader. That is the last step, and it can occasionally be done by the author. It was in this case.
Immediately after beginning the writing, I fell ill. For the next three years I mostly slept, occasionally being able to open the document for writing but getting nothing done. It’s a miracle it ever got out the door.
I have always been told that I am a natural story teller and to consider writing. Your insight about the process is insightful and helpful. I had a grade 1 teacher who really encouraged my storying writing. She would open a magazine picture and ask me to tell her the back story to the picture. She would write down my words and marvel at my imagination. To this day I nurture my creativity, and honour her investment by creating stories from pictures in magazines.
I know I can go to Amazon but how about sharing a cover here at this substack?