Writing Process

As with anyone who writes a series, I receive quite a few questions about progress which I try to answer as best I can, but I thought it would be helpful to post something with a bit more detail the actual process of writing. The process itself isn’t the main reason why the second book is taking longer than expected to finish. The main reason is simply the length of the book. It’s a colossal manuscript. At its current length of 420,000 words, it’s going to be one of the longest fantasy books on the shelves. There’s more on the details and progress of the book here.

The rough draft of book 2 took about four months to write. It held the basic plot (with gaps) and the general character arcs. The term, rough draft, though, is somewhat misleading. A better description would be a horrible, unreadable, rubbish draft. To the writer, it’s a magical draft because the writer sees the intention, and it is without doubt the most important draft. But if anyone else tried to read it, the experience would be most disappointing ― no, infuriating. The story is in there, but it takes the writer a great deal more work to extract it from the thorns. Enter rewriting.

“I have rewritten — often several times — every word I have ever published. My pencils outlast their erasers.” ― Vladimir Nabokov

“The only kind of writing is rewriting.” ― Ernest Hemingway

Rewriting is the process of going through the manuscript with infinite care and seeking to improve wherever improvement is possible. It’s more than editing, though that is a part of it. As the term suggests, much of the book is replaced and written with more care. There comes a point when one needs to let go, but that point is far removed from the first draft. I did several rewrites of book 1, the first being a massive overhaul and the last being a subtle tweaking of words to ensure that sentences sounded right, that the tones of adjacent words interacted well.

When it comes to rewriting, different authors have different foci. Here are some of the aspects I concentrate on, the things I try to achieve. To an extent, I look for anything that can improve at any point in the rewrites, but certain stages favour certain elements. (What follows is a heavily abbreviated description. The full list is several pages long.)

1^st draft (Version 1). Rough story. Layers of potential. Unreadable.

1^st rewrite (V2). Add detail – specific replaces general (requiring a ton of research). Continuity of plot and realness of characters.  I find that characters are revealed and known best by the relationships formed with other characters. If those relationships seem real, then the so do the characters. The most comprehensive list of qualities and mannerisms can’t deliver a fraction of the sense of personhood as a compelling interaction. Relationships are also the strongest root of a reader’s concern for the people in the story, leading to a far deeper emotional engagement. Perhaps even more important, relationships are one of the most effective ways to achieve resonance – that “I know exactly what you mean” sensation. When you read of people interacting in ways that ring true, the story begins to seem a lot more real, not in the sense of breaking fantasy, but of making the fantasy more believable. This, when it’s done right, leads to the experience we are always searching for as readers – immersion.

2^nd rewrite (V3). Depth, magic, sparkle, flow, atmosphere, word usage. This is where I try to get settings and characters to float up from the page. I also work hard at eliminating hackneyed, lazy forms of expression. I can spend hours on a few sentences, searching for fresh ways to convey ideas. This often entails throwing out a hundred or more attempts that seem awkward before finding one that blends into the style of the book. Sometimes it’s the first idea that works best, flowing naturally off the page; often it takes much thinking to reach an idea that flows as if it were the first one that came to mind.

Internal test-reading / developmental (big picture) edit. This gives me a chance to step away for a while and work on something else. Getting away from the project enables me to come back to it with fresh eyes and usually a huge collection of fresh ideas.

3^rd rewrite (V4). This one draws from feedback as well as the reams of new inspiration and ideas. In both book 1 and 2, I made significant improvements, cut scenes and wrote many additional ones.

4^th rewrite (V5). General fixes. Restoration of continuity following the surgery (or butchery) in the previous revision. Again, I work on imbuing each page with more sparkle, magic, depth, emotion and resonance, both in characters and their settings.

Alpha readers and 5^th rewrite ― based largely on feedback (V6). By this stage there shouldn’t be many major fixes necessary, but some tweaks will inevitably be needed. The rest of the revision will be smoothing out and finding typos. I’ll put an emphasis on “sounding” the book – getting rid of unwanted echoes and other tonal problems. Reading aloud is an important part of the process, for several reasons, not least of which is the need to consider audiobook production. Some combinations of words just sound richer than others, and some intersections of consonants can be impossible to pronounce.

Beta readers and 6^th rewrite ― again driven by feedback (V7). Primarily addressing the areas that have been pointed out, this revision is lighter than the others.

Editor and necessary tweaks (V8) This is more of a line edit than a developmental one, so the rewrite will be more about typos and other errors.

While I’ll probably keep relatively close to this process, it’s more of a guide than a rigid structure, and there are sections that could be rewritten dozens of times. The nature of writing often demands a combination of linear and non-linear approaches. When focussing on a specific thread, one has to move between sections that can be hundreds of pages apart. It happens constantly when working to create depth, richness or layers of mystery in a character or sub-plot within the story. In parallel to this, there’s always a start-to-finish scouring process. So in reality, a single rewrite can actually contain at least two full rewrites, and in some sections a great many more. I rewrote the first chapter in the début perhaps 40 times before I was happy. First chapters are notorious. Book 2 now also has a few sections that have seen numerous rewrites within a single stage as they’ve been brought to life.

I’ve been advised by many to release as quickly as I can, even if the quality suffers. But I’m not comfortable with that. My thoughts constantly return to the books on my shelves I can re-read, that inspire me anew every time I return to their pages. The writing of those books required much time and great labour. If the authors that most inspire me had to put such effort into their writing, it brings a different perspective to the table. Their voices are quiet, but there’s great authority when they tell me to just knuckle down and work on the manuscript until it’s right.

One last quote:

“What is written without effort is in general read without pleasure.”― Samuel Johnson

The effort going in on my side, will, I hope, be appreciated in the end. Thank you, everyone who has mailed, telling me to get it right instead of shoving a half-finished book onto the shelves. It really is encouraging to know I’m backed up in that way. Patience is a rare thing these days and I value the understanding more than you can imagine.

As a side note, does anyone know of some good resources for ancient (pre-cannon) sailing ships? I have a dozen or so books on the subject, but if you know of a gem or two, please mail me. Thanks.