The thriller genre has always been a personal favourite, whether by way of novels or films, since intrigue and deceit, sprinkled with a generous helping of twists and turns, hold my interest and are heaven made for strong subtext. Because I believe it’s vital to stimulate the reader and maintain strong story momentum I tend to write in short chapters, which gives me an opportunity to break up the narrative and insert cliff-hangers in order to build tension and elements of mystery.

I think it’s important not to be didactic or preachy in any way, whatever points are relevant to the story with regard to human interaction, politics, greed, and so on. Whilst storytellers often feel it is part of their responsibility or even purpose to offer the benefit of personal insight and enlightenment to their readers, I tend to focus on creating a strong plot with interesting, credible, characters written in humorous vein. Snapback is a comedy-thriller created for entertainment value rather than anything of deeper significance, with a sting in the tail that involves invasion of privacy and our obsession with celebrity, these personal concerns being worked into the story without the need to bash the reader over the head with a metaphorical sledgehammer. Whatever serious situations occur within a story, the overall effect for me has to be a combination of mystery and fun, the prime objective being to sustain interest and be thought-provoking, but never to tread water, and always to entertain.

For this reason the hook, or set-up, is critical and after the first draft is completed I often rework the opening chapter, or write a completely new one, to ensure that the reader is swept immediately into the unfolding narrative. Tying up the plot lines is also essential. Readers should never be left to imagine their own endings (unless that is a specific intention) or be confused about any elements within the story. To that end, covering my tracks is part and parcel of the writing process. Continue reading →

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Trisha Ashley, the author of Chocolate Shoes and Wedding Blues, The Magic Of Christmas and Wedding Tiers takes over our blog and tells us about her process between the first draft and finished manuscript.

I write directly onto the computer, touch-typing, though I need to see my words in print on paper before the world I am writing about becomes real to me, so I print everything out.  This can also be useful if your computer loses the chapter and you forgot to back up onto a memory stick or whatever.

My first drafts are usually somewhere between eighty and a hundred thousand words long and written in the stream-of-consciousness style made popular by James Joyce, since I just pour the words out onto the page and don’t always bother with the punctuation or typos.  If I’m too tired to think creatively in the afternoon, though, I will often go back and tidy up the work I did in the morning. Continue reading →

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To Plot… Or Not?

Plotting has always been a source of great debate amongst writers. Should you, or should you not? Many authors dive right in to their manuscripts, content to  ‘write into the mist’. Personally, I am not a ‘writing into the mist’ kinda gal – I’m always afraid I may never emerge! I need something to drive toward, and I have to know where my character will end up, when everything is said and done.

But how much plotting is too much? After all, you don’t want to stifle any creativity that might occur. New characters could pop their heads in, just begging to be written. Events might not always happen according to plan – in life and in fiction.

I always start with a few key questions. What does my character want? Who or what will stop her from getting it? And by the end, how will she have grown and changed? In Watching Willow Watts, my most recent novel, Willow begins her journey as a person who’s keen to keep everyone happy. By the end of the book, she’s learned that her own happiness is important, too, and she needn’t lose herself to please others. Continue reading →

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