Harvesting your writing projects

 

I like 'em a great deal.

 

Creativity means different things to different people. For writers, that can include doing one thing brilliantly, or doing lots of different things to varying degrees of success. I tend to fall into the latter category, unless there’s a deadline on the horizon. Thus it is that I have two novels in the early stages of development, a whole range (literally) of greetings cards hopefully under consideration, a daily visit to www.comedywire.com to top up my gag writing skills, a standalone completed novel on submission to a handful of agents and publishers, and the beginnings of an ebook anthology predominantly of short fiction that I gathered together from previous publications. It all looks great on paper – pardon the pun – but is this shotgun approach to creative writing a way of avoiding focus? Can less be more? And can my questions seem a little less like Carrie Bradshaw’s in Sex and the City?

We bought a water filter at home to improve the taste of eau de tap. For longer than a care to remember you had to have a knack to fill the kettle without rinsing the work surface and the back of the kettle at the same time. This week, for no reason at all, I finally realised you can pop the lid on the spout, reducing the field of flow and also making it more controllable. Who knew?! Of course, that epiphany lasted for a couple of days before I got lazy and thought I could wing it. Rinse it, more like.

Maybe it’s not laziness as such, just an expectation that we can get away with stuff if it doesn’t seem to matter. And yet, if Dr Lister took that approach he’d never have discovered Yakult. Did I mention that science isn’t one of my strong suits? Unlike the Kevlar one.

The one area of writing where I buck my own trend is in editing a novel once it’s complete. Standpoint, my debut spy thriller, went through seven complete edits. I knew the tone I wanted and kept going back to make minor adjustments. Actually, there came a point where I had to force myself to stand back from it. Fortunately, Joffe Books ‘got it’ and helped refine the text so that it kept the Raymond Chandler and Len Deighton inspirations, but also elevated my emerging voice. 

We sometimes confuse the rush of inspiration with actual creativity because it is such a rush. When the Muse comes to call she usually brings a suitcase filled with presents, and it seems rude to ignore any in preference of any others. But, in the same way that our parents ‘made’ us play with a new Christmas present for a while before we opened the next one (my brother remembered it as an hour, but I’m not so sure), it is important to focus your time and attention so that you make real progress. Too much inspiration, in too many directions, is a distraction and the enemy of productivity.

In practice, I like to prioritise what needs to be done to meet the long-term objectives (e.g. I can realistically only write one novel at a time so something has to take second place) and balance that up with a few quick wins for when things seem so difficult that they grind to a halt. There is also a lot to be said for applying your bum to the seat and making yourself do something even if it runs the risk of becoming tomorrow’s chip paper.

For me, this all plays out as:

1.   Complete first draft of crime novel by the end of the year.

2.   Work on second batch of greeting card content. (This is more fun than work.)

3.   Collect plot ideas for separate Thomas Bladen novel.

4.   Identify half a dozen agents / publishers for Scars & Stripes.

5.   Work on Into the Void anthology.

Who Owns Your Books?

Now you see me.

When it comes to books, the word 'ownership' can mean different things at different times.

Who owns an idea?
Nobody. Try copyrighting an idea and be prepared for laughter and disdain.


Who owns a completed manuscript?
Unless you've been paid to ghostwrite a novel, ownership rests with the author. The laws on copyright different between the UK and US, so as this is a mixed audience I will simply say that in the UK copyright exists (but would still require proof if there was a legal challenge) from the act of writing it. The Society of Authors has some brilliant information here:
http://www.societyofauthors.org/Where-We-Stand/Copyright


Who owns your book once it's contracted?
You own the manuscript and you enter into a contract with an agent or a publisher. They own their edited version of your original manuscript. No matter how many drafts you've gone through, an objective editor will find more gold and cut away more. Their contract permits them to do certain things with your manuscript and specifies which of those actions requires your prior approval.


Who owns your book once it's published?
You and the agent / publisher retain the same proprietary interest in the book, but the reader owns their copy. Now, here's the thing, they may also have an emotional investment in your characters and their adventures, which - I would argue - is every bit as important as the nuts-and-bolts ownership principle. If you disappoint them during that book or in any subsequent book, they will vent their frustration online or by word of mouth. Once you become aware of this factor it can be a challenge to balance what you want to write, what your characters want you to write, and what your audience expects. 

I have spoken on this blog before about the principle of 'the same but different'. However, different can mean different things to different people.

The BBC website recently reported that JK Rowling  tweeted her apologies for killing off Professor Snape in the Harry Potter series. Some would argue that the plot demanded it and that there's a certain logic in his demise. Others were so attached to Snape (and, of course, Alan Rickman who portrayed him) that it felt like an act of literary cruelty. 

I ponder all of this as I write my fifth book in the Thomas Bladen Spy Chaser series, and I'm mindful of the feedback I've received, including:
- Isn't it about time that Thomas and Miranda settled down?
- Is there an ultimate revelation at the conclusion of the series?
- Is Book 5 the end of the series?
- Why isn't Thomas more macho?
- I hope you don't kill someone off just for the sake of it.

Without giving away any spoilers, my statement to the imaginary panel is:
Someone dies in each book. I won't name the dead but I make it a body count of at least eight so far. Thomas has shot five people, been wounded by one, and restrained himself from shooting someone on at least one occasion (not counting a familial near-miss!). How much more macho do you want him? Thomas and Miranda's relationship has its own carousel of baggage, but it has also evolved through the series. Book 5 continues that journey. Is it the end for Thomas and Miranda and Karl? That depends on the readers and what they want. Of course, a TV deal would certainly help bring Thomas Bladen to a wider audience! And yes, there is a revelation of sorts in Book 5. It's subtle, but it is there.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have gun battle to conduct. Or do I?

Derek


https://www.amazon.co.uk/Derek-Thompson/e/B0034ORY08

https://www.amazon.com/Derek-Thompson/e/B0034ORY08

Books as Children - Line of Sight's turn to shine

It's time for Thomas Bladen to go through the looking glass.

 

A well-known author (Richard Bach, I'm fairly confident) once referred to his books as his literary children. When it comes to my Thomas Bladen Spy Chaser novels, I have tried to do something subtle different with each one. Consequently, I love all my literary children equally while recognising their differences.

Standpoint introduces Thomas Bladen and his work in the Surveillance Support Unit. It sets the tone, the alliances and the conflicts. Ideally, it also sets readers' expectations as they enter Thomas's world. It's the eldest child, who carries some responsibility for the children that follow - whether it likes it or not!

Line of Sight follows in the aftermath of the events in Standpoint. It delves deeper into Thomas's working relationship with Karl and the SSU, but also has Thomas taking more of a lead role. We see Karl vulnerable for the first time and we learn more about his backstory. Line of Sight, as the second child, has a touch of pathos about it.

Cause & Effect opens dramatically - twice! - before showing how Thomas's and Karl's lives are now so interwoven that one false move could ensnare them both. Crucially, this book shows both of them sometimes getting it wrong and the consequences. This third child is more independent than its older siblings, and perhaps a little more reckless too.

Shadow State puts Thomas Bladen centre stage, whether he likes it nor not. This time he calls the shots, and with good reason. The past catches up with him and Karl, leading to revelations, confrontations and hard choices. The fourth child benefits from the burdens and experiences of those who came before it. It is more wilful and less inclined to listen to its parents (the author!).

------------------------------------------

Find out why Amy Johanson died, why Karl McNeill hasn't set foot in Northern Ireland since he was a teenager, why Miranda Wright might not be the best person to deliver a eulogy but she'll cover your back, and why Thomas Bladen has to turn detective when no one else can.

UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/LINE-SIGHT-gripping-thriller-suspense-ebook/dp/B00XIOAOBK

US https://www.amazon.com/LINE-SIGHT-gripping-thriller-suspense-ebook/dp/B00XIOAOBK

AUS https://www.amazon.com.au/LINE-SIGHT-gripping-thriller-suspense-ebook/dp/B00XIOAOBK

CAN https://www.amazon.ca/LINE-SIGHT-gripping-thriller-suspense-ebook/dp/B00XIOAOBK

Shadow State - using the force

Even if you don't believe in destiny you probably accept the word of Sir Isaac Newton. His 'three laws', unlike Isaac Asimov's (now that's what I call a literary reference), underpin not only our understanding of physics, but also of daily life and writing.

The First Law states that:
a) An object at rest remains at rest unless a force acts upon it.
b) An object in motion stays that way - same direction and speed - unless a force acts upon it.

Simply put, in fiction something has to happen in order for something to change, whether the outcome is progressive or regressive. You could argue that every twist and turn in a novel is really a Newtonian force zinging into the protagonist from an unanticipated angle.

I'm more of a plotter than a pantser when it comes to putting together a story, but I welcome an unexpected inspiration that careers towards me and knocks a character out of the picture or into it. Shadow State, the fourth book in the Thomas Bladen 'Spy Chaser' series owes a debt to Newton. I thought I had the plot figured out and my characters were moving purposefully towards the checkpoints on my writing roadmap. (I know, it makes writing sounds really romantic, huh?) 

And then...out the corner of my mind's eye, this speck of light, this flicker of 'what if' from the muse slammed into my carefully constructed plot. Okay, carefully might be overstating it a bit. But the result was surprising. A character did something unexpected and I had a choice of whether to run with it and see where it led, or to rein them in and remind them that it was my ball and therefore my rules. I went with Plan A, trusting the character I thought I'd created - we can debate that one on a chair and couch some other time - and ended up somewhere else. It was different to my original vision and I liked it. Writers like to be surprised. It keeps us on our toes and it's a great reminder that we are engaging with a fluid and mimetic imagination. 

You could say that Shadow State is something of an experiment in places. It features many characters from the series and a couple of new ones. It redraws the map in places, as far as loyalties go, and it peels back the layers a little more of the characters we think we know. It plays with some of the conventions and, I hope, it adds something special to the canon.

If you're drawn to British spy thrillers that give a nod to Len Deighton, John le Carre, Raymond Chandler, and Harlan Coben, Shadow State might be just your cup of coffee. Intrigue, action, sardonic humour and swearing - what's not to like?

SHADOW STATE

Thomas Bladen thinks he is in control. He isn't. When Thomas is confronted by a Shadow State operative, he is given a stark choice - expose a defector or face the consequences. But who is the real enemy? A stake out becomes a rescue, an intervention leads to murder and loyalties are stretched to breaking point. Soon Thomas is forced into a dangerous game, turning the Shadow State against itself. 

"Good spy thriller with an appealing, flawed hero in Bladen. Liked the London life evoked!"

Shadow State is published by Joffe Books.

UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/Derek-Thompson/e/B0034ORY08

US https://www.amazon.com/Derek-Thompson/e/B0034ORY08

The Information Game

Even before I became an emerging author (that middle ground between no longer debut and nowhere near established!) I thought it sensible to turn a well-worn adage, 'write about what you know', on its head. Far better, in my opinion, to say: 'know what you're writing about'.

That usually means one of two things:

1.     Direct research.

2.     Indirect research by plundering your own experience, and sometimes other people's.

While the novelist Leigh Russell made a trip to the Seychelles for her novel, Journey to Death, my research tales are of a more bargain basement variety!

For my debut espionage thriller, Standpoint, I wanted to know about Harwich International Port. Unfortunately, I went at it with some gusto and my enthusiastic request to see detailed maps and to know about the locations and practices of Customs staff probably had me pegged as an inept smuggler. Perhaps I should be grateful that I never received a reply, especially one that involved the removal of my front door. I did, however, pick up a useful police contact.

When it came to writing the sequel, Line of Sight, I found useful information on www.arrse.co.uk and www.ukpoliceonline.co.uk for matters relating to mob and job. I also drew upon memories and anecdotes from brief stints working in Belfast, and those of a friend who'd served in the Armed Forces out there.

By book three, Cause & Effect, I must have got better at asking questions. Plus, I now had a little credibility from the previous two novels. In my explorations I inadvertently found out something about baggage scanners that I'm not allowed to reveal, a bank provided information about bankcard fraud - on the condition that I don't name them, and someone from the Ministry of Justice referred me to the excellent http://www.insidetime.org for a question about prison procedures in 2004. Sadly, my query involving aerosol spray paints drew a blank so I fell back on my imagination. It seems there are some things that even the Internet can't tell us.

In almost all of the above cases the information I acquired (or failed to) was largely for my own benefit. Very little of it made the cut and I've yet to have a review that picks me up on my research (not so with the British slang, swearing, sex, violence, etc.). One thing I did learn, which still surprises me, is that I already knew several people with firearms experience.

A sprinkling of facts, at the right time and in the right manner, adds to the realism of a fictional world and encourages that suspension of disbelief we're always hearing about. Readers want characters and books that live on in their head after the final page, and we want them to want to return to the worlds we create.

Next time I might take a gander at international politics and US intelligence policy in post-war Europe.

About me

I have written three Thomas Bladen espionage thrillers, published by Joffe Books in one volume as Spy Chaser and also available separately - Standpoint, Line of Sight, and Cause & Effect. Shadow State, the fourth book in the series, is due out later this year. You can find all my books here.

Amazon US https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N3N2BJM

Amazon UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01N3N2BJM

Only writers know it feels...

Only writers know how it feels...

- To submit a piece to a magazine, have it summarily rejected and then find that said magazine has added you to its email list. And then proceeds to email you every week about its other content.

- To get feedback from an editor, pointing out all the plot holes and errors in your book. And rather than feel peed off with them you're actually grateful they showed such diligence and peed off with yourself for not doing a better job in the first place.

- To get to the end of a manuscript and then realise you've left some really important loose ends untied.

- To toil for years over an idea that won't go away, only to find - somewhere near your book's completion - that someone else has just been published with a similar idea.

- To spend a day or more in mental torture over the fate of an imaginary person that you made up, when either you can't understand how they get out of the situation or they don't like what you've written for them.

- To have only two pages remaining in a notebook. Too few to write a lengthy piece and too many to discard in favour of another notebook.

- To move through the world like a thief, collecting memories and stories from those who may appreciate their true value.

Shadow State, the fourth Thomas Bladen novel in the Spy Chaser series, is available later this year through Joffe Books. You might find something here to read while you're waiting.

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Derek-Thompson/e/B0034ORY08


US: https://www.amazon.com/Derek-Thompson/e/B0034ORY08

2015, thanks for everything.

Branching out.

It's been a funny old year. In a good way, I mean. I started 2015 with the familiar writer-inbox staring game familiar to anyone who has both a Labrador and a biscuit tin. And then, as if by magic (because it was certainly magical at the time) I had a book deal for a thriller series. 

Inevitably, that experience has changed my perception of myself as a writer, and how I look at my books, and also - for this series at least - how I write.

There's no getting around it, success matters. I can open doors, liberate potential and liberate us to go on to new projects and new directions.  

Actually, let's not beat around the bush - it has been an amazing writing year. Freelance clients have come and gone - some unexpectedly - and I could not have predicted, back in January, how 2015 would unfold. I've posted my gratitude list below, along with a considerably shorter list of disappointments.

There aren't words to fully express my thanks to everyone who has shared a link on social media, or downloaded a book, or hosted a post. I know many of you had your own books to attend to, so I am doubly appreciative. 

If there is anyone out there who has read any of the Thomas Bladen books - or anyone else's, come to that - please consider writing an honest review on Amazon. It makes a huge difference to authors to know what readers really think about their work and it helps improve a book's chances of being seen (by some algorithmic alchemy). 

Anyway, without further ado...

Highs

- Standpoint published on 17th March 2015.

- Line of Sight published on 10th May 2015.

- Cause & Effect published 28th November 2015.

- Being Tiffany Truscott's guest of her BBC Radio Cornwall show.

- Being the recipient of other people's support and generosity in helping to spread the word about my books.

- A hugely successful British author agreeing to host a blog post from little ole me.

- Starting a new magazine column about creative writing.

- The Cornishman newspaper sharing my book news with their readers.    

Lows

- Musa Publishing, who first brought The Silent Hills and superhero club (now self-published) to life, closing their doors.

- A national newspaper book reviewer not having the time to read / review Standpoint.

- The hugely successful British author, who agreed to host a blog post from little ole me, not doing it after eight months of email ping-pong.

I couldn't end this year without thanking Jasper Joffe and Joffe Books for exceeding my expectations as a debut thriller author, and giving me a masterclass in writing for a commercial publisher. It has been an absolute blast and I look forward to breaking new ground with you in 2016.

  

I'll leave you with this well-known quote, which I like to think of as the writer's creed:

Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favour to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all.

If I could pass on one thought to anyone writing or thinking about writing, it's this: just write, and keep writing. Amazing things are possible, whatever your story and whatever your personal story. (See my blog post in January for more on that topic.)

Triple Crown

Any port in a storm.

You have to imagine me smiling to myself as I write this post. Not one of those 'I'm the bee's knees' smug grins, but a gentle 'groovy' crescent on my lips. (I am making it a personal campaign to get groovy back in our everyday vocabulary.)

Three novels published in one year, by Joffe Books, is surely a cause for celebration. It's also a point, amid the excitement and that long, deep breath, to take stock and do my own, belated thanksgiving.

Standpoint took eight years from page one to publication, Line of Sight around three and a half years, and Cause & Effect about a year. That's not indicative of anything other than my thought process.

So, have I learned anything?

Well, only the obvious, which still merits repeating.

1.     Persistence pays off. Keep writing and you end up with more material.

2.     Never underestimate the importance of luck. One of my muses likes to whisper a Han Solo line from time to time: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nN9xsFUsPqM

3.     As long as you're paying attention, every new page / story / book will be an improvement on the previous one.

Has anything changed?

1.     The muses know where to find me now, but I still have days where I have to work at attracting their attention. That's okay; I know they have a lot of people to visit.

2.     I look at stories a little differently now. Often, they seem more like themes, ideas and characters that need to be worked through on the page - like a puzzle.

3.     I defend my work less now. Don't get me wrong, I love it when people enjoy my work, but disapproval does not spell disaster.

Has anything stayed the same?

1.     The truisms are still true!

2.     Writers are defined by writing. It's as simple as that.

3.     Some days are easier than others.

4.     A good notebook makes for an agreeable companion.

5.     There is no such thing as dead time.

6.     I've yet to find out how a 'real writer' lives. It's all a construct and my idea of living authentically (or writing authentically, for that matter) is peculiar to me.

7.     I'm still hungry for experience, for my writing to take me into new situations. (TV and film people, are you listening?!)

Where do I go from here?

1.   Back to the blank page. I have the outline for book four in the Thomas Bladen series, and for the one after that. They're both really linear at the moment, but the meat on the bones will develop as I work on them, and the feedback from other writers remains invaluable. Like books two and three, each book deals with the some of the consequences of the previous book. There is no comfy reset button - much like life.

2.   My standalone dark comedy, Scars & Stripes, is in circulation.

3.   I was serious, earlier, about looking at how Standpoint might be dramatised. It's all dreams and faery dust right now, but I have a couple of ideas about how to proceed.

4.   I have a blog post coming up on the site of a hugely successful British author, in early December, which I'm already tingly about.

5.   I'd like to go through some of my old, angst-ridden notebooks.

Did I feel like a dick when I came up with the title 'Triple Crown' for this blog post?

Absolutely. Especially as I needed to look it up on the web to see which sport it was associated with. (Turns out it's rugby union...who knew, apart from Sarah Campbell?) But this year has represented a triple victory for me - overcoming doubts, inertia, and my tangled first drafts.

 Thomas Bladen's back and his life is about to get complicated.

Now available here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/CAUSE-EFFECT-thriller-wont-want-ebook/dp/B016J62PYM

http://www.amazon.com/CAUSE-EFFECT-thriller-wont-want-ebook/dp/B016J62PYM

Writer as Gardener

Autumn is a time of harvest. As a former 'green living' columnist* the environment and the page are inextricably linked for me. Whether it's planning for the season to come, falling in with the rhythms of the year, or taking careful note of what's developing, the metaphor of garden as creativity was - and is - ever present.

Sometimes the words fail to germinate and lie waiting in a notebook. And then, by some unseen signal, physiological dormancy ends (thank you, Carol Klein!) and the ideas burst into life.

Occasionally you forget what type of seed / idea it was and you find yourself tending and nurturing a mystery. We always have a guest or two in the garden. This year it was corncockles and knapweed; last year it was an oriental poppy that miraculously appeared. 

Like plants, some ideas take a long time to become anything recognisable. Words can be medicinal, fragrant, colourful, toxic, and even nutritional. They can provide cover, or privacy, and are laced with hidden meanings and history. Sometimes they are just pretty to look at.

While the veg garden largely capitulated to the slug hordes (although the garlic was a notable success), it's been a better harvest as a writer. 

I started the year with my green living column coming to an end after two and a half years, and my debut thriller, Standpoint, a dormant seed. All it needed was favourable conditions. Joffe Books provided the right environment for Standpoint and for Line of Sight, and we're now working through the final stages of the third novel, Cause & Effect. I've also started a new column about writing.

The thing about gardening is that you never really know what's going to work. You can no more predict the coming weather for the year than you can which plants will thrive. It's a constant process of response and adjustment. I think that's part of the attraction. All that matters is you keep going and you focus on whatever seems to be thriving, and don't get too caught up in the failures and setbacks. As in the garden, so on the page.


* 18,000 words of second rights' material available!