It was fun to catch up online during August with author and tutor Emma Darwin for our zalon on all things to do with plot, structure and storytelling. The audience tuned in from far and wide across the UK and we also welcomed folk from the USA - Zoom has its plus side!

Writing a novel can feel like entering a dark forest without a map to follow or a torch to see where you’re going. “Start where you start,” said Emma, and try not to get locked into the idea of “getting it right”. Focus on getting the words down and don’t worry too much - you can change every word of the first draft. Accept that you don’t know all the answers just yet and keep moving on. Try and embrace the idea it’s OK to work with uncertainty and that “not good enough is good enough for now.” As you gain more experience as a writer you’ll develop more of a sense of the overall process.

How can a writer keep going beyond a series of brave beginnings, half filled notebooks and unfinished drafts? Emma flagged up the 30,000 world doldrums and said it’s quite common for the writerly self to run out of steam at the 25 -30K word count. See it as a chance to take stock. What does the manuscript need and what’s missing? It’s around now that your inner critic is probably starting to scream! The primary job of the inner critic is to protect you from exposing yourself, thus the more you progress with your manuscript the louder that voice becomes. Make an effort to turn around what’s being said - it’s actually a sign that you’re winning! Don’t be tempted to abandon your project. The rhetoric of writing fiction is often about following your passion. The danger is when you run out of oomph you read it as a sign that it’s the writing project that’s wrong. Recognise that some of writing a novel is hard, if not boring, work.

We dipped into the “muddle-middle” and visited the three act and five act structures. Once you’ve got that first draft down - no matter how sketchy it may be, this is a good time to think about structure. Imagine that your first draft is a stew, said Emma. Pull out the bones of the story from the stewpot and see what it looks like! Emma recommended reading John York’s Into the Woods to help with any structure problems, particularly if you are bogged down and struggling with the middle of your novel. Breaking down your story into acts can help shape the narrative into a beginning, middle and end (for more on this see links below). What are the novel’s key turning points (emotional and practical) in terms of action? It’s a question of balance - look at these key turning points and check if the chain of cause and effect is working well.

We talked about the difference between plot versus story; “story is the journey you make and plot is the route you take.” Story is about what matters, said Emma. It’s about who the characters are, why they need what they need and what they do to get it. Ultimately it’s about who they become at the end. Plot is the cause and effect of incidents and action that makes those changes in your character come about. Think of structure as architecture, said Emma. Structure is all about the proportions of that chain of cause and effect.

There was a question from the audience about procrastination and avoiding writing the ending of a novel. At some level, said Emma, your writerly self has to come to terms with saying "this is it.” Resisting the end is about closing off possibility. It’s that noisy inner critic again - your self esteem is on the line. Even though it’s hard to do, try and make your peace with each draft and accept that “here I stand and I can do no other.”

Some writing exercises from Emma & Debbi Alper’s Online Self-Editing Course via Jericho Writers (link below):

Take your first five chapters (or all of them) and summarise each scene or chapter in three sentences only. For example:

Write a sentence summarising where the chapter starts.
Write a sentence about what happens in the middle.
Write a sentence about where the main character is at the end.

The aim is to clarify if a scene or chapter is earning its keep in terms of moving the story on. If the chapter or scene is not working, take it out.

If something’s not working in the chapter or scene, then take it out and explore the problem - use it to write a little short story. Or else invent a scene or a story off stage that has consequences for the novel. Use the discovery process to problem solve and find out stuff you don’t know.

A big thank you to Emma for her excellent suggestions and ideas for troubleshooting. Thank you to our audience too! Our next zalon via zoom, Publishing and Editing: Books, Writers and Virago, is on Monday 14th September and promises to be a very special one. I’ll be talking to Virago Press Chair, Lennie Goodings. Her authors include Margaret Atwood, Sarah Waters, Marilynne Robinson, Maya Angelou, Sandi Toksvig, Linda Grant, Natasha Walter, Naomi Wolf, among many other writers.While still acquiring and editing for Virago, Lennie has written and published her own book, A Bite of the Apple: A Life with Books, Writers and Virago (February 2020). Part memoir, part history of Virago, it contains Lennie's stories and reflections on over forty years of feminist publishing. It will be super interesting to hear her take on the current state of publishing too. Can’t wait. Book a place here. I hope you’ll join us!

Kellie

Links & References:

Emma Darwin, Emma’s blog for all your writing needs, dilemmas & more: This Itch of Writing Blog: Writing Your First Novel, The Itch of Writing Bookshelf 5: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John le Carré, Nearly finished a draft? Can't quite write "The End"? You're not alone.

How To Master The Five Act Structure: johnyorkestory.com, Into The Woods by John Yorke,

Self-edit your novel for publication: lead tutor Debi Alper & Emma Darwin via jerichowriters.com,

Julie Cohen: resources for writers

Hotel World by Ali Smith

The Virgin’s Promise by Kim Hudson