THE JAMES MASON COMMUNITY BOOK CLUB discussion

Do you know if you write a page a day that within one year you will have written a book? How many times have I heard that one? Truth is, writing a first draft is the easy part. It’s the revision process that can take years.


I can usually belt out a first draft in a few months. But the rereads; forgetta’bout it. That’s the time consuming stuff though I am getting better at it as I get older (and hopefully wiser). I’m also getting better as a writer. Ideas come more easily after so many years of living in my ideas and the process of getting them on paper is less time-consuming.


For my new novel, I’m finding the plot twists are coming naturally and I’ve had quite a few ‘aha!’ moments in the last few days. Here’s the secret to starting a new novel. Don’t worry about the perfect first chapter or getting that perfect first line. Just start jotting down a story and have fun in your imagination.


With most of my books, I complete about half the novel when I usually go back and write new intro’s that incorporate the original intro’s, if that makes any sense. For instance, I thought I had the perfect intro for my latest; a shocking, get-right-into-the-action first chapter. When a few hours ago I came up with a much better start. My original beginning is now chapter two. But that original intro catapulted me into the story so I could build a base.


Writing is easy if in the beginning stages you don’t stress too much about grammar and perfect sentences. What’s important is creating characters and setting that draws a reader immediately into your world. You can worry about all the imperfections after that plot has been established and you’ve got four hundred pages of story. That’s how I do it, anyway.



To read more about me and my books please check out my blog: ALWAYS WRITING http://www.neilostroff.blogspot.com

Writing is the most interesting, the most lonely, the most frustrating, the most detailed (and I have very little attention to detail) career I have ever chosen. I both love it and hate it.

My thoughts exactly Neil. Nice to know someone else goes through a similar process to my own. I agree it makes one a better writer.

I like comparing writing the first draft of an episode in a novel to eating Tiramasu – or any other sweet that one absolutely adores. This is because, at least for me, writing a fictional scene for the very first time always produces a rush of satisfaction similar to a heavy dose of sugar/chocolate.

The most delicious aspect of writing anything for the first time is the excitement of not really knowing what the end product will look like. Even though I always know what I intend to write, the creative process is such that I can never be sure where the words will actually lead me. A finished first draft is always full of surprises: unexpected developments, witty repartee from my characters or maybe just an unexpectedly vivid image.

But if writing the first draft of a novel is like eating dessert, the re-write is like eating the main-course. The pleasure is less intense and ecstatic, but it is nevertheless satisfying and sustaining.

In my experience, no novel – or scene for that matter –is perfect at its inception. If nothing else, when writing at a fast pace to get the raw idea/inspiration translated into coherent words, it is normal to make typographical, spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors. But more important, even if a novelist writes one brilliant chapter after another, with each scene the novel evolves. By the time the last scene of a novel is written, when the ending is final and the author knows this is “it,” there are likely many aspects or parts of the early portions of the book that no longer fit properly. Essentially, because a novelist cannot know how individual characters will evolve and because in the course of a novel important sub-plots and ancillary themes evolve, the beginning always needs to be re-examined after the end is set.

The first re-write is, therefore, a matter of going back to page one and re-reading each scene/chapter again with the final form of the novel in mind. This is not merely a matter of removing extraneous or superfluous material and characters, it usually entails adding things as well. For example, if in the latter portion of a novel a particular character or theme have become more important, it may be necessary to provide more information about the character earlier or foreshadow the thematic developments. This may require the drafting of completely new scenes or even chapters. In the extreme, it may require a completely new beginning to the novel.

Once the structure of a novel stands, i.e. the beginning and end are set and the episodes of the novel are complete and lined up in the correct order, I personally find it useful to let a novel sit for a year or two. Ideally, I am already at work on the next novel, and set the finished one aside without further thought to concentrate on the new project. Alternatively, if I am anxious to get a book to print, then I like to get the opinion of others while I take a break from the book of at least two months.

During this phase, the rough draft of the novel is sent to several people for candid but constructive feedback. Based on the suggestions of these readers, I undertake a new re-write. Again, this may include cutting or adding entire scenes. More often it entails massaging existing scenes to make them sharper and more effective, or it may entail providing additional background information about characters and developments. This is the stage in which I test how effective I have been in conveying my message, and the re-write is an opportunity to adjust the method of telling the story to make it more successful.

There is no set number of re-writes that a novel must undergo, but I have found two minimal. I notice too that the more experienced I have become, the fewer re-writes are necessary. Something I cannot say about editing for typos and grammatical/spelling errors....

On the subject of food and novels, let me introduce a very prosaic comment.

Does everyone continually graze when writing a novel? Between the research, the writing and the life I endeavor to fit in between chapters, I find myself burning up energy which requires a constant fix. Thank goodness for aquarobics to burn up the calories.

Don't graze, but do drink a lot of coffee in the morning and tea in the afternoon - the exercise generated by TB (tiny bladder) keeps me fit :-o)

It's the lifting up and putting down of the cup/mug that does it.