I have a conundrum. There's a lovely scene in a current work in progress which takes place at a Marriage Equality rally which actually took place during the 90s. Me and my husband were there, never believing for a minute this proposal would be even seriously considered in our lifetime. In this chapter, a former …
Random thoughts which improve my plot
I'm at an interesting stage with my WiP. I revised around two-thirds of the story after creating an excel spreadsheet with details of the changes needed to each scene. Then I read the revised chapters and realised before I continued, the characters needed to be deeper. They were already demanding extra plot twists, telling me …
To hell with my outline!
Apologies for not posting for a while. My time has been dominated by listening to, and preparing promotional materials for, a new audiobook. But today's blog is a follow on from my last where I mentioned I've been panstering for a while, rather than sticking to my refreshed outline. And on the days I haven't …
Pantstering my plot
I felt like I was pantstering even though I have an outline. But it’s an updated outline on an excel spreadsheet clearly showing what currently happens in each chapter, and what needs to be changed. And as I created this spreadsheet ages ago, it felt like I was pantstering recently, giving the characters licence to …
Manuscript Assessments
I've had several assessments done on two books. One was very recently. The others were for my first novel, Drama Queens with Love Scenes, more than ten years ago. This process should be eye opening. Sometimes it is. Sometimes it isn't. With my first book, a woman who was recommended to me provided three assessments …
I’ve written several versions of the same short scene!
The scene is only several paragraphs long. It's the last time we're alone with just the gay characters in my work-in-progress set in the nineties. In the initial draft they talk about Australian politics at the final stage of that decade. Only one other chapter examined politics and that was in an overall 1990's way. …
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I’m replacing an entire character
In my last blog I wrote about writing a summary for a book submission. And although it's for a novel I'm still working on, it hasn't stopped me considering how to pitch it to potential publishers. I've created a 500 word and a 300 word synopsis, and a 200 word summary, in line with what …
Realising your manuscript needs work!
I've just edited the initial draft of my novel set in the 1990s. Like any novel at this early stage, some scenes work, some need work. But for the first time I sense this manuscript needs more work than my recent novels did at this early stage. It's not because it's bad. It's because I …
Over think your novel between drafts
During this Sydney lockdown, something has occurred to me. Over thinking is best done between drafts! I'm writing this on July 21, 2021, and as I'm here at home with my husband, my works in progress have taken a back seat. Usually, I'd be working on the next draft of a manuscript while another is …
Writing about music without infringing copyright.
It's hard to write a novel about 90s rave culture without mentioning music. You have to be careful not to infringe copyright. This has been a real issue with my story set around Sydney's Oxford Street in that era. I started by referencing songs without using their lyrics. Or I'd reference those lyrics without using …
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kevin klehr 