I’m ghostwriting book two of a fantasy trilogy to a tight outline and an equally tight deadline.
The upside of a punishing schedule is there’s no time to mess about, and certainly no time for self-indulgence. It also means I’m free to enjoy telling the story and crafting the prose, without worrying about plotting, because that’s mostly done.
The downside is I run the risk of writing mechanically, just trotting out the text by the numbers. This is the danger inherent in letting the plot drive the action. There are many ways around it, all of which I’m valiantly employing.
The best strategy of all is to listen to your characters. Understand what’s in their hearts and let them speak in their own voices instead of parroting whatever it is the plot requires them to say.
Sometimes I’m able to do this from the get-go. With this project, unfortunately, it’s taken a little while for the characters to wake up. Don’t ask me why. It’s almost certainly more to do with me than them. However, about half an hour ago, waking up is exactly what they did, and suddenly I feel a whole lot better because from this point on I think the book will pretty much write itself.
Thanks guys. You may only be fictional, but I’d trust you with my life any day.
Graham Edwards 