I’m done! My three-chapter sample for the fantasy novel is complete. I finished writing yesterday, edited the manuscript this morning, and I’ve just emailed the final draft to my client. All that remains is to sit back and perform the hardest task of all. It a challenge all writers face on a regular basis.
Wait.
The final writing session threw up a minor issue, namely, belief. It’s something I’ve encountered before with ghostwriting projects. When you’re following a tight outline, occasionally you find yourself having to write a scene you don’t quite believe in. This happened in the last chapter of the sample, when I had to bring to life a piece of dramatic action that sounded great on paper, and which included some terrific imagery. Unfortunately, when I really analysed it, it didn’t quite add up.
Confidentiality means I can’t go into detail. Let’s just say my challenge as a ghostwriter was to take an event that I personally found a little hard to swallow, and make it credible. Actually, it didn’t prove too hard. However, on other projects, this same issue has occasionally forced me to make more drastic changes to the action. That means going back to the story team and saying, “Uh, I think what you wrote isn’t working. How about doing this instead?” If you’ve got a good solution that’s consistent with the original intention, this shouldn’t be a problem. The key is to have a sound reason to make the change in the first place.
My next post in this series will, unsurprisingly, be entitled “Ghostwriter Diaries 05”. I’m not sure when it will appear – that depends on my client. When it does, it’s likely to contain one of two statements. The first is something along the lines of, “Well, I didn’t get the gig, hey-ho, on to the next.” The second is, “Holy crap, I’ve got twelve weeks to write the rest of the damn novel!”
Stay tuned, and you’ll find out which it’s to be.
Graham Edwards 