How to: the Anatomy of the Book from Hell
by
Lara Temple
I have just written the book from hell.
It didn’t start out that way. In fact, I’ve had the opening to that book for a while – a perfect beginning three chapters, just waiting for the rest of the story to be written. I was utterly in love with the hero, adored the heroine, and the chemistry between them sizzled. Everything was peachy.
Until I wrote the book.
I know writing is like riding a yoyo between heaven and hell and a ton of drudge work in between – I’m used to that. I even expect the occasional attacks of the “oh-my-God-I-suck-as-an-author-no-one-will-ever-want-to-read-my-books” (usually around the 30,000 and 60,000 words points).
But this was a whole different category of agony. I really wasn’t sure I could save this mess.
Sometimes the smartest thing to do is move on to other projects, let it stew in brain-juice, and take it out again later with clearer perspective.
But that’s not always possible – what if that is a book you have under contract? What if it’s the next book in your series? Time, stewing, and writing other, more enjoyable projects can be luxuries you can’t afford. That was my case at the time.
So - how do you fix a broken book without breaking down yourself?
My first mistake was to think I was superwoman.
I have young kids and another, non-writing job, and though I love writing, I have limited time to do it. Usually I do one book at a time (though I always have various drafts at different stages, but only one main commitment).
This time I made the mistake of accepting another book under contract just as I was picking up steam on this book (NewBook was due two months before OldBook). That’s not necessarily a mistake – it was a great opportunity to join a series with authors I love and NewBook did eventually write itself so easily I was deceived into thinking I was actually quite good at exponential multi-tasking. And so Superwoman was lulled into thinking she could do it all.
But!
But once NewBook was done I picked up OldBook and looked at the calendar. Two months to deadline. One month to end of school term. Meanwhile, I’d become wholly committed to NewBook and lost touch with OldBook’s story, characters, and world.
For a moment Cautiouswoman piped up: maybe you should renegotiate that deadline before you hit it? But Superwoman, like the captain on the Titanic, elbowed Cautiouswoman off the deck: ‘that tiny little ice-cube on the horizon? Not a problem! I’ll plough right through it!’
So I blazed ahead. I wrote the heck out of that story but still missed my deadline (my first time ever) which only added to my superwoman stress. So when my editor came back with a very valid critique I didn’t pause to breathe – I ripped that story up by the foundations, I hacked it to pieces and glued them together, adding on new, better, brighter.
Needless to say, the end result wasn’t much better.
I won’t take you through the two hellish revision stages as Superwoman reigned supreme until I realized I was going at this the wrong way.
When I did I took a mini break from banging my head against the wall.
Then, instead of cutting into that poor abused story once more, I went for a few long walks which I spend chatting with my characters – I tried to see the story from their perspective, not from the perspective of an author with a deadline-gun to her head. I asked them what wasn’t working for them and found three things that were stuck in the story’s throat. Unfortunately, two of those things were otherwise parts of the story that I loved.
But this time instead of trying to save them while everything around me sank – I removed those beloved but unnecessary plot lines and suddenly the story could breathe. And so did my characters. They came together and took centre stage and…it worked.
I am absolutely certain there will be other books from hell in my future. I think it is part of the creative process – to hit walls, to make (big) mistakes, to have flops. We are spinning worlds out of nothing more than electrical and chemical surges in our brains and that is as amazing as it gets. So of course things go wrong.
But if there is one thing I’ve learned from this book that went from heaven to (several) hells and settled somewhere in the middle which is where books should be, it is – be kind (to yourself). That means knowing your limits, either beforehand or during a project.
And when you recognize them, admit to them and ask for help – from your editor, your family, your friends, and from colleagues. I’m lousy at asking for help and recognizing approaching icebergs, but hopefully next time Superwoman will learn to partner with Cautiouswoman.
The Earl's Irresistible Challenge
Could this infamous rake finally have found his countess?
Part of The Sinful Sinclairs.
When Lucas, Lord Sinclair, receives a mysterious summons from a Miss Olivia Silverdale he’s skeptical about whether he can help her. But Olivia, although eccentric, is in earnest about her quest to restore her late godfather’s reputation. Lucas’s curiosity is piqued, and not just by Olivia’s intelligent eyes and lithe form.
A new challenge quickly presents itself: keeping Miss Silverdale at arm’s length!
Part of The Sinful Sinclairs.
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A new challenge quickly presents itself: keeping Miss Silverdale at arm’s length!
About the author
Lara Temple writes strong, sexy Regency romances about complex individuals who give no quarter but do so with plenty of passion. After moving around the world for her career as a financial analyst and business consultant she returned to her childhood love of making up stories, and was surprised to discover that other people don’t mind reading them.
She lives with her husband and two children who are very good about her taking over the kitchen table for her writing (so she can look out over the garden and dream while Oscar the dog keeps her feet warm by sitting on them as she works).
The Earl’s Irresistible Challenge (out December 2018) is the first in her Sinful Sinclair series. In May 2019 Unlaced by the Highland Duke, part of a four book series with three other Harlequin Mills and Boon authors will be released.
Giveaway – Win 5 x e-copies of The Earl’s Irresistible Challenge (Open INT)
*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
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ReplyDeleteIt was funny. Keep on posting!