You start with an idea or an impulse to explore something. That’s how it’s been for me: there’s something I’m curious about. It tugs at me in a specific way that leads me to my desk. This is a scary time because I have no idea how to make a book from an idea. But I open my computer. I sit down.
What happens next involves quite a bit of mucking around on the page, coupled with a range of decisions. These decisions are related to voice and style, structure, character and theme. Some of the decisions are conscious, and these can be made carefully during the writing process to strengthen the story. Some of the decisions are intuitive because the story dictates the way it should be told. So, one part of writing a novel relies on critical engagement with writing and an understanding of craft techniques. The other part is essentially magic.
I find two things useful as I construct a novel. Firstly, looking to other writers to see how they have managed the challenges I’m facing. Secondly, going through a process of writing, workshopping / feedback and revision.
These are the tools I will be sharing with the participants of Kickstart Your Novel. I can’t teach the magic – the qualities that make one’s writing unique – because it is within every writer already, but I can help participants to become aware of its presence in their work. Together, we will also explore the techniques that make fiction strong and compelling so that the novels we want to write can take shape.
Kickstart Your Novel
with Alice Robinson
ONLINE
1 May – 19 June 2024