Tag Archives: Emma Darwin

Editing Your Own

Sophie takes inspiration from a surprise essay in her In Box and as a result hooks up again with a much loved literary hero

Three assorted ducklings surround a pan of water, in which another one is resting.Editing your own work is a bit of a mixed blessing. I’ve been thinking that maybe, this time, I’ve been at the current book too hard for too long.

And this week a salutary article by wonderful Emma Darwin popped up in my In Box, which has made me step back and take stock. She calls it Wonky Ducks and Ugly Ducklings. It was exactly what I needed.

Pleasures and PItfalls of Editing Your Own

I used to know an actor who said he knew his time was up when he enjoyed rehearsing more than being on stage in front of an audience. For a while that was me and editing.

For one thing, it gives me the chance to cut all the stuff where I went off piste. (I’m a great one for tangents, I’m afraid. Even in conversation.)

And it’s great for picking up the typos  — and even the odd Malapropism.Though, I admit, in the latest bunch, none was as good as when a secretary at the day job, typing one of my dictated notes, replaced “treatment of accrued interest” with “Treating A Crude Interest.” Caused quite a stir. Continue reading →

Romantic Hero in Archetype and Fashion

Image by Brigitte Werner from Pixabay

During the last few weeks all occasions have conspired to make me think about the hero in archetype and fashion; specifically the romantic hero.

First there was my book winnowing, about which I have already mourned on this blog.  Identifying the books I absolutely couldn’t bear to part with has resulted in a personal romantic classics shelf.

Then there was describing one of my current works in progress to a non-writing reader. (Well, she did ask me.) Did my romantic hero have to be a lust object, she wondered. I considered. I mean I love him to bits but he can be seriously annoying, to author and heroine alike. Not a universal lust object, I concluded.

We talked a bit about myth, story theory and Christopher Vogler’s influential guide to the Hero’s Journey (based on Joseph Campbell’s Hero With a Thousand Faces).

Which brought us to Bridgerton, the Netflix Phenomenon, of which more in a future blog.

And then, following the recent awards for the Romantic Novel of the Year, I’ve been dusting off my collection of the award winners of the RNA’s first half century, 1960 – 2010. And oh boy, did the fashion in heroes change over that time. Continue reading →

Research Pitfalls and Pleasure

I have always found researching the back ground for my stories to be the greatest fun. But it is not all joy. Worse, it can be counter-productive.

As this year is on the brink of turning, I have been taking stock of my writing habits and also my output. Well, a little. Not the full audit, you understand. Just a gentle canter through those things that I have done, and those that I have left undone. And why.

And the reason, I fear, is often Research.

So I thought some people might be interested in my conclusions on research, its pitfalls and pleasures.

Pitfall 1  Getting Lost in Research

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Points of View

I’ve called this blog Points of View because that is what I’ve been thinking about, off and on, since the Romantic Novelists’ Association Conference two weeks ago.

Not just in a relation to writing, either, as you will see.

I admit, however, that I have been struggling for some time with POV issues. I’m in the process of an Absolutely Last Edit of a book that, when I first imagined it, had a first person vibe. It didn’t last and it has much improved as a result. But in some places the “I voice” has left an uncomfortable shadow.

At least, I think that’s the answer. Especially after a really excellent workshop on Psychic Distance from Emma Darwin.

RNA Conference

Continue reading →