Today I’m compelled to write about the creative writing process. I’ve reached quite an exciting phase in writing my fifth novel. Yesterday scenes were playing out in my mind like scenes in a film. Now I know that I can write it. Of course it’s taken a lot of hard work to get here, and there’s still a lot of very hard work ahead.
My genre is historical fiction, and the sub-genre is crime. I’m writing a series, the Sir Anthony Standen Adventures, so I already know my main characters very well. I also know when and where the next book will be set. The first stage of research was to read biographies of other important historical characters, Louis XIII of France, Marie de Medici, Cardinal Richelieu, and Charles D’Albert de Luynes. I have made extensive notes of their childhood influences, character traits, and conflicts.
The theme is key. The theme calling out to me here is the parent – child conflict. I want to avoid spoilers, but I’ve decided on the crime, the victim, and the culprit. I’ve done some research into early 17th century french legal procedure, and I’ve already posted about my research into cures for gout.
Red Herrings are essential for crime thrillers, and I have some ideas. I can also see how to create jeopardy for my main characters. I don’t know how long it will be before I start actually writing it, I want to get the outline fairly fully fleshed out first. I find winter a good time to write, because the distractions of sailing, or playing golf, are less compelling.
I’ve glossed over my main characters. When I had completed the Open University Creative Writing and Advanced Creative Writing courses, I wanted to write crime fiction. I spent months trying to create an original and interesting detective, but didn’t come up with anything. Later, I was reading a biography of Sir Francis Drake, when I found that an Elizabethan spy called Sir Anthony Standen provided detailed intelligence which helped to defeat the Spanish Armada. He was the elder brother of my 10th great-grandfather, so I read everything there is to read about him. I had found my main character, and my genre. I thought the skills of espionage would translate well into detective work. I gifted Sir Anthony with children, and now I can follow my series through history for as long as I am able.