A breakthrough...

Stumbled upon a wonderfully helpful tidbit of information today. Came across a book by Dwight Swain entitled "Techniques of the Selling Writer" which mentions the notions of what he refers to as MRUs, or Motivation-Response Units. There's also mention of Scenes and Sequels, a technique for writing "scenes" which is good, but the MRUs are literally where it's at for great writing.
If you're interested, I'd suggest finding out a little more about it yourself (I don't have space or time to go into it here), but suffice it to say, it has made the writing process a whole lot easier than previously, and in fact, I was able to get through the entire rape scene today. It's done and dusted, and it reads well, though the content is less than savoury of course; but nonetheless, it is good writing.
Enough for now, I need to get back to work. I'm loving MRUs right now! :D

My blurb is written!

Also spent some time today working on the blurb for the back cover:

"In a small town in northern Minnesota, a young girl is brutally raped. Everyone wants the man who attacked her to be held accountable for his actions, and brought to justice. Everyone, that is, except for Mark Burrows.
A young defense lawyer, Burrows is desperate for a case that will further his career, and see him become the most sought-after lawyer in the county.
And this case is just what he needs. Whether he wins or loses the case for his client - a man no other lawyer will protect - his career will take off overnight.
But Burrows has no intention of losing the case. In fact, he will go to any lengths to win...
Any lengths..."

What do you think? Please comment.

Something a little fun...

Have been working on a possible preliminary cover in my limited spare time...Thought you might like to check it out.
Just to let you know, this is nowhere near finished yet, but it will give you a bit of an idea.
This is the entire cover (as one piece) for the hardcover edition, so it features not only front cover (and back cover eventually) but also spine (of course) and flaps for both the front and back.
Enjoy!

Today's biggest decision

Decided today to write the novel in longhand, returning to my "roots" of the way I wrote Endings & Beginnings, my last novel. I find a greater connection with the words that way, and also I can literally write anywhere, as long as I have paper and a pen with me, which, as a writer, I always do.
Got a little further in the novel today, and also have decided to write some of the chapters out of order as necessary. I still can't bring myself to write the rest of the rape scene from the beginning, but know I have to keep writing something every day, so writing out of order is really my only option at the moment. That's one reason having a semi-detailed chapter outline comes in so handy; I know exactly what has to happen in each and every chapter, so I can write it in any order I choose.
Enough for today, I need to get back to it. Maybe another game of Minesweeper first ;) and then back to it.

Apologies

Just realised it's been a while since I last posted, so I apologise profusely, and offer this as summation of the last few days.
Wednesday brought a third and final day of study in the State Library, wading through books on American criminal procedures and also the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), trying to find out not only the way the American legal system works and progresses, but also possible insanity defenses for the alleged perpetrator of the crime in my novel.
Pretty heavy going actually, and in one sense, I am glad that part is over.
Yesterday was spent on a basic outline. I like to at least have a basic idea of where the novel is going before I begin. If needed at a later stage, I will flesh this out a little more, but that's really only if I run into problems. As mentioned, if I have a basic idea of where I'm going, the rest of the story sort of falls into place along the way; also, characters may decide to take the story in another direction, and I like to be free to explore that, rather than keeping rigidly to an outline.
Also thought I should mention that the novel is no longer set in Wyoming, for various reasons. I have now "happened" on the fictional town of Leech Lake, Minnesota (The lake does exist and that is its real name, but the town, situated on the shore of the lake, is completely fictional). I also liked the idea of the word "leech", given that I'm writing about lawyers, LOL.
Anyway, today is another day, and with it, another task. I am now beginning in earnest the first draft, and although that means having to get into a more than slightly uncomfortable frame of mind in order to write the rape scene, it will still start me on a course that will hopefully see a first draft completed in just under two months (Yes, this will be a record even for me, but I'm reasonably sure it can be done, provided I also keep on top of my other commitments!)
Enough for now, I need to get to work. :)

A much better day ...

Spent the entire day in the library again, and now know ALL about the intricacies of jury selection. Okay, so the books weren't necessarily riveting page turners as you might have expected, but they certainly provided me with a wealth of knowledge, such that I feel almost ready to start writing this novel.
Still have another day planned for tomorrow, leafing through a book on American criminal procedure, as there are a number of key differences between the American system (where I am setting the novel) and the Australian system (where my research to date has focused on). So, once again, not necessarily a terribly exciting day on one hand, but definitely an important day on the other, and something that will allow me to look as though I know what I'm talking about as I write the novel itself.
Very excited to think that by the end of the week, I should be ready to begin the actual writing. Of course, I will keep you informed as to how that goes, and MAY occasionally post an excerpt here...don't know for sure about that though, I've never really let anyone read a work-in-progress...But there's a first time for everything, I suppose.
And that way, I can get some feedback from readers around the world before the novel is complete, that might be a little exciting. Go ahead and leave a comment, let me know what you think.
That's enough for today. I'm feeling kind of exhausted after a day of reading.

My head hurts ...

Just got home from the library, having spent the day doing extensive research into the US legal system, more specifically today looking at material relevant to my novel (ie. child abuse cases, pros and cons of putting a child on the stand, strategies of defense counsel in cross-examination of the state's expert witnesses, etc.)
All in all, a gruelling day. Productive, yes, but gruelling, especially considering the bulk of the subject matter I had to read to get the information I require before I can begin the writing itself.
Have managed to locate also the other books I will be looking at over the next few days, including a really super-duper one on the science of jury selection. Mm-mm, that will be a riveting read, LOL.
Anyway, just thought y'all might want to know where I'm up to with this thing, and hopefully as I have said earlier, by the end of this week, I should have covered all the research points I want/need to, so will be ready to start putting pen to paper (or fingers to keys, whatever...)

My day so far...

Currently browsing the entire back-issue collection of the Advanced Fiction Writing e-zine (check it out at
http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/ezine/ if you want more information).
This e-zine is proving to be extremely helpful in getting my novel together. That coupled with the fact that I am planning to spend an entire day researching at the library later this week should see me able to begin nutting out the full plot by the end of the week. Of course, as always, I will keep you posted.
Hope to also spend a bit of time later this afternoon fleshing out the rest of my preliminary character sketches, so will also let you know how that turns out.
Till then...adieu.

Melbourne Writer's Festival

I couldn't let the day go by without mentioning my trip to the Melbourne Writer's Festival earlier today.
I went to the session called "X-Rated: How Far Can a Crime Writer Go?", a panel featuring PD Martin, Garry Disher and Philip McLaren, three incredibly big names in Australian crime fiction.
The session was absolutely incredible, I picked up so much handy information, including chatting personally with all three of them afterwards, and sharing my latest novel idea (the one featured in this particular blog) with them and receiving feedback.
And of course, I now feel completely vindicated after my slightly-less-than-positive workshop experience the other night; I now know that as crime fiction goes, I am/was completely in the right! Woo-hoo! You see, research pays off more than comments based on simple ignorance. (Actually, that sounds like I'm really bitter about it. I'm not, just so you know).
Anyway, enough for this post. I will of course keep you informed as to how my character sketches are going. I hope to finish them in the next few days, and then get onto Step 4 of the Snowflake Method.

The next step...

Have begun my character outlines (as per Step 3 of the Snowflake Method), and all is going well.
I had hoped to post them to this page, but decided against it in the end; I'm a little precious about my stuff at the moment. Hopefully, sometime soon though, I will start posting some information here, just to show the evolution from one step to another, and eventually to finished novel. (Maybe I'll keep all this stuff, and post it once the novel is published; that way, I'm not spoiling any surprises for you guys - and believe me, there WILL be surprises, as anyone who has read any of my other novels will testify).
That's all for now, I should get back to it.

Read a lot, write a lot

You may have heard it said, "Read a lot, write a lot." (Or perhaps it's the other way around, I can never remember, LOL. Either way, the concept is clear; if you want to be a writer, you need to be reading).
And of course, this is one adage I take VERY seriously. I absolutely love books (which is probably one of the reasons I love writing so much). And I generally read from many different genres, too. I find it important to read examples of bad writing (there are a lot out there!), good writing, and great writing. There are so many benefits of all of these types of writing. Of course, by reading bad writing, you can find pitfalls to avoid in your own work. And by reading both good and great writing, you learn the so-called "tricks of the trade" that can only improve your own work; things like how to write good description, dialogue, foreshadowing, even well-crafted subtext.
Thought it might be appropriate to list some of the books I have read recently. I would consider all of them to fall under the category of either good or great writing (no bad stuff here!):

(I've tried to put them in order of when I finished reading them, the most recent first)

1. A Time to Kill (John Grisham)
2. The Year of Magical Thinking (Joan Didion)
3. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoevsky)
4. Divine (Karen Kingsbury) - re-read
5. My Sister's Keeper (Jodi Picoult) - re-read
6. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (J. K. Rowling) - re-read

That's as far back as I can remember at the moment. But, take it from me, I am always reading (and re-reading favourites, of course).

Anyway, that's enough for now. I can't spend all my time blogging, I need to be doing some writing, too (and reading, of course).

The value of workshopping

Had to workshop a chapter of my novel on Tuesday night in class (This probably should have been posted earlier, but it has only recently come back into my mind, LOL).
Chose the chapter with the bail application (or arraignment for any Americans out there). Thought I had accurately presented both sides of the argument, both from the defense lawyer Burrows and the prosecutor/police officers, having been in many courtrooms in the past for the purposes of research (more than one of those being actual bail applications).
However, it was interesting that nearly everyone made comments afterwards to the effect of "That would NEVER happen in a court hearing"; "A police officer would NEVER say that"; "Someone would be held in contempt for making a personal value judgment", etc. Never mind the fact that I have heard the EXACT words given in the chapter coming straight out of a police officer's mouth; because obviously someone else knows better than I do (after all, they watch Law and Order and other such shows on TV, and it never happens there!)
Still not sure what to make of it. Do I take their advice because they have given it, and serve as an extra pair of eyes, and an additional perspective on the novel itself; or do I ignore their comments knowing full well that they are completely unfounded and wrong?
I hope to come to some decision soon, after all, I need to be working on the actual novel, not "fuming" over comments made nearly a week ago.
Till next time...

I forgot to put this before ...

Just wanted to formally thank Rebekah for her input in the early stages...Of course, any readers out there who will read the finished novel will have to wait for the outcome of her input, but suffice it to say, she gave me one of the most helpful pieces of advice thus far with relation to the protagonist, Mark Burrows.

Thanks, Rebekah, I love you!

In the beginning ...

Thought it might be interesting to walk you through the formation of a
novel from start to finish...

Have begun re-outlining my novel today, starting with a basic sentence
summarising the overall plot in one short sentence:

"A lawyer raises his profile by defending a teacher accused of raping a
female student."

Went on from there to expand the idea into a paragraph:

"Mark Burrows is a young married lawyer, anxious to get ahead in his firm. When a family friend (a teacher at the local elementary school) is charged with raping a female student, Mark takes on the case. He and his wife become victims of street violence, vandalism, abuse, and so on. Add to that the fact that his client is desperate to plead guilty. His case, his friendship and even his marriage are falling apart. Only when it is discovered that [have deleted this final sentence...want to preserve "some" suspense, don't really want to give away the ending in a public
forum, LOL].

I'm using what's called the "Snowflake Method" (http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/art/snowflake.php) to help with the process...will let you all know how it goes, and hopefully this will help flesh out the plot a little more before I begin the official writing.

Of course, I do know a bit about the plot at the moment, it borrows heavily from an as-yet-unfinished novel of mine entitled "Wolf Cries", but thought I might have a go at re-writing the story looking more at the journey of the lawyer, as opposed to the perpetrator. (Have been reading a lot of John Grisham recently...perhaps it's starting to seep
into my subconscious, LOL). Certainly not interested in creating a Grisham "rip-off", I can still bring my own unique style to the novel, but it's still interesting to think about how what you read informs what you write.

In any case, there's not much more to tell at this point. As promised, I will continue to keep you "in the loop" as to how it all goes. And of course, even if no-one ever reads this ;) I will still have a record of it for myself for posterity.

Till then...