::mslexia author method::

The Joanne Harris Method
From Interview no. 16

• Once you have a basic idea (which can take maybe a month, maybe years), look for a voice, the principle character who will be telling the story.

• The first thing you do is pick up a pen and try writing things in this voice. You can’t think about it too much or you’ll become paralysed by all the paper there waiting to be filled.

• At some point it will click and you’ll have your first paragraph. This is a question of trial and error and it may take 20 pages or more before you know where the story starts.

• Once you have this character established in your mind, how they talk, what sort of things they’ll be thinking – when you have their voice, the plot will evolve in an organic way. You may not know what’s happening in it bar the basic idea – it’s a question of feeling your way through the story to get to the things you know are there.

• The interrelationships between characters set things in motion. When you see how the characters interact, how one person responds to another, and how this creates another response in someone else, this all contributes to the development of a plot.

• Allow yourself as you write to be influenced by what goes on around you. As a consequence you may get an idea for something in the middle of the book that needs to have been established much earlier. In this case, simply go back and drop references in – in other words, plot retrospectively. Think of it as a mystery story approach where you put the clues in later when you know whodunit. If at a loss for what happens next, go for a walk – you’ll see something to give you an idea.

• Don’t edit too much as you go along. You can waste a great deal of time searching for the perfect sentence, when you’re supposed to be writing a paragraph or chapter.

• It takes about a year to have a first draft. You may then want to redraft – be your own self-critic and ask all the vital editorial questions about story, character motivation etc.

• Send your happy draft to your agent, or to a reader for critique. You need a good sounding board, someone who won’t mince words.

• Finally, send the novel to the editor and wait for it to come back for a rewrite – usually three months, preparatory time in which to reflect..

Don’t edit too much as you go along. You can waste a great deal of time searching for the perfect sentence, when you’re supposed to be writing a paragraph or chapter.