A new chapter emerges

I had a lively debate with my better half this morning about whether there was any point in inserting a new thread into the story if I didn’t know exactly how it was going to play out later in the book. She thought it made sense to take the time to work out exactly when and where this new storyline would appear and how it would affect the main plot and the characters. In a book of 166,000 words I simply can’t calculate the intricacies of those events in advance. But I have a tried and tested system of redrafting that involves the introduction of a new theme, followed by a systematic edit sweep of the whole novel during which I bring in instances of the new theme wherever it seems appropriate, and I adjust dialogue, actions, and plot devices as I come across them.

When I get into a routine of daily writing I find that the book comes alive in my head to the extent that complicated plot situations resolve themselves while I’m driving, having a bath or even fast asleep. It’s not unknown for me to wake up with a brilliant new twist or scene to add to the book. So sometimes the impact of a new theme in the story can be arrived at subconsciously.

Characters speak to me when they are fully developed. They each have their own voice, their own vocabulary: great characters have sufficiently distinctive turns of phrase that you know who is speaking without being told. You can chuck them into a situation and let their own dialogue flow from them according to the personality traits, attitudes, fears, ambitions and motives that you as the writer have already given them. Changing a theme or adding a subplot requires changes in dialogue, but the characters are very helpful in dictating those changes themselves.

So back to the ‘lively debate’: OK, so I might end up writing pages that end up being cut in a later draft because they don’t lead to anything worthwhile. It’s happened to me before and I’m sure it will happen again (see my comments about ‘bonus features’ in novels in yesterday’s blog). But if a chapter doesn’t work it won’t harm the final product because it won’t be in the book by then. The worst that will happen is that I write something that doesn’t work and have to cut it.

Anyway, I wrote the beginning of a new thread in the story today. It’s a 600 word short chapter, and it was horribly difficult to get right. I rewrote the first paragraph dozens of times, trying to establish a tone and style that was appropriate for the scene. I think I’ve got there in the end, but it’s getting late as I write this and my judgement is getting cloudy, so I’ll probably review it tomorrow and rewrite it again. The scene is about the significance of a broken stele (an ancient stone tablet engraved with enigmatic writings). The owner, Lord Ballashiels (known as ‘Ratty’) wants to sell it to the sinister Professor Otto, but something Ruby Towers, the archaeologist, said to him has made him realise its true importance. When he tries to back out of the deal tensions rise and Ratty fears for his safety. So what is the significance of this Mayan stele? What is this new thread which will obviously play a major role in the novel? Why does Otto want it so badly and why has Ratty changed his mind and decided not to sell it?

Let me go and take a bath, and then I’ll sleep on it.