Inside the Ultimate Novel Writing Programme: With Bursary Winner Rachel McLaughlin (Month 4)

I’m writing this at 6.54am, hunched over a laptop beside a decaf coffee and an itemised to-do list that I can’t quite bear to look at. Did that give you an impression of me? Good, because this month’s topic is character!  

As someone who’s fascinated with psychology, character was always going to be one of my favourite topics – and let me tell you, this month’s focus on the Ultimate Novel Writing Programme has definitely delivered! We’ve been learning everything from building out a full, believable protagonist that readers can root for, to crafting an antagonist that has backstory and motivation (not simply a moustache-twirling bad guy who’s mean for no particular reason) to creating believable side characters who make the story feel alive. An excellent read as recommended by my tutor Holly Seddon was The Husbands by Holly Gramazio, which does a phenomenal job of economical character sketches that give big impressions with few words. Highly recommend!  

As with every topic, each person takes away something useful for their story. For me, this month has really challenged me to think about my antagonist. Creating a solid and plausible backstory which explains behaviour without implying excessive empathy is an interesting balance, to say the least! It’s making me work hard on what to reveal, how to reveal it and how to get the voice right (still working on this!) 

Now that we’re four months in, I’m noticing a definite change in my writing. I’ve previously been a chronic over-writer which tracks, since I have a tendency to overexplain things verbally (as my family will surely attest to!) Of course, I didn’t realise I was overwriting until I reached a particularly painful round of editing and ended up cutting an uncomfortable amount of my manuscript. As I’m progressing through the course and giving feedback to others, I’m learning to put a lot more trust in readers. I’m learning to leave gaps, to allow readers to draw conclusions, to hint and to sketch rather than always presenting the full picture. Of course, I’m also learning that the less you write, the more economical and clever you have to be with it. Each sentence must earn its place – a thought that’s making me much more mindful in my drafting this time round!  

The Ultimate Novel Writing Programme is also helping me become more confident in my drafting because I know that (much as I want it to) the first draft is NEVER going to be perfect. Letting go of expectations and having a play with the course tasks is allowing me to be much freer in my writing. Play, as I’ve mentioned before, is so important! It’s something I never want to lose. 

Giving and receiving feedback is becoming much easier too. I’ll admit, when I first started writing, I was terrified of feedback. Any suggested change or any hint that something wasn’t landing right totally knocked my confidence (hello imposter syndrome!). But now, I’ve become much more acclimatised to the process – a useful thing since I hope one day to have an agent and editor, both of whom will inevitably give plenty of feedback! Regular peer and tutor input on the course really gets you used to the whole thing. Having multiple people feedback on the forum is useful for spotting patterns and knowing which areas to address. Added to that, giving feedback to others is, I’m realising, one of the most effective ways to train yourself to edit your own work. I find it’s easier to determine what works for me as a reader, than editing my own work as a writer (no surprise, since I’ve been reading for much longer than I have been writing!) Applying this reader instinct to my own work is so helpful! 

Now, speaking of feedback, I can’t talk about the course without mentioning my wonderful tutor group (they aren’t paying me, promise!). As we’ve become used to reading each other’s work, we’ve also grown together as a group. They’re people I want to share my writing highs and lows with. People I’ll now message ‘just because’. When we first started, I remember Holly saying that we’ll become close and form bonds that will outlast the course – and I get it now. I can’t wait to celebrate everyone’s books as they come out into the world!  

So, my key takeaway from this month’s topic: characters need to be convincing, no matter how minor. I might even go so far as to say that flat characters make for flat stories! Even the paciest, most plot-driven story needs a character that feels 3D. 

Here’s the advice I’d give to anyone grappling with character development; pick a book you like and analyse how the protagonist / antagonist is portrayed. How quickly and effectively do we get the measure of that character? How do they make you feel? Why does it work for you? Then use the answers to have a play with your own manuscript and see what comes up! 

Until next month, happy writing all!   

Want to follow in Rachel’s footsteps? You can learn more about the Ultimate Novel Writing Programme and how it can help you on your writing journey.