A Christmas confession and tidings of joy
All this time – and after more than a hundred emails – I’ve been writing to you under false pretences. I’ve spoken as though I’m an active professional author sharing thoughts with you … but in practice, I’ve been so busy with all things Jericho that it’s been years since I published a work of fiction.
And yes, my spell of inactivity wasn’t all that inactive. I did major rewrites of How To Write A Novel and Getting Published. I put together 52 Letters: A Year of Advice on Writing. I inched forwards with Fiona Griffiths #7 (The House At The End Of The World.) And I re-committed to my crazy-but-fun The Lamentable True Historie of the Sailor, Gregorius.
So by the standards of people who don’t write, my spare time was still very full with writing. But Jericho (and four kids and a disabled wife) didn’t leave me with a lot of free time. I felt a bit jammed creatively. I just didn’t have the spare time and clarity of thought to unjam.
But, as the business grew, it approached the happy place where every job that needed to be done could be better done by someone other than me. In weekly meetings, I sat listening with interest – but contributing nothing very much. I wasn’t the one doing the work.
So, quietly, and little by little, I returned to work – my writing work, my real work.
I came back to find a Fiona Griffiths adventure stuck at 40,000 words. For a long time, I picked away at the text. Revising. Adding a bit. Tinkering away.
I felt committed to the book, but knew it hadn’t yet found its mojo. I tried different lines of attack, but wasn’t satisfied.
Then – ta-daa – I really committed. I had more time to spend on it. I spent the time. I just pushed forwards through that ugly and difficult middle section. And I had a breakthrough. Two actually.
They were:
- I was holding a belief about the way the book needed to be structured that was quite simply false. (I was imagining I needed some wham-bam mid-point adventure, but actually the book isn’t going to have one. It doesn’t need it.)
- The thing that the book really, really needed was the thing that had been obvious from the start. I can’t even quite explain why I didn’t see the strategy from the start. It’s clearly what the book needed.
I’m now bombing my way through the text, loving every minute I get to spend on it, and hoping that blooming Christmas isn’t going to get in the way of my hours at the laptop.
And – very closely connected with that sense of joy – is the belief that what I’m writing has value. That readers will enjoy it. That it’ll enhance the series. That the book and the series has some artistic depth, some enduring worth.
And, because it’s a time of year for sharing tidings of comfort and joy, let me offer you these three thoughts from my own recent rebirth into the land of writing:
One: If you feel stuck on a project, push on with it. Break through. Abseil down that wet and dripping cliff. Just add word count. You will probably solve your problem, but you will certainly release yourself from the current pickle. Editing is easier than writing. Just make progress. This was the theme of my abseiling email a few weeks back. I didn’t mention it then, but that email was born of raw and recent personal experience.
Two: It’s bewilderingly common, in my experience, for the thing that a book needs to be kind of obvious. In my present case, Fiona finds herself conducting an investigation in a secure psychiatric hospital. She has had severe psychiatric problems herself. Clearly, she needs to undergo a collapse of some kind, a major one. That’s obvious.
And so often, the solution IS the obvious one. I don’t know if it’s just me, or if we sometimes resist the obvious. Or we block ourselves with objections that don’t actually stand up in practice. Or if an over-crowded life just manifests as difficulty in doing the obvious thing.
In any case, my advice to you is simply this: if you find yourself stuck, then ask yourself, “What is the obvious solution to this problem?” Or alternatively, “What is my elevator pitch? What does my elevator pitch tell me about this particular block?”
In most cases, the answers to those questions will be the right ones. And if the answer comes straight from your elevator pitch, the book is that much more likely to be commercially appealing – and memorable to read.
And three: Write with joy. Relish the joy.
You and I and this whole Jericho community is a happy place because we have a reliable source of joy that isn’t open to everyone. Make space for it. Share it. Enjoy it. Be grateful.
I am – this year as much as ever before.
Go well, my old buddies, and see you in the New Year.
Thank you for this Harry. I find your advice and encouragement very motivating. It’s sort of like having someone to talk to for me. I live in a household where fishing, football and the local shoot are the main objects of conversation. It’s frustrating. No one is interested in how many words I’ve written or what my character’s have been up to. Nevertheless. my love of writing fiction. my vivid imagination and the sheer joy of bringing an imagined character to life, spurs me on.
My thoughts exactly! I live in a very similar situation and am so enjoying reading the comments and advice from like-minded souls!!
Keep up the good work, Harry. Your writing is full of energy and joy, to say nothing of the good advice. And we all, I’m sure, understand why you haven’t been able to write novels over the past months; a family takes up a lot of time. I love mine but I still call them my vampire. And they don’t give a damn about my stories or what happens to my protagonists. But I work on, doggedly. And as I’ve been lucky enough to be printed in short story anthologies, I say to myself that one day, with a bit of luck, my novel will be printed, too. In the meanwhile, I wish you and all at Jericho, a very Merry Christmas and an unCovid New Year. One question, though: what is that coastline in the photo at the top of the page? It looks so romantic it makes you want to write another novel! Just imagine it in a storm!
Harry, a big thank you for sharing your ups and downs of writing with us. It is a lifeline to those of us with relentless minds struggling with time, distractions, dare I say self discipline, and so many other issues we encounter on our route to putting ‘smacht’ ( Irish word for order) on our ideas and getting them out into print. As for Jericho Writers, you have created an outlet of worth. Feet up and enjoy a few days of festivities
Harry, thanks for the encouraging and inspiring words. Good to know that successful authors also have their moments and days like this. Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year to you & your family, and the Jericho Writers team. 😊
Thank you, Harry, for those words of kindness, good sense and wisdom. I shall endeavour to make putting them into practice my new year’s resolution, if not an addition to my own pre-Christmas ‘to-do’ list! Thanks, too, for the regular emails, to which I look forward every week, both for their advice and their excellent entertainment value.
A very Happy Christmas to you and your family, and to all ‘behind the scenes’ at JW. Here’s to 2021; may it be a better year in every way than the one that’s passing!
Now, is that Advocaat and Chambord I see lurking bashfully at the back of the drinks cupboard? Yes! Then it’s time for a jam roly-poly cocktail!! Cheers! 🎄 🍹 🍹🎄
yuck! (interesting fact about advocaat. It is made of eggs so you can fry it like an omelette. Yes, we were students!)
Well that’s breakfast sorted then! 😂
full disclosure: it isn’t nice 😝
I shall take your word for it! 😂
For a new writer- as yet unpublished- it’s good to hear that one with much more experience suffers from the same roadblocks as me. Thank you for this article.
I hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy- and productive- New Year.
Dave
Love your attitude, Harry. Hurray for mince pies and writing. Merry Christmas and all BEST in 2021!
Thank you Harry. You are an inspiration. If a successful author like you can get stuck sometimes then I can forgive myself! Four kids is never going to leave much time for anything else. Two is quite enough of a handful for me. I remember my neighbour nodding sagely when I said I was expecting number two. “One child is like a dog, a lot of responsibility but lovely. Two, that’s like a zoo!” He wasn’t wrong. I always had this mad idea that as they got older they would take up less of my time. How wrong I was! Good job they’re worth it. Have a lovely festive season with your family and enjoy every moment.
Thanks for sharing, Harry. And for all your emails, webinars and courses. They’ve made an enormous difference to my writing. I hope you, Fiona and the rest of your family have a joyful 2021.