Writing Tips from Novelist Mike Gayle - by SC Skillman
Recently I attended a local literary event in Kenilworth hosted by Judy and Tamsin of Kenilworth Books. We listened to Birmingham-based novelist Mike Gayle and his editor Nick Sayers from Hodder & Stoughton, talking about the relationship between author and editor in the context of a commercial publishing house.
I've heard Mike Gayle speaking before - in 2000 at the London Book Fair, when I bought his debut novel 'My Legendary Girlfriend.' And now I listened to him again, upon the publication of his 16th book. Mike is a warm and exuberant personality, and a very engaging, entertaining speaker, and what he has to say about the process of writing is well worth listening to.
So here are some of the highlights of what Mike had to say:
Pantser or Planner?
Mike admitted that for his first few novels he was a 'pantser' - which means you 'fly by the seat of your pants', with no plan, just letting the story take you where it will, and allowing the characters to dictate what happens. But when he approached the writing of his novel 'Turning Forty', he started planning.
He quoted from a famous teacher of screenplay writing: "There is no such thing as writer's block: only under-plotting." If you plot your novel correctly you will never face writer's block.
Mike starts with a short two or three sentence synopsis, which is the essence of the book (and Nick added that Mike is a very good blurb writer, partly because of his journalistic background). Next Mike expands to 3 pages. And finally he turns it into a big synopsis of 30 pages, which he will discuss with his editor, Nick Sayers. He knows what happens in every chapter; it's like a road map, so you know where you're going, but that doesn't mean you can't make detours.
Mike says: "Once I became a plotter, writing the first draft became much easier. I can write a first draft in six months. That never happened before I became a plotter."
Nick added, "We talk about the 30 page synopsis at that level. It's not a stultifying process at all, and eventually the manuscript of the complete novel comes back to me, a living and breathing thing."
Character Creation: how do you avoid the danger of stereotypes?
Mike: "It's about challenging people. I like creating characters that don't fit into other people's neat pigeonholes."
Nick: "It's about quality of writing, about bringing things alive, lifting characters so they stop being a cartoon and start becoming complex."
Mike: "My job is to create characters readers will connect with, and then to put that character through absolute hell. I found that if I didn't plan before hand, I would put my characters through quite mild hazards, because I like them, and didn't want to put them through anything too bad."
The role of the editor
Mike: "Nick's job is to point out problems so I can fix them well before I'm reading about them in a one star Amazon review twelve months later. If there's a problem on page 4, either I'm not making myself clear enough, or I have to lose it. With each draft the novel gets better and better until it's spot on."
Nick: "I see what the author wants to do, and what they're trying to say, and I help them bring it out a bit more."
Mike: "An editor sees it from above and helps you achieve what you're trying to achieve."
I was certainly very much aware how vital a skilled editor is in the process of turning a potentially good book into a great one. A sobering and instructive reflection for all of us!
And to finish: a shot taken with Mike after he'd signed his latest book for me.
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| Author Mike Gayle with his latest novel 'Half a World Away' |
I've heard Mike Gayle speaking before - in 2000 at the London Book Fair, when I bought his debut novel 'My Legendary Girlfriend.' And now I listened to him again, upon the publication of his 16th book. Mike is a warm and exuberant personality, and a very engaging, entertaining speaker, and what he has to say about the process of writing is well worth listening to.
So here are some of the highlights of what Mike had to say:
Pantser or Planner?
Mike admitted that for his first few novels he was a 'pantser' - which means you 'fly by the seat of your pants', with no plan, just letting the story take you where it will, and allowing the characters to dictate what happens. But when he approached the writing of his novel 'Turning Forty', he started planning.
He quoted from a famous teacher of screenplay writing: "There is no such thing as writer's block: only under-plotting." If you plot your novel correctly you will never face writer's block.
Mike starts with a short two or three sentence synopsis, which is the essence of the book (and Nick added that Mike is a very good blurb writer, partly because of his journalistic background). Next Mike expands to 3 pages. And finally he turns it into a big synopsis of 30 pages, which he will discuss with his editor, Nick Sayers. He knows what happens in every chapter; it's like a road map, so you know where you're going, but that doesn't mean you can't make detours.
Mike says: "Once I became a plotter, writing the first draft became much easier. I can write a first draft in six months. That never happened before I became a plotter."
Nick added, "We talk about the 30 page synopsis at that level. It's not a stultifying process at all, and eventually the manuscript of the complete novel comes back to me, a living and breathing thing."
Character Creation: how do you avoid the danger of stereotypes?
Mike: "It's about challenging people. I like creating characters that don't fit into other people's neat pigeonholes."
Nick: "It's about quality of writing, about bringing things alive, lifting characters so they stop being a cartoon and start becoming complex."
Mike: "My job is to create characters readers will connect with, and then to put that character through absolute hell. I found that if I didn't plan before hand, I would put my characters through quite mild hazards, because I like them, and didn't want to put them through anything too bad."
The role of the editor
Mike: "Nick's job is to point out problems so I can fix them well before I'm reading about them in a one star Amazon review twelve months later. If there's a problem on page 4, either I'm not making myself clear enough, or I have to lose it. With each draft the novel gets better and better until it's spot on."
Nick: "I see what the author wants to do, and what they're trying to say, and I help them bring it out a bit more."
Mike: "An editor sees it from above and helps you achieve what you're trying to achieve."
I was certainly very much aware how vital a skilled editor is in the process of turning a potentially good book into a great one. A sobering and instructive reflection for all of us!
And to finish: a shot taken with Mike after he'd signed his latest book for me.
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| SC Skillman with novelist Mike Gayle at his book signing in Kenilworth on 3rd July 2019 |
Very helpful post, especially as I didn't manage to get there in the end! Thanks, Sheila.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed the post and found it helpful Fran.
ReplyDelete