5 Discoveries I made

 

Not all writing days are fruitful, easy and pleasant. If we learn something new about ourselves, about life and God then perhaps it is worthwhile. My historical novel was not a bestseller, surprise, surprise, but I did learn a few things along the way. Here are five of them.

1  1  1. What wildly excites you will not be everybody’s choice, but others can be induced to read your work. This was affirmed to me when it was my choice for the local book club. I chose “Passion for Poison” by Carol Ann Lee. Not everybody’s rooibos. Ten out of twelve members read it and were challenged and enthralled but admitted they would never have picked it up from the Tesco bookshelf as I did. 

      The subject of my book, Elizabeth Bourchier, the wife of Oliver Cromwell has hardly been written about but is an intriguing character. Even my harshest critic from the local secular writers’ group, wrote, “This is a fascinating subject… with the current fashion for finding women in history who are largely ignored, you have found a completely neglected aspect of history that deserves to be highlighted.” His other comments though were less encouraging. Less said about that the better.

 DISCOVERY ONE SUBJECT MATTER MUST INTRIGUE.

2.     The point of view must not confound the reader. I think I did. My narrative is told in alternative chapters, one with Elizabeth, the next with Oliver. Elizabeth’s chapters are told in first person present, and Oliver’s chapters are third person past. Crazy? One comment was that this distanced the reader from Oliver. Yes, that is what I wanted to do so her story would be the focus. In the sequel, after advice from Writing East Midlands, Critical Read service (local Arts Council funding enables them to help writers) the point of view will be first person, Elizabeth’s point of view. My discovery really was to listen to others. Really listen, not assent and carry on stubbornly, as I have done in the past.

DISCOVERY TWO POINT OF VIEW NEEDS A LOT OF THOUGHT.

3.     The cover is vital. Mine didn’t compete in the marketplace. That is not the fault of the illustrator who did as I commanded. I thought that a picture of Oliver Cromwell and his wife would be enough. I didn’t think about colours or sticking to the usual conventions of the genre.  It just doesn’t grab you. Yes, we do all judge a book by its cover. Today’s society isn’t prepared to dig deep for material of worth. They have to be coaxed by an enticing cover. I will definitely do some hard thinking about the cover for the sequel. As in life appearances do matter.

DISCOVERY THREE PERCEPTION IS EVERYTHING.

4.     Chapter titles reveal a lot. I had written my chapter titles when I was planning the sequel. But as my literary critic pointed out, none of the titles indicated that the chapter was about Elizabeth, which they should have done. I had just not noticed that! Silly me.

DISCOVERY FOUR MAKES SURE IT DOES WHAT IT SAYS ON THE TIN.

5.     Rewrite, rewrite then rewrite again. I didn’t realise just how many times I would have to rewrite draft after draft. I think it was about eight. I have begun to appreciate how important rewrites are. I’m thinking maybe I should write a few smaller pieces so I can get into the swing of rewriting a bit more confidently and meaningfully.

DISCOVERY FIVE IT ISN’T FINISHED UNTIL THE NUTRITIONALLY CHALLENGED LADY SINGS.

Well, I did learn a bit about writing during this first experience. By the way it took about eight years. But thank you Heather Flack who, when she did a critique for me said, “Well done, you wrote a novel!” She is right. I did it! So be encouraged in your writing. It is about keeping going. As they say in the trade, “God isn’t finished with me yet!”

 

Rosalie Weller is an ordained minister in the Uniting Presbyterian church of Southern Africa. She is now retired and writing in the East Midlands. Her writing interests are broad, including writing bible study guides, historical fiction and poetry. All her books are available from Amazon. For more information see her website www.rosalieweller.com