Our garden in winterIn January we had bad weather in the sheltered Midlands: (not counting the 5 minutes of snow which melted as it fell), bitterly cold winds and icy rain for several consecutive days.During this time I didn’t venture down the garden, limited myself to walking into town by the gutters to avoid the untreated roads and pavements.
When I did look at our vegetable patch the broad bean plants were in a sorry state. Most dead, some hanging on to the small bamboo stakes I’d provided. I trimmed the survivors and belatedly covered them with a protective tunnel.
SurvivingWe grow vegetables for fun rather than our survival so we had no more than 20. Yesterday I had a second chance. I planted another dozen in pots indoors.I enjoy the fresh young beans and when I do grow them I sow the seeds in October/November. Other years they are well able to stay alive till the warmer weather.
Snowdrops on a walk to townThis morning I heard a quote from Maggie O’Farrell who said she began writing a new novel with a plan in mind. Part way through – a third, maybe half-way – the characters determined their own direction. Sometimes this is called – going with the flow. That works well for me in the first, the discovery draft.
However, I don’t want the characters wandering all over the place. Rather I want to get to know them, much as I get to know a close friend. I need to be flexible. How do they show they’re happy? How do they behave in a crisis? And yet I like some measure of control. I can’t have a character in the middle of World War 1 marching off to join the Russian Revolution. Or can I? Should I?
With a novel, after I’ve read through the first draft, I can start again. On the whole the core of the story remains, how I tell it may be different.
With a poem, the process is similar, though sometimes the poem is for me and not a potential reader. I may for example need to discover something personal – a past grief or an idyllic moment – which I don’t yet want to share.
Maggie O’Farrell is an experienced and accomplished novel so maybe when she’s finished her first draft, it’s just a question of tweaking. What do you think? If you’re a writer what do you do?
Reading: Still Writing – Dani Shapiro I finished this after probably years. I don’t agree with all she suggests but she is helpful and encouraging. I’ve nearly finished the French novel. Dipping into the usual poetry books and magazines – 44 Poems on Being with Each Other editor Pádraig Ótuama –being a particular favourite. Just starting Book of Longing by Leonard Cohen and My Blue Peninsula – Maureen Freely
Hi Marg,
Yes I agree with Maggie Farrell that fictional characters do sometimes take a different course, and you should follow them if that happens.
I believe that during the creative process, this is the unconscious mind bringing things to the surface, and that’s important. For me the process of writing a novel is a process of finding out what I want to say, and I don’t do a detailed plan.
Sometimes when my characters have done something totally unexpected that is the best part of my novel.
But I write a different fiction genre to you (mystery / gothic) so perhaps this applies better to mine than to yours!
Interesting. I suspect we’re not too far from each other. In A Time for Peace, you’re right. I wanted Ellen to be a soldier and she refused. When I got to know her better I could see why. Making Good begins with one character in a relationship leaving the other – on impulse apparently. When I got to know each of them better, I discovered what was going on, how and if they might resolve their difficulties.