The Word Cloud

Something odd and unexpected happened today. I have just finished the last chapter of my latest draft of The Blackbird Effect, and am about to embark on a swift read-through before a final meditation and then unveiling the book to the adoring community of literary agents. 

Today, I marked the moment of completion by taking a few chapters on a wander. I went to the Hillier gardens near Romsey, read through my last chapter and made some small adjustments. As I wandered through the gardens, I saw some stringy buttercups, past their best, and suddenly realized their significance. The chapter I was editing actually refers to a character brushing through the last few buttercups in her pyjamas. The date is mid-September – and I hadn’t even noticed that I had finished my draft exactly when the book ends!

The gardens were suddenly the wrong place to start reading at the beginning again. I needed to be where the action starts – on a scruffy urban beach on the south coast. I drove to just such a beach, had egg and chips in the beach café that my characters find closed in the first few pages, and I was in the right place to start my read through.

The book begins on a cold grey day at the end of October. I had a warm sunny day in mid September – but at least my manuscript didn’t blow away. I’ve been to the scene of the crime – although maybe the only crime is my own in daring to write a novel when there are far too many about already.

But I am more hopeful this time. Winning a free editorial review from WW at York was a helpful development and the book is now some 10,000 words leaner. Also, courtesy of helpful editorial comments from another Cloud member, the characters play to their strengths and don’t wander too far into regions where the author gets lost.

At least, today, I have walked in my characters’ shoes.