Things I learned while writing Dead Ringer

Write the story from the sidekick’s perspective, too – Things I learned while writing Dead Ringer

Write the story from the sidekick’s perspective, too – Things I learned while writing Dead Ringer

ByNicola

During one particular rewrite of Dead Ringer, I felt like I’d tied myself up in knots. My protagonist was breaking up with her boyfriend, but he seemed to be taking it too well. I couldn’t figure out what he was thinking or feeling during the scene. So I decided to write the entire novel from…

Let your readers hear your protagonist’s thoughts – Things I learned while writing Dead Ringer

Let your readers hear your protagonist’s thoughts – Things I learned while writing Dead Ringer

ByNicola

Dead Ringer started life as a third-person novel, until my agent suggested I make it first-person. This was a big change, but it made the protagonists’ voices much clearer. The reader gets to sit in their heads, hear their thoughts. This, I think, is the superpower of novels (versus TV or movies). You get to…

Make your protagonist the type of person who jumps into the fray – Things I learned while writing Dead Ringer

Make your protagonist the type of person who jumps into the fray – Things I learned while writing Dead Ringer

ByNicola

In life, I’m a risk-averse person. I always weigh up my options and try to act prudently. In novels, I’ve found that prudent characters make for boring protagonists. Dead Ringer got immeasurably better when I added in a second narrator, Jem. She’s reckless and rebellious and will always throw herself into the fray. For this…

Don’t give ’em a reason to stop reading – Things I learned while writing Dead Ringer

Don’t give ’em a reason to stop reading – Things I learned while writing Dead Ringer

ByNicola

One of my favourite pieces of feedback I’ve got on Dead Ringer is: “I stayed up past my bedtime reading it.” During one of my later re-drafts of the book, I did something bold. I re-cut all the chapters. I made them shorter and I changed the places where the chapters ended. My purpose (and…

Embrace the idea of multiple drafts – Things I learned while writing Dead Ringer

Embrace the idea of multiple drafts – Things I learned while writing Dead Ringer

ByNicola

I’ve spent a lot of my writing life harbouring under the delusion that my first draft needed to be perfect. Or close enough, anyway. If my first draft was a disaster, I was a failure. I still struggle with this perfectionism, but it’s good to remind myself that my first draft of Dead Ringer was…

You’ll have to rearrange your life in order to write a novel – Things I learned while writing Dead Ringer
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You’ll have to rearrange your life in order to write a novel – Things I learned while writing Dead Ringer

ByNicola

If there’s one myth about writing that I hate, it’s the myth that great novels were written in snatched 5-minute bursts. “Get up earlier and write while drinking your morning coffee! Write in your lunch break! If you’re not writing while simultaneously making a risotto and changing a duvet cover, you obviously don’t want it…

Joining a writing group will save your soul – Things I learned while writing Dead Ringer
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Joining a writing group will save your soul – Things I learned while writing Dead Ringer

ByNicola

When I look back and try to identify the ONE thing that took me from slush pile to publication, it’s joining a writing group. Specifically, a workshop critique group. This was a big, scary step for me, because (like most writers) I haaate having my writing critiqued. At the time, it felt like someone was…