This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Carol K Carr recently popped over to tell us about her debut novel, book one in the Madam of Espionage Series: India Black, which tells the story about the consequences – both hilarious and dangerous – of running a brothel in Victorian England.
Can you tell us a little about your average writing day?
I’ll be with you in just a moment. I’m looking at cat pictures on the internet. Where were we? Oh, yeah. My writing day. I’m incredibly disciplined about writing, and I follow a rigorous schedule. I get up around 6:00 and read the news online while I drink coffee. At 8:00, I go to the gym. Then I come home and watch a few music videos. I’ll start writing around 10:00 or 11:00 and work for a couple of hours. Lunch is a protein shake, usually, and then I’ll finish my word count for the day. I’ll check something briefly on Wikipedia and emerge an hour later. I’ll do some marketing, like guest posts for blogs. Visit Facebook. I’ll answer my email, catch up on the news. More cat pictures. Hey, I haven’t checked Twitter yet! I might do some research for a scene I’ll be writing later. I’m finished by 5:00 and usually congratulate myself on surviving another grueling day by having a glass of wine or a gin and tonic. And I don’t always look at cats. Sometimes I look at pictures of puppies.
When you are writing, do you use any celebrities or people you know as inspiration?
I certainly use people I know, although they wouldn’t recognize themselves. I’ll steal something from them: the shape of their face, a phrase they’ve used. Maximus, a friend’s Pekingese, made a guest appearance in my third novel. I borrowed my friend Dave’s last name for the Duke of Litherland in the same book. I may see a person’s photo and think that his physical characteristics would look dandy on a villain. But it’s not easy transforming people you know into fictional characters from the Victorian era. Modern sensibilities, language and appearances differ so much that you can’t incorporate them easily into historical fiction. Readers are very quick to notice those kinds of inconsistencies.
What is your favourite Women's Fiction book of all time and why?Choose just one book? How could you do this to me? My Women’s Fiction street cred is riding on this answer. So I’ll do what my character, India Black, would do when faced with this situation. She would cheat. So will I. My answer is that I like any fiction that features a strong female character. Extra points if she’s witty, or knows how to use a gun.
What is your writing process? Do you plan first or dive in? How many drafts do you do?
Just dive in? Quelle horreur! I’m a lawyer by training and a planner by nature, so I wouldn’t dream of starting without some idea of where I’m going. I usually begin with a legal pad, a fountain pen and a non-fat latte. I stare out the window or at the other customers at the coffee shop while I let my mind wander, toying with various ideas for stories, exploring possibilities. Occasionally, I’ll jot down a note. Some people confuse this part of the process with daydreaming.
Once I have a general idea of the novel’s premise, I’ll start to add some flesh to the bones. The storyline has to have a structure. Each scene has to advance the plot on the way to the denouement. As I’m doing this, bits of dialogue and descriptive prose will float into view. I’ll save those to use later, when I’m actually writing.
Invariably I get anxious and start writing before I’ve finished my outline. Sometimes I find I’ve taken off in an entirely different direction than I started. Then I have to take a couple of days, breathe into a paper bag, and figure out where to go next. I’ll write about 1,000 -2,000 words per day. That doesn’t sound like much, but if you produce even 1,000 words daily, you’ll have a novel in three months. Eventually, I’ll finish. And then comes the most tedious bit of all, the editing and proofreading. I’ll start with a “big picture” review, meaning that I’ll read the book through quickly just to see what jumps out at me. Does the narrative flow? Do I need to add or delete a scene? Does that character behave in a consistent fashion throughout the novel?
I’ll read the manuscript 6-10 times. Each time I’ll read with more attention to detail until I’m evaluating each word, sentence and paragraph. By that point, I am sick of the thing. Then it’s time to send it off to my agent, who, without fail, will point out that I have used the same word four times on a single page. No matter how many times I read the novel, I always miss something. Once my agent’s comments are incorporated, the novel is finally ready to go to the editor. The India novels usually take about four months to write, with the editing and proofing process taking another two to three.
What was your journey to being a published author?
I was always a reader, but never a writer. I spent so much time drafting legal documents that the act of putting words on paper outside of the office was too painful to contemplate. But in my mid-forties I quit my job with the intention of taking off a year and having some fun. Instead, I wrote a novel. It was dreadful. Then I wrote another, which was an improvement over the first, but not terribly good. Then I wrote India Black.
At the time, the path to being an author was clear: you submitted your work to many agents and prayed that one of them would agree to represent you. I was lucky enough to find one, who sent my work to several editors. My luck continued. One of them bought the book. Waiting for editors to respond was excruciating. The only thing more painful was the period I spent waiting for the results of my bar exam.
What do you think is the biggest myth about being a novelist?
That being a novelist is easier than working. Writing is work, albeit the kind you can do without showering for a week. Not that I ever neglect to shower. But I hear that other people do.
The second biggest myth, I think, is that being a writer comes naturally. It does to some people, but most have to work at it, developing their skills over time. You cannot wait for inspiration to strike. You have to prod it into making an appearance by sitting down every day and staring at your computer until it shows up. Then you have to be really nice to it, feeding it chocolate and praying it won’t go away until you’ve finished your word count for the day.
What advice can you give to our readers who want to write a novel of their own?
Now why would you want to spend all those hours writing your own story when you can read India Black instead? Kidding. Here’s the real answer to the question: believe in yourself. When I was writing my first novel (the dreadful one), I told a friend about it. She looked at me in disbelief and said, “You’re writing a book? But you have no imagination.” Okay, I was a stodgy lawyer at the time and she knew me mostly from a business relationship, but I’m so glad I ignored her (take that, Barbara). If you want to write, do it. Defy the odds. Ignore the naysayers. Nurture your dream.
What are you working on at the moment?
I’m wrapping up a short story about a kick-ass female vigilante. When I left her to answer these questions, an assassin had her in guillotine choke and she was on the verge of passing out. I’ve got to figure out how to get her out of that situation. And then I have to decide how she’s going to kill the bad guy. I’ve been doing some interesting research on the internet. I’m pretty sure I’ve got my own file at CIA headquarters.
Thanks, Carol!