This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Lucy-Anne Holmes' new book is UNLIKE A VIRGIN and it's marvellous. Here she answers questions about her journey towards publication and her new book.
Can you tell us a little about your average writing day?
Well, I’m not someone who has a particular routine as such. I try to keep writing fun so I don’t impose any ‘I have to write 1000s of words before I can stop’ or ‘I have to sit at a desk from 8 till 2’ restrictions on myself. I have done that but found I was fighting against a word count button and ended up writing reams that needed to be rewritten. I normally start in bed with a cup of tea. I like to write a few pages of long hand first. I use it as a warm up, so there’s no pressure on it being ‘perfect’, after which I’ll stop for toast. Then I’ll come back, type some of the long hand up, read it through, fiddle with it and carry on. Sometimes I’ll need a change of scenery so will move to a desk or a café. If I’m hitting a wall I’ll go back to writing longhand or I might go for a wander.
When you are writing, do you use any celebrities or people you know as inspiration?
I’ve never consciously based any characters on celebrities. But I have on people I know. During my first novel 50 Ways To Find A Lover I based a lot of characters on friends and family, but then as I was writing them they morphed away from the people I knew and found their own fictional identities. Now, that I’ve exhausted the people I know, I’ll take elements of personalities I come into contact with that interest me and try and incorporate them into the characters I write, for instance, I might meet someone who is bossy and barks orders at people and think ‘oo that would be fun to use for so and so’.
What is your favourite Women’s Fiction book of all time and why?
I will have to say unoriginally Bridget Jones. I loved that marvellous sense of ‘yes! That’s me! I worry about that too!’ I got when I first read it.
What is your writing process? Do you plan first of dive in? How many drafts do you do?
I definitely plan first. I planned my first novel meticulously and felt at times that it took some of the joy out of writing. It became a bit ‘writing by numbers’ so I leapt straight into my second novel only to be in a right pickle 20,000 words through. Nowadays, I say to myself ‘I’ll spend a month at least planning before I write anything!’ however the urge to get cracking is always huge and hard to overcome. But I find it important to have a plan and know how it will end, that way I feel safe. I can always deviate from the plan if I get a better idea along the way. It normally takes a good few drafts before it’s ‘there’ and I think every book I’ve done has started and got 15,000-20000 words in before being binned only to be started again. I did that with Unlike A Virgin. I started writing it in the third person but just couldn’t get the voice right. Then when I restarted it in the first it seemed to flow much better.
What was journey to becoming a published author?
I started a blog online. I had been single for ages and I wrote about my desperate and often drunken attempts to find a man. It struck a chord with people and they said it was funny. Through the blog, I was approached by some agents and publishers. So I met with my lovely agent and she said ‘I think you should write a novel’ and I said ‘ok’ and had a go. My brain nearly exploded but I managed it and luckily and amazingly it was picked up by a publisher.
What do you think is the biggest myth about being a novelist?
That you’re disciplined. So often people say ‘I’d love to write a novel but you need to be so disciplined’ and I think ‘do you? I’ve done it and no one in my life has ever described me as disciplined’ Scatty, easily distracted, scarily disorganised, far too fond of lunch – yes- disciplined – never. The word discipline makes me want to watch Loose Women.
What advice can you give to our readers who want to write a novel of their own?
I would recommend they read a book called The Artist’s Way, by Julia Cameron. I credit it with giving me the confidence and ‘why not?’ approach to starting a blog, which started me on the path to writing novels. It’s a book that looks at why we have blocks and insecurities about being creative. Then I would say just do it. Have a go. When you are happy with it, show it to someone you trust who will be gentle with you. Say, ‘I’ve written this thing, it’s as good as I can get it now but I’d be really grateful if you can you tell me what you think and how I can make it better’. I think this is important to show your work and get in the habit of doing so. You are writing so people will read it hence you need to know what people think when they read it. However who you show at the beginning is really important, you want someone who will understand that writing is a big deal to you and won’t start violently prodding at your baby, but also you need someone who won’t just say ‘yeah, it’s fine.’ If you don’t know anyone like this join the wonderful Romantic Novelists Association as they do stirling work fostering new writers and totally understand this process.
What are you working on at the moment?
A new novel, with a working title called Smiling Fanny. It won’t actually be called Smiling Fanny because my publishers would quake at the thought. It’s about a young woman, christened Jenny Taylor, but now widely known as Fanny, who’s had a hard time of it in the past and now follows the Smiling Fanny Manifesto. Her best friend Philippa wrote it for her. It’s a list of things she must do daily to stay happy. The list gets her into scrapes and adventures and introduces her to all sorts of people. Along the way various things, family relationships, men, making the right choices, threaten this happiness she’s trying so hard to defend.
Thanks Lucy! Smiling Fanny is an amazing name for a novel!