First Draft: Complete

It’s been a while. Sorry about that…

I got sucked in to my studies with Cambridge and haven’t really lifted my head away from the keyboard in quite a while.

Subtext did sort itself (I think) in the end. I ended up writing my critical commentary about how it’s deployed in fiction, and how I could improve my use of it in my work. I must have done something right, because the essay marks for that term came back as the highest I’ve ever had in any subject - ever! To be honest I found myself really enjoying finding new ways to sneak in the tension and subliminal messaging throughout the piece I submitted for the creative assignment. It’s been of great value for pressing on with my novel draft too! More on that in a moment.

Trinity Term at Cambridge was focused on ‘Writing for Performance.’ I was completely out of my comfort zone here, but it was quite a nice break from focusing on fiction writing. The module covered SO many different things. Writing for films, short films, television series, radio drama and theatre plays. All of that in nine weeks. Phew! It was a lot.

I had originally planned to write a radio play, but the more I toyed with different characters and ideas, I realised that the concept I loved was very visual, so I chose to write a television series pilot. It was a heap of fun and while the marks on it weren’t the highest (I still didn’t really click with the new mode of writing), I found it a fun and fresh approach to fantasy writing, and I learned a lot about dialogue.

With that, Cambridge was done. A year, gone. It flew by. I’ve had my final results (pending approval by the exam board), which I’m delighted with, and I’m hoping I will be able to attend the awards ceremony to pick up my diploma sometime next year.

Would I still recommend doing the Undergraduate Diploma in Advanced Fiction and Writing for Performance?

Yes! 100%.

The tutors were fantastic. The classes were engaging and informative. I really did feel like my writing improved every single week.

I would love to shout from the rooftops with thanks and praises for all my tutors, but especially for Elizabeth Speller, Menna van Praag, and Michael Hollows. Their insight, kindness and encouragement lit a fire behind my writing. I’d always harboured something of a dream of ‘writing a book,’ but these tutors turned that dream into an inferno of inspiration that would not stop burning. It’s a big deal for me to hold onto the level of self-belief these tutors have given me. If you’re lucky enough to be taught by any of them at some point, I’m sure you will agree with me. I really hope I get the chance to work with them and cross paths with them in future. Thank you for your time, kindness and all-around brilliance.

So… now what?

Back to the same old nightmare, my friends: Write the Damn Book.

But reader… I did. I did write the book.

Project Feather & Bone, my new gothic romantasy novel, exists as scruffy, terrible first draft. But it exists!

I realised that my mind was happiest when I was trying to draft by hand. So I have drafted the completed novel in fountain pen in 5 notebooks (shout out to Quirky Cup Collective for the BEST notebooks ever). The thrill of finishing was fantastic. My friends all celebrated. I was sent balloons and letters and flowers and cheered on by my brilliant little village of amazing people. I would not exist without them. They are the absolute best.

But the draft is AWFUL. As any writers out there know, the first draft is you telling yourself the story. It warps and shifts and changes along the way. There are sections where I have used the same words way too much. There are pages with notes at the top that say, ‘say something subtexty and clever here.’ There are pages crossed through with the words ‘NO,’ and ‘WHY DID YOU WRITE THIS,’ scrawled across them. Yet, in between these comments and self-savaging redactions there are the bones (and feathers) of a story. And I love it.

So now what?

Well, it needs editing. ALL the editing. So, I’m trying to figure out the best path to take to do this. I’m going to start by giving it my best shot at a developmental edit. This is going to involve a lot of Excel spreadsheeting and most likely a lot of tears. Once I’ve given that a thorough go, it’s time to get help. Luckily, thanks to my time at Cambridge, I have a really good idea of where to go to get that help and people, I know that are cheering me on.

Project Feather and Bone is coming, folks. Brace yourselves. It’s going to be a dark and spooky ride.

Back soon, I hope!