Bit of a setback but the result will (surely) make my story more pacy and interesting ...

41. Wednesday 4 March 2026

I’m feeling a bit gloomy about my novel today. That said, I have printed it out ready for next week’s scene edit. Narissa and I had our weekly writing catch-up, which largely consisted of her feedback on having read my manuscript. I honestly can’t convey how beneficial it was being able to talk about the story and the characters. She had plenty of constructive criticism as well as saying she’d enjoyed it. However, I couldn’t help but feel there was something wrong. I think Narissa thought that too. She did keep saying how maybe there should be more pace and more emphasis on the crime/investigation rather than each character’s own stories. That all makes sense.

                About two hours later, I read out some points the agent Jessica Berg had listed on her Instagram feed about what to do when you’re wondering if you’ve finished. The questions she asked “Before you ‘clean it up one more time’” were:

·         Who is this about? (specific person, not a premise)

·         What are they trying to do? (a goal, not a vibe)

·         What’s in their way? (a force, not ‘life’)

·         What happens if they fail? (real consequence)

I told Narissa these questions and gave my answers to the first three. I realised the final question could also have been “what are the stakes?” and I realised – gasp – that the answer is “nothing”. Which doesn’t bode well.

                We then spent a while brainstorming the possible stakes. We have sort of come up with the beginning of an idea but I have realised the enormity of having to add a whole extra story/theme. However, on the plus side, it should add more intrigue and the role of creating the stakes has been given to a character who already has a backstory for their personality that will work well with this new development.

                There are days when I think about the story and writing and everything feels really treacly and dense. Today was one of those days.

                This afternoon, I stenoed some ideas and I have kind of worked out what I need to do, but I know it’s not fully thought-through and I suspect it will be flawed. However, my plan is, with these ideas in mind, to go through the scene edit (again, I estimate about two weeks) and make a note of places where this story can be weaved in. I am also aware I will need to rewrite a few – probably chapters rather than just scenes. I have also reminded myself that there are anyway a few chapters or sections I need to rewrite.

                So again, I feel there is more to do with this next edit than I’d anticipated. It’s a little disappointing.

                That said, I am kind of looking forward to desk time with paper and pens and no laptops for the next few weeks.

In other news, my friend Kyla is coming to stay tomorrow and I will be happily distracted until Sunday afternoon. Sourdough will be baked this evening. The fire is lit and the house is warm. And we saw a hare in the garden and multiple herons captured on wildlife camera over the past few weeks, along with hares, deer and badgers. My descent into middle-age is also borne out by the fact that I have been checking with the Merlin bird identification app what birds are out in the mornings and the one that I'm sure keeps waking me up is a song thrush and they've only very recently been back around the house.