Work in Progress - Latest Rafferty & Llewellyn crime novel

Well, I'm halfway through the first draft of my latest Rafferty & Llewellyn crime novel. Hit a snag with the subplot. Going to have to rework it. Luckily, I've come up with a cunning plan! At least, I hope it's cunning. Time will tell.

Not entirely happy with the main plot, either. Gawd! What to do? Scrap the lot and start again? But I'm over a hundred and fifty pages in, so I'm reluctant to do that. I think devilish ingenuity will save it. I often find first drafts a bit lacking. But they've generally been rescued in later drafts. Must be true, otherwise why would my copy-editor for Deadly Reunion (out February 2011), say I handled the character development 'superbly'? Love that man...


With first drafts, of course, you have so much to think about, you just want to get the story down; the characters, the plot development, the subplot (grrr!) and the rest. You haven't got any brain to spare to get it right. That's what later drafts are for. When I think how many drafts I had to go through for Dead Before Morning, my very first crime novel, I'm amazed I finished it. But I did finish it and I'm still proud of it these many years later.

The problem with the subplot I should have seen coming. I would, too, if I could add two and two. Though I might have been all right if it had only been adding. But this was subtracting - a whole different ball game. The problem was obvious from the word go. The problem is one of time. Eight bloody years of time! Way too long a time period to smudge over. But not to worry. As I said, I've come up with a way round it. Will wait to see what it looks like when I get it down on paper.

To divert from the work in progress, my last post was an interview with David Wisehart. I've posted it here on my blog (see below), I've posted it on my website, on Twitter, Facebook, CimeSpace. The trouble I find, is trying to remember where else I should post it. Must make a list. Another one. I'm always making lists. I find them essential or I'd never remember anything. Memory's going, alas.

One of the problems with the main plot is I have one hell of a lot of characters. Admittedly, a lot of them only appear once. At least the suspects are limited, which is the main thing. I often wish I could have my characters marooned snowbound somewhere, as Agatha Christie did, with the telephone lines down and no signal for the mobiles. Trouble is my novels are set in the fictitious Essex town of Elmhurst, not the Scottish Highlands. Could always do as Raymond Chandler advises and have a man come in the room with a gun, I suppose, and shoot half of them. That would be a solution, I suppose. Not a good one, admittedly, but- No, no. Must resist the temptation, if only to keep Dr Sam Dally sweet. He'd be none too pleased to be presented with as many bodies as in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Have you hit snags with your latest novel? Why not post a comment about it? A trouble shared and all that...

Must go. I have to get the copy-edited pages back to my editor. Then I have to wrestle with my latest Rafferty & Co effort. It's not all fun being a writer. But a lot of it is. Better than my many day jobs, certainly.

Till next time.

New Rafferty & Llewellyn crime novel

Been working a little on my new Rafferty crime novel this morning. Don't usually work on Sundays, but I've been struggling to set up a humorous sub-plot for this one. I've now got one that I think has legs and managed to add eight pages - though not typsescript pages, alas! Shorthand notebook pages only, so it will type up much shorter. But it's a start.

The main plot is going pretty good. Still waiting for the witty one-liners to surface. But they'll come. They always do. All it takes is thinking about the book and the characters. Still can't quite make my mind up about the murderer. I have two prospects. Must plump for one or the other. Hmm. Anyone out there working on a new book? Post a comment about how you're getting on. I'd be interested to hear.

It's lovely and sunny here (Norfolk, England), so will be going out the garden later to do some more pruning. Place looks like that neighbour's house who has the rusted car on bricks surrounded by weeds, at the moment, just minus the car. Haven't had time and my hubby's been too poorly to do it. We'd get a gardener in to sort it out but funds are too low at the moment to indulge in such a luxury. Waiting for my royalties and several advances. You know the feeling. A Regular paycheck would be nice. Sometimes, anyway. Though having to do the job that comes with it aint so attractive...

Hope to go down to London next month to stay with George's son, Mark. He lives in a swish flat in Earl's Court, which I have yet to see, so I'm looking forward to that. Even though I'm a Londoner, I haven't been to The Smoke for a few years as my family have all left the capital and are spread far and wide.

Must go. The pruning shears are calling. Till next time.