Characters and plots at the Lincoln Book Festival | Pinnacle Newsletter #68
#68 Characters and plots at the Lincoln Book Festival
Last night, my wife and I attended an event called Of Houses and Ghosts at the Lincoln Book Festival. The format of the event was simple: two authors, each speaking for about 45 minutes. Both talks involved the loose themes of country houses and ghosts, although for me the real interest lay in the creative processes of each author.
The first speaker was Sarah Hogg, who has published her first novel, Katherine’s House, at the age of 73. The book is about her own home in Lincolnshire and follows nine different stories set about a century apart over a millennium of history. It’s quintessential historical fiction: a mixture of real-life figures, thoroughly researched, with imagination and ‘might have beens’ filling in the gaps in the record. Sarah Hogg mentioned how the historical characters became incredibly real to her as she pencilled in their shadows, and that the book almost demanded to be written – that she saw it as an inevitable consequence of living in a house with so much history. This author may have picked up her pen late in life, but it’s clear that she has the bug now, and this won’t be her only book.
The second author, Susan Fletcher, is a good friend of mine. We go back over a decade, to the years when she was living in Glen Coe to research Corrag (later Witch Light), her third novel. Sue was talking about House of Glass, her latest book: a deliciously tense Gothic ghost story with an unusual twist, set in 1914. Her novels flip-flop between contemporary and historical fiction, and in her talk she spoke a little about how the genesis of each book is quite different. Some are born in a flash of inspiration, forcing her to put other projects aside until the new book is done. Others – such as House of Glass – gestate slowly. She told the audience how she had been carrying the plot and characters around in her head almost fully formed for a decade, lacking only the right setting and time period. A visit to Hidcote Manor (the first of many) provided an inspirational catalyst.
She planned the plot meticulously, leaving little room for characters to act with their own will and bend the story in unexpected directions – although, as she explained, there were still one or two surprises. Despite her thorough planning, she shared an image from the final week of line edits, showing a page of manuscript covered in scrawled notes and arrows: ‘I’m aware there may be young, emerging writers here tonight, so I wanted to show you what it’s really like.’
I found Sue’s approach to character creation most interesting of all. Clara, the book’s protagonist, has a powerful presence in the story. She’s a young woman who suffers from brittle bone disease and has led a cosseted life until she leaves home to work as a horticulturalist at a manor house in Gloucestershire. Clara’s extreme physical frailty and unusual appearance drive not only every aspect of her character, giving her a certain stubborn spikiness and a furnace of anger, but also drive almost everything in the plot of the book itself. It’s a perfect example of a character-driven plot, masterfully executed.
There was much more of interest in last night’s event. As a developmental editor, I found myself particularly intrigued by the discussion of plot and character mechanics, and both authors helped to reinforce three truths I have long known:
The writing process is different for every author, and often for every book.
You can plan as much as you like, but editing will always be needed.
Character creation is both art and science – but a really good main character is a bit more like magic.
In other news
Dean Read has recently hiked the Pennine Way, and has been raising money for Mind, the mental health charity. He’s already far exceeded his fundraising target of £500 but you can still donate here: justgiving.com/fundraising/deanread.
Recently published
What I’ve been reading this week – this week’s quality online reads on the environment, long-distance hiking, and the outdoors.
Book review: Hiking in Finland by Jouni Laaksonen – my review of a great guidebook to walking, backpacking and ski touring in Finland.
The big routes: Langdale Skyline – first published in 2017, my UKHillwalking feature on backpacking the Langdale Skyline is now free to read on my blog.
Concerns over new ‘must-download’ mountain app what3words – my piece for TGO magazine on the response to what3words from mountain rescue and outdoor professionals.
Lincolnshire hates hikers – access problems in the Lincolnshire Wolds.
Until next time,
Alex
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