I spend a lot of time writing novels and editing them. I write four novels a year, so that’s twelve edits too. It’s nice when they come separately and a bit scary when they come together but I enjoy what I do so much and I never worry about looming deadlines. I do have to watch out for the hyperfocus though. It means I get stuck into work to the exclusion of everything around me, and I can be a bit difficult to reach. I often neglect people when I’m writing. I suppose that’s why the cats sit on the keyboard and delete chapters or write things like X20ixk3290a,mkxnoie l1qs,[] in the middle of a sentence to get my attention.

At the end of an epic writing and editing session, I force myself to take a reading week. Not that it’s a burden – far from it. I need to switch off, retrain my brain, let in new ideas, and there’s no better way to be rested and inspired than to read other authors’ work. I’ll save up a To Be Read pile and launch in, reading one a day. A lot of the books I read are from Boldwood authors, people I’ve met, and whose work I enjoy so much, ones I feel are good for me to learn from. Some stories are pacey, some are funny, some are clever, some historical, some are exceptionally beautifully written. Some have characters I love to bits. I’d write you a list, but I don’t want to leave anyone out.

I write in three genres, so I read extensively around the next genre I’m about to write, to get me in a creative place. There are all sorts of authors I go to for research and pleasure. Films and TV are a great resource too. I’ve been known to watch back episodes of Vera and Killer in the Village when I’m about to get stuck into the Seal Bay series again. I love to be immersed.

I’m also interested in writing techniques. The more I read, the more I try to analyse what will work best for the reader and what sometimes doesn’t. As readers, we all have different tastes, so I’m never critical if I find someone’s pace a bit fast or slow, or someone’s style a bit unusual. And I’d never allow the spelling mistake on P 97 to ruin a novel for me. But I am developing what works best for me, and I want to share it with you.

Let’s start with the image of a person. It could be a writer, a reader, a man, a woman, anyone.A shape like this.

Now let’s look at what this figure has available to share in terms of guiding our writing. Here’s my list.

Head, eyes, mouth, voice, arms, hands, heart, feet.

This tells me what I need to focus on in my novel.

Head. This is all about clarity. Our reader needs to know is happening without obvious intrusion from the writing style. The writer needs to make sure their style fits the reader. Brontë, Joyce and Dickens do their own thing beautifully, but as writers, we have to be clear about who we’re writing for. We don’t need to be over-complicated or try to impress. We need to send our story from the writer’s head to the readers’. The style needs to be clear and confident. I believe that if what I write doesn’t bring anything to the novel, I should cut it.

Eyes. The reader needs to be able to visualise the characters and the setting. As authors, it’s our job to evoke these things well, but sometimes we also need to leave a little to the reader, to add their own personal perspective. If you want the hero in The Lady of the Loch to look like Jason Momoa, I’m all for that.

Mouth. This is all about showing, not telling. There are ways of filling in background without writing it all down as fact. It’s hard to get this one right, and I realise there has to be a bit of telling sometimes, but I’ve read novels where an author introduces a character, then starts to fill in pages of their backstory. Showing is so much nicer to read.

Voice. I’m a sucker for interesting author voices. Gone are the days when an author is just an intelligent person telling a story. Voices are warm, funny, witty; they can be controversial, unusual, misleading. I remember as a teenager reading Holden Caulfield’s story in The Catcher in the Rye. The novel may be outdated now, but it blew my mind that a voice could be so idiosyncratic. It doesn’t have to be intrusive or gimmicky, but an interesting voice can make for an exceptional book.This was a focus for me when writing The Old Girls’ Network.

Arms. Sometimes a story is a hug that wraps you in its arms. I’m talking about a book journey that lifts the reader and transports them to somewhere wonderful. And keeps them there. I hope you’ll find this to be the case in The Mistress of the Highway and the Seal Bay series.

Hands. The writer must hold the reader in safe hands throughout the whole story. There shoudn’t be a time where the writer’s persona intrudes, or takes over, or makes the reader feel uncomfortable about where the story is going. Unless that’s part of the genre deal, in which case the reader is safe in the knowledge, because that’s the contract up front of the genre. However, I’m talking writing style here, more than content.

 Heart. We keep the novel’s characters in our heart. As readers, we engage with them, in a relationship. A writer needs to be sure about what effect they plan to achieve. Do we like the characters instantly; do we grow to like them; will they become our friends? Is there one we are suspicious of? Will we fall in love with them a little? This was in my mind when I wrote The Daughter of the Mists and The Witch’s Tree.Readers’ feelings are so important and a writer should treasure them throughout.

Feet. Of course. Writers take readers on a journey. To the past. To different countries, worlds, with different people. As authors, we try to make that journey just as it should be. Safe, beautiful, or as the reader expects, with twists and turns that engage them. And at the end, an author should put the reader down comfortably and firmly, and say, ‘There you are…’ even if there is a series two or a cliff hanger.  It’s paving the way for the reader to go away, think about the novel and feel good having read it.Think Five French Hens, The Silver Ladies Do Lunch, The Highland Hens or The Golden Gals’ French Adventure.

It’s a lot to ask of authors, but I read so many books where these elements fuse beautifully. As writers, we are always on a learning journey to improve our craft. But here’s my model for engaging readers, and I’m working hard at perfecting it.

Of course I’ll never get there. But it will be fun trying.

The journey’s the thing. x