Beginnings...by Keren David

My way of starting writing a book has always been the same. 

I write an outline of the story -  a very short and vague one.  And then I try and find the voice of the narrator. 

Sometimes that voice comes to me easily (Aidan in Salvage, for example, was just there. So was River in The Liar's Handbook). But sometimes the voice is elusive. And there's nothing I can do to hurry up the process, as the story won't come until I find that voice.

Voice and idea are all I need to plunge into the story. I love finding out what happens as I go along. I'm telling myself a story -  episode by episode. 

I think it's because I've always seen the process of writing a book as something like a long piece of journalism. I find the right person or people to interview. And then I ask the right questions. The story flows from that process. The ending may be the one I first sketched out -  or it may be something quite different. (And it's easier than journalism, in that I am in complete control of the shape the answers take) 

The problem is that if you don't know your story until it's written, it can involve a lot of extra work -  writing and rewriting. And I don't have time for that any more. 

So, now I'm about the embark on writing my twelfth book and I want to do things a little differently. I don't think I can ever be one of those writers who has a detailed chapter plan and works through it; but I do want to be more in control of the narrative than I have been before.

 I am going to try two things. First, spending time thinking beforehand -  mapping out the emotional journeys of the main characters, and trying to plot out the story according to that narrative. 

Second, writing a 'skeleton' version of about 20K which establishes voice and plot, and can be expanded into the bigger novel. 

Anyone tried these methods? Any other ideas, or hints for me? 

I'll let you know how I get on...