Help! - by Chris Vick

Help!

Okay, okay, this blog is really more about support; the kind of ‘help’ we get along the way, how a book is paradoxically a mostly ‘solo effort and can be the most collaborative thing we ever do. 

(I didn’t think Support! was a very foxy title and we all know how important titles are, right?)

My book Girl, Boy. Sea. has just been longlisted for the CILIP Carnegie. I am thrilled.  I am also disbelieving.  I’m waiting for a teacherly voice to boom from the sky: ‘Is this all your own work?’ To which I would have to reply:  ‘Oh Yes I mean… you know, mostly.’ 

When I started writing I really did believe it was a solo effort. I didn’t even know what an editor was, or did. The truth about the author, and the writing process is more complex than simply the name on the cover. A good editor can lift a book, a bad one can....hmmm.  I'm lucky, I;ve only had really, really great ones. And in my experience, whilst the author must always be the driver of the story, the wisdom, input and counsel of others is not merely helpful, but invaluable.

So what, or who, am I talking about?

Crit groups

Early drafts of early chapters or scenes are road tested with an audience.  Two times I have ditched WIPs and launched new ones on the basis - at least in good part - of crit group input and responses. Because, how it works in my head and how it works with an audience are different things.  And then I find I write a little differently if I know I will soon be sharing with with other writers.

I did this on the Bath Spa Ma in Writing for Young People. I now do it with the wonderful Rogue Critters South West SCWBI group.

What I have learned over years is to do the opposite of what I did when I first started critting. Namely, not to offer up the work of which I am most confident, then hope for praise, but to use the valuable time to work with others on the stuff I am really  unsure of; to get others’ input on the strengths and weaknesses. In short, to do the work on the material that needs the most work.

One to one crit

This is much more in depth, not least as I tend to go with as many as 5,000 words, and with a writer chum who I really respect.  I only do this when I’m really pretty happy with the WIP.

 Agent

My agent is the best (she has actual prizes that prove that) and has a list of famous, brilliant and literary writers. So simply pressing ‘send’ is pretty damn nerve-wracking.

I’ve heard different tales about different agents in terms of their levels of ‘input;’ from the ones who do the business side only, to those who do forensic line edits with their authors before it goes to a publisher. Sometimes over more than a year.

My experience is somewhere in between; I get input on idea, structure, tone, character and – as with Girl. Boy. Sea, sometimes encouragement to pursue a rich creative vein, even if it’s a bit, well, 'unusual.'

Editor/s

The big one. The final input; from central idea to individual words. Top to bottom, 360.  If you have good editors – and again, I do – you listen.

So there you are, that’s a lot of input.  And it’s a foolish writer who doesn’t consider the opinions of others, and the sage advice of mentors.

There is however, one massive caveat to all this.

You can’t write a book by committee.

Strength of voice. Core themes. The real nature of your characters. They came from you, and in the end you need to be pretty sure of some key aspects of your story, and keep them as they are, no matter what others think.

You need to listen, collaborate and take advice. You also sometimes need to stick to your guns.  

Knowing when to do which, or which to do when… that’s a bigger question.