Stop planning and start writing. That’s what even the most successful crime and thriller writers do.
Watch my video below, or read the transcript, to find out why you should just start writing with what you’ve got.
Hello my lovely writers!
I attended a fantastic discussion between Queen of Crime, Val McDermid, and historical writer Kate Mosse, whose Citadel was her big break-out novel.
They talked about the writing process and Val did a great job of getting Kate to open up about how she starts her books.
Where do they begin?
Where do the ideas come from?
When does she start writing?
You don’t need to know what’s going to happen
Kate said, for her, it starts with place. For some, it might be character, but for her it is place. She goes somewhere and the place speaks to her and she described it as hearing whispers and voices in her ear. If she hears nothing, she knows there’s no story there for her but, as soon as she starts hearing those little whispers, she knows there is a story for her.
What came out from that is she doesn’t know what’s going to happen and she doesn’t know how it’s all going to fan out. All she knows is she’s got a place and, one by one, her characters come on a stage and start telling their story. She doesn’t know everything about it or exactly what’s going to happen.
That was something Val nodded her head in agreement with. They then mentioned Ian Rankin, the very famous crime writer here in Scotland who writes the Rebus books, which you may know from the TV show. He also says, ‘I don’t know who the killer is. I don’t know who the murderer is. I just have this idea and I get writing.’
Stop planning and start writing
This is something I have come across time and time again from published writers, successful writers and, surprisingly, writers who write in the crime and thriller genres. You’d think crime and thriller writers would need to have everything worked out ahead of time because they’ve got to put in their red herrings, misdirect the reader and weave in all those little clues that lead up to the end but, no, taking Ian Rankin’s example, they don’t even know who the killer is. They just know there’s been a crime.
If you know this is what’s holding you back and you’re waiting to have everything worked out before you start, I cannot encourage you enough to stop planning and start writing. Take what you’ve got. Take where you’re at. Take what you know already and just get writing.
I promise you from my own experience that, those little nuances, those little details, the little things you cannot plan for, they come out in the writing process. All the gold, the gems, the magic, that comes in the writing of the book itself. It doesn’t come in the planning. You can do as much planning as you want but you won’t get the golden nuggets in there.
Do what all of the other writers are doing, all of these successful writers, even the crime writers and the thriller writers. Take what you’ve got and get started because the rest is procrastination and, in your heart of hearts, you know this. If you know that’s you, get writing, get cracking and the gems, the gold, the magic will come as you are writing.
Emma xx
Emma Dhesi
Emma Dhesi is a Certified Author Accelerator Book Coach and bestselling author who helps writers let go of perfectionism, self-doubt and writer's block through her signature programme, Unlock Your Creative Block.
She is the host of the YouTube Channel, Emma Dhesi, where she interviews debut and experienced authors alike.
Through her 1:1 coaching programme, Emma helps new authors start and finish their first novel.
Emma provides personal written feedback on their pages and guides them through the emotional rollercoaster that is writing a novel!
