Killing your darlings

On 29/01/202329/01/2023 By TomIn Achievement, author ideas, editing, General, Insight, Novel, Promotion, reading, self-publishing, series, thriller, work in progress, writing9 Comments

‘Killing your darlings’, is not as some people think, simply to do with removing characters from a story. It also relates to sentences, paragraphs, entire chapters, and sub-plots. If you ever ponder whether you’re a lazy writer, ask yourself if you’re keeping any of the aforementioned simply because you like them, or because of the effort they took in creation.

This is my first post of 2023, and it’s been delayed for a good reason. During 2021, I announced the existence of my latest hero, Detective Sergeant Jason Knight aka Crusader. As usual, I had other stories in progress, so this new tale was fitted in, and I continued to move regularly from one story to another.

I’d written ten chapters of Crusader before it dawned on me that Jason’s new partner, Constance, was stealing the show. My vision for my main character had been clear, but as strong characters do, Constance made herself omnipresent. A lot of work had gone into those first ten chapters, so I put the story away for a few weeks and worked on other projects.

I returned to Crusader, and with the same panache that my main character might slay a violent criminal, I reread my new creation. The task was based on a simple palette. Black coffee to hand, my red pen at the ready, and a ruthless black and white approach to my task. This was to prove a test of wills between me and my characters, so there could be no grey areas … a chunk of hard-won writing went, or it stayed. Moving around can be done anytime.

What was the result?

It took two days to achieve my aim. As any half-decent writer knows, it’s not advisable to delete something that could be useful for something else. I removed three complete chapters, and large sections from a couple of others, and put them in a holding file. A single read through was enough to give me an idea for the name of the file—Constance: Crusader Part 2.

I left the revised version of Crusader to rest while I adjusted my thinking for the story.

‘Killing your darlings’ doesn’t mean destroying what you’ve created. If you take time to consider your options, and you’re not afraid of hard work, it could be looked at as ‘redeveloping your darlings’. It doesn’t sound as terminal, and it offers the opportunity of producing something new, like a Phoenix from the flames.

How have things moved on with Crusader, the original idea?

It’s been almost eighteen months since I wrote the opening lines of the story. I completed my most recent edit two days ago, and at present Crusader stands at 112k words. After a few more brutal editing sessions I’ll offer it up for beta reading, possibly in late February. I aim to publish in mid March 2023.

Thank you for taking an interest in my work, and, as always, comments and suggestions are welcome.

End of My Writing Year – 2022

On 11/12/202211/12/2022 By TomIn Achievement, author ideas, collections, editing, erotica, fantasy, General, Insight, Katya Cumming, military, military career, Novel, novella, paperback, paperbacks, post-apocalyptic, Promotion, pseudonym, reading, relaxation, Review, sci-fi, self-publishing, series, Short Stories, thriller, trilogy, Uncategorized, Unofficial autobiography, work in progress7 Comments

This has been the first year since 2012 that I haven’t published a new book. I have produced Codename: Foxglove, and Military Matters: An Anthology of Poetry as paperbacks, but both were already available in eBook format.

Did the lack of new titles affect my sales performance?

I would say, no, and without paid promotion, or excessive exposure on social media, my work is still being picked up, mainly digitally, but occasionally, physically.

The five books that make up the series, A Life of Choice show sales almost daily, and without promotion, all five books are creeping up the charts. At first, it was ex-service, and serving personnel who were the main readership, but it seems that the fact-based-fiction series also appeals to those who have never donned a military uniform.

My crime thrillers, and the Light at The End trilogy have continued to achieve regular sales over the past twelve months. Once again, my royalties on sales have been easily surpassed by the royalties from KENP, the Amazon ‘page reads’ system.

Strong female lead characters are popular, and none more so than any story featuring ‘a girl with a gun’. I create such protagonists to satisfy my readership, but also because they are enjoyable to bring to life. This is reflected in reviews, and in the balance of my projects.

Crusader is my main Work in Progress, and is on schedule for publication in March 2023. As I write the story I’ve been fitting in snippets of information which will be ‘removed’ to help create the sequel, Constance.

Did I publish or have success apart from my main brand?

Yes, I did, but under another name. The erotica I write using a female pseudonym has continued to be successful, and this year saw the publication of four novellas and an anthology of six short stories. My ‘secret‘ erotica brand has been in existence for three years, and has demonstrated stamina (appropriately), and achieved a steady growth.

It may seem that there is a continual stream of titles, but that’s because the stories are created piecemeal and it may take many months before an individual title is completed.

Will I continue to work with two brands?

Yes, while my alternative brand has its own Work in Progress, and there is a demand, I’ll happily cater to those readers. Some of the naughty tales may be slightly shorter (novella), but I don’t cut corners with them. They are stories first, and erotica second.

I’d like to wish you all the very best for the upcoming festive season, whatever your religious persuasion.

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*Remember, books are not just for Christmas. 😀