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That's so interesting, and I would agree that you need to know your characters through and though to fully establish an ending. HOWEVER I must admit that I have found that sometimes there is a picture in my head, a scene, a dialogue that you know happens right at the end, and I have to write and rewrite and edit to get to know the characters & find out who is in it and why it is there!

This is so true! For me anyway - I always start the book journey with a fairly good idea of where I'm going but when I get there, so much detail has changed - strange things often happen that I couldn't have known about. I can not wait to read Shine.

And, you can't write the beginning until you know the whole book. How can you do the setup without knowing what it is you're setting up. That was the latest edit, planting the seeds that will blossom later. I love seeing this done visually in film. We caught the beginning of Ghostbusters the other day and as Sigourney Weaver emptied the shopping onto the counter at the beginning of the

This is my usual method: <br />1. write the first chapter, <br />2. write that last chapter, <br />3. write the middle, <br />4. rewrite the last chapter, <br />5. rewrite the first chapter, <br />6. rewrite the middle,<br />7. repeat 4 to 6 until run out of time....!<br />But quite seriously even though it may change the last chapter is usually one of the first things I write. I like to know

Good one Maureen. I find it really difficult to write outside the line of my narrative. I tend to begin at the beginning then work my way to the end. I get paralysed if there is something up ahead that&#39;s already created and complete because it doesn&#39;t feel like it&#39;s part of my storytelling!

Good method!I always know where I am going but I don&#39;t put it down because I need the energy of the whole book to write the best words for the finale!

Thanks Kathy ... I think I work like you. And I can&#39;t wait to read Shine either!

In Finding Nemo they said they always knew they would end with the going to school scene again. But they wanted to reprise the best bits of the film ... which they couldn&#39;t until they were done.

Do you plot everything out Teri?

How much plotting I do varies - have plotted book 3 quite heavily as I didn&#39;t have enough time to repeat steps 4 to 6 indefinitely. But I did write the ending first

Congratulations on finishing Shine, Candy! That must feel great. Can&#39;t wait to read it!<br /><br />So interesting to read about different working methods. Although I always have a general sense of how I want the story to end, I find I can&#39;t write the last scenes in any detail until a really late draft. I seem to always write several drafts where the ending is just a few notes, and it&#39;

I didn&#39;t really understand what authors meant when they said that the characters wrote the book themselves. I used to think &quot;How stupid. You&#39;re the author, you decide what happens.&quot; Then I wrote my first book. By the time I was only just into my second book I was beginning to wonder if I just bred very independent characters who paid little attention to what I said! I have

Oh that is so true! Mind you characters can be so annoying - always trying to wrest control of the story from you.

We are totally on the same wavelength, Helen. We should really be in the same critique group. Oh wait. We are!

Could you clarify guys by &#39;end&#39; do you mean climax onwards of just the post climax denouement? Thanks :0)

Hmm both but especially post denouement ... after expending all that emotion at the climax, staying the course and writing well to the end is tough. I really notice it when books lose energy at the end as if the author just got on with tying up loose ends and let go of his/her magic wand.

Such a helpful post! Thank you for being so honest-it&#39;s so easy to look at the polished perfect book-shop product and think that this stuff comes easily to all Published Authors.

Such a brave post and so helpful. Easy to imagine this stuff comes naturally to all Published Authors.

Hurray! So looking forward to reading it. Pre-ordering right now. Also printing out this wonderful post, and when I am struggling (as I do, all the time) I will read it and be inspired.

Sorry! internet being tricksy. But I meant it-twice!

Hi:<br />I am a new mumsnet network blogger and came across your awesome post. You say it like it is in the right way that my ADD wants to hear.<br /><br />I am not afraid to consider writing a book now. Thank you for perspective and best of luck girl. You did it and #2! Wow.<br /><br />Best,<br />Kristen<br />www.getoveryourselfplease.blogspot.com<br />twitter Get Over It kkshaw47

Wonderful post! And so reassuring for those of us struggling through our first book.<br /><br />Here&#39;s a Nanowrimo story that I hope makes all of us feel better -- I met someone during Nanowrimo last year. Her goal was 150,000 words that month!!! But then I asked what she planned to do with her work - in other words, was she trying to get published? No, she said, she doesn&#39;t like editing,

Wonderful and insightful post.One that I will share with my students. Can&#39;t wait for the new book. And like Keren I am going to print this out as a reminder. Brilliant news that it is finished.Congratulations Candy

Candy, great post. Always enjoy reading your blog entries. <br /><br />Congrats on finishing the book. Don&#39;t know how you have the stamina for a full novel. :) <br /><br />Take care, let&#39;s catch up soon.

This is SUCH a great post, Candy. Thank you! I&#39;m with Keren, I need to print this excellent advice out NOW. And pre-order the book. And someday when I get back to America, I&#39;m going to talk about your amazing books non-stop, I promise!

You are a genius, this is a brilliant post! You do, however, realise that all this writing leads to insanity, of both the permanent and temporary kind - all that screaming, all that eating of fridges, all that talking to and double-questioning yourself...<br />All that said, you are an inspiration and having had a little taste of Shine already, I can&#39;t wait to read the whole, completed book!

Great post, Candy. And thanks so much for fitting in the odd critique when you should have been squeezng out a few dozen words instead! Reading this has made me wonder whether I should go back to do those &#39;little tweaks&#39; myself. Nah! Think I&#39;ll stick with the new WIP. Maybe later......<br /><br />Can&#39;t wait to read Shine Candy. I&#39;m kniw it will be great.

I especially love point 5 here - &#39;what&#39;s great about this story?&#39; A timely reminder (for me) to concentrate on the good stuff and ditch the bad, rather than rewriting it to fit. Oh and I like point 6 too - &#39;light fuses&#39; - great metaphor. Actually 4 is starting too feel relevant too. ... You know what? It&#39;s all great. Thanks for your insights and good luck with Shine.

Great post! Thank you for sharing part of your journey. Congratulations on completing Book 2. I love all the advice you have given in this post but especially love the advice your editor gave you. This is one of those posts I had to read write now as I am completing final edits on my WIP before submission. Wishing you many sales of both your books. - KimK :)

I could click on &#39;pre-oder&#39;, Candy, but are you having a launch where I can buy it instead? I think you should! After all that you deserve to PARTY.<br /><br />p.s. any help on my book 2 cheerfully accepted.<br /><br />p.s.s. by &#39;cheerfully&#39; I mean duck when you come through the door of the writing cave...

Thanks for sharing all this, Candy. I can really feel your frustration, but I&#39;m a firm believer that little that was created easily will be of much worth. And this post is especially interesting for me right now, as I&#39;m just launching into my second book and already grinding my teeth at an empty screen.<br /><br />Congratulations on finishing! I&#39;m looking forward to reading Shine.

Phew.<br /><br />Thanks for just making sense of everything I&#39;ve been trying (and failing) to understand myself.<br />Enjoy!

Wow - what a writerly journey for you!! I&#39;m soooooooooo happy you&#39;ve finished your book!! Phew!! You deserve all the success after such a path to publication! Take care<br />x

What a great post, I&#39;m so glad you got there in the end, Candy. I love your blurb and cant&#39; wait to read it. I won&#39;t preorder though, I&#39;ll by it at your launch!!

I write shorter books, not novels, but found points 5 and 6 extremely interesting. I like the idea of &quot;focusing on what is GREAT&quot; and the image of a light fuse is also memorable. Your blog entries (and acceptance speeches) are always full of wisdom! Thanks Candy.

Congratulations on finishing the book. I do love the cover and the blurb. Good idea to focus on the great not the bad of the book. Have to keep that in mind.<br /><br />Exercise - you can break down the 30 mins in half if you want. Do 15 mins am and the other 15 pm. That is what I do and have lost 8lbs so far.

I absolutely felt your pain throughout this whole process, especially when I was struggling through my own book while you were struggling through yours. And I&#39;m not ashamed to admit that I thought you were MAD to rewrite the whole thing. But having gone through a few struggles to preserve the integrity of my own writing, I can understand what it&#39;s like being faced with something that you&

Great post, Candy! <br />Tall Story achieved so much recognition and I&#39;m sure Shine will shine brightly too! <br />Good luck and best wishes for the next stage on you and your new book&#39;s journey.<br />Tracy

Fantastic post, Candy. I had to do the starting-again-from-the-beginning last year (after 50,000 words of complete yet awful novel) so this resonates! I love point 5 especially.<br /><br />Shine looks wonderful. Pre-ordering now!

Congratulations on SHINE, Candy! A great post - honest, informative and pretty inspiring! I&#39;m off to pre-order Shine now...

I am going to print this post off as well - it is brilliant! Shine sounds wonderful and I would pre-order but someone mentioned the possibility of a launch?<br />I hope that you are back to full health now, sorry to hear that you have had some problems.

Well done. Congratulations. Can&#39;t wait to read it. Thanks for sharing the pain, the doubt, the u-turn and the break-through. Agree with your point that everyone has their limit about how much they can write/draw/paint a day. If I over-do it, I&#39;m too exhausted to do anything the next day. My best rhythm is a morning of creativity, then normal life for the rest of the day. Ok, off the

great post Candy, it&#39;s good to see there&#39;s a sense of recognition about your journey, in all these comments to your post, and comforting to know its a learning curve everyone goes through! Thanks for sharing your experience of it ;)

thanks jongleuse! and sometimes the bookshop product isn&#39;t perfect either!

Aww thanks, Keren. Hard to believe you struggle - your novels seem to just trip off your laptop.

Thank you twice!

Gosh thanks all for your comments. I&#39;ve been keeping off the internet until now, re-reading my manuscript and it was wonderful to discover all your brilliant comments on switching the internet back on!

Joining Nanowrimo used to be one of my ambitions - but it&#39;s a tough call for a slow writer. I find that I can&#39;t go forward unless my text is polished to a certain level ... and then I still keep questioning myself, is this really what I want to say? Thanks for the comforting story.

Hi Kristen! Welcome to Mumsnet and hope to see more of you. Have duly subscribed to your blog!

Thanks Chitra ... and thanks for messaging me on the spellilng!

Oooh now I&#39;ll be asking you, are you there yet? Thank you!

The fact is there is always later, isn&#39;t there? Each manuscript will have its time!

Hugs, Nicky!

Good luck, Kim!

The odd thing was it never occurred to me to ask myself What&#39;s great about this story? It&#39;s an exercise that critique groups ought to institute!

Well ... I haven&#39;t thought that far ahead yet! Definitely should do something partyish! At the moment I&#39;m emotionally exhausted and can&#39;t imagine organizing ANYTHING!

Thank you and good luck on book two!

Thanks, Karen!

Thank you, Old Kitty!

Well done, Candy. You have triumphed! I look forward to reading Shine. I think the whole thing about exposition being story in the wrong place is spot on. Marcus Sedgewick is a master at making exposition/backstory into story in Revolver and Midwinterblood.

Thanks, Jackie! And when is YOUR launch?

Thanks Odette - I love your books!

Thanks so much Julie!

Thanks so much, Tracy!

Slow Writers Anonymous sounds like a brilliant idea! And you&#39;re right - as long as the words are brilliant, it doesn&#39;t matter how many they are.

wahey! Thanks, Susie!

Thanks, Savita - and congrats on your new book deal! Can&#39;t wait to read it!

I am amazed everyday at how I recovered from that episode! Thank you!

According to Neil Gaiman the learning curve never ends. Which is a comfort in its way! Thanks, Astrid.

I&#39;m exactly the same - the truth is my word count is low because the best of my writing only occurs in a two hour span. Thanks so much, Beverley!

Now that I&#39;m finished, I can finally read Midwinterblood which has been languishing on my to be read pile. Thanks, Jo!

Candy - Did you slice off the top of my scalp and pull a few things out . . . ? I think you did! Great post. Looking forward to reading your next one. Take care, Irfan

Gosh! Perhaps we should all be plumbers? There&#39;s always a shortage. Or electricians? Much less painful. Hmmm ... Will just go and fiddle with the fusebox - need to see if I&#39;m a natural. (Meanwhile, best of luck with Book 3 and if it all gets too much, come and join me at &#39;Meddour and Gourlay Sparks Ltd&#39;/ Or should that be &#39;Gourlay and Meddour Sparks Ltd&#39;? Or maybe &#39;

In the Phlippines, Gourlay-Medour would mean we got married. Electric idea!

I&#39;ve been struggling with my next frog kiss book and the frustration was mounting, something wasn&#39;t gelling. So I&#39;ve just asked the question - what&#39;s great? And it&#39;s the hero, Prince Laurence, he&#39;s a twit of a prince who&#39;s convinced he&#39;s a frog. And I was attempting to send him on a hero&#39;s journey with an environmental theme which is just far too serious for

What a wonderful post, Candy! A real keeper for when I&#39;m in the trenches. I remember writing down that &quot;focus on what is GREAT&quot; comment in November, too - such wise advice.<br /><br />And can I just say... that is one fabulous story pitch! Can&#39;t wait to read it!

Thanks for sharing your experience, Candy. I&#39;m sorry you had to go through all that though. Will pre-order :)

I&#39;ve never commented before, lurking in the trenches and enjoying your posts but this time I have to say thank you for such wise suggestions and sensible ideas. I&#39;ve been sending novels off to agents for six years but I&#39;m still refusing to think of it as a ... hobby ... and you give me hope! Congratulations!

Yay!

Thanks, Amy, sometimes the trenches can be very deep!

And don&#39;t forget that YOU&#39;re what&#39;s great about the book too - your distinctive voice! It&#39;s gonna be great, Maureen!

Ha! Flushed out a lurker! Thanks for coming out to comment ... and no, it&#39;s not a hobby, it&#39;s a life.

Ah,I soooooo understand! Well done and thanks for this wonderful post. Yay you!

Truly fabulous post, Candy. I&#39;m not surprised it&#39;s getting all this attention. And I totally TOTALLY sympathise. It&#39;s exactly what I&#39;m going through now, and have been for ages. I know it all so well! (Except having to take the children to the Philippines. I don&#39;t have to do that.) Thank you for putting it out there. And quoting Neil Gaiman. xxx

Brilliant post Candy! Think knowing when we&#39;ve taken the wrong turn is the hardest thing! And being brave enough to turn back against the flow in a world constantly pushing you forward.

haha...hollow laughter....if only

Ooh, perhaps it would here too! Sorry to be so forward ;)

Thanks for this generous post, Candy.It&#39;s definitely one to keep. I can&#39;t wait to read Shine.

Thanks for writing such an honest post, Candy. I completely identify with what you say. Second novels are just like this. Not to depress you, but writing my third novel was worse. The fourth seems a little easier (so far), but like Tim Bowler&#39;s quote in a previous post, &#39;Every story you write is a mountain no-one has climbed.&#39;

There is only one response t this: ARGHHHH!!!!

Bloody mountain.<br /><br />Thanks for commenting!

Sometimes though it&#39;s not courage. You&#39;ve got no choice really if you want to write a good book.

I still have bits of your hair on my desk. Thanks, Irfan!

Quoting authors quoting authors is cool. You can quote me on that.

Thanks, Jeannie!

Beautiful sunny painting, just what we need right now :D

off to check out the video...

Hi Tara, What a lovely sunny picture! I came to your blog through Sarah's. Your artwork is beautiful.x

Lovely illustration, a truly needed sight in January!:)

The video you posted is hillarious!:D Also good to brighten a cold gray day ;)

would love some sunshine here, pretty grey and foggy out

what an...odd video. My eyes are fine but don't know if my ears will recover :p

ROFL -- both explanations of the video are awesome!

Gloomy, chilly January...you should come down and visit Texas sometime. :) Today was bright and cheerful with blue, blue skies. No clouds once the fog burned off this morning. Just a bit of ice here and there in those ever dark shaded areas untouched by sun.