My writing and editing process by Dinah Jefferies - Before the Rains Blog Tour

I am delighted to welcome Dinah Jefferies to my blog today to talk about her writing and editing process for her Blog Tour. Before the Rains is being published by Viking on 23 February 2017.

My writing and editing process

By Dinah Jefferies

I’m going to tell you about my own process of writing and editing, but please remember that everybody has their own way. The main thing we all have in common, is that any published novel will be the result of a group of people working on it as a team.

I’ve found that as I write more books the process changes, so really nothing is constant. For me the most difficult and sometimes painful part is getting the first draft down. During this period, I feel very much on my own. I may or may not have a contract to write a particular book, but it makes no difference, I am still faced with the task of writing approximately 100,000 words and, if I have a deadline, I often write even when I don’t feel like. It can be tough. I write new chapters in the mornings and catch up with research, emails, Q&As, and write blogs like this, in the afternoons. I can’t work at night as I run out of energy and, by then, my eyes and brain have had enough screen time.

I try to write the first draft quickly, because once the basis of the story is down I can then begin to dig deeper. I often don’t even know what I’ve got until somebody else sees it, and that first person is usually my agent, Caroline Hardman. She’s a terrific agent who’ll come back with essential feedback and it’s often only then that I begin to see the wider themes of the novel. The feedback can be quite surprising but this is when the first real editing begins. This is where the glaring issues are dealt with. For The Silk Merchant’s Daughter, I agreed with my agent that I would cut two point of view characters, and that meant cutting 49,000 words. Not a happy experience. For Before The Rains, I just had to add three chapters, so it’s different every time. I do enjoy the editing, because I feel I can really get to grips with the novel once I have a better idea of where I am.

Once this stage is complete, the manuscript goes to my editor, Venetia Butterfield, publishing director of Viking/Penguin. She will want to put her own stamp on the book and will usually come back to me within three or four weeks. She’s very experienced and I completely trust her judgement but, if I don’t agree with something, we’ll talk it over and reach a compromise. For Before The Rains, she suggested a final chapter I hadn’t previously considered. Her editorial suggestions are usually focused on characterisation, plot weakness, or maybe certain aspects of the story that need drawing out more fully.

Once these edits are finished, the copyeditor gets her hands on the script. This is when the nitty gritty of punctuation, any inconsistences, or timeline issues are dealt with, and I have to agree or disagree with all her proposed changes. Finally the page proofs arrive. They come to me and two other proof readers, and it’s amazing what tiny things you still find. 

So that’s my process of writing and editing. I love the pulling and shaping of a story to try to get the very best out of it. That’s what we all try to do and we couldn’t do it without a team behind us.

About Dinah Jefferies

Dinah Jefferies was born in Malaysia but moved to England at the age of nine, travelling widely throughout her life and always maintaining a love of Southeast Asia. She spent time living in a musicians' commune, and has had work publicly exhibited as an artist. Dinah’s first novel The Separation was published by Penguin in 2014. The Tea Planter’s Wife is her second novel. 

The Silk Merchant’s Daughter, was published in February 2016 and also entered Sunday Times Bestselling list. After living in Andalusia for five years, she now lives in Gloucestershire with her husband.

Find Dinah Jefferies on her official Facebook page and follow Dinah on Twitter - @DinahJefferies

About Before the Rains

Before the Rains

By Dinah Jefferies

Published by Viking (23 February 2017)

ISBN: 978-0241287088

Publisher's description

1930, Rajputana, India. Since her husband's death, 28-year-old photojournalist Eliza's only companion has been her camera. When the British Government send her to an Indian princely state to photograph the royal family, she's determined to make a name for herself.

But when Eliza arrives at the palace she meets Jay, the Prince's handsome, brooding brother. While Eliza awakens Jay to the poverty of his people, he awakens her to the injustices of British rule. Soon Jay and Eliza find they have more in common than they think. But their families - and society - think otherwise. Eventually they will have to make a choice between doing what's expected, or following their hearts. . .

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'What is writing to me?': A feature by author Louise Beech

World Diabetes Day takes place every year on 14 November. 

I would like to welcome Louise Beech to my blog today. Louise's book How to be Brave was published by Orenda Books on 17 September 2015. Her book is a powerful story based on her experience with her own daughter's diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes and the true story of her grandfather, Colin.

What is writing to me?

By Louise Beech

I read an interview once where the writer was asked, What is writing to you?  Naturally, I wondered the same.  What is writing to me?  Because really it’s such a personal thing, and means different things to different people.  For some folks, writing might be a hobby, a light pleasure.  For some, it might just be a job.  For others, escape, adventure, even therapy.  I think for me, it is definitely the latter.

And those three things came into play in a big way while I was writing the first draft of How to be Brave, my debut novel; because I approached such a hugely personal topic, one that I had never explored until then in great depth.  My daughter Katy’s Type 1 Diabetes diagnosis when she was seven.  And with World Diabetes Day on 14th November, it is very much on my mind again.

It was a horrible time.  That five-word sentence does little to explain how horrible.  But hopefully the novel manages to.  In it, I created fictional mum and daughter - Rose and Natalie - who are going through such a diagnosis.  Type 1 is a much-misunderstood condition, one often confused with Type 2, which sometimes (but not always) can be caused by a poor diet.  Type 1 Diabetes is never caused by the person eating too much sugar - it’s an autoimmune disease, where the immune system attacks the pancreas and the cells that make insulin.  Injections are needed every day, forever.

But while I wanted to inspire and even educate, I didn’t want to bore readers with medical jargon or an overload of information, so I let Rose and Natalie tell their own story, in a book nook where they cope with multiple injections by bringing to life a long-gone ancestor.  Grandad Colin’s true sea survival runs parallel to their daily struggle, the two stories often very similar.  First and foremos,t I wanted the book to be an adventure, a magical tale of bravery and love.

While writing the first draft, I had a rigid routine with regards to the time I gave to it - five hours a day, every day except Sunday. But when it came to the structure of my words, I was less orderly.  I let them come as they must.  Fall into the white screen in a tumble of tears.  Yes, I cried a great deal, reliving pain I’d ignored for a long time.  Once it was out, I went back and harshly edited, sculpting and chipping away until I was happy with my work.

Writing is as much about editing as anything else.  I think the first draft is like the undercoat we use when decorating.  It’s needed in order for the later colours to shine best.

When thinking more about that interviewer’s question - what is writing to you? - it also occurred to me that I’m reaching out in my writing.  Saying all the things I’m not very good at saying; because I don’t explain very well or I’m too tongue-tied and nervous or get muddled with how I want to say it.  I was choked up when I wrote How to be Brave, filled with emotion.  But I was never tongue-tied, never got lost.  I realised it was an expression of love for my daughter, and that I should share it. 

So I did. 

Because I suppose it’s how I’m reaching out.  By writing.  It’s a way to be heard.  That’s what writing is.  It’s quiet, simple, and easy to me - and it’s so much louder than any shouts or screams or arguments or cries.  People listen when you write.  And you understand yourself better too.  Isn’t that the best reason ever to sit down at an empty screen?

So on World Diabetes Day, I’m hoping that How to be Brave might touch, inspire, educate or help another child going through a Type 1 diagnosis - or a parent having to witness it.  I hope I have written for you all, and written well.

About Louise Beech (pictured below with her daughter Katie)

Louise Beech has always been haunted by the sea, and regularly writes travel pieces for the Hull Daily Mail, where she was a columnist for ten years. Her short fiction has won the Glass Woman Prize, the Eric Hoffer Award for Prose, and the Aesthetica Creative Works competition, as well as shortlisting for the Bridport Prize twice and being published in a variety of UK magazines. Louise lives with her husband and children on the outskirts of Hull – the UK’s 2017 City of Culture – and loves her job as a Front of House Usher at Hull Truck Theatre, where her first play was performed in 2012. She is also part of the Mums’ Army on Lizzie and Carl’s BBC Radio Humberside Breakfast Show.

Follow Louise Beech on Twitter - @LouiseWriter 

If you would like to learn more about diabetes, please visit the Diabetes UK website.