Writing The Other Boy was a long process with a LOT of learning on route, swathes of text removed and reorganized, and characters lost. It was terrifying and thrilling. My favourite part of writing a book is, undoubtedly, the editing. Once the first draft is written, anything is possible, and there are so many wonderful surprises still to discover.
The Other Boy has been an organic, free-writing process and the twists and turns wrote themselves. There was no planning, the scenes just came along as I wrote. When I got feedback about things that didn’t work, I removed large sections and then went back to the characters for the answers.
Having said that, I became a member of Jericho Writer’s, and I watched many of their masterclasses. I realised that I needed to give myself permission to go places that felt uncomfortable, and have characters do things that go against my own moral or emotional compass. Sometimes, I just needed something to happen that was a surprise, something unexpected, something to steer the story in another direction, and once I told myself that, the answer presented itself to me. It’s a bit like a puzzle in my head with a missing piece, my mind churns over the dilemma until it fills the gap.
Often, the twists were just a matter of writing down what an unhinged, stressed, out-of-control, insecure or terrified character would do. Those big emotions drive the big choices, right or wrong, good or bad, and panic and fear are wonderful motivators for the worst kinds of behaviours.
Becoming a writer, like any creative endeavour, is a brave choice, giving yourself permission to spend hours and hours working at something that has no reward, no outcome, other than your own satisfaction. Of course, I hoped that my books would one day find a publisher, but the joy of writing The Other Boy was the journey of discovery, my ability to bin hours of work to make the book better, crisper, more interesting, to write a character and then erase them and not look back. It feels like being on a huge, super-fast, rollercoaster, and I do love a rollercoaster, the horror of having to lose those precious words and then the delight in finding something so much better beyond the cuts.
I learned that not everything I do is worthwhile or any good, but if I keep trying, I can keep improving. Not once have I wanted to give up or stop writing, and much of my day away from my desk is spent thinking about scenes, conversations between characters, plot twists and the next novels I want to pen.
It is all-consuming, and a wonderful way to spend my time.
It helps that I love to exercise, running, ultra-walking, and long weights sessions in the gym, all presenting me with more time to think about my stories and my characters. The Other Boy is a series of four books. Book two, The Other Mother, is in the production stage and will be released mid-November, and I am currently writing book three, The Other Killer.
Publication of The Other Boy has boosted my already crazy enthusiasm for a career I love. I hope you enjoy reading my books as much as I adore writing them.