8. Every novel needs tea breaks

What to do when you reach a natural pause in the story, and writing longhand vs typing

Photo by Eric BARBEAU on Unsplash

Somehow we’re 15,000 words into the story, so this is a good point to regroup. I remember reaching this part and, metaphorically speaking, getting up to go and put the kettle on. Novels need tea breaks every so often, just as we do. There are points in writing a story where the momentum slows to a stop and you have to refuel and take a step back before you can take a step forwards.

I remember very distinctly reaching this point, because this is the mark at which the story has to properly “begin”. I’ve laid all the groundwork, introduced all the main characters, everyone’s vocals are warmed up, we know what’s at stake for all of them, what they want and obstacles that might be in their way. So far it’s been quite high-drama. Even though nothing explosive has happened, if you think about it we have set up quite a lot: a stalker released, his whereabouts unknown; Josephine jilted; Martha’s sister missing. There are quite a lot of characters. Everyone who needs to be in the house is in the house, and so what will follow now is some quite low-stakes, nice scenes of them getting to know each other in the cottage. Low-stakes scenes are needed for the following reasons:

• A break from the drama

• Introduce B plots

• A way of showing and deepening character. Who are they in relation to each other? What does it tell us about them?

This said, the necessary lulls that happen in novels make me nervous because as someone who is slightly obsessed with plot as well as character, my first thought is: “But what happens?” Yes, it’s lovely having the inmates at Urania Cottage baking bread and not talking about their pasts – and the very image of this is one that drew me towards writing about it – but remember what I said about not wanting to lose the reader? I have to remind myself sometimes that wonderful, illuminating scenes that showcase and develop character instead of action can also draw people in. It’s falling for the characters that hooks you into a book, because if you don’t care about them, you don’t care about what happens to them.

At this point I’ve laid down the foundations for everybody’s stories, and now it’s time for the characters to shine. My priority at this point is establishing a friendship between Martha and Josephine. Naturally, they will share a room. Martha will draw Josephine out of her shell (but Josephine only comes out of her shell for Martha). Josephine does not want to be at the house, does not care about redemption. She is surly and caustic.

I felt that Josephine wouldn’t open up with other people around, and there are few chances to be alone at Urania Cottage, so I took them outside, gathering greenery for Christmas garlands. I wrote these next scenes longhand because of the change of pace. Sometimes typing feels wrong, too instantaneous (too final?), for slow and gentle or particularly significant scenes. If I want to feel my way in to something I will write it longhand. There is a physicality to writing that feels more in-keeping with the rate at which the story unfolds, a slow unfurling. Sometimes I have to not think about word count. So for this scene, I took out my pen and notebook.