Been wrestling with the plot of DI Andy Horton crime novel number eight and finally won after several exhausting rounds

[Pauline Rowson]

I’ve spent the weekend wrestling with the plot of the DI Andy Horton crime novel I’m currently writing, which is number eight in the series, and I’m pleased to say that I finally won after several rounds.  The outcome is looking satisfactory.  It may seem strange to someone who doesn’t write novels and in particular crime novels that I have already written 80,000 words, so why the plot antics now?  Surely, I must have worked it out.  Well sort of but when I say wrestling with the plot, I mean I’ve been working out who really did it, why, when and how etc.. The first draft is on the PC, and, with the details I’ve been drafting up over the weekend I can now start working on the second draft, what luxury!  This means going back through the novel, removing anything that isn’t necessary, adding depth, colour, character background, personalities and clues. Shaping it and honing it. I’m looking forward to getting stuck in.

Looking back on my blog entry for 7 August 2010 I see that I wrote:

"Having used up tons of scraps of paper (re-cycled from having to print off reams of previous manuscripts) and having almost worn my pencil down to a stub, not to mention making my office look like a waste paper tip, I am now a great deal happier with the plot of the next Andy Horton police procedural marine mystery crime novel, which will be number seven in the series. ( A Killing Coast - to be published early 2012). That doesn't mean to say that what I have mapped out will stay as it is, oh no, I could easily and most probably will change my mind by the end of the novel. Such is the life of a crime writer. As the characters become more alive so their motivations might suggest other actions. I might also delve into some research that will take me in another direction. It's all good fun, as they say."

But at this time last year I hadn’t even written the first draft, so I’m pleased that I’m ahead of schedule.  Let’s hope it stays that way!

Pauline Rowson, crime author