This topic deserves a post, not only because of the way I met my tutor. I also wanted to summarise what I learnt from the tutor and how much she helped me get up and away with confidence. For the record, that is not a photo of me and my tutor, it’s AI generated. I seem to have my wedding ring on the wrong hand and I may have been a bit heavy handed with the mascara.
When I was still thinking the story through, I realised that the real-life ending was too boring for a best selling novel. I needed a bang or a twist. So I asked for suggestions from an international writers Facebook page. I recieved numerous responses, some suggestions for the ending as well advice on the way forward, from all over the world. Incredible really.
One response stood out, mainly because her answers made me feel that she had understood my questions. She also advised that reading books, particularly from the same genre as mine would help me with my story and how to tell it. I am now a passionate, no, maybe obsessed, reader and lover of books and stories.
By the time I figured out that my book shall be a psycological drama, I had learned how important this decision was. The genre determines the expected word count, the story structure, the way it is writen. Who would have known?
Out of all the people who replied to my post, Tina’s response that piqued my curiosity about the person behind the post. I didn’t know what country she lived in. It turned out she lived about 5km away from me. Not only that, she was an author as well as a tutor who offered a six week “Getting Started” course for writers!
When madly stalking her on-line presence, I noticed that she has published at least three novels, which I purchased straight away. The first one arrived. I couldn’t wait to read it.
“So, I read one of your books and I’ve ordered the others,” I said, the next time we met.
“Oh, really. Which one?” she replied, looking puzzled. I told her the name of the book I read.
“Oh no,’ she shreiked. “That’s not me. Oh, my goodness. I have read one of her books and, well, just no.”
The tension I had been holding in my body slipped away as I started to laugh. I was pleased not to have to pretend I loved the book. Not that there was anything wrong with the book, just not what I thought Tina would write.
Tina patiently taught me about things like genre, plot and sub-plots, shape and structure, character development, how to show not tell, tense, point of view and so much more. I honestly had no idea about any of this but it made sense and built the foundation for my first draft.
By the end of the six weeks I had a colour-coded, chapter by chapter plan for my novel. Amazing! It outlined the purpose of each chapter, the points of view, time line with plot and side-plots woven in to a story structure suitable for my genre.
I had a clear vision, including a photo, of my characters. I knew their ages, their role in the story, the things that they felt strongly about and how that is relevant to the story. They all had character arcs, ensuring emotional change as the story progresses.
I had a head bursting with information, that took the following twelve months to fully understand everything and incorperate the skills into my writing. This was just the begining.
I would recommend working through a learning and planning stage for anyone starting their first novel. Be a planner not a panser. It’s like getting a map from the beginning to the end of your story.
My tutor’s name is Tina Baker. She is very knowlegable, patient and supportive. I had the privilage to be able to meet face to face with Tina, but I am sure that online support would be just as effective. You can contact Tina at tina@inkwellwriting.com.au
My next post will tell you about the writing groups, book clubs and other literary activitites I jumped into and how they helped me.