Her answers are unedited and as she is English, Americans will find differences in spelling and even punctuation. Fear not, this lady is good.
My first question was:
Prior to your becoming a best-selling author, you had to learn the formal Craft of Writing. What was the single most important step you took on your path to mastering The Craft of Writing?
“Flying hours I would say. Sheer time spent actually writing. I didn't know I was learning the formal craft, I was just having fun. I would also say that a cumulative effect of learning the skill has been a habit of reading voraciously across all genres throughout my life. It's amazing how much you pick up by osmosis.”
As my father was a naval aviator, I understood her analogy of “flying hours.” She confirms for us that well-known maxim all aspiring authors have heard before; write more if you wish to write better.
She also brought forth a secret it took me a time to understand. She said she was, “just having fun,” in her early writing ventures. What better advice could a writer receive? After all, if you’re not having a good time, you’ll not write as much or with as much passion.
She mentioned of another rule all authors should espouse. A secret to her success was “reading voraciously across all genres.” What better way is there to learn than to read other successful authors?
We’ve all heard these things said time and again, but do we really take them to heart? The lesson she offers in this answer is threefold: have fun, read voraciously and spend time writing.
My second question was:
How long did it take you to learn enough of The Craft of Writing before you were confident enough to seek representation?
“I wrote my first novel at the age of 15 and only didn't send it off because it was hand written. As soon as I'd learned to type, (aged 18) I began sending off. Since I didn't know anything about the publication business, it was a case of ignorance being bliss and I was fearless.
I used to measure my progress against published novels I'd read and I did notice that my level of competence was improving. It's important for any author to have an in-built editor. To get one of these you need to read a lot across the board and not have rose coloured spectacles about your own writing. You also have to be adaptable and willing to learn. I should also add that while I began writing things down at the age of 15, I had been telling myself stories verbally with beginnings, middles and ends since first memory - 3 years old. I didn't know it was an apprenticeship for the career I had now.”
I find her response fascinating! We see so much of the maturation of a young writer in her words, and a number of tips we can use to enhance our novels. First, of all, Elizabeth Chadwick was a born writer and storyteller. In this, I see the fundamentals of all good novels – storytelling. Elizabeth Chadwick began fleshing out stories at the age of three. If you expect to succeed in this difficult field of writing, the first thing we all must learn is to tell a good story.
As a young woman, Elizabeth Chadwick understood only the barest of basics in publishing, such as the need for a typed manuscript, but little else. She also forged ahead with, as she says, fearlessness and a case of ignorant bliss. (Don’t we all the first time?) The tip I see here is we, book writers, must come into this world of dreams we’ve created for ourselves with a fearlessness attitude and undaunted focus. Oh, yes, you also do need to learn the trade.
She also used other writers as a point of comparison for her own writing. Have you done that? I do. In fact, I read Elizabeth Chadwick’s novels for not only her magnificent characterizations, but her wonderful settings also. Further, I read David L. Robbins for his vivid, but not gratuitous battle scenes.
Something else I see in her reply that should guide us all is to follow your muse. Her muse spoke to hear quite early in life and she had the sense to follow it.
Her experiences are a guide for us all; become a good storyteller, push ahead with focus, courage and boldness, study other authors and learn from them and finally, follow your mues. (Or as some say, write what bubbles up.)
My third question was:
What was the most difficult aspect to The Craft of Writing for you to master?
“To be honest I've never had a difficulty. I have learned to make sentences more concise and to cut down the adverbs and superfluous qualifiers. I have also learned viewpoint control and not to head hop unless the moment calls for it. I would also add that the craft of writing is, rather like the rules in the Pirates of the Caribbean - 'more like guidelines really'. You can get so hung up on 'do this' and 'don't do that' that you lose both your voice and your confidence.”
The lessons she offers here are write with a tight control over unneeded qualifiers and adverbs. (Ever heard that one before?) Control the novel’s viewpoint and not to “head hop.”
I really liked the way she interprets those onerous “rules” of writing as “more like guidelines.” Her point is to place your writing skills in the correct perspective so as not to lose your focus. A recent suggestion made the rounds on Twitter. It said a novel should be 50% dialogue. Now, I hope nobody is out there actually performing that calculation, but the point was novels contain a great deal of dialogue. Her response to that tweet was the same as her advice here. Don’t get hung up on all those “rules” for they will only hinder your writing and maybe even cause you to lose your all-important “voice.” Are they worth considering? Sure, but as Elizabeth Chadwick says, only as “guidelines.”
However, as she progressed in her chosen craft, she paid close attention to tightening her writing skills. She made her sentences more concise by eliminating adverbs and qualifiers. (Have you done that with your novel yet?) She also mastered viewpoint control. (Gee, another one we’ve all heard.)
Obviously, Elizabeth Chadwick gained critical knowledge as she progressed, but what was it she learned? All those things we’re still told today. Make your writing tight, by eliminating adverbs and qualifiers. Master viewpoint. Be cautious of all those writing rules – they’re only guidelines.
Question four was:
Do you still struggle with any part of The Craft of Writing, and if so, which aspects still offer you your greatest challenge?
“No, I have never struggled with any part of the craft of writing. I guess the largest challenge these days re the writing itself is fitting big stories into market-confining word spaces. But it does help me to make every word work for its living! The other challenge involves all the marketing and networking initiatives an author is supposed to cover these days. That takes a lot of time out of what was once just a basic writing day job.”
Ah, how many of us have struggled with cutting our novel down to size? A point tucked away in her words is what she calls, “market-confining word spaces.” This, as with so much of what she says, is critical to publication. The buying public only buys books of certain sizes. “War and Peace” might not be accepted today as it’s much too long for the contemporary reader. People will not buy a two hundred page children’s book. Do you know the “market-confining” limits of your genre?
She also points out that every word must carry its own weight when she says, “make every word work for its living!”
In addition, Elizabeth Chadwick touches upon a critical aspect to the successful writer’s journey. The nasty word here is, “marketing.” These days if you’re not as accomplished at reaching your audience as you are at writing, your chances of success diminish by a large percentage. Learn how to develop an audience, guys. It’s more important than you’d like to think. I was at a writers’ conference not too long ago and the three panelists in one seminar, all successful authors, all agreed on their split between marketing their writing and writing their writing. Seventy-five percent of their time was spent on building their audience and twenty-five percent of their time was on formally writing. Again, this is a “guideline,” but it does indicate the amount of time and effort an author loses to what once was “just a basic writing day job.”
Out last question for today was:
What do you find as the most common blunder relative to The Craft of Writing when you review aspiring authors’ works?
“There are many common ones and I don't think any set one has the edge. The main offenders re words on the page are: purple prose, verbosity, overuse of adverbs and adjectives, stultifying dialogue and characters who are not fully realised and contradict their personalities from one scene to the next. Re structure it tends to involve loose ends that never get woven into the novel and scenes that go nowhere and have nothing to contribute to the drive of the story. I will often have scenes in a first draft that are cut at the final edit because they don't contribute to the through-drive of the story.”
Are you surprised to hear that aspiring still authors make “so many common” mistakes?
The basic lesson to learn from this answer is to cut, cut, cut. Eliminate adverbs, verbosity, loose ends, poor dialogue, weak characters and so on. Cut out anything that does not provide “drive-though” for the story. In effect, anything that doesn’t add punch to your story get’s gone.
I appreciated it when Elizabeth Chadwick said she often cuts scenes as they don’t, “contribute to the through-drive of the story.” In fact, this is such an important message she used the word, “drive” twice in this paragraph. It’s the perfect word for how to eliminate errors in your manuscript. If words, “don’t contribute to the drive of the story,” cut them.
Once more I’d like to thank Elizabeth Chadwick for her time and kind efforts in assisting aspiring authors find their way toward better skills. I trust you found something of worth to you.
You may pick up any of Elizabeth Chadwick’s books from The Book Depository:
www.bookdepository.com. (They do not charge for worldwide shipping.)
Elizabeth Chadwick’s web site is www.elizabethchadwick.com. Her blog can be found at http://www.elizabethchadwick.com/Blogs/blogs_livingthehistory.html, and her Twitter name is @ChadwickAuthor.
On Monday, I’ll finish with my interview with the gifted and gracious Elizabeth Chadwick.
Until then, I wish you best-sellers.
C. Patrick Schulze
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