
I started off as a Discovery writer, but the process has evolved to the point where I now plot most books before I start the first draft. I find that this helps a lot with a pacing and structure of the novel, it helps me spots potential plot holes before they cause a massive rewrite, and I find it speeds up the writing process.
Whenever I'm out I carry an A5 notebook with me. This together with the Word app on my phone allows me to write whenever I get a few free minutes. However, the story I'm working on at the moment is something that I first thought of about three years ago, before I completed the first draft of The Tor. That's why in the photos you'll see the book is larger than A5. Smaller notebooks are great for carrying around with you, but the margins in the larger books mean I can make more notes on my notes as I'm writing. Longhope is going to be the result of two unfinished manuscripts that lacked a home until I realised the common ground between them, much like The Tor was the result of a whole raft of ideas floating around a central theme, only coming together once I mixed them up.
For the first time, I'm also using Google Docs to write my work via the voice input function. Or at least I will be. I'm using that right now to write this blog post and it's already increased my word count considerably. It’ll also be good for my RSI.
The plot of my current work in progress revolves around a woman in her 20s searching for her long-lost sister with the help of an older medium. It flips back and forth between the 1990s and the present day. The book will be titled Longhope, and I hope Vol 1 will be out next year.
I tend to write very quickly. I usually have several projects on the go at once, between my editing projects, my short stories, my blog, my newsletter, and whatever novel I'm currently working on. I'll be keeping you all updated with the progress of this new novel through my blog, and I hope you'll all be happy to join me as I discuss my progress and the problems that I encounter whilst writing this novel.
If you have any questions about my writing process or about any of my work, please feel free to message me via the website I will get back to you as soon as I can. I do try to respond quickly, but like most authors I also have a day job which often gets in the way of my real job (writing!) so please don't be disappointed if I take a little while to get back to you. I'm really excited about this novel and can't wait for the release, even though it's a long way off yet.
Once I've finished the plan I'll start work in the character bios. Stay tuned for those!
Feel free to share your writing hacks in the comments.
My bookshop can be found at http://books.pronoun.com/AnthonyMorganClark.