Jason Collings's Blog - Posts Tagged "writing"
Writing a Novel - The Typical Day
So, what's being a writer (amateur) like? I have one BIG advantage, I have to do very little research compared to lots of writers, some of whom spend 40%+ of their time researching or worldbuilding. Because I've spent decades immersing myself in my period, if I don't know something I pretty much always know where to find it, and have the books, documents, maps, photos, etc, to consult. That helps a LOT.
No, I don't use Google or ChatGPT/Gemini/Perplexity much for research, they're littered with inaccuracies - or stuff they just make up. I try them out from time to time to see if they've got any better, but outside of the core facts, they're usually pretty poorly informed, and if you ask them the same question twice you often get different answers.
So, if I'm not researching, what is my usual day?
I wake up around 04.00-04.30 each morning (really). It's nice and quiet, and I get about four hours of writing and/or editing done.
If it's a weekday it's then the day job - because unlike crime, writing does not pay! I usually work 9-6, with an hour for lunch. Luckily I work a lot from home.
At lunchtime I try to prep posts for Facebook, Goodreads, etc.
I usually work out after work, have dinner, and spend the evening with my wife.
If she's reading etc, then I might well do a little marketing work, or jot down ideas for the next day.
On the weekend I may get a little more time to work on writing or on marketing the books.
The marketing takes a LOT of time and effort: checking Amazon ads stats, adjusting spend, keywords, reach. Managing posts on Facebook, Goodreads and ideally Twitter/X... I really haven't got the hang of Twitter - what's it really for anyway? Then there's responding to people who message me, which I try to do with everyone - this is a challenge when at least half of them are marketeers pretending to be fans, trying to sell you something...
Finally, the weekend is when I usually get some reading done, because there are always more books out there.
Habits
1. I carry a notebook at all times (not in the shower - most of the time), and into that goes any idea I think of that I think might make a good moment in a book, any thought sparked by a piece or music, scene in a movie, something someone says. I describe interesting people I meet or see, who I think might make a great model for a character in a story.
2. I have a Dictaphone app on my phone which gets used when I'm travelling. I can be driving, tell it record, and get my idea down before I lose it - invaluable.
3. I always have audiobooks on the go, so that if I have a few moments, in the car, on a train, waiting in a queue, I can slip in an earbud and listen to either history or mystery, I love them both.
That's it really, the typical days. Obviously there are the library visits, going to relevant sites, trips to Berlin, or elsewhere, but they're not a normal day.
I hope that's of interest.
It's not glamorous, it's hard and repetitive. If you take the writing as work, I'm working 13-16 hour days, with usually 6-8 hours on weekends, but it doesn't feel like work because I love it.
No, I don't use Google or ChatGPT/Gemini/Perplexity much for research, they're littered with inaccuracies - or stuff they just make up. I try them out from time to time to see if they've got any better, but outside of the core facts, they're usually pretty poorly informed, and if you ask them the same question twice you often get different answers.
So, if I'm not researching, what is my usual day?
I wake up around 04.00-04.30 each morning (really). It's nice and quiet, and I get about four hours of writing and/or editing done.
If it's a weekday it's then the day job - because unlike crime, writing does not pay! I usually work 9-6, with an hour for lunch. Luckily I work a lot from home.
At lunchtime I try to prep posts for Facebook, Goodreads, etc.
I usually work out after work, have dinner, and spend the evening with my wife.
If she's reading etc, then I might well do a little marketing work, or jot down ideas for the next day.
On the weekend I may get a little more time to work on writing or on marketing the books.
The marketing takes a LOT of time and effort: checking Amazon ads stats, adjusting spend, keywords, reach. Managing posts on Facebook, Goodreads and ideally Twitter/X... I really haven't got the hang of Twitter - what's it really for anyway? Then there's responding to people who message me, which I try to do with everyone - this is a challenge when at least half of them are marketeers pretending to be fans, trying to sell you something...
Finally, the weekend is when I usually get some reading done, because there are always more books out there.
Habits
1. I carry a notebook at all times (not in the shower - most of the time), and into that goes any idea I think of that I think might make a good moment in a book, any thought sparked by a piece or music, scene in a movie, something someone says. I describe interesting people I meet or see, who I think might make a great model for a character in a story.
2. I have a Dictaphone app on my phone which gets used when I'm travelling. I can be driving, tell it record, and get my idea down before I lose it - invaluable.
3. I always have audiobooks on the go, so that if I have a few moments, in the car, on a train, waiting in a queue, I can slip in an earbud and listen to either history or mystery, I love them both.
That's it really, the typical days. Obviously there are the library visits, going to relevant sites, trips to Berlin, or elsewhere, but they're not a normal day.
I hope that's of interest.
It's not glamorous, it's hard and repetitive. If you take the writing as work, I'm working 13-16 hour days, with usually 6-8 hours on weekends, but it doesn't feel like work because I love it.
How Do I Get Ideas For Novels?
Continuing my posts about writing.
I get my ideas, largely, by looking for items of historical interest: facts, objects, people, events, that intrigue me, but that most people have forgotten.
In Prussian Blue https://amzn.eu/d/4Mivqfj it was an odd coincidence of symptoms between the second wave variant of Spanish Flu and Phosgene gas.
In The November Criminals https://amzn.eu/d/5GbK0xA it was the disappearance in 1918 of Le Beau Sancy (the diamond on the cover) and its reappearance in a crypt in 1945.
In Red Berlin https://amzn.eu/d/crkjRo7 it was the fact that there were three communist leaders arrested and taken to the Eden Hotel in January 1919, two were brutally murdered, one escape unharmed. Why? How?
These stories fire my imagination, and they make me think, someone else should know about this. This is cool!
With this in mind, my next book Paris in Springtime, appeared from the fact that in spring of 1919, not only were the leaders of the French, British and US governments in Paris to discuss the terms of the peace (and the Germans weren't invited!), but representatives of every country, or would be country, looking to grasp Woodrow Wilson's promise of national self-determination. Bringing all those people together seemed like a fun environment for a little mayhem and chaos, and perhaps a little murder.
Book five, Golden Eagles, takes the idea of forgotten history and runs with it - Giant aeroplanes larger than B.17 or Lancaster bombers, flying cash and gold on secret missions across Europe to a nation most people don't even know existed. A freedom fighter turned national leader trying to build an Empire to span eastern Europe. All too cool to be forgotten... they deserved a story too.
That's my method. Find a fantastic fact, a kernel from which a story can grow, and see where it goes.
If you're an author, what's your method?
If you're a reader, do you enjoy this approach?
I get my ideas, largely, by looking for items of historical interest: facts, objects, people, events, that intrigue me, but that most people have forgotten.
In Prussian Blue https://amzn.eu/d/4Mivqfj it was an odd coincidence of symptoms between the second wave variant of Spanish Flu and Phosgene gas.
In The November Criminals https://amzn.eu/d/5GbK0xA it was the disappearance in 1918 of Le Beau Sancy (the diamond on the cover) and its reappearance in a crypt in 1945.
In Red Berlin https://amzn.eu/d/crkjRo7 it was the fact that there were three communist leaders arrested and taken to the Eden Hotel in January 1919, two were brutally murdered, one escape unharmed. Why? How?
These stories fire my imagination, and they make me think, someone else should know about this. This is cool!
With this in mind, my next book Paris in Springtime, appeared from the fact that in spring of 1919, not only were the leaders of the French, British and US governments in Paris to discuss the terms of the peace (and the Germans weren't invited!), but representatives of every country, or would be country, looking to grasp Woodrow Wilson's promise of national self-determination. Bringing all those people together seemed like a fun environment for a little mayhem and chaos, and perhaps a little murder.
Book five, Golden Eagles, takes the idea of forgotten history and runs with it - Giant aeroplanes larger than B.17 or Lancaster bombers, flying cash and gold on secret missions across Europe to a nation most people don't even know existed. A freedom fighter turned national leader trying to build an Empire to span eastern Europe. All too cool to be forgotten... they deserved a story too.
That's my method. Find a fantastic fact, a kernel from which a story can grow, and see where it goes.
If you're an author, what's your method?
If you're a reader, do you enjoy this approach?
I Finished a New Book!
I finished my latest book today!
Hooray!
Book 13 in the Alaric von Trelow Mysteries is complete.
It's called 'The Baltic Refugees'.
It was my most complex challenge yet, and I loved writing it. As usual, it took a lot of prep, but once I started writing it came together well. I started typing on the 20th October - so just over three weeks, which isn't the fastest, but it's up there. Once I get an idea in my head I just have to get it down.
It's about 70,000 words, so not huge, but intricate, with layered stories told by the characters revealing their psychology using period correct psychoanalytical methodology to interpret.
Really fun to write.
Now, of course, I have to do all the proofreading, editorial passes etc. So, still a way to go. However, I think I scheduled it for a 2027 release, so I have time.
Maybe I should just publish them quicker.
I also have to do final edits on the next book I'm publishing just after Christmas - 'Springtime in Paris', book 4 in the series.
And, as always, there's another book to write. This one will be called 'Dangerous Jade'. I already have the plot and research done. Fine tuning before that one starts - I just have to have a book on the go.
Anyway, take a look at the currently published ones. I'd love to get your feedback:
Prussian Blue
The November Criminals
Red Berlin
Hooray!
Book 13 in the Alaric von Trelow Mysteries is complete.
It's called 'The Baltic Refugees'.
It was my most complex challenge yet, and I loved writing it. As usual, it took a lot of prep, but once I started writing it came together well. I started typing on the 20th October - so just over three weeks, which isn't the fastest, but it's up there. Once I get an idea in my head I just have to get it down.
It's about 70,000 words, so not huge, but intricate, with layered stories told by the characters revealing their psychology using period correct psychoanalytical methodology to interpret.
Really fun to write.
Now, of course, I have to do all the proofreading, editorial passes etc. So, still a way to go. However, I think I scheduled it for a 2027 release, so I have time.
Maybe I should just publish them quicker.
I also have to do final edits on the next book I'm publishing just after Christmas - 'Springtime in Paris', book 4 in the series.
And, as always, there's another book to write. This one will be called 'Dangerous Jade'. I already have the plot and research done. Fine tuning before that one starts - I just have to have a book on the go.
Anyway, take a look at the currently published ones. I'd love to get your feedback:
Prussian Blue
The November Criminals
Red Berlin
Paris in Springtime - Edit done (& ARC request)
Okay. I have finished the editing of the fourth book in the Alaric von Trelow Mysteries series:
Paris in Springtime
It's a big novel, 115,000 words, give or take, which makes it the longest one to date, but I really think it pays off. I love the story, it's one that I think will make people want to reread it to catch the details they miss the first time.
As the title suggests, von Trelow is out of his element, no longer in Berlin, but in Paris, during the Versailles Peace Conference, and obviously there's murder, he's in the middle of it, and there's hell to pay.
The plan is to get the book formatted and out to advance reviewers this week. If anyone wants to be a reviewer (get a free early copy - on the understanding you'll read it over the month, let me know if you spot any issues, and give it a review when it's launched) - drop me a line jason.collings@berolinabooks.com
The book will be published just after Christmas, so not long to wait. I'm really excited to see what people make of this one.
Paris in Springtime
It's a big novel, 115,000 words, give or take, which makes it the longest one to date, but I really think it pays off. I love the story, it's one that I think will make people want to reread it to catch the details they miss the first time.
As the title suggests, von Trelow is out of his element, no longer in Berlin, but in Paris, during the Versailles Peace Conference, and obviously there's murder, he's in the middle of it, and there's hell to pay.
The plan is to get the book formatted and out to advance reviewers this week. If anyone wants to be a reviewer (get a free early copy - on the understanding you'll read it over the month, let me know if you spot any issues, and give it a review when it's launched) - drop me a line jason.collings@berolinabooks.com
The book will be published just after Christmas, so not long to wait. I'm really excited to see what people make of this one.
