Matthew S. Wilson's Blog

So it's been over a year since my last blog entry (Harper Lee is more prolific than I am!), so I've decided to write a brief update on where I'm at with my second novel.

I've written over 120,000 words which is 40,000 more than The Devil's in the Detail. The only problem is ... the story had gaps which I thought would magically fill themselves in. Unsurprisingly, they didn't - and the last 6 months have been spent chipping away at sentences and paragraphs I didn't like, while putting off the prospect of re-planning the entire story.

So having finished moving into a new house (and neighbourhood), I've  decided I need to pull the trigger on going back and re-planning the second novel properly (or as properly as I can muster). This has involved mapping the current story onto approximately 50 speech-cards with a brief synopsis of every scene/beat, grouped together into chapters. I'm actually not finished yet (end of February is my goal), but it's finally allowing me to start seeing the wood through the trees.

To assist, I've been using a cool little application called, Scrivener. It was recommended to me by Tracey over at Carpe Librum (a cool book blog if you haven't checked it out). Not only does Scrivener allow you to create a 'plan' using virtual cue cards, it also allows you to then type that scene (instead of Microsoft Word). Then when you decided to shift a scene/chapter you simply drag it to it's new position. Given my current novel is a story seen through the eyes of multiple characters, it also allows me to keep a track of which characters are focussed on throughout the story. It also provide a lot of nice little features like full-screen mode, which shield me from YouTube and Reddit (mandatory) and setting word targets for each session (nice to have).

So, with then the entire story properly mapped out end-to-end, I'll then copy in my existing manuscript into each section, write the new sections (end of April) and start the editing process. Easy, right?

Maybe check back on March 1st and see how I did.

PS: have been reading lots over the Summer though. Especially liked Matt Reilley's Great Zoo of China; Ben Elton's Time and Time Again; and quite surprised by John Birmingham's The Disappearance series.

Two posts in two weeks - this is becoming spam! Just a quick note to share a very nice review I received for The Devil's in the Detail from the lovely Bookshelf Gargoyle. The review contains a review in Haiku format, which is surprisingly the first haiku review my work has ever received (and dare I say, the best). Click here to check it out.

So it's now been 465 days since the release of DITD. Isn't it a little late to be submitting the novel for reviews? In some ways it's like newspaper running a review for Avatar (Did I just compare my novel with one of the most successful films of all time? Ok, ok - how about Gigli?).

But the truth is, reviews like this are really important for independent writers like me. They help to get the message out to potential new readers, they give us constructive feedback on where we might improve and they give us a warm and fuzzy feeling when we get it right. This particular review has made my day.

I'm excited to have started my second draft of my second novel. I have re-written Chapter 1 (several times last week actually) and think I've finally got my protagonist right where I want them!

As you can see, the folks at Facebook seem super interested in what I've been up to, so I thought I'd give Zuckerberg (and everyone else) a bit of an update.

The new book is coming along well. I'm probably about 85% through the first draft and am happy with how it's coming together. I've tried to plan this novel more than I did with DITD (is it too soon to start abbreviating The Devil's in the Detail?!), but I've found that when it comes to actually sit down and write, I veer away from the plan and go where I think the characters want to go. I've lived with these characters now for almost 12 months, and my understanding of what drives them and motivates them has changed a lot. Some of them have changed occupations, upbringings and even genders! This evolution of the story reminds me of a quote from one of my favourite writers, Paulo Coelho, who compares writing to setting off toward an island in a row boat and the more you row the more you realise you are rowing toward an entirely different island (If you've got a couple of minutes, check out the full quote here).

So with the draft nearing completion, my mind has started drifting to other parts of the novel - it's title (I think I've decided on one, but will wait for guidance from my editors), the cover and the book's marketing. Should be some exciting times ahead!

I had hoped the novel would be ready for Christmas, but the book is much longer than the first and after 12 months of writing, I'd hate to rush it to meet some arbitrary deadline that I'd given myself. That said, I do hope the draft will be completed over the Christmas break when I have a little more time. So if you'd planned on stuffing people's Christmas stocking with book 2 this year, I apologise. Might I suggest you opt for The Devil's in the Detail? As online sales don't allow for a personal message and autograph of the author, if you contact me I'm happy to write a personal message to you, scan it and e-mail it to you - all ready to be slipped inside the cover. Just let me know who to make it out to.

I often get asked how DITD is faring (that acronym really isn't going to stick is it?). I must admit my energies have been primarily focussed on writing at the moment, but every now and again I get a lovely e-mail, comment or tweet telling me that they enjoyed the book. The other day, the novel featured in a blog of an actual London cab driver who I'd been in contact with for his thoughts. This lead to an e-mail from a black cab enthusiast in Germany. Oh Internet, how you do surprise me.

So that's about it from me. I'm off to Nepal for some trekking at the end of the week which will be a welcome break. The last time I did a trek it was through Spain and inspired my current novel, so who knows - book 3 might be in the Himalayas!

Hopefully this update will placate our friends at Facebook and I'll stop getting reminders to post updates! I hope everyone is well and I'll touch in after I return from Nepal.

Last week I stumbled upon a cool little library in Melbourne Central. I use the term "library", but it doesn't require a library card and there are no late fees.

The Little Library is a community initiative that operates on an honour system, allowing people to swap their pre-loved books for other ones. I think it's an awesome idea, perfect for travellers or those who simply need a little sanctuary from the hustle and bustle of shoppers with pointy elbows.

I donated a copy of The Devil's in the Detail with a little hand-written message inside. My hope is that those that read it send me a message and we get to track it around the globe here on my website. Sort of like a message in a bottle.... without the bottle.

And it possibly won't travel in the water.

Ok, so it's nothing like a message in a bottle. But check out the Little Library if you have time.

I think it's important to celebrate little milestones when you pass them. As such, I'm very happy to report that I passed the 80,000 mark on the novel today. To give some context, that's the entire length of The Devil's in the Detail. Does that mean that I'm nearly done? Not quite. It feels as if I'm about 70% through the story and there are still quite a few characters with their personal stories up in the air. It would be the equivalent of leaving David in the canals (Oops, spoiler alert)! I think the story is coming together nicely though, in the same way that a set of Ikea drawers eventually takes shape (Note: writing a novel is MUCH easier than assembling a set of Ikea drawers).

In other news, I'm attending the Emerging Writers' Festival in Melbourne this weekend. It should be a cool couple of days and looking forward to meeting some other local writers and picking their brains on all things writing.

Thanks again for people's continued kind words about The Devil's in the Detail. The word of mouth recommendations and reviews you've been posting in Amazon have been awesome.

So I'll let you know how the conference goes and I hope that you and your friends, families have had their own kind of milestone this week. If so, then give yourself a little pat on the back and set yourself the next one. Take care.

Or as we say in English, "Where have I been?"! I must confess that with my second novel features so many Spanish characters, it's often hard to switch back to my Australian way of thinking.

I'm conscious that it's been several weeks since my last update and I thought it prudent that I checked in for a quick visit (websites are similiar to gyms in that regard).

So what's been happening? In a word... Writing! Tonight I've just finished Chapter 16 of the second novel and I'm quite pleased with how the story is coming along. It still amazes me  how attached I seem to get to the characters in my novels. Writing this book about the Camino de Santiago, I truly feel that I'm right there in Spain, walking the path toward Santiago with them.

To aid this, I've been immersing myself in all things Spanish: I've been reading Hemingway's "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and switched to drinking Rioja. But probably the most effective trigger to get into the Spanish way of thinking has been listening to some Spanish music. Check out the video below for a little dose of the type of tune I've been listening to while writing at the moment (as well as some sweet footage of Camaron rocking a pink jumper while on holiday in Paris!). I appreciate it's not everyone's cup of tea, but I'm aboslutely loving it at the moment and my Melbourne apartment is starting to sound like a Sevillan bar at present.

Anyway, I hope everyone is doing well and I'm looking forward to sharing more details with you about the second novel in the next few months.

Adios / Bye

So today I received some exciting news. The Devil's in the Detail has been reviewed by a fantastic book blogging site, Carpe Librum (seize the book, for those amongst you have allowed their Latin to wane).

Carpe Librum is lovingly written by Tracey, who has a passion for reading, writing and literature in general. I was lucky enough to meet Tracey at the Federation Square book market in January and after a couple of e-mails back and forward, she agreed to read and review The Devil's in the Detail.

Carpe Librum reviews lots of books, both independently published and on the best selling lists, so it's been a nervous wait for my very first review from an independent, objective reviewer.

Click here to see what Tracey thought of The Devil's in the Detail.

In addition to the review, Tracey wanted to meet up for a coffee and an interview. It was a lot of fun to give her an insight into my writing process, discussing the importance of music in my writing and also showing her some of my early notes, scribbled away in an old notebook. Check out the full interview here and if you are looking for some good recommendations for your next book to read, Carpe Librum has plenty of great suggestions.

A reminder that you can write your very own review of The Devil's in the Detail by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of Carpe Librum.

So recently I stumbled upon a website / app called 'Good Reads'. I'm usually very late with such discoveries (reference the awkward moment when I told everyone about the 'new' discovery of the song 'Somebody that I used to know' by Gotye a year after everyone else), so I'm sure you are all over it already.

But for those that aren't, it's an awesome site that allows you to keep a track of the books that you want to read, currently reading or have read already. It's as if this site was created just for me, as I'm usually the guy that stands in the doorway of a book shop racking my brains for the name of that book that my friend recommended or that I read about in the newspaper. It's also cool because you can see what your friends are reading and what they recommend.

Thanks to GoodReads, I now have a bunch of books flagged as 'to read', so whenever I finish a book I am able to select my next read straight away. I highly recommend for avid readers who lose track of the books that they want to read.

Hope to see you on there.

Click here to see Matthew's GoodReads page

After much deliberation, I've picked the winners for The Devil's in the Detail casting competition. The quality of the entries was stellar and I was amazed at the range of actors selected for each character. For example, I always had Susan Boyle in mind for playing Olivia, yet there were some absolute stunners selected!

I think that this competion has really highlighted to me one of the joys of reading: it's absolutely up to the reader to determine what they think the characters look and sound like. Judging from the entries, you all have great imaginations (and taste). Great job! We now just need to turn the novel into a screenplay, sign up the actors, get Jason Reitman to agree to direct and get this thing made. Who's with me?!

An enormous thanks to everyone who entered. You can view the winners by clicking here. Let me know what you think of the selected cast. Good luck!