A Drafting Lesson Learnt From My Recent Editorial Feedback
At the end of January, I received editorial feedback on Project Puzzle, my locked-room thriller with Knives Out vibes. There were a lot of notes and some big areas of focus for me moving forward. But there was one thing that really stood out to me in the in-line comments.
So many of the comments were asking “why”. Why is this what the character thinks? Why is this what they feel? Why do they say this?
This wasn’t necessarily because the actions or thoughts were illogical — it was because the reasoning and thought process wasn’t clear on the page. I hadn’t explored the internal monologue in the right way for the reader to be able to clearly follow the character’s train of thought. I hadn’t explored why such an action or thought was needed or what the character hoped to achieve from it.
This feedback has been in the back of my head while I draft my new small town mystery Project Home.
Now I always ask myself “why” and assess if there is enough context for someone without my knowledge of the book to understand what’s happening. There is, of course, a fine line. I’m writing mysteries which, by definition, cannot give everything away to the reader. So how do I navigate what is too much information and what is too little?
I’ve been asking myself the following questions:
Based on the context the reader currently has, would they understand the character’s thought process just from what has been written? (If not, time to add a little more depth.)
Does the reader need to understand this particular thought or action in order to better understand the character, motivations, and/or stakes? (If yes, add more depth.)
Has this thought or action already been previously established and explained? (If yes, there’s probably no need to belabour the point.)
Writing is all about balance. While I don’t want these questions to slow down my drafting process, I do think it’s important for me to keep them in mind while the ideas are still fresh and new and I’m still discovering the story myself.
No matter how I draft or revise, I know I’ll need feedback on the book because that’s ultimately the best way to see what you’re missing and learn how to improve.