Columns – Watch a novel grow
Richard Beynon offers a peek over his shoulder as he tussles with the problems and experiences the exhilaration of crafting a romance novel from the ground up.
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Watch a novel grow
A letter to my heroine
Watch a novel grow
Delving deeper into my heroine
So far I know only the bare bones of my heroine, Juliette. Here I take one more step into exploring who she really is what she does in her spare time, what her relationships with her friends and family are - above all, what her strengths and weaknesses are…
Watch a novel grow
The birth of my heroine
I start in this blog to build my heroine, Juliette Irving. I want her to be energetic, intelligent and likeable (and sexy, of course). But I need to know a fair number of things about her background that I’ll never reveal in the novel… Secrets, even lies, and reasons for pride and doubt.
Watch a novel grow
The world of the novel
My story takes place largely in Johannesburg, South Africa, although it must be said that I plan never to mention that city in the book. It will be clear, though, that it lies some distance from Paris, and therefore Europe, requiring an overnight plane trip to get there. But in every other respect the city in which my story takes place is as urbane and sophisticated as any other in the world.
Watch a novel grow
Why wash my dirty words in public?
I’ve explained why I want to write the novel. That’s clear enough. But what about this running description of the trials, tribulations and (I hope) triumphs of the process of writing it? Why expose myself to the cruel taunts of an army of critics out there—that’s you, dear blog reader? Why commit myself to a very public parading of what is under normal circumstances a very private process? (There can be nothing more private, after all, than the intimate conversations you have with your characters, and the even more intimate conversations you have with yourself about your characters.)
Watch a novel grow
A blog about writing a novel
This is the start of a blog that I’m hoping will be done and dusted in five or six months. It is a blog about writing a novel, in which I will entrust you with my thoughts, my hopes and my doubts regarding the book-under-construction.
