Writing Process #1: The Premise
Writing | Posted by Carole on Friday 20 February 2009
I’m writing a book at the moment, and it’s going to take me about a year. I don’t like talking about my books as I’m writing them. It’s a superstitious thing. So I thought that I might do a series of blogs about my writing process. How it works for me.
I usually start with a very vague idea, eg “I’m going to write a book set in ancient Egypt”. So the first thing I have to do is think of a story. If it’s a historical book, I like to get some ideas from history. So I read some history books.
At first, I thought the ancient Egyptian book was going to be about cat mummies, so I read all about cat mummies and cat worship, but I couldn’t work out a good story. (It wasn’t all a waste of time, I used some of the cat information in the second book, Ramose and the Tombrobbers, which has a cat mummy, or half of one at least, on the cover. I also wrote a short story about cat mummies which ended up in the anthology called short.)
The story of Ramose that I did end up writing was inspired by a couple of things that actually happened—a Prince who disappeared, palace murder plots. That gave me the idea for the premise. That’s the starting point of the story, the set of circumstances that cause the story to begin.
Some early notes while I was thinking about Ramose.
In Dragonkeeper, the premise was “this is a version of ancient China where dragons exist. A bad dragonkeeper doesn’t do his job properly and a dragon dies. He has to get rid of the evidence.” I didn’t have the whole story, that was yet to come. I just had the beginning.
Some people are surprised that I didn’t make up the way that the bad dragonkeeper got rid of the dead dragon. If you want to know where I got that idea from you can find out here.
This is an important stage of the writing process, even though at this stage I’m just thinking. It needs to be leisurely, unrushed, no deadlines. I usually do this while I’m writing another book. Not while I’m actually typing at the keyboard, but in my spare moments or when I get sick of writing (about lunchtime). I might jot down some notes, that’s about it. It will be months, occasionally years, before I begin writing the new book. The ideas come and go. Some hang around. They’re the ones that end up in the book.
Posted by Travis Gaal on Friday 20 February 2009
Hi Carole,
I think its great that you’re writing another book! I can’t wait till it comes out (I be waiting a while!)
From Travis,
BTW good luck for your writing!
Posted by Travis Gaal on Saturday 21 February 2009
I also hope you write more books set in Ancient Egypt!
Posted by Connor on Monday 23 February 2009
hey….
cool cant wait for the book to come out….
anyways i was just wondering if you are going to the Somerset celebration of Literature at the somerset college on the gold coast….
hope you do….. i will be there but so will other authors as well
bye bye
Posted by Rosaria Battista on Tuesday 24 February 2009
awesome! can’t wait till the book comes out!
Posted by Carole on Tuesday 24 February 2009
The book I’m writing at the moment is for teens. I don’t know how old you guys are….
Posted by Carole on Tuesday 24 February 2009
travis,
no plans for any more AE books.
Posted by Carole on Tuesday 24 February 2009
Connor,
Nope, not going to Somerset. Wasn’t invited.
Posted by Connor on Thursday 26 February 2009
ohhhhhh……
Posted by Sarah on Thursday 26 February 2009
Thanks Carole, I’ve always wondered how people take an idea and slowly create a fantastic story. I want to be an author when I grow up.
Posted by Carole on Friday 27 February 2009
Sarah,
Good luck with your writing.
Posted by sarah on Friday 27 February 2009
that’s great! where’s the story set? would you really leave an idea for months/years?
Posted by Carole on Wednesday 4 March 2009
Sarah,
yes I usually think about an idea for a long time before I write it. It’s sort of bubbling away underneath, while I am writing something else.
Posted by sarah on Tuesday 24 March 2009
how is your book going?
Posted by Carole on Saturday 28 March 2009
Sarah,
Slowly.
Posted by sarah on Sunday 29 March 2009
i wish you all the best and hopefully you won’t have much difficulty with the book1
Posted by Carole on Monday 30 March 2009
Sarah,
it’s always difficult!
Posted by Jardel Bernard on Sunday 14 June 2009
Carole
is it hard too make books or is it fun writing books are u going to make movies for your books or you are just going to start to write books
Posted by curtis tredway on Friday 19 June 2009
you should make a new dragon keeper book and it might just have kai and the other 8 dragons in it or pingss asleep and wakes up with a pain wich is her second sight saying kai is in trouble
Posted by curtis tredway on Friday 19 June 2009
could you pleassssssse make a 4th dragon keeper book and you could changethe name from the dragon keeper trilogy to the dragon keeper cycle
Posted by Carole on Monday 22 June 2009
Jardel,
Sometimes it’s hard, sometimes it’s fun. It takes a long time.
I am not a script writer, so I won’t be writing a movie script.
See this FAQ with regard to whether there will be a Dragonkeeper movie.
http://www.carolewilkinson.com.au/faqs/#faq5
Posted by Carole on Monday 22 June 2009
curtis,
I’ve answered those questions in the post called This is Why
http://www.carolewilkinson.com.au/news/2008/11/26/this-is-why/