Today’s first drafter is crime writer Helen Phifer.
Helen was a member or the Romantic Novelists Association New Writers Scheme last year which she cannot recommend enough. It was the RNA conference last July that she met her editor Anna for a ten minute appointment that changed her life. She is very proud to say that she is now a full member of the RNA and is very excited to have just joined the Crime Writers Association and The Society of Authors.
Helen has been reading and writing since she was very young, devouring every book in school and at home that she could get her hands on. She loved Enid Blyton and the Famous Five in her pre-teen years and spent many a Sunday afternoon whisked away to somewhere far more exciting than her small bedroom. In her teenage years she progressed to Stephen King who would scare the living daylights out of her me and she could never get enough. She devoured everything he wrote along with James Herbert, Dean Koontz, Graham Masterton and many more. She loves to read books which are page turners and make the hair on the back of her neck stand on end, unfortunately these books seem a lot harder to find than when she was a teenager so she set about writing her own. The Ghost House has taken about eight years from start to finish and is now published with Carina.
When you decide to write something new, what is the first thing you do?
Take a nice new notebook from my secret stash, a pen and a mug of coffee. Then I write down all my ideas.
Do you have a set routine approaching it?
No, I work full time and have five children plus a granddaughter so I write whenever I get a minute.
Pen and paper or straight to the keyboard?
Pen and paper every time.
How important is research to you?
Very, but I only do what I need. I don’t spend months researching; I’d rather do the basics and then get my story down. I always go back to the research bit when I’m editing.
How do you go about researching?
Google, the library and records office were a massive help for The Ghost House.
How do you store everything; ideas, research, images that catch your eye?
I have a folder for each story idea I have and fill it with everything.
Tell us how that first draft takes shape?
It’s very rough; when I look at the first draft for The Ghost House it makes me smile. The story has never changed but the way I tell it has, dramatically. It was actually called Deadly Obsession until I got a publishing contract.
Are there any rituals you have to do or items you must have with you while writing that draft?
Only lots of coffee, and chocolate for when I get stressed, oh and the odd glass of wine.
Does the outside world exist or are you lost to us for a period of time as the magic works?
It disappears when I write. My desk is crammed into a corner of the living room next to a 50” television but once I start typing none of it matters. I could probably write on a bridge over a motorway.
What does your work space look like?
It’s very tidy at the moment because my daughter has just been home from Uni for the weekend and she has cleared the papers away. But normally it’s full of papers, notebooks, files, pens.
Edit as you go or just keep getting words out?
I like to get the words out.
I see many writers counting words in a day. Word counter or other method of keeping track of progression?
I don’t count the words in a day. I have such a busy life I would get too depressed if I didn’t meet the quota. I just do what I can whenever I can and it seems to work for me.
So, that first draft is down. Roughly how long did it take? And what shape is it in?
Eight months for the first draft of The Ghost House and looking back it’s dreadful. No punctuation in the right place and it’s just a mess.
In what format do you like to read it through, ereader, paper or the computer screen?
Paper whilst I’m editing. For the final read through I used my Kindle which was brilliant, it was so exciting seeing my book on a Kindle.
What happens now that first draft is done?
A few weeks off and then the red pen comes out and the editing begins.
Thanks for digging into the depths of the first draft. It’s been a pleasure having you.
You can find Helen on her Website, Amazon, and Twitter.
To read any of the previous First Draft Q&A’s you can check the list Here.
To be a part of the First Draft series, just get in touch and let me know. Along with the answers to the questions, I’ll need a profile photograph, a first draft photograph and only three links that you feel are your most important. Get in touch!
Margot Kinberg says
Rebecca – Thanks for introducing us to Helen.
Helen – Thanks for sharing your draft process. I have a full-time job myself, so I know exactly what you mean about having to juggle time. And as for coffee? It’s absolutely indispensable. I wish you much success!
Alex J. Cavanaugh says
I can only edit on paper as well. I stare at a computer screen long enough.
Damyanti says
I’m a pen and paper writer as well, then I type it in, and then edit on paper again. Love Helen’s process, and the interview.
Annalisa Crawford says
I love pen and paper too – they make it so easy to write anywhere, anytime.
cleopatralovesbooks says
A great interview with Helen, I for one want to read The Ghost House 🙂