My first published book wasn’t a Psychological Thriller – it was a
self-help book about keeping
a journal to build self-esteem, back in 2002! It might seem a
million miles away from my current suspense mysteries, but I’ve found keeping a
Writer’s Journal has helped me enormously to stay on track in my writing life. Here’s
how a simple journal works for me, in the hope that it might help others.
When my writing isn’t going well, if I don’t feel like knuckling
down to it, or the book grinds to a complete halt, I go to my Writing Journal
and use the following four-step process (using a password-protected file so it’s
private and I don’t filter what I express!):
1.
What
exactly is wrong? I take a step
back and ask myself this question in the most open-ended way possible. In this
first stage, I just pour my heart out about how I feel (swearing is allowed, no one is going to see it!) I call this
the ‘agony aunt’ method – just spill, moan, complain, thrash out the emotions…
2.
Why do I think I feel like this? I try to
isolate the issue in the most accurate way possible to hone it down (there is
usually more than one, of course!). Is it about this book? A string of nasty
reviews? Submission rejections? Am I run down creatively? Is it about something
else: family, domestic, health or money concerns? I just get the problems down
on paper, one by one.
3.
Dig
deeper. Why is my energy flagging? If it’s the storyline that is the issue,
I stand back and try to find out what isn’t working. Are the main plot points
strong or original enough? Is the pace wrong? Have I run out of ideas? Is the
ending weak? Am I getting confused about my central themes? Is the main
character too flat?
4.
What
would have to happen for things to get better? How
could I get excited about my story again? I brainstorm ideas: Do I need to
re-read from the start? Do I need to cut an entire section of the book? Do I
need to cut out a certain character? Do I need to try a third-person narrator
instead of first? This requires a critical and balanced eye and it might be
worth involving a trusted friend or fellow writer to help identify what needs
to shift.
I also find it’s useful to have a Writer’s Statement to hand which
clarifies why I’m aiming to be an author in the first place and what I want to
achieve. Mine is the following:
·
To thoroughly ENJOY the process
·
To earn enough to carry on writing
full-time
·
To develop and improve and be the
best writer I can be

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AJ Waines’ novels are Standalones and can be read in any order:
- Over 180,000 books sold worldwide
- Girl on a Train a Number One Bestseller on Kindle in UK and Australia (2015)
- The Evil Beneath Number One in 'Murder' and 'Psychological Thrillers' (UK Kindle charts)
- Dark Place to Hide Number One in 'Vigilante Justice' (UK Kindle charts)
- No Longer Safe went straight to Number One 'Crime Noir' (US & UK Kindle charts)
- Awarded Kindle KDP Top 10 'most-read Author' in UK (2015)
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