Missing

In the real world, like many writers I'm a reserved and rather shy sort of person. I hate confrontation and when I was a child I was always the first one out of the room when an argument was brewing. To my consternation, I think I sometimes allow this reticence to creep into my writing.  I go to enormous lengths to set up a major scene and then I duck out! Unbelievable!

I recently sent the completed first draft of my new novel to my agent and she came back with a long list of notes, tactfully drawing my attention to some crucial scenes which I had completely and utterly neglected to write. In my defence, I could spin some kind of line about wanting the reader to use their imagination and engage with the situation for themselves, but I know it won't wash.  I understand that I need to take a deep breath and accompany my characters into some dark and difficult places, even if it means sitting at my computer in floods of tears (this sometimes happens.)

Weirdly, it is the scenes you are most afraid of and which touch some nerve inside you, that often turn out to be the most powerful, perhaps because they cost the most for you to write.  And as in the real world, once you have taken a deep breath and got something off your chest, you usually feel a whole lot better.

With this in mind (and with tissues to hand) I'm going to turn into the skid and start writing the hard stuff, because that is often where the good stuff, the true stuff, is to be found. And anyway, I guess that if I can't stand the heat, I may as well get out of the kitchen...