Category: Business of Writing

by Jacques Ravenne and  @LeFrenchBook

Eric Giacometti and I have written nine books together in a series that begins with Shadow Ritual, which was just released in English. It’s a curious experience, one that requires organization…and diplomacy.

Eric and I take about nine months to write a novel: one month for the outline, two months of research, and the six remaining months for writing.

When we come up with the outline, we see each other nearly every day. We set up the plot, balancing narration and characters, weaving in suspense, planning the cliffhangers. It’s meticulous work and often raises more questions than answers. At the same time, it’s a fascinating phase, as we watch a structure rise out of nothingness. It is both fragile and seductive, and in it, the novel will take root and blossom. It is also technical, and we use a lot tools, from Excel sheets to mind maps, to help us better visualize the novel’s structure and see where it could be unbalanced. For example, maybe there is a major character who doesn’t appear often enough in the narration and that quickly becomes problematic. We can fix the problem right away. It’s like being a goldsmith.Continue reading