Writing a Romance Novel In Two Weeks For Charity – DAY 14 UPDATE

7th Mar 2022 / Michael Averon / 1 Comment

I’ve written the final part of my manuscript while listening to Bon Jovi. Guess I’m…Livin’ On A Prayer?

At this point, the days have rolled into one and there just aren’t enough hours. My manuscript is finally finished and the word count stands at a respectable 81,000(!) Yet I have a shed load of editing to do, and a difficult decision to make. The choice before me is whether I rush this last part of the project to (almost) meet my self-imposed deadline, or go over that deadline to create a more engaging and polished story.

As this challenge has gone on, my biggest worry has come from not being able to do the story justice. What started as a whimsical project to raise some cash for a great cause has become a labour of, if not love, then something close to it. Coupled with respecting the book’s historical setting, I’ve come to realise I don’t want to screw this up after coming so far. I first began writing to produce something that people want to read, and I hope that by pushing back the deadline a little, I get closer to that goal, and ultimately raise more money for charity in the long run.

Therefore, I’ve decided to dedicate three additional days to do the editing and cover design before publishing this thing. In hindsight, to go from nothing, not even a story outline, to having the rough manuscript completed in two weeks has been an undertaking in itself. Now that I have it in my hands, it feels much more real, and the end is very much in sight.

I’m hoping to post the finished book cover tomorrow, and the book’s blurb the day after. Since the exhausting task of writing page after page is at least done, I’ll be able to post more updates over the coming days, culminating in the final (definitely final) novel very shortly.

Until then, please check out my chosen charity’s website here at: www.alzheimers.org.uk and as always, happy writing!

Writing a Romance Novel in Two Weeks For Charity – DAYS 6 & 7 UPDATE

1st Mar 2022 / Michael Averon / Leave a comment

Halfway through the challenge, my main villain is so cruel, I’m finding it hard to write him

Before I go any further in this post, I have massively fallen behind on my updates, so I’m wrapping this one into days 6 & 7 – It’s that kind of a project.

At the end of the first week, I have (some would say inevitably) fallen behind by about 10,000 words. So to try and catch up, I’m intending to pull an all-nighter tonight (Tuesday) and then work through the next day until I eventually collapse on Wednesday evening. My current word count stands at 40,000. A mix of personal stuff and re-drafting had slowed things down over the weekend.

On the positive side, I’ve really begun to like some of the characters I’m writing, which is something I was not expecting in a romance novel. Before this, I would have scoffed at such an idea, having wrongly believed the genre was nothing more than two-dimensional mush wrapped up in three-day old bubblegum. More fool me.

There is one character getting under my skin more than the others though, and that is the main antagonist. Somehow I’ve allowed him to morph into a real villainous piece of sh*t. There’s nothing wrong with having an evil villain (in fact it’s the aim, after all) but I do try and set a limit in keeping with the theme of the story, and this guy is pushing it. I’ve known of a few writers whose characters morph in ways they hadn’t originally expected them to, and it’s always been fascinating to me; as their creators, you’d think we could keep to a rigid set of characteristics and stick to them, never deviating from the path. Yet they always seem to creep out the page with a life of their own.

The other thing I have to keep my eye on is the charity element of this book – I’m donating all my royalties to charity, and therefore any organisation associated with this project is probably not going to want it to be too graphic/controversial. On the other end of the scale, I’m a thriller writer who has never censored himself for anything, so there is a large push-pull going on inside my head right now.

Anyone who might have been following my clues in earlier posts may already have got this, but the majority of the book is set against the backdrop of World War One, which is quite fitting considering the awful events currently taking place in Ukraine and threatening to spill across Europe. The nice thing about writing, especially fiction writing, is how it allows you to shut the door on the outside world for a short time and seek solace in one that you can create anew from your own desk.

In portraying events of the Great War, I’ve been careful not to take too many liberties with history, or with the achievements of those who fought on the front lines, struggling against impossible odds on both sides of the conflict. To that end, I put extra research into some of the key events the story follows in order to maintain some authenticity and realism, and I hope the final product will stand as a testament to the sacrifices made by the generation of my grandparents and great-grandparents.

The speck of light at the end of the tunnel is visible in this project. Yet I still have the book’s front cover to start (hopefully by the weekend) and the front & back matter to do as well. There’s just not enough hours in the day…

Happy writing!

Writing a Romance Novel in Two Weeks For Charity – DAY FOUR UPDATE

24th Feb 20228th Mar 2022 / Michael Averon / 2 Comments

The only easy day, was yesterday

Another busy day today, this one with more editing to get things slightly closer to the finished product. I can now say with confidence that romance novels are definitely not my thing.

However, some exciting news – today I’m sharing my second draft of chapter one! Be aware that this is not the final article, and events / characters are subject to change.

Spelling and grammar errors are also likely, and the story contains adult themes. Reader discretion is advised.

michaelaveron Download

I don’t think any romance writers out there have got anything to worry about from me, but I’m always grateful for feedback from both readers and fellow writers, especially on a lightning fast project like this where time really isn’t on my side (at least its all for a good cause).

From the chapter’s setting, you’ll probably have a few clues on where this story is going to go. Suffice to say, it’ll have a few twists and turns along the way before everything gets resolved. There’s more to come tomorrow, but for now I hope you enjoy reading the draft.

Happy writing!

Writing a Romance Novel in Two Weeks For Charity – DAYS TWO & THREE UPDATE

23rd Feb 20228th Mar 2022 / Michael Averon / Leave a comment

Things are getting serious. Seriously serious.

If you’re brand new to this, the title pretty much describes my situation, but if you want the details, it all began here. I’ve been completely snowed under with the actual writing part of this challenge during the last twenty four hours. For about sixty minutes I just stared at my laptop screen, agonising over four sentences, then blitzed about 3,000 words in an hour and a half. Writing is weird, isn’t it?

So I made the decision to mash these two days together into one update. I’m planning to have the second draft of chapter one posted tomorrow to give a flavour of the story. In the meantime – here’s a progress table;

PLOT	Stuff is generally happening. Right now, the two main characters are about as far apart relationship-wise as they’ll ever be (or close to it). Nefarious deeds are going on in the background and oodles of heartache is on the horizon. I’m hoping to reach a major action scene tomorrow, but if not then it’ll be a day five job.
CHARACTERS	This is one area that is completely done. Both heroes and villains are fully realised with most characters falling somewhere between the two.
THEMES	I’m going to leave this one mostly unsaid from here on out. There is a strong theme that runs through the manuscript on both the male and female side of the relationship (this is a heterosexual love-interest novel). The theme is different for both characters and I’ll let the reader discover what it is for themselves.
BOOK COVER/DESIGN	Pfft. Get out of here. Come back in about nine days for this one.
FRONT & BACK MATTER	See book cover/design
WORD COUNT	This is the big daddy. I can have all the themes and story lines I like, but if it’s not on the page, it’s not a novel. I will be ending the third day with about 15,000 ~~pretty good~~ words. Still not as far as I would have wanted, and it’s (mostly) as close to a first draft as you can get, but it’s a start. Isn’t it?
EDITING	Currently reviewing the second draft of the first chapter. Hope to get as far as the third by end of today. It badly needs it.

On the plus side, I think I’ve got a title, although I’m hovering between two strong potentials and it could go either way.

On the negative side, my coffee machine has broken. For once I am lost for words at this tragedy.

Same as my last update, I’ll end this one with a clue as to the novel’s setting. Gold star to anyone who can guess when/where/what this is;

Happy writing everyone!

When Death Means Life

13th Feb 2022 / Michael Averon / Leave a comment

For many Victorians, a death sentence was only the beginning

Imagine the scene; you’re the accused in a Victorian courtroom packed with people clamouring for your blood. With sickening finality, the gavel comes down as sentencing is pronounced. The penalty is death. It’s surely the end, right?

Right?

Wrong.

In fact, for many convicts, it was anything but the end. If you’ve ever had the chance to trawl through courtroom archives, you may have marvelled at the sheer number of death sentences issued by judges with their black caps. The sight of it reinforces the stereotypical assumption of austere Victorians sacrificing criminals’ lives to keep a sense of order on the unwashed masses.

Convicted of murder? Death.

Convicted of rape? Death

Convicted of theft? Definitely death.

Many a university student has fallen into this trap; collating the top layer of numbers into a spreadsheet only to spit them out in lecture halls. The truth however, is rather more nuanced. Take for example, one convicted felon, Constantine Sullivan.

In 1840, aged 41, Sullivan had been prosecuted for the rape of a girl aged fourteen or fifteen years old. As part of his defence, he’d claimed it was consensual (and here’s where I pause to loudly clear my throat), and it was the parents of the girl who sought prosecution once their daughter had told them all about it.

His sentence was death, but a look at the records shows he was instead transported to a penal colony in Australia. This kind of outcome, especially for rape, was very common during this time. Transportation was in fact seen as a mercy, and Sullivan himself was sent on the prison ship, Lady Raffles, to be incarcerated at the notorious Van Diemens Land.

Despite his twenty one year sentence, he was pardoned in 1853 and freed to go about his lawful business. Some death sentence, eh?

And Sullivan’s case isn’t outside the contemporary norms, it’s one of many recorded. So why the leniency?

It may come as a surprise, but even as far back as the first half of the nineteenth century, attitudes to capital punishment were changing. Many voices called out for a focus on reforming criminals and not just locking them up somewhere. After growing pressure from the people of Australia, who by then were fed up with having their country used as a human dumping ground, the decision was taken to stop transportation by 1857.

And so the Victorian prison system in England expanded to keep up with the sudden demand. As a side effect, the number of death sentences issued by the courts saw a steady decline as confinement became the preferred punishment for rape cases.

Many convicts built new lives for themselves down in Australia, even while incarcerated, helping to build the country into what it is today. Prison records show certificates were issued allowing inmates to marry, for example. So far from a death sentence being a…well, death sentence, the Victorians were rather more pragmatic than we sometimes give them credit for. Many sentencing outcomes could even be considered lenient, considering the high percentage of pardons issued, cutting their often twenty year sentences in half.

It’s a timely lesson on the importance to follow historical sources right down to the bare bones. What you uncover might surprise you.