Not my usual murder mystery

In my case, I needed a better understanding of my new characters to change a story that evolved from a few exercises I created to improve some of my Downland Murder Mystery novels.

And now, bolstered by this new understanding, my new murder mystery is coming to life.

It all started during the writing of the last five novels in the Downland Murder Mystery series. The difference was my desire to increase the emotional content of the stories and the depth of the characters.

So, I took time out before writing three of the novels to develop my writing and depiction of characters. It involved some planning, which wasn’t usually part of the discovery process I followed, allowing stories to evolve organically.

To achieve my aim, I created two main characters and put them in a few scenes. By letting them grow, develop and convey their emotions more deeply, I developed a different way of writing.

The slower, more considered pace posed a few challenges, both in the writing and the pacing needed for my murder mysteries. While I moved out of my comfort zone in terms of style and technique, I learned to balance characterisation, emotion, and the pace needed to improve three of the Downland Murder Mysteries.

The other two novels also benefitted from this deeper, more involved style.

With each novel, I wanted to improve, my ‘time out characters’ developed, leading me into a new plot. Much to my surprise, this progressed to become a full novel.

It remained in the background while I wrote my Downland Murder Mysteries.

And to make sure I didn’t forget it, I called this novel Deadly Inheritance.

Did it have potential?

Was the style of writing one I wanted to develop?

Were the two main characters interesting enough to carry the novel?

And perhaps the most important question – was it worth spending any more time on the novel?

Was it good enough to be published?

While my heart wanted me to continue, my gut said it wasn’t good enough.

I’m a discovery writer. My stories evolve, driven by the characters I create.

With the Downland Murder Mysteries, I got to know the characters better with each novel, making the writing process smoother.

Deadly Inheritance began as an exercise and evolved from there.

Discovery writing to a degree. But driven by a plan.

Before I wrote my first Downland novel, No Accident, I planned it in such detail, my notes filled a Lever Arch binder. Yet despite all this planning, I couldn’t work out how my sleuth would solve the murder.

When I checked back through these notes and plans, they never showed how my sleuth solved the murder.

And more importantly, there were no backup plans for when my characters refused to follow the script.

I didn’t know characters could develop a life of their own, refusing to do what the plans tell them to do.

Today, I love nothing more than characters developing and taking charge.

And you might wonder how I’d forgotten this important lesson.

During a full read-through of Deadly Inheritance I realised the complex plot was controlling my characters.

Simplifying and dropping various complications wasn’t easy to do, but it made for a smoother, more credible story. A further rewrite blended the characterisation and simplified plot into a better story.

One which I left on the shelf for six months.

Not the usual four to six weeks, which was enough time for me to return to a story with a clear mind.

Weeks passed. My doubts continued to grow.

So did my determination to find a solution.

First, I had to identify what was missing from the story.

The plot was sound. The story too. That left the characters.

The same issue that led to me saving No Accident fifteen years earlier.

I knew who the characters were and what roles they played in the story. But had I really explored what drove them, what they wanted more than anything?

Did I know what stopped them? What they feared most. What they hid from themselves.

It was time to question these characters. Not just the two leads, but the players who influenced them.

Previously, I’d focused on what characters experienced. Now, it was time to examine how those experiences shaped their beliefs, fears and decisions.

It took me four weeks to find answers. And an improved title - The Mother He Never Knew.

This minor change convinced me I had a novel that would interest readers. Confidence boosted, my understanding of the characters grew, changing the way I viewed the story.

Understanding what mattered to them, and why they behaved the way they did, made their scenes come to life. I revealed more of the thoughts, doubts and motivations that made them behave the way they did.

When the story starts, Sheryl Holmes is leaving Alfriston, the village where she’s felt at home for the last five months. She made a promise to return to the town where her sister died. Sheryl wants to make peace with those she left behind, and with herself.

Only the prospect scares her because she isn’t simply returning.

She’s facing what she's spent ten years avoiding. And she may never forgive herself.

James Riddel, the other main character, is returning to his childhood home in Alfriston, following the death of his parents in a car crash. He’s determined to prove their deaths were not an accident.

Only returning to the place where he grew up means he must confront the childhood identity he’s spent years escaping.

These vulnerabilities change the way the characters behave and interact with each other.

How they react when challenged or threatened. How they respond to what drives them, or holds them back.

Sheryl hides in the village, keeping a low profile, avoiding conflict, afraid that others will discover how she caused her sister’s death.

For James, it’s returning to the brutal reality of a childhood destroyed by bullying, strict parenting and the loneliness and inadequacy of being an outsider.

And best of all, their behaviour became more natural and interesting, transforming the first three chapters of the novel.

I can’t wait to revise the rest of the novel to discover how these characters will continue to reshape the story.

Though I’m working with a finished draft – albeit one smothered in notes – I’m becoming a discovery writer once again.

But with a difference.

My experience writing novels has taught me how to recognise when something isn’t working or needed changing, improving or removing.

Now, as my characters confront their deepest fears and the conflicts that lie ahead, I know their development will drive the story, making it stronger.

But best of all, what started as a familiar edit and revision has helped me discover the story all over again.

And perhaps much more…