Elizabeth George on Novel Writing
Award-Winning Author Shares Theories on Writing in Write Away
Sep 12, 2009
Elizabeth George, an American, writes a series of mysteries centering on an aristocratic Scotland Yard detective, Thomas Lynley and his sergeant, the working class, Barbara Havers. All the books are set in England. In Write Away: One Novelist’s Approach to Fiction and the Writing Life (HarperCollins, 2004), George details her process for constructing her novels. Drawing on examples from her own work (both in published and rough draft form) as well as the works of writers as diverse as Barbara Kingsolver, Louise Erdrich, Michael Dorris and T. Jefferson Parker she focuses on the essential elements of any novel: character, plot and setting as well as the technical aspects of crafting scenes and dialogue. However, the strength of Write Away lies in George’s exposition of characterization and setting.
Characterization
George’s insights into creating characters are particularly powerful. For George, plot derives from character. She reminds us of the importance of character in a novel noting that “what we take away from our reading of a good novel mainly is the memory of character.” She believes there are five essential elements for creating characters:
- Define the basic or core need each character has in his life
- Then arrange for his effort to meet his core need to be thwarted
- Develop the character’s sexuality
- Figure out an event in the character’s past that had a huge impact on him
- Decide what the character wants in the novel
She sums up her guidelines for creating characters: “Give them flaws, allow them to doubt themselves about something, see to it that they grow and change, and make certain you are putting them into conflict.”
George provides an in-depth analysis of her creation of the character of Eve Bowen from In the Presence of the Enemy (Bantam Books, 1996). George writes, “I consider the character analysis a bit of private conversation between me and myself and often I throw ideas up on the screen one after another until I get one that feels right for the character”. In rounding out characters, she encourages writers to look everywhere for character occupations including the yellow pages. One of her characters in A Traitor to Memory (Bantam Books, 2001) was a wig maker for cancer victims which George developed “simply because I was driving home along Pacific Coast Highway one day and I saw a wig shop in Newport Beach.”
Setting
George emphasizes the importance of integrating setting into story noting that, “I believe in rendering a setting with as much authenticity as I render character and event”. She gives specific examples of researching the setting for Missing Joseph (Bantam Books, 1993) on the Lancashire moors and includes photographs of the real settings used in the book. Her website includes additional snapshots from her research trips for each book.
George’s Path to Publication
George also includes a description of her personal journey to becoming a writer. Although she had always had aspirations to being a writer, George spent over a decade teaching high school English before seriously beginning to write in 1983. She wrote three novels, each featuring Lynley and crew. The first two novels were rejected but she sold the third which became A Great Deliverance (Bantam Books, 1988). She credits her success to ‘bum glue’ also known as BIC [butt in chair] and explains that, “bum glue is about commitment on every level, to the self, to the dream, and to the process.”
Journal of the Novel
Each of the twenty-two chapters in Write Away is headed by a quote from George’s journal. For each of her novels, George creates a “Journal of the Novel” modeled on that of John Steinbeck which he kept while writing East of Eden. George’s journal entries are notable for the level of self-doubt she expresses about her writing process. This seems unbelievable given George’s achievements but is refreshing for any writer who struggles with doubt. Amazingly, George’s self-doubt does not seem to diminish even after the publication of many award-winning and extremely well-reviewed novels.
Write Away provides an in-depth analysis of one successful author’s approach to writing crime fiction. It is full of insights that would be beneficial to novelists in any genre. Finally, it is a treat for George’s many fans for the insights it provides into the creation of her unforgettable characters.
For a review of Careless in Red (HarperCollins, 2008), the latest installment in George’s Inspector Lynley series, see “Inspector Lynley Returns: Review – Elizabeth George, Careless in Red”.
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