Writing Tips from Patrick Holloway

Patrick Holloway, author of The Language of Remembering, with invaluable advice for any writer starting out on their creative journey . . .

Writing is tough. Even when it’s flowing and dreamlike, coming out of that haze and revisiting the words on the page can be daunting. Knowing if any of it is any good takes time, and often distance from the work itself. Having taught different workshops in creative writing, and arduous years of progress, I have come to realise a few things that I hope might help writers who are where I was a few years ago.

When I started out writing, especially my early attempts at writing a novel, I thought something had to happen. Something grandiose. I believed for anyone to continue reading, they’d have to be constantly on the edge of their seat. Even though I never read those kinds of books, and the literary fiction I tend to read is quieter, more introspective and self-questioning. What I realised was that the books I was reading were doing a sensational job at creating believable characters in real situations that were taut and full of tension.

So, when I finally took myself seriously and sat to write a novel, I found the stories that mattered to me. The things in life that I myself believe important and necessary. There’s that old saying about writing what you know, which is true on many levels. But I started writing what was important (to me). The things in life I worried over, the things I could never quite understand. Find your starting point – write what interests you. You don’t have to have answers, but interesting questions.

In terms of plot and planning, I dealt with each chapter as a stand-alone piece of writing. I tended to completely ignore the fact that I was writing a novel. The word itself I found overwhelming. For each chapter I explored what was important to the character at that moment in life. I made sure each chapter held tension, furthered their story, and revealed something. Soon enough a first draft was complete.

This is all a simplified, clean version of how I wrote the novel. There were many days I gave up. Some early rejections that I thought might very well break me. But it’s all just noise, really. When I calmed myself and focused on the story I wanted to tell, everything, or almost everything, would once again become clear. I’m a very character driven writer and I tend to read books which hold the story of their characters at the heart—the inner story of who they are and what they are going through. Writing a novel which I hope does something similar, I’ve found a few things that help when writing, and especially when redrafting my work.

Dialogue

1. Make sure it’s for the characters and not the reader. Often bad dialogue is trying to do something, it is the writer imposing plot/characterisation etc, and it often comes across as gimmicky and unnatural. Really think of what the characters would be saying to each other in that moment.
2. Careful of overdoing dialogue tags. The dialogue should hold its own and merit the space it’s given. Don’t spoon feed the reader with things like, ‘he laughed sarcastically’—the dialogue should show this.
3. Don’t make it too clean cut. In real life we don’t answer each other in perfect, direct answers. It’s often oblique and messy. Like life.

Characters

1. Explore their backstory and know what matters to them. Understand your characters (even those secondary characters) and what drives them. This will help create the tension of the narrative.
2. Be specific. Try not to write about characters in vague descriptions, get as specific as you can, about appearance, thoughts, wants, frustrations. Really flesh them out.
3. Create conflict. It doesn’t have to be plot heavy, but no matter how well you write your character, if there isn’t some conflict or tension, their story becomes uninteresting.

Voice

1. Understand the inner voice of the character! What does your character think about? On surface level—interests, hobbies, relationships, and on a deeper level: what is their outlook on the world, themselves, and those around them.
2. How do they think/say this? Is their inner voice thoughtful, questioning, cynical, positive? Do the way they say things or voice things into the world mirror what they think, or are there differences?
3. Be consistent. This does not mean your character won’t change, evolve, etc, but the way they think and say things will vary slightly. The tone, feel and wording will be distinctive and recognizable.

There is so much that goes into a novel (in terms of techniques and literary devices) but a lot of it comes down to discipline and determination. And finding the joy in it, even when it all seems doomed. I write because I cannot live without doing so. Whenever it becomes taxing, I try to give myself different activities to make it fun and creative again. I’m currently working on the next novel and am just mad about the characters and can’t wait to spend some more time with them.

(c) Patrick Holloway

Author photography (c) Dave Murphy

About The Language of Remembering by Patrick Holloway:

Returning from Brazil with his wife and daughter, Oisín is looking to rebuild a life in Ireland and reconnect with his mother, Brigid, who has early onset Alzheimer’s. As her condition deteriorates she starts to speak Irish, the language of her youth, and reflect on her childhood dreams and aspirations.

Mother and son embark on a journey of personal discovery, and as past traumas are exposed they begin to understand what has shaped them and who they really are.

The Language of Remembering asks how we connect to the people we love and how we move on from the past to find meaning in the present.

Order your copy of The Language of Remembering by Patrick Holloway online here.