From plot outline to manuscript
I think the idea of writing a book has been with me for quite some time. It was not a dark and stormy night when the idea for the ‘Solve-It Mysteries’ series came to me, but rather during the long and dusty drive along the 1,000-km Tanami Track, as my friend and I were making our way from Halls Creek in Western Australia to Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. The original intent was to write a book to encourage my son to read (he is the main protagonist of the series), but this eventually evolved into something bigger — an opportunity to share the adventure with a wider audience.
I was able to create an outline for the plot fairly quickly, which in my case took the form of chapter headings for each book. This then became the basis for the puzzles I wanted to include — each chapter featuring at least one unique puzzle, along with the plot of the overall mystery. Writing turned out not to be too difficult, although at times my biggest challenge was the limited space available in the book. The art of being succinct proved very useful on these occasions!
A first draft is usually only as good as its first reading, and I found that revisions were needed. My first set of changes involved modifying the original premise for the first mystery. I felt that a more credible reason for the mystery would be better received, which led me to round out the story in the later chapters and introduce a link to the second title in the series. Spelling and grammar errors also needed correcting — something that can be very difficult to spot when you are the author! My brother graciously offered to proofread my manuscript and, as expected, he had quite a few helpful suggestions.
My final changes focused on the layout of the book. As my books rely heavily on visual elements, this was critical — both for the book to work and to meet publishing requirements. You can read more about this in the section on publishing.
So, where to next? I have now completed three titles in the ‘Solve-It Mysteries’ series, am currently working on my fourth, and have ideas for titles five to six.