I’ve just typed THE END under the last paragraph of Out of Time

An update from Jodi Taylor

Author in editing mode

I’ve just typed THE END under the last paragraph of Out of Time – Time Police 6.

It’s not the end, of course. That’s just the first draft. A first draft is a technical term for the lumpy, disjointed, over-wordy, tangle of twisted story lines where I’ve thrown everything including the kitchen sink at the narrative on the grounds I can sort it all out later.

Later has now arrived. Tomorrow morning I sit down with a mug of tea and a plate of toast and try to make sense of what I’ve written. Mostly, at this stage, it’s more a question of taking things out than putting them in. Stripping out all the repetition, pointless dialogue, bits that don’t go anywhere and so forth.

Then I have to decide the order in which various scenes go. Is it a better story to put that scene nearer the end so the protagonists are operating in ignorance? Or have it at the beginning so everyone knows what’s going on? Clearer and easier to write but then where does the big finish happen?

Decisions like this can take years off an author’s lifespan. And then, half way through I’ll have a better idea and that will involve a considerable amount of rewriting and why didn’t I take that nice job at the abattoir instead? Seriously, I have likened this stage to trying to shove a double duvet into a single cover, in the dark, while wearing boxing gloves.

I have two author heads – the first one is me in fine, rollicking form, hurling words around, getting the narrative down at all costs. Making sure the storyline works. That all the characters are lined up in the right place and doing the usual stupid things. I can be as wild and whacky as I like. This stage is good fun.

Tomorrow, I don my second head. And yes, before anyone asks, I do take the other one off first. Tomorrow is the beginning of nit-picking stage. Are people saying the right things? Are they having breakfast on page 131 when they were having lunch on page 130? Or worse – two breakfasts on the same page? That does happen. Are people having actual real conversations with each other instead of just stating the facts necessary for moving the plot along? Is everyone being consistent but not predictable.  About half way through I usually encounter the Oh God, this is rubbish now what am I going to do? stage. That’s always fun. Especially for those around me.

After all that comes fact-checking. Yes, I do that and yes, the occasional error still slips through.

After that will come the read through. And then the next read through. And then another. Until I’m satisfied with the continuity and everything more or less hangs together.

After that comes the spelling and grammar check.

By now I have something I can reasonably send off to my publishers for them to deal with as they please.

The next stage is called the procrastination stage. Perhaps I should leave it for a few weeks then come back to it and read it with a fresh eye. That’s always useful.

This is balanced by the OMG my laptop’s doing crazy things again stage. Although this is a real threat. I’m hard on laptops. They rarely last longer than two years. Looking at my keyboard now, I have worn letters, a bald patch on the space bar and once again, the delete key is coming loose. All sitting in a nest of toast crumbs. I once lost two thirds of a book to laptop madness. Hazel got it back for me because by then I was beyond rational thought or action. Thank you, Hazel.

The situation is not helped by my third head – yep, there’s one of those, as well – being filled full of thoughts for the next book. In fact, I’ve usually made a start by now. Full of enthusiasm and optimism and lots of other author isms, I’m flinging words around for the next book. Not helpful at all when trying to finish the first one.

That, and the threat of laptop madness usually win and finally, off goes the manuscript. Needless to say, two days later I have a fabulous idea for a new ending. Too late now

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Out of Time will be published in October 2025 and is book six in the Time Police series. The first book, Doing Time is just 99p on Kindle in the UK at the moment.