Unlocking Creativity During Lockdown: My Journey Writing a Novel

Many of us have found lockdown to be a challenging time, but for me, it has been a period of renewed creativity and growth as an author. Although I have been engaged in writing for over half a century, the recent unforeseen circumstances have provided me with the perfect opportunity to delve deeper into my latest project.

For several years, I had been working on a screenplay idea, gradually transforming it into a novel. As I began to write, I realized the amount of description I included was inevitable, morphing my screenplay into a rich and vivid novel. The most surprising aspect of this transition was realizing that certain scenes needed to be reimagined for the page, rather than for the screen.

Reimagining Scenes for the Page

One of the most challenging scenes involved the opening of a pantomime. Initially, it was a shot from the stalls of the theatre during a performance of a pantomime, which then slowly transitions to a scene where the audience cannot hear anything, focusing instead on the stage manager. The character of the fairy godmother, a reference to the Cinderella story, appears suddenly and mysteriously. Yet, as a novel, I had to reimagine the scene and write from the hero's perspective, making his initial unawareness of her arrival a central part of the narrative.

"The stage was full of light and noise but Toby was alone in the wings where it was dark and silent anything could happen here and there would be no witnesses as all eyes were focussed solely on the actors. Toby was the stage manager and was running the performance but currently he was totally lost as two of the actors had decided to celebrate their final appearance by indulging in an extended session of ad libs and as he frantically searched through the pages of his prompt book he had no idea when or even if they planned to return to the script.
Like everyone in the theatre Toby knew the story of the White Lady who was said to haunt the backstage area and late at night when the building was deserted it might be possible to believe it although it was only ever a friend of a friend who had actually seen her. But Toby was far too busy to think about such stories now and was so focussed on his search that he failed to hear the door behind him open. It was only the soft click of the latch as the door closed again that attracted his attention and as he turned his head a pale slim figure of elemental beauty emerged slowly out of the darkness. The creature had long blond hair and wore a flowing white robe decorated with elaborate runic devices. Her bare arms were adorned with intricate silver jewellery in her right hand she carried a heavy wand of birch and her impressive wings glittered malevolently as they caught the light that spilled off the stage. She was a magnificent creature a being from another world.
After a moment of silence the creature spoke. 'Greetings mortal.'
Toby had worked with the creature all week and knew her well. 'Evening Ma'am. You’re right on time – as usual.'

The narrative then shifts to a village, where a play commemorating the Great War is being performed. The hero meets the girl again, and after numerous challenges, they come together in the final scene. This transition required a meticulous rewriting process, ensuring that the story flows seamlessly and resonates with readers.

Editing and Polishing

After assembling a first draft of the entire novel, the past six weeks have been dedicated to rigorous editing. I have cut, clarified, and double-checked for typos, striving for the perfect balance of storytelling and readability. With each draft, I aim to refine the narrative and ensure that the novel is as compelling as possible for the wide world.

Lockdown has been a period of heightened creativity for me, and I hope that my readers will enjoy the journey I have woven into this novel. If all goes well, another draft or two will bring me to a stage where the novel can be shared with everyone.