I am starting from scratch on Land of Battles. That's right, I am throwing out what I have written, opening a blank MS Word page and beginning again. After re-reading what I had produced over the last year, I realized that I had no other choice. The task is daunting and I'm disappointed in myself, but I am trying to stay positive and remember that this is a new chance to get the novel just right.
I have always used research as a way to inspire myself. The devil is in the details, as they say, and it is the small things, like reproductions of Viking shoes found on bog bodies that really pique my interest and create new ideas. My novels run like films through my mind, so it is important that my mentally imagery is perfect before I translate it to the page.
I have recently started a Pinterest board, linking myself to articles on Viking artifacts and research. There are some things I have read about before, but the visual of a reproduction is hugely helpful. On the other hand, some of this is completely new information to me and will be incorporated into the novel. So, if I start posting long blogs about bone combs or bronze age tattoos, don't be too surprised.
I will also be taking a different than planned approach to relationships between the characters in the new novel. They are in a new country and new positions, so their interactions are about to shift dramatically.
I am less than twenty pages into the new draft, but I can already tell that it is fresher and stronger than what I had before. Hopefully, a marathon session will come soon and I will be able to tell you that I am a quarter of the way done.
