As the second novel makes it to print the question arises
whether this is better or worse than the first.
It’s easy to believe that the first novel, A Very English
Reason, packed with storylines, packed with agendas and long thought through
characters cannot be repeated. All my ideas packed into one story.
The thing you learn about writing though, is that whilst
themes can be common and reused, good characters and stories create their own
histories. It is therefore the case the more you write, the more stories you
have to tell. One book leads to another and the need to over cram story lines
dissipates. You know you can write, all you need to do is write better.
A Hierarchy of Reason is the result of knowing the process
of writing a book and getting to the end will happen as long as you keep
writing. This gives me the confidence to think more about what I want to
achieve and how the characters live, because the book will take care of itself.
Writing like any process works better with practice. Will
the next book always be a better book? I don’t always think that is the case
but I think every book will have something you learnt from the last one and
should mean that you apply it to producing a better product.
Looking forward to seeing A Hierarchy of Reason in the hands
of readers and hearing whether they think what I do, that whilst A Very English
Revolution is a good read. This one is better.
