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On The Table Read Magazine, “the best book magazine in the UK”, author Erin Carrougher shares the inspiration behind her new book, UnSuited, and her creative writing process.
Written by JJ Barnes
I interviewed Erin Carrougher about her creative writing process and the inspiration behind her new book, UnSuited.
How long did it take you to complete your first book from the first idea to release?
I think most authors take the longest time, learn the most, when they write their first book. My debut novel, Augland, was two revisions, a point of view change, and two copy edits. It took me about two years from start to finish.
UnSuited took me a year to complete because I learned how to work smarter not harder — cliché I know. Instead of free writing, I started with an outline, created profile for characters, and dedicated at least two hours a day to writing and editing.
If I changed anything in the chapters I would update my outline to help me stay on track with the story. If I had writer’s block, I would edit chapters I wrote the night before.
What were your biggest challenges with writing Unsuited?
I have a lot of grandiose ideas and the book plays like a movie in my mind. A lot of times I struggle to make the image in my head read correctly on paper with descriptive and vision-provoking words with all senses included. I’m not the strongest writer, but I can tell stories, so I hire editors to help collaborate and expand on my current writing capability. Even good, or great, writers need editors to help be a second pair of eyes on a novel. I find they help me bridge the gap between my vision and words on the pages.
What is the main conflict of UnSuited?
While I love a good, good versus evil, I feel like this novel is based off perspective. I mean, the villain is evil don’t get me wrong, but it dabbles with perspective and understanding what is good for the people whom you want to protect, which creates an interesting reader experience because they relate to both sides of conflict.
There are also geopolitical aspects throughout Augland and UnSuited. It describes how the classes between Suits and Suitless are governed by the Augland Executive’s political agenda and what happens when the illusion of power overtakes the need to protect the quality of human life; which I think is a powerful message.
Did you plot UnSuited in advance, or fly by the seat of your pants and write freely?
When I first started writing I did the “fly by the seat of your pants” and it worked for a while until it didn’t. I started introducing characters and story lines that went nowhere.
For the second novel, UnSuited, I found writing an outline and building upon that (although I changed it at least four times before I was done writing) is the best way to write a novel for my writing style.
Did you get support with editing, and how much editing did UnSuited need?
I did! Editors are the best. I typically write and receive feedback on the book before going through the final editing, or copy editing, of the book. It’s great to collaborate with someone who is interested in the story and excited about the book’s success.
What is the first piece of writing advice you would give to anyone inspired to write a story?
There are so many things I wish I knew before beginning. Not only about the writing journey, but the publishing world! I think the most important thing is to always outline. I started my first draft and by the end of the book I was disappointed to find out that I had missed concluding storylines I started in the beginning chapters. Outlining helped me find where I wanted to go within the novel’s history. After outlining, I believe writing the dialogue first is important too. I tend to fill in the visionary items after and that usually helps with writer’s block.
The second piece of advice is around publishing. It takes courage to hear the criticism, but it’s an important element if you continue to write. Always take the negative reviews as feedback and transform that as you develop. It helps, trust me! Don’t dwell on it, learn from it and work toward becoming a better writer.
Can you give me a hint about any further books you are planning to write?
I would love to! I have one final book in the works for the Augland series but beyond that? I’m looking forward to another Dystopian novel based on a divided nation of class versus class with a spin on technological advances. Stay tuned!
And, finally, are you proud of your accomplishment? Was it worth the effort?
Absolutely! I can’t tell you the feeling of finishing your novel and finally feeling the paper with words you wrote. It’s an indescribable feeling to see the final published book you’ve been working toward finally come to fruition. I also love to talk to people who love the story as much as I do. It’s fun to see how readers are just as invested in my characters as I am.
Pop all your book, website and social media links here so the readers can find you:
Kindle: https://amzn.to/49ZrmgX
Paperback: https://amzn.to/48D5dEf
Erin Carrougher (@erincarrougherauthor) • Instagram photos and videos
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