Edward Burley On Writing Blame

On The Table Read Magazine, “the best entertainment eBook magazine UK“, author Edward Burley shares his journey from idea to publication for his novel, Blame.

Written by Edward Burley

https://foreshorepublishing.com/product/blame

I am sat at work, creatively frustrated. Lockdown has prevented the pre-production of my bands second album. The television is all talk of Brexit, and I am beginning to comprehend what has happened. Again.

Just like the social stigmatism that surrounded the Iraq war after 9-11, social prejudices are being used for political gain. My brain rewinds, thinking about a conversation I had with my university friends as we watched tanks rolling into Iraq. Any one of us could’ve blown up any building in Cardiff on that day and thanks to our ethnic and social status be the last person ever suspected of doing it. Nothing’s changed. This needs to be addressed.

Writing A Book

I decide to tackle both my creative and social frustrations by writing a book. As I consider the conversation with my university friends to be the genesis of my idea, I decide to use my time at Cardiff University studying sociology as the basis for my book. People, places and events will be re-named and included in its story. I also discover student life isn’t that prevalent in either classic or modern literature, so I decide that will give my book at least one unique selling point. I jot all this down, sign out at work and begin my commute home.

I am fortunate that the following day is a day off. I am sat looking out of my living room window sipping my early morning caffeine, watching my neighbour leave for work. He is an estate agent. I pause. My red herring will be an estate agent, wrongfully accused and vilified through the circumstantial evidence my real antagonist will deliberately leave at the scene of one of his crimes. But how will my antagonist know this will work? As we have seen countless times, our scariest villains are often the ones who are able to make themselves anonymous within society. Again my mind flashes back to university. I decide to make my antagonist a sociology lecturer. This ticks both boxes and more. But what will be his crime?

My antagonist wants to make a statement. What crimes are often associated with statements of intent I ask myself? I’m just old enough to remember the IRA and their bombing campaigns. But how on earth could a sociology lecturer make, hide, plant and set off bombs?  Just as I’m about to dismiss the whole thing as a ridiculous idea, my mind is drawn to an article about students accidentally making TACP at Bristol University. I’ve already established that my antagonist works on campus, but how do I get him into the chemistry department to steal chemicals without suspicion? I will give him a wife, who just so happens to teach chemistry at the same university. Another hurdle successfully jumped.

The first draft of the book is approximately twenty-five thousand words, but it became clear when reading it that I have almost completely ignored the devastating impact that my antagonists actions would have on individuals. I decide to introduce my characters a lot earlier in the plot. As a result, the story becomes a lot more poignant after acknowledging this. My manuscript quickly grew to nearly three times that of its original draft of twenty five thousand to over seventy five thousand.

Writing Process

Two moments stick out when I recall the writing process.

I am stuck in what I assume to be roadwork traffic with my family one afternoon, only to see a swarm of protestors walking up the road shouting and being chaperoned by local police. It is such a powerful experience. What are the odds of us being one of the cars affected on that exact day and that exact time? I decide this is more than mere coincidence, and the event makes it way into Blame.

The second moment involves the final police interview of my antagonist by the two lead detectives assigned to the case. Having finishing reading my first draft, I find his behaviour to be completely different to his character throughout the pages which precede it. He is arrogant and confrontational, whereas in actuality he should be frustratingly silent. The only person he feels he need justify his actions to is himself. I hastily rewrite the moment to what it should be.

Three drafts later, I am happy with my manuscript. I then spend several weeks self-editing it whilst listening to The Cures Disintegration on repeat. Once this process is complete, I turn my attention to writing a synopsis. This involves a lot more work than I had previously imagined, distilling the main narrative of a seventy five thousand word manuscript onto a single page. Thankfully an online template comes to my rescue, and I am able to use the same resource to draft my covering letter. I then begin to research publishers, looking specifically for those interested in crime fiction.

Journey To Publication

I spend the following three months emailing publishers and literary agents; however this is no blanket email. Each must be tailored to the publishers specific submission guidelines. Some request a separate covering letter, some only require an email. Some wish you to send them the first three chapters of your manuscript, others wish for you to submit it in its entirety. All require a synopsis, further highlighting the importance of this supporting document to your manuscript. Thankfully my persistence pays off, and I receive an offer of publication. Ironically, this may well be the most frustrating part of the journey, as no manuscript can be turned into a paperback book overnight.

I decide to distract myself by trying to outline another story as I wait, during which time I receive word that the art department are putting together draft covers for me to approve, and the publisher will need my dedications and my author biography. I then receive a date of publication and finally allow myself to become deliriously excited.

My children are at home when the first copies of my paperback book are delivered. I let them open the box.

Find more from Edward Burley now:

Amazon: https://amzn.to/4daC5Yr

Facebook: Ed Burley

Instagram: @yelrubde

https://foreshorepublishing.com/product/blame