I’m really enjoying writing my Gothic YA book (check out my original post about it here). What I love about this book is that I have a very clear ‘mood’ in mind: Gothic. All-things-Gothic.
Okay, so that’s obvious. ‘Girl writes Gothic book and draws on Gothic influences to inspire her. Der, of course!’. But the reason I mention it is that I read a blog post by one of my favourite writers, Maggie Stiefvater recently where she talked about a novel’s ‘core’. Check it out here. She said the core of her amaze-balls book Shiver was ‘the mood. It was to be a slow, slow build to a bittersweet end, no matter what else disappeared. I’d cut the werewolves before I cut that mood and pace.’
And that’s how I feel about the novel I’m working on now. It’s about the Gothic mood. And with every sentence I write, I’m always looking to ensure the essence of Gothic shimmers right through it.
Of course, Gothic can mean many things to many people. I guess I’m drawing on the old school stuff – Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. And yet my book won’t really be anything like those books apart from in mood. That impending sense of doom. Torment and wailings. darkness and rotting. Tortured souls and that feeling of being a caged animal. Terrible secrets and desperate love.
To really get my head in the right place, this is what I’ve been doing:
Listening
I love listening to music while writing. Some people can’t but I have to. So I always create a playlist which I’ll listen to while writing, while biking to work, while getting ready, while… yeah, you get the drift. I have a great playlist (which includes the Killers tune I posted in my original post about going gothic). It includes a bit of Black by Tokio Hotel, a pinch of Breathe Into me by Red, a splash of My Love by Sia, and a dash of Slow Life by Grizzly Bear as well as the usual Evanescence and Within Temptation tunes. I know some of these aren’t traditionally ‘Gothic’ tunes but who cares, it gets me in the mood. One of the songs I listen to a LOT while writing this book is Fever Ray’s wonderful If I Had a Heart, check out the amazing video below… I love the line ‘dangling feet from window frame / Will I ever ever reach the floooooooor?’. Just gives me a little shiver as I imagine a little girl in a white dress sitting with her feet dangling over a window…
Reading
I’ve also been reading some YA books that are considered ‘Gothic – ish’. This includes Immortal by Gillian Shields. It certainly succeeds in getting across that old school Gothic vibe delivered in the likes of Wuthering Heights but it really didn’t do much for me, but that’s just my personal opinion. The Summoning by Kelly Armstrong was recommended too, which I reallllly enjoyed, great ‘voice’ and good fun but it didn’t feel very Gothic. Next on the list is The Splendour Falls by Rosemary Clement-Moore which I’m really looking forward to. I’m then going to re-visit one of my favourite authors, Angela Carter, queen of post-modern Gothic, and read her amazing and often ignored Heroes and Villains again, considered a Gothic fantasy (and very dystopian too). The male character, Jewel, oozes the kind of stuff I’m looking for in my main male character. Got any other recommendations?
Watching
TV-wise, I’m actually really enjoying The Vampire Diaries and find the setting – the old school town and forest – really inspiring. I found The Crow quite inspiring too (if a little cheesy) and the latest Batman films are really quite Gothic. But what else? I need recommendations friends!
So… this is all how I keep to the ‘core’ of my book and I really hope that shows in the final product.
How do you keep to the core of your book?
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