TLC author Amna Boheim, who recently joined our Chapter and Verse mentoring programme and whose work we showcased earlier this year, has written a blog as part of the ‘Writing Process Blog Tour’. Each writer writes up a post, then nominates a fellow writer-blogger to answer a series of questions on their individual writing process; asking why they write, how they make sure their work is original, and what they write. It’s a fascinating chain to follow so do keep an eye out and Google to follow the thread. Amna talks about her novel she’ll be working on with TLC mentor Tom Bromley, a thriller provisionally entitled Crossed Paths (‘[the novel] has a claustrophobic feel. Half of the action takes place in a single room. There’s a veil of ambiguity’) and very kindly mentions TLC, too. Talking about the editing process, she says:
‘Having someone critique your work is essential. It’s painful too. I gave my next draft to friends, classmates from my Faber Academy course and then paid for a Manuscript Assessment from The Literary Consultancy (TLC). They passed it on to one of their readers and a few weeks later I got a several page report on my draft. Frankly, it was the best money I ever spent. It’s objective, supportive, BUT to the point with regard to improving your draft, highlighting the things that friends just won’t. Lastly, I edited it, then edited it, then edited it.’
