Fare-Well to the Flesh… Hello Prague 1822

This week I waved goodbye to Peak District villages consumed by slavering, gluttonous folds of pink flesh - and welcomed back the follow-up to The Secret War:
I took a day off work and began The Secret of Mhorrer for a third time - once more being thrown into the smoky surrounds of a 19th century tavern in the city of Prague.

In terms of preparation, theme and general approach, the two writing projects could not be further apart. A Well in the Flesh was basically a modern-day horror novella, while The Secret of Mhorrer is an adventure novel with horror-fantasy trappings set in 19th century. The former was written on a whim with no preparation – not really any story in mind from the moment the first paragraph was typed out. The latter has been meticulously planned, researched and re-written.

I must admit, A Well in the Flesh offered a certain freedom that I enjoyed, but there was no risk attached to it. It was created in a vacuum of responsibility, something I just sat down to write because it looked like fun.

The Secret of Mhorrer is a book that I take more responsibility for. It’s a book that I care about, and something I will take care in writing. I’ve been looking to write this book ever since completing the first draft of The Secret War. So it’s not something I’m approaching half-arsed.

It’s also a book that will either keep my published career going, or halt it prematurely: it’s my second novel for Macmillan New Writing.

Draft 3 will inevitably see more changes – one of them being the title (which I’ve been playing with over recent weeks). Characters will be fleshed out more, details will be added – the inclusion of light and shadows, splashes of metaphorical colour and historical atmospherics. Irrelevant asides will be chopped, distractions removed, the pace tightened and while not all rough edges will be smoothed, the most barbed will be pruned.

But drafting by nature is protean, isn’t it?
So hand me my clippers and let the bell toll for a mutable round 3…