Suzie Tullett: My Writing Process

The guest on my blog this week is author Suzie Tullett, whose latest novel, Six Steps to Happiness was published by Bombshell Books on 3rd December. Suzie is here to tell us all about her writing process. Welcome, Suzie.

What are you working on at the moment?

I’m currently celebrating the release of my fifth novel, Six Steps to Happiness. It was such fun to write and it’s a novel I’m proud of. As such, I’ve done a few events up and down the UK recently – hosting a wonderful launch party, book signings, reader meet ups, with a couple more still to take place in the run up to Christmas. I love this aspect of my job. I get to meet lovely book people like yourselves and talk all things literary. I’m also developing ideas for my sixth novel, which will no doubt be another romantic comedy. I love this genre and, for now, I can’t imagine writing anything else.

How does your work differ from others of its genre?

The first thing that springs to mind would be my heroines. They make informed choices that go against the grain of most people’s thinking; so much so that even those close to them don’t understand their actions. Take Ronnie, in Six Steps to Happiness. Finding herself in an impossible situation, she does something many of us would, no doubt, dream of doing, but would never find the courage to see it through.

My heroines are also not afraid to laugh at themselves, something we all should do from time to time. I think another thing about my writing that might differ is my voice. I have a dry humour that works its way into my work, not just through my characters but also the situations they find themselves in.

Why do you write what you write?

It’s going to sound strange, but I’ve often been thought of as a bit of an odd ball. Don’t ask me why because I haven’t a clue where it comes from, as far as I can tell I’m just like everyone else. But I think that’s why I write what I write – books about real people, living real, everyday lives, but who are eccentric enough in their way of thinking to be different. Of course, this leaves them making choices their peers wouldn’t necessarily make, but I like to celebrate these differences, not shy away from them. I also like to make readers laugh and what better way to do that, than by writing original and quirky romantic comedies.

How does your writing process work?

I always, always, always start with my characters. It’s their story I’m telling so I have to know everything about them. From what they look like, to their backgrounds, to their earliest memories and even their favourite colours and star signs – character profiles are my way of getting into their heads and making sure I stay there. It’s from here that I start to think about the inciting incident, the one thing that happens to turn their lives upside down, which inevitably leads me to the plot line. As you can tell, I’m a plotter not a pantser, so I then go on to write a breakdown of how the story is to develop and only then do I set about writing the book. This probably sounds a bit unnecessary to some, but I love each of these stages. My imagination gets to run riot no matter where in the writing process I happen to be.

Thank you, Suzie, for sharing your writing process with us. Wishing you the very best of luck with your latest book. 

Six Steps to Happiness

When Ronnie’s husband, Nick, leaves her for their next-door neighbour, Gaye, Ronnie’s life starts to fall apart.

Devastated by the break-up of her marriage, Ronnie is desperate for Nick and Gaye to set up home elsewhere. But Nick and Gaye won’t budge.

To add to her problems, Ronnie’s daughter and mother-in-law decide to stage an intervention. With her family keeping a close eye on her, Ronnie is forced to become more devious in her actions to get rid of Nick and Gaye.

But just how far will she go?

And is moving on ever that easy?

Six Steps to Happiness is a hilarious look at just how far one woman will go to recover from a broken heart and find happiness again.

You can buy Six Steps to Happiness here.