Breaking ground on a new short novel

I’m going to share how I go about writing a new short novel on here with anyone who’s interested in the process, starting with the very first seeds of an idea which were sown this weekend.

I woke up in the early hours of Saturday with an idea in my head that I had to write down in case I fell back asleep and forgot it.

I did fall back asleep, but woke up to a page of A4 with just about legible red pen scrawl on it on the table by my bed.

Most of the contents of the notes contained the twists and turns that I hope will make this a gripping read, so I won’t reveal them here.

But the working title is ‘Slade Self-Storage’. There’s next to no chance that that will be the final title, but there it is in all its non-gory glory.

For it is to be a horror comedy. Set in a self-storage unit.

I have visited my self storage unit quite a few times recently to downsize my room, as I couldn’t afford the monthly rental on the 100 sq ft space I had. I’ve sold off a lot of the furnishings I had for just a year when I last rented, and have sold CDs and DVDs and some books I’ve had for many years just to cut the cost – yes, business isn’t good, and selling novels is not currently lucrative enough.

If you’ve ever been in a self-storage unit, well, they seem to me to be a little spooky. Quiet. Long corridors. Strange bangs. Generally dark until your body temperature turns on the lights as you approach. And who knows what’s hidden behind all those padlocked doors? An excellent location for some horror.

And I’m going to see Backrooms as soon as I can, as I believe this is in a similar territory.

 I’m also currently reading Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix, a book that’s definitely in the same ballpark I’m looking to write, set in an IKEA-esque homewares store overnight.

The main character in SSS (as I’m currently shortening the title to) will be a new recruit who’s hired to work in the unit alongside the deputy manager who’s a little slack when it comes to things like turning up for work on time, and working hard once he gets there. I need people to be empathetic with my lead character and having him/her forced to work alongside a lazy, more senior colleague is one way I can do that.

The next stage in the development of this will be to use the Blockbuster 6 writing software I invested in a couple of years back. It’s powered by the brilliance of John Truby, the work and ideas of whom I highly recommend any screenwriter or novel writer familiarises themselves with.