Writer on Writing

About ten years ago I took some flying lessons at a local aero club. Although I had to give them up they did provide me with an insight into the challenges and dangers of flying light aircraft. A current issue here in New Zealand is the access to medical drugs not covered by the health system. The result has been that desperate people are prepared to pay big money and that there has been an increase in drug smuggling by light aircraft from Australia.

The adage that 'a good writer is a trouble maker' has always informed my fictional writing. Consequently the dangers of flying and the smuggling of medical drugs provided me with plenty of potential for trouble, strife, and crime.

The novel is set in Auckland, St Petersburg and Afghanistan and tells the story of a sleazy pilot operating a smuggling operation from Australia to remote landing strips in New Zealand. A Russian immigrant, well established as a crime boss wants to muscle in on the operation. He was raised in a post-war Russian orphanage, fought with the army in Afghanistan and fled Russia when the crime scene became to threatening. A ruthless individual.

The death of an attractive woman that involves both the pilot and the crime boss triggers off a series of incidents that draws other characters into the maw, including a student pilot, several young women investigating their friend's death, and a young Russian who works for Zhukov but falls in love with one of the women. In a showdown the young pilot, in his light plane, pursues the fleeing smuggler in his Mercedes Benz in a confrontation from which there can only be one winner.

The process of writing Low Flying was a challenging and enjoyable one. In my case I began with some early chapters, which set the scene. I don't plan my plots, I just start with a general concept and start writing, letting the story unfold. No, this is not a seamless process, as invariably I read and re-read what I've written, tweaking, correcting and sometimes discarding words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs and even whole chapters. But at the same time, it was a literary adventure for me as the characters developed along with the plot so that, on some days I lifted my hands from the keyboard and said, "Wow, I didn't know that was going to happen!"

As the novel took shape I discussed key aspects with my wife and then sent the first drafts to several friends and family members, seeking honest opinions. I also belong to a local writers' group in which ten of us meet fortnightly and read examples from out writing. Their opinions were invaluable.

I also ran the Russian chapters past one of my postgrad correspondence students who lives in Moscow. We've never met but I've maintained email links with her over the years, and her advice was invaluable.

I've travelled widely, including three trips to Russia, and have always enjoyed crime fiction. Consequently I drew on all these experiences as I crafted my story, which is now completed.

My advice to other writers - keep at it and enjoy the process. Draw on your experiences, thoroughly research areas where appropriate, and listen to the advice of friends and other writers. But, of course, remember that it's your writing, your story, and you have the final say.

If you'd like to check out Low Flying, it's on Amazon at https://tinyurl.com/y2ajuqje. If you enjoy it, please leave a review.

And, enjoy your writing!