I’ve been asked about my writing process, and I find that I have to immerse myself completely in the lives of my characters. I do this by reading and listening to audiobook biographies every night before I fall asleep, letting their voices and experiences settle into my mind until I feel I understand them. I am writing about Catherine Howard at the moment, and at last I feel I understand her. She is not a stupid girl, as she is so often portrayed. She is a young woman caught in a trap she cannot escape.
I have always been a writer. As a little girl, I filled my exercise books with love stories, tales of pirates and Victorian dramas. My first full novel was written when I was ten. It was dystopian, and I was very proud of it. It was utter rubbish, of course, but we are all rubbish at the start. In my teens, I wrote a lot of love stories.
In my twenties, I tried to write the series I am working on now, but I simply didn’t have the skill or the knowledge yet. Still, the idea stayed with me. It sat quietly in the back of my mind for years, waiting until I was ready to write it properly.
I’ve spent a lifetime in writing groups, courses and books about the craft. I can’t say the groups or courses helped me, even the distance learning ones. What has helped is my obsession with the Tudor era, visiting the places where my characters lived, and reading well‑crafted books.
For me, the story must always come first. Knowledge and research matter, but they should serve the story, because no one wants characters sitting in a pub talking about their swords in elaborate detail. I like to lead the reader into the story, then grab them by the neck and pull them deeper. If I change the history, I always tell the reader why I did it and what, as far as we know, happened.
It was only when illness forced me to stop everything that I finally had the time to finish a novel properly. After decades of misdiagnosis, I learned I’d been living with a serious genetic condition. The diagnosis made sense of a lifetime of struggle, and writing became a way to step beyond pain and shape something meaningful from it.
This was back when National Novel Writing Month was everywhere and everyone seemed to be trying to write a 50,000‑word draft in thirty days every November. I printed off NaNoWriMo’s words‑per‑day chart and stuck it in my diary. That book was about a cleaner who solved mysteries. I haven’t picked up the manuscript in years, and maybe I will when I’ve finished my historical fiction series, which began as an idea for six books and has quietly turned into a plan for eight. Don’t ask.
I completed NaNoWriMo twice and learned that I could finish a short novel, but the revisions were something else entirely. I assumed it would be a doddle and I was completely wrong. These days, I revise and edit each chapter before moving on to the next because I cannot face such a huge block of polishing at the end. I say this, but revision is important. I come from a family of teachers, and they are my editors and first readers.
It’s worth keeping in mind that writing and publishing a book is not an easy task. Just because it feels like a struggle, it doesn’t mean you are doing it badly. It only means you are doing it. And that is the most important part.
Read the kind of work you want to write, and read something more literary alongside it. As you go, pay attention to what you enjoy and what you don’t. Notice how the writer moves the story on, how they shape the narrative, how they bring you into a character’s mind, how they handle emotion and setting. Read with intent and learn from it.
Alongside my own writing, I also enjoy being part of the wider historical fiction community.
I am a host for The Coffee Pot Book Club, where I feature the latest historical novels that interest me. I do this purely for pleasure, and I receive no payment or profit for hosting or reviewing a book. I am occasionally approached by other authors who know about my love of history, and I’m always happy to highlight their work here. I’ve been helped by writers who were further along the road than I was, and I like to pass that kindness on to new and upcoming authors. I’ve also written for history magazines free of charge because I want to share my love of the past with others.
I sometimes share writing tips and talk about my own writing process. Please make yourself at home and have a look around.
I have written three novels about the lives of Henry VIII’s wives. Book one follows Catherine of Aragon’s childhood, with more of her story still to come. Book two explores the fall of Anne Boleyn, and book three tells the story of Jane Seymour. Each novel stands alone, so you can begin wherever you like. My Six Tudor Queens series grew from years of reading, research and a lifelong fascination with the period.
Nicola Harris 