Category: on writing

Lee Welch: how I write

Lee Welch previously shared with me about her version of Mr Collins. Today she was gracious enough to share about her writing process. [Read to the end for a chance to win a copy of Mr Collins in Love]

Your day job is also as a writer. How do you switch from “Work Lee” to “Writer Lee”? Does the day job help or hinder your writing?  

My day job pays the bills, which gives me the freedom to write what I want, such as a book where Mr Collins is the hero. Mr Collins in Love will never be a bestseller because too many readers only want handsome heroes with abs and sexy banter. Of course, I LOVE it when one of my books sells well, but paying my mortgage isn’t dependent on that, and that’s a great place to be as a writer.

Amen, what a relief. Are you a plotter or a pantser? How did you adjust your usual style to write Mr Collins in Love? 

I’m a bit of both. I plot many things. This involves me doing a bunch of research then lying on the sofa for weeks, apparently staring into space. BUT I find too much plotting to be fatal because then I know everything and can’t bring myself to write the story. I need certain goalposts to be fixed in position but some things left unknown; then I start to write.

I’m not sure I have a usual style, because I’ve written four very different books (for example, one contemporary, and one fantasy romance set in alt-Victorian England). Style, for me, is all about character. How does this character think? What metaphors might occur to them? What might they notice/not notice? I certainly read a lot of period material to get the language in Mr Collins in Love right, as well as studying how he speaks in Pride and Prejudice.

What is your editing process? Was it different for Mr Collins in Love? 

I tend to follow the same process for all books and Mr Collins was no different. I write. The next day, I read over what I wrote the day before and edit it. Then I write on. From time to time, I read from the beginning to check the various story arcs feel right. When I’ve finished the first draft of the complete manuscript, I leave it for a few days, then print it out or send it to a tablet – anything so long as it’s different to the laptop I write on so I can get as much objectivity as possible. Then I read it through, making notes about things I need to fix. I’m quite a good editor of my own work; I can be ruthless if I see something doesn’t serve the story. Then I work on the second draft, often adding words to round out characters and situations. I might do a few passes and new draft versions. Once I’m happy that it’s as good as I can make it, I send it out for beta reading. I have a few trusted readers and find it’s good to make them as diverse as possible as they notice different things. Then I rewrite based on their feedback, and, finally, the book is ready for my editor.

What was it like finding out Mr Collins in Love was in the New York Times Top Ten Romance for 2025? 

Oh wow it was fantastic! It’s such an accolade! I raced down the hall to tell my family, and then raced back to dance around the living room. Then I rushed out for champagne. 

Being a writer is damn hard. It’s not well-paid, often lonely and tech bros steal our books to train their hateful AI slop machines. If I get a win, I’m celebrating!

Oooh yes, I saw your website post about the AI and have been stung myself.
All your works are set in different “worlds”. How much research / world building do you do prior to writing? 

Typically I do about three months of research before writing, but it can be more, and I generally continue to research while I’m writing. It’s really important to me that the world of the story feels real, whether it’s a fantasy world, our contemporary world, or a historical one. 

I discard most of what I learn because it doesn’t serve the story, but research is never wasted because it allows me to write with confidence and I think that helps readers feel ‘safe’ with me as a writer. For example, they don’t know how many notes I made on Regency gardening when I was writing Mr Collins in Love, they just know the descriptions of his garden ‘feel right’ or they don’t consciously notice them at all because they feel seamless. That’s what I’m aiming for with all this research and world-building – to put together something the reader barely notices because they simply accept it as ‘right’.

Thank you for your time and sharing your process with us, Lee! I really enjoyed this novella and recommend interested readers purchase it from Amazon or most other online bookstores (print available from Amazon, audiobook also available).

If you’d like to win a free ebook of Mr Collins in Love, please email Lee at leewelchwriter@gmail.com before the end of February 2026 with the subject “JASANZ entry for Mr Collins ebook”.

For more info on Mr Collins in Love and Lee’s other books please visit https://leewelchwriter.com/

Write for the rubbish bin

First drafts should be “long and incoherent and hideous” according to Anne Lamott (Bird By Bird). She talks about any writers greatest fear is being hit by a bus and leaving an awful draft behind for people to discover. I think her book is also where I learnt the concept of writing for the rubbish bin.

One of my long term writing clients really struggles with the blank page. Once they’ve got words it’s easier. But no words? No way. We recently got to the root of this issue; perfectionism. They want every sentence, every word, they write to be good.

Unfortunately that’s not how writing often goes. Though I do know some people who’s first draft is better than my fifth (you know who you are), it’s rare. We write crap, then we edit or rewrite till it’s better.

Writing for the rubbish bin means to write as though you’re going to throw it out anyway. But then you don’t. When you come back to it later (whenever that is) you may find it wasn’t as terrible as you thought. Some of it may be salvageable, all of it may be salvageable with a little editing or some tweaks.

We are our own worst critics and that stops us from achieving. I’ve met many people who write better than me, first draft or tenth draft, but they don’t allow themselves to finish. They are reaching for the unattainable.

Traditionally published books still have the odd typo; that little fighter than managed to stay there through several edits by the author, editor and publishing house. It happens.

What I’m working on with this writing client (and also a coaching client) is to create something imperfect. Make perfectly messy progress. If we fuck up, that’s how we learn. But if we’re too scared to try then we never learn to walk (or write).

If you’re interested in a writing session with me you can read more here

Bag A Boyfriend

My latest release

Imagine the tackiest dating show; everything is sponsored – even some of the contestants. Instead of a rose each week the bachelor replacement gives out handbags, hence the name Bag a Boyfriend.

Sound terrible? Wait, it gets worse.

The “boyfriend” is so unsure of himself they’ve given him an earpiece to tell him how to act. Each of the contestants is a type: funny, bitchy, beautiful, smart, serious and a party girl.

And the whole thing is compressed into one week of filming.

Add to that you didn’t want to be there in the first place; your mother is literally Mrs Bennet from Pride and Prejudice.

Sound like your kinda book? Check it out

Huia Short Stories 14

This year I entered the Pikihuia short story awards jointly run by Huia Publishers and the Māori Literature Trust. I got long listed and included in the above book which is my first foray into traditional publishing. If you’d like more details, including a list of other authors, go here.

Austen Times

The State of My Life is delayed. I got distracted with a side project and quite brutal with myself about the state of the manuscript. But the side project should be finished soon and I hope to publish by the end of the year.

This has been a busy year with a lot of Austen things going on. I spent two weeks in the UK, speaking at the Jane Austen Society of London, visiting museums, seeing Bath, Jane Austen’s house at Chawton…plus a Harry Potter Studio tour and Harry Potter and The Cursed Child. It was a breath of fresh air from my normal life.

People always ask if I’ve been to Chawton. Part of the reason for my trip was so I could feel “legitimate” running the Austen Society. So I stood in front of an audience in London with a green streak in my hair and managed not to swear. Then I went to Chawton and tried on a pelisse which makes me look like red riding hood. I am a consummate professional.

There have been two Austen meetings since then, and another coming up next month. There’s also been; an Austen play (each novel in 15 minutes!), an Austen afternoon tea (where I was the only one screaming the answers to questions), an Austen movie night with friends, taking a visiting speaking to Te Papa, and a free online Austen course (which I never completed). Upcoming is another night with Austen friends to prepare for the cards meeting next month and I still have a copy of What Kitty Did Next waiting for me to read and review.

My primary school principal, who I visited recently, asked if I had any hobbies or played any sports. His wife admonished him, “wasn’t she the kid you always found reading in the hallway?” Yeah, I haven’t changed that much.

I drove straight through my childhood town on my way to research New Plymouth for The State of My Life but I did stop at Cobb & Co with my road trip companions. We had a great time then the baby threw up on himself but still he managed to smile through the spew in his eye.

All I remember of New Plymouth, as a kid, was the mall. I somehow missed that it’s amazingly beautiful. When I was younger I wanted to get out, live somewhere else. But now I found myself drawn back, I like the pace of life.

My editor, and best friend, Cassie, drove me around telling about the city. Places have their own personalities and I want to capture that. She showed me a park, looking over the sea, I’m going to set a scene right here:

The State of My Life

“Here I am, the early hours of the morning in a strange apartment with a girl I barely know and I can’t sleep. When you factor in all the big unknowns; Sophie, Fred, New York, the state of my life, I suppose it’s not surprising that I can’t sleep.”

I’m pleased to announce my next project; The State of My Life. It’s currently in draft, I’m planning to publish in September.

You might have picked up that it’s set in America, at least part of it, but the main character is a kiwi. Austen influences this time are Northanger Abbey and Persuasion.

Once I have a confirmed release date I’ll let you know.

Am I pretty enough to win the crown?

Remember how I published a book last year?

 Yeah that one.

If you liked it (and I hope you did) you can now nominate it for a Sir Julius Vogel Award.

Alternately if you like the cover (it is so fucking pretty) you can nominate my cover artist Kate Strawbridge. (You can read my post about creating the cover.)

You can nominate here

Nomination details:

Title of Work or Name of Person: Beautiful Abomination

Author/Artist: Frances Duncan (or Kate Strawbridge)

Category: Best Novella (or best Artwork)

Publisher: Independent

Contact information for nominee: frances@francesduncanwrites.com

Other information: http://www.francesduncanwrites.com (or https://www.dwelldesignpress.com/)

Cover story

BA - Mockup 1There’s an old maxim to not judge a book by its cover. But let’s be honest, we do.

My cover designer, Kate, talked about my latest cover at Lexicon. She used it to illustrate the journey from original cover (left – her design) to final cover (right – a collaborative effort).

The original is gorgeous but not really my style. I wanted something a little dark, a vampire that looked human, and an element to represent the earthquake.

You’ll notice the text remains, in fact the formatting for my name is the same as on my previous book giving a nice continuity (despite the very different genres).

Beautiful Abomination_ECover v2

The image on the left is one I took of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament when I was in Christchurch for Word Christchurch last year. The cathedral appears in the book as a sanctuary so I wanted to include an image of its ruins.

The image on the right is one Kate found. It looks much more human than a similar image I found, especially when we removed the red eyes. I loved it so much I rewrote a couple of scenes to make reference to the pouty lips of the model/character.

This cover is perfect for my book and a great example of what you can create when you work together. (If you like the original, contact Kate, she intends to sell it as a pre-made.)

 

Word Christchurch

It would have been great to write about Word Christchurch while it was still fresh in my mind but I had a busy week. After a full weekend away I had a lot to catch up on, plus I had a bit of a cold, then I met someone wonderful, and I had work, and other work, and life in general. So here is my post on Word Christchurch a week later.

My motivator for attending Word Christchurch was to see Caitlin Doughty who, through her web series Ask a Mortician, changed the way I view death. I made an idiot of myself when I met her (as you do when you meet someone you admire) but she was great about it. The sold out Ask a Mortician could have been better if they’d just given Caitlin the floor. The speakers at the Embracing Death session shared a pro choice (if I can borrow the abortion term) stance on the option of assisted dying. I had expected some debate but was pleasantly surprised.

The finalists for the  Ngaio Marsh crime writing awards gave us little glimpses into their works. It’s an experience to hear a story from the mouth of the writer. The Great Divide (between intellectualism and pop culture) didn’t impress but I went into it with the mindset that it would be about pretentious writers – one did actually use that word to identify himself. My favourite session was The Nerd Degree. Two ladies (one of them Caitlin) faced off against two men and completely trounced them. The men sadly embodied the socially awkward nerds whereas the women were articulate. I won’t spoil it any further as the pod cast is coming out soon. Several people came away from the festival with a crush on Ivan Coyote; I wish I had attended one of their talks.

Sunday morning I interviewed former National Librarian Penny Carnaby (completely unrelated to the festival). She is an amazing individual. The topics ranged from politics, her work at the National Library and life advice (apparently I should go towards the things I’m afraid of – I have been doing a lot of that lately).

Christchurch is a beautiful city I am so grateful to have visited. There was beauty in the ruins. If I had a job, friends, or family there I’d move. I went for wander to get a feel for the city and do research for my current book. It’s given me a lot of ideas so I can get back to writing.

Progress and letting go

My own darling child* has been out in the world for a month now. I thought it would be difficult to let Alison go as she lived in my head for year. But once she/it was published she was gone. I think there may even come a time when I read Alison and am surprised at what I find. I’ve been letting go of a lot of things this year. It’s difficult but it’s making me a better writer and a better person.

Continue reading Progress and letting go