About

LK Chapman writes books about relationships, family drama, secrets and lies – from dark and disturbing tales of obsession and jealousy, to twisty thrillers with a dash of romance – her passion is creating characters that get under your skin and stories that keep you gripped. Chapman’s books are inspired by her studies in psychology, and she has always been fascinated by the strength, peculiarities and extremes of human nature. As well as working as a psychologist, Chapman volunteered for mental health charity Mind before starting her journey as an author. It has been an incredibly exciting journey and she is so grateful for the support of her readers. When she is not writing, Chapman will usually be found in her garden or getting out and enjoying the outdoors – immersing herself in nature and giving her mind a chance to work on her next story!

Q&A

What do you think is the biggest influence on your writing?

I’ve always been interested in people, societies, emotions and relationships. I’m fascinated by why people do the things that they do, and writing is a way of exploring that. I think a big influence on me was studying psychology- often my ideas for stories originate from a concept I learnt about that I find particularly fascinating.

What is your process for writing a book?

I usually have an idea for my next novel when I am roughly around the second to third draft of a work-in-progress. I will then start to overlap projects, as I like to switch between stories as drafts are “resting”.

My first stage with a book is planning and research. I start with the idea that arrived in my head, which usually gives me a fairly clear idea of the events that start the book, and sometimes the ending. I will have a vague idea about one or two characters – generally just their role in the plot – and this is my starting point. I will begin to flesh out my main characters; making decisions about who they are and their back story. This may well involve some research, for example into jobs and workplaces, into health conditions, or into aspects of their relationships with family. For example, to write the character of Natalie in Into the Lake I spent time researching experiences of people with facial injuries and visible differences, as well as reading about modelling, and car crashes – so that I knew what sort of collision could have caused the injuries Natalie sustained. I also have to research and plan locations and different elements of the plot, until a picture builds up and I get to a point where I begin writing a first draft. Much of the story has not been fully decided at this stage, though I will have some specific events that need to happen in the book to progress the plot.

In my first draft my focus is just getting the plot down on paper. I will stop and research anything that arises along the way that I need to in order to progress, but I don’t get bogged down in details. My first drafts are probably about two thirds the length of a completed novel.

Once my first draft has rested for a while I read it through and write some notes about how different characters are coming across, what needs expanding / removing, or whole chunks of the story that need to be changed entirely. At this point I expect to be making very significant changes. I will need to spend some time doing more planning and research, and making decisions about characters – especially side characters who may have started out not having much personality or back story until I have a better idea how big their role will be in the story.

My second draft incorporates some of the first, but will have a lot of changes and new scenes added. Again I let the second draft rest and read it through, and this time the plot should be more or less there.

The third draft is where I, as I think of it, “write the book properly”! Scenes will get extra detail, dialogue will be made more zingy, and characters start showing their little quirks. This is a really fun draft. If the first draft is like laying the foundations of a house and the second is like building the walls, the third is like the decorating. This is where things start to really come together and look nice.

The fourth and final draft is where the book gets polished. I start to work on sentence-level detail, working from a printed copy of the third draft that will have far more pen on it than earlier print outs as I am fussy about every little thing. Once the fourth draft is done, the book is finished! At this point I have likely also finished the first draft of my next book, and so the cycle continues…

What’s the hardest thing about writing a book?

Sometimes I get a little bit stuck. Usually it’s when I can’t think of what happens next to get me from the point I’m at to where I need to get to in the story. It can be a bit frustrating but inspiration hits me sooner or later!

Also, research can be difficult sometimes. Often I need to find out about very specific or unusual scenarios and it can take a bit of time. On other occasions I might have to research topics that are not the easiest to read about, but it’s important to me to understand my characters and what they have experienced.

What will you write next?

I am working on a new psychological thriller, currently titled What’s Yours Is Mine.