Tell Me Your Ways...with Hadley Leggett

Debut author of ALL THEY ASK IS EVERYTHING out 8/27!

Hadley and I met through a group put together by the amazing and wonderful Beth Morris, for Jamie Attenberg’s 1000 words of Summer. She’s a mom of three and I find it so inspiring she wrote her debut novel “in short chunks of 500 words, a few times a week while my daughter was in preschool."As a fellow mom it’s hard sometimes to find the brain space for much more. But that’s how Hadley wrote a beautiful book that comes out 8/27! There is an in person launch at the Seward Park location of Third Place Books. Hadley will be joined in conversation by fellow Seattle author Tara Conklin. This event is free and open to the public. Come join us.

Are you a plotter or a pantser? Why do you find this the best way for you to write?

I call myself a “plantser,” because I fall somewhere in between the two extremes. For All They Ask Is Everything, I started with characters rather than plot — I knew the story would follow three women who all wanted custody of the same two little girls, and I knew what mistaken belief each character needed to overcome through the course the novel, but I didn’t know the specific plot points until I started writing.

For my current project, I started with a much more defined outline. In fact, I created multiple outlines, including a map of my story’s cause-and-effect trajectory (an “inside outline” as recommended by Jennie Nash) and the 15 story beats recommended in Save the Cat Writes a Novel. Unfortunately for me, all that outlining did not seem to make it easier to write the book! No matter how hard I tried to the stick to the plan, my characters kept veering off script! So for my next project, I’m planning to do less plotting and go back to my strategy of creating the characters and then letting the plot develop as I write.

What does your drafting process look like? Do you write scenes in order?

Because I’ve only written two novels so far, my process is still evolving. But in general, I do tend to write scenes in order, with the exception of one or two pivotal scenes from the end of the book, when the character finally experiences her “ah-ha” moment and realizes what she needs to do to resolve the conflict. For me it’s helpful to write out those “moment of change” scenes early in the drafting process, so I have something to write towards. 

I wrote All They Ask Is Everything in short chunks of 500 words, a few times a week while my daughter was in preschool. For my current project, I experimented with “fast drafting” and wrote the first 50,000 words in thirty days for NaNoWriMo. For me, fast drafting was a little too messy, and I ended up rewriting the vast majority of those words anyway. For my third book, I plan to go back to the slow and steady method with a goal of 500-1000 words per day.

The other thing that’s a little unusual about my process is that I often draft scenes in first person (which helps me get deeper inside the character’s head), but then I change the scenes to third person as I revise. My books always have multiple POVs, and as a reader, I find too many first-person narrators hard to keep track of. 

Please walk us through a little of what your revision process looks like?

My first step in revision is to set the manuscript aside for at least a month. I want to be able to come back to it with fresh eyes, and the longer I let it simmer, the easier it is to truly “read like a reader.” Then I send the project to my Kindle and read it once through without making any changes, only taking big-picture notes: Is the story interesting? Do I feel invested in the characters? Where does the story lag or feel rushed? Is anything confusing or unclear? I take copious notes on these questions, and then I read the manuscript again more slowly, this time making notes at a line level about what I plan to change. At some point I write myself an “edit letter” which outlines my plan for revision, and then I dive in to make the necessary changes.

How do you know when your story is done?

For my first novel, it was really hard! I kept tweaking and rereading and sending the manuscript to more and more beta readers, because I was afraid to take the next step of sending the book to agents. A wise author friend gave me the suggestion to survey the feedback you’re getting — if your readers are consistently pointing out the same problems, you probably still have work to do. But if readers are coming back with totally different suggestions, those suggestions likely represent their personal opinions rather than actual problems with the manuscript: a sign the book is ready. 

In general, I think the book is “done” when you’ve taken it as far as you can without outside help. And then, of course, there’s always more to do when agents and editors get on board!

How many beta readers do you typically have for a project? Does anyone read all the versions?

For my first book, I had at least a dozen beta readers at different points during the project, but I don’t think any single reader has read the book more than a few times. My husband was my very first reader, but I wouldn’t let him read it again until it was published in ARC (advanced reader copy) form. I think the three members of my writing group have each read it twice, and of course my agent and editor have read it a few times (but they never saw the early, super-messy drafts, thank goodness!). 

What are you currently working on now?

I’m working on my second novel, also upmarket book club fiction. It’s about a celebrity marriage therapist whose wife is secretly miserable in their marriage, and it’s perhaps a bit lighter in tone than my first book. But it tackles similar themes as All They Ask Is Everything, including the frustration of being the “default parent” and the ways in which society fails to support women and mothers.

Do you have a favorite book on the craft of writing?

I have three! Story Genius is my favorite for developing an idea, Save the Cat Writes a Novel for creating structure (except I prefer to use it in the revision stage to check my pacing, rather than for plotting ahead of time), and The Emotional Craft of Fiction for getting deep into a character’s psyche.

Anything else you’d like to share? Where can we find you?

Writing a novel is hard, and publishing a novel is even harder! But community is everything, and I’m beyond grateful to all the authors who have shared their wisdom and supported me on this journey. I’m always open to meeting new writer and reader friends, so please drop me a line at https://hadley.ink/contact or reach out to me on Instagram, Threads, or Facebook @hadleyleggett. Happy writing!!