19th June 2025
In the third of his fascinating guest posts, David J Blackmore, author of the thrilling 'Wellington's Dragoon' series, tells us about his writing process for the series...
 |
| David J Blackmore on Johnny, the inspiration for Michael Roberts' horse in the Wellington's Dragoon Series |
The Writing Process
This is a tricky topic, because for every book I have written there have been variations in the process. It is also a personal process, every writer has their own way of working and I also believe that it is something that can’t be taught. All of which renders this piece rather unhelpful, except that my experience might help you find your own methods. So, let me start with the most commonly asked question on this subject. It goes, roughly, as follows; “Do you have a set time for writing and/or do you write until you have written so many words?” The answer to both is no. I write when I can, by which I don’t mean when I have the time, but when I can actually sit down in front of my keyboard and be creative. Days can go past when I can’t write, some days the words just flow, but more on that in a while.
 |
| To The Douro Wellington's Dragoon Book One |
When I decided to write the Wellington’s Dragoon books, and the name came later, I wrote a brief plan for the series. It was going to be eight books from the very beginning, although there have been times when that has come close to changing, sometimes to seven, once to nine. The plan consisted of a few lines for each book, outlining, very briefly, what time period it was going to cover and what would happen. It has stood up remarkably well, but that’s probably because it was all rather vague.
 |
| Secret Lines Wellington's Dragoon Book Two |
When it comes to each individual book I create a very detailed plan. I start it based on the historical narrative of the period covered by the book, which gives me a framework in which to work. This stage involves quite a lot of research and I always start with the relevant volume of Sir Charles Oman, “A History Of The Peninsular War” in seven volumes. It was written at the beginning of the 20th century, with a brief break for war work during WWI. It is a monumental achievement and my constant guide. Then I go to more recent studies on particular campaigns and battles. At this point the plan is beginning to get quite long and has nothing in it about Michael Roberts.
 |
| Behind The Lines Wellington's Dragoon Book Three |
This is when it gets interesting. As I do my research I am looking for ways to fit Michael into the events. Perhaps the most obvious comes in the first book, “To The Douro”. Sir Arthur Wellesley, as he was then, drove the French through Portugal until they crossed the Douro at Oporto and blew up the bridge of boats that spanned the river. History will tell you that a staff officer, exploring the river upstream, discovered the wine barges, or Rabelos, secured them and Wellesley launched an assault across the river using them. I asked myself, what would he have done if the wine barges hadn’t been so fortuitously discovered? Wellesley was no fool, surely he must have anticipated that the bridge would be destroyed? In which case, what was his plan? We don’t know, and he was notoriously tight lipped about his plans. Enter Michael and the plan to make sure the boats were there.
 |
| A Different Kind of War Wellington's Dragoon Book Four |
Having got the historical framework sorted out, and decided what Michael’s role will be, I begin to sketch out what will happen in each chapter, what Michael will be doing, creating his personal narrative, gradually moving from a broad outline to a detailed plan for each chapter. Once I am happy with the plan I start writing and the advantage of having a detailed plan is that I can forget about the plotting and concentrate on the story telling.
 |
| The Road to Madrid Wellington's Dragoon Book Five |
One thing that I have discovered, however, is that, sometimes, I don’t follow the plan. I find myself bashing away at the keyboard, the words just flowing, but they’re not taking me where I planned to go. The first time it happened was rather disconcerting, but it turned out that what just flowed was better than what was planned, it was, somehow, more natural. I have learnt to go with it, even if it means a bit of rejigging of the plan.
 |
| Some of the books that David uses for his research |
“To The Douro” had thirteen drafts. Of course, I was learning how to write, finding my style, developing characters, and it took time. The second book, “Secret Lines”, had seven drafts as I learnt what to do. Since then the process has settled down. The first draft is all about the basic story, getting that straight and all nicely worked out. The second draft is about adding colour, the detail that, I hope, gives it a veracity, a period feel. Sometimes there may be a third draft, particularly if I’m not happy with some aspect of the story or I feel it needs a little extra something. This is when I start to be unable to see the wood for the trees. I once had a friend who was an artist, and he also taught art. One of the things he taught me was knowing when to stop. There comes a point when you have to say, for better or worse, I can do no more. And that is it, when you can no longer see the whole wood, just lots and lots of trees.
So, is that when it goes to Brindle? Oh, no! Then it goes to my two wonderful and patient test readers. They tell me exactly what they think of it, spot plot anomalies, general gaffs and the inevitable typos. The time lapse while they read it, however, does clear the mind so that when it comes back I am ready to tackle their comments and write the final draft.
And that is why it’s one book a year!
You can read David's Wordpress blog by clicking HERE
You can find David's Amazon Author Page HERE