Trevow is the first community novel of its kind. Some 150 people contributed to it in a variety of ways and at different stages.
Work started in October 2018. For the first six months the Joined Up Writers played with ideas, researched local themes and places, and created characters.
From this raw material they started to draft rough scenes, putting characters together and exploring their relationships.
By summer 2019 they had planned the full story. In September they started to write the novel in full. This entailed some style choices: point of view, tense, ways to ‘show not tell’, and use of dialogue.
Agreement about these meant they could write seamlessly, in a consistent voice.
Participation was important throughout. Others in the local community got involved, for example, Women’s Institute members informed a plot decision, and residents attending a summer fair offered ideas for a climactic event.
The Joined Up Writers met weekly in community venues: a village hall, a sailing club, local pubs, a cafe, a community garden, each others’ kitchens, an orchard, and – during Covid-19 lockdowns – on Zoom.
By January 2020 the first chapters were ready to be serialised in print and online. Chapters were shared in a local monthly publication, The Magazine.
Participation was important throughout. The novel is entirely the work of the volunteers and the group of 6 who wrote the complete and final manuscript drew constantly on ideas and information from the community around them.
See the Joined Up Writers at work in the gallery.
joined up writers 