Those who know me personally will know that, before I was an occasional blogger on The Vine, I was a reasonably successful book editor. I actually worked pretty closely with Dan Brown on The Da Vinci Code. Here’s an extract from a letter of advice I wrote to him after reading his first draft.

STRUCTURAL REPORT ON ‘THE DA VINCI DODE’ – DAN BROWN

Dear Dan,

I’ve really enjoyed reading your manuscript. You address the powerful themes of social change in the 1960s, particularly the generational gap that existed between those who had experienced WWII and the baby boomer generation: those susceptible to ‘Beatlemania.’ Your two central characters are strong, but I feel that concentrating more on the whole ‘religion and mystery’ vibe would be beneficial to the overall narrative.

The constant presence of protagonist Robert Langdon’s “soaking wet and extremely naked body” feels a touch contrived - and I’m not sure that “Sex Entrepeneur” is a real job. I see him more of an earnest, academic-type guy?

The central female character, Sophie Neveu is intriguing. She’s should be a smart, sexy and strong woman - however in the current state of the manuscript, her character comes across a touch shallow and inconsistent. See my notes below.

For example:
- When we first meet Sophie, she is described as: “Boring-smart librarian type with a total Frenchie duck lip (yeeeaaaaaaaahhhhhhh).”
- Then on page 187, you wrote this: “...her filthy, low-slung grey tracksuit pants cut across her knees like the Schlieffen Plan crossing Europe. She squatted to pick up the IMPORTANT RELIC, revealing a pretty killer ‘DAN BROWN’ tramp stamp in a serif font.”

Notes:
p16 - “Robert Langdon suddenly remembered that he had a secret phone that could magic him anywhere he wanted. Into an ancient tomb, into a wall cavity, into a naked ladies change room. ANYWHERE.”
- This seems a touch contrived. A ‘magic phone’ feels like a weak solution to a quite promising dillemna ie: How Robert Langdon will manage to slip past airport staff and board a plane in spite of his ‘intense nudity.’
- What is a “naked ladies change room”? I mean, I know what you mean. You’re thinking of that classic scene from every 80s comedy, where we cut to a room full of hot, giggling naked chicks. But still, they are just ‘naked girls’ in a regular ‘ladies change room.’

TBC...