York

I've been in York for the past 3 days, at a conference for work. If you haven't been, it's very pretty, even when it is peeing it down with rain, but I swear there are more drunks wandering the street than pretty much anywhere else I've been.

The hotel was nice, and I basically got to stay in a room the size of my old one-bedroom flat, so that was nice. The conference signed us up to go on a ghost walk, which was fun and fine until our guide told us our hotel was haunted by a ghost AND a poltergeist, which meant I couldn't sleep for fear of being prodded by some supernatural being.

I find ghosts interesting. I'd love to say I don't believe in them, and say what a load of tosh it all is, but the irrational side of my brain is absolutely petrified that the world is really like it is in Sixth Sense, where there are dead people literally everywhere, and that I might one day be made aware of this fact. *shudder*.

(above: can you spot a ghost in this picture? If so, please don't tell me!)

Re-Writing: My "New" System

I'm still trying to re-write my fantasy story, and have developed my own system (I can't claim it as unique, as I'm sure it isn't).
First, write a story.
Second, print out said story and read it again, preferably after letting it sit for a few days. Mark on the manuscript where there are errors or where things need expanding or changing for the sake of the story/plot.
Third, create a new second draft, starting from a blank word document, using your notes and incorporating all the necessary changes from your notes.
Fourth, go back through this second draft, and think about phrasing and correct any errors.
Fifth, finished. Share with friends and have a night off.
I'm currently at step 3, and it is DIFFICULT. I'm out of my comfort zone now, writing with my editor's hat on (rather than my creative hat, which has daisies and paper windmills and bubbles coming out the top...). I'm determined to get it finished, I really need to get into the routine of finishing what I start.

And on that note, let me tell you that last week I workshopped a story from the "Corrie Flint" canon at Speculators and spent a little time outlining a plot. This might be my next big project, but I'm aware that I still have so many things unfinished, so near to completion.

I'll let you know how the re-writing system works out. For now, back to the grindstone.

Edinburgh and Back Again

Went to Edinburgh for a few days last week. Was great to be back at the Fringe, saw some really great productions. Obvious plugs for my friends' shows - Paper Tom and The 90s in Half an Hour (both excellent) but I think my favourite had to be The Adventures of Alvin Sputnik, on at the Underbelly. It was truly moving, simple, beautiful. Had me in tears by the end. If you're in or around Edinburgh during the Festival, I very wholeheartedly recommend you go and see it.

Works in progress at the moment are mainly Matti (still the working title, I really hope a better one pops into my head soon) and a revamp of my old Three Sisters idea. This newer version started off as a dialogue between two young teens in a cafe. It is now around 7000 words long, and I'm just seeing where it goes. I'm also about to start work on a new short story. I got the idea on the train back from Edinburgh, as I was sitting in my damp clothing looking out of the window. It is about a ghost and a boy. The challenge will be to keep it under 10,000 words long.

Away with the Faeries

Recently, I have been doing some research about faeries for a new story I am writing. I thought I was quite informed about "the good folk" after all the research I had done whilst writing Banshee, but then discovered today that a "doxy" does not actually exist and was something made up for Harry Potter. Oops.

Nevermind.

I have been doing some research, as for years now I've wanted to write a short story about Tir na nOg and proper faeries* and it was only today whilst driving home from a school event that I worked out how to do it. So this is what I'm going to be working on for the rest of the evening.

I attended Alt.Fiction a few weeks ago and had a pretty enjoyable day. I've left it a bit late to review it, so will direct you to Selina's blog review of the event (diving into my own fragments of memory about the event, all I can really recall is talking about seal sex in front of Jon Courtenay Grimwood!). Will Ellwood also comments here.

*Canny regular readers will know I have already attempted to write about proper faeries once in The Tower (link takes you to the far superior audio version rather than text).

Taking the Slow Road

Well, first things first. The "thumb flap" has healed, leaving me a slightly pinkish mark as a memento. I know how worried you've all been, so just wanted to reassure you that it hadn't turned gangrenous and fallen off. ;-)

Secondly, I went to see Much Ado About Nothing at the Wyndham's Theatre last Saturday. It was an excellent production, and made me remember how great the script is, especially the dialogue between Benedick and Beatrice. It actually crackles. Love it.

Thirdly, the rewriting of Matti is going ... slowly. But I've realised that that isn't a bad thing. Taking my time to analyse the manuscript and make considered changes is actually going to make it a lot stronger, in terms of story, character and language. I recently read the advice about revising on Fantasy Faction's website: http://fantasy-faction.com/2011/revisions-part2, which has helped to clarify the techniques I have been trying to use. Holly Lisle's method (see link in the margin to the right) involves doing all the stages at once, but I've realised there isn't enough space in my head to process like that, regardless of how many coloured pens I use.

And finally, I am working on something new. Well, it's really taking old things but making them work together. A sort of Frankenstein's Monster of a story, if you will. I am fleshing out the idea of it at the moment, but hope to start writing it properly as soon as I have all the kinks figured out.

Thank goodness it's another Bank Holiday on Monday!

The New Novel

OK folks, here it is. A basic summary of my new novel.

Firstly, I should record that I came up with the idea some time ago in June this year whilst at a Speculators meeting, sitting under a tree in the Quakers' garden. Originally, I had the idea of a girl who could control nature, and anything connected to that. Trees, plants, animals, the weather, earthquakes, the Earth's rotation. All that stuff. Then I decided to give her a sister, an opposite almost, and so she has power over humanity - she can heal or destroy the human body. She can read and manipulate minds. She can create life, just as she can extinguish it. My protagonist and antagonist were born.

And yet, I decided that I liked my "antagonist" more, and so decided to write the story mainly from her point of view. Matti is the "evil" one to Eva's "good" one, but what makes Matti so interesting is that she doesn't consider herself to be evil at all.

Currently, the story is being told via a series of chapters which relates to a particular year of the sisters' lives. As they are potentially immortal, in this story it spans almost 70 years. It starts with the sisters as children. Eva was born with her powers to control nature, and has always been special as a result. Matti, the older sibling, discovers her powers after an accident that should have killed her. Suddenly the dynamics of the family are changed. This is the seed for the resentment and bitterness that lead to the sisters' war against each other. But despite the decades of fighting, they are still sisters, still drawn together because of family ties (and burdens), and an ongoing moral argument.

It's not going to be one of those stories that ends happily. And it's as much about coping with death and the consequences of your actions, as it is about immortality and (for want of a better word) superpowers.

More updates will follow. For now, I'm still working on chapter one - which, because it includes a lot of flashback, will probably get cut somewhere later along the line. Hey ho!

(Picture: "Storm Goddess" by Firnadi Iqbal http://www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk/show_image.php?imageID=15928)

Risks and Writing

I have a lot of respect for writers that take risks with regards to pursuing their dreams. Being a writer means that you have to have a certain amount of free time in which to write, to day dream, to plot and plan. Quitting the day job is a big step, especially if that means living on the bread line, working from commission to commission, and only making your next mortgage payment based on your popularity with, say, white, female, middle-class 20-somethings going on package holidays to Alicante. It's risky business indeed. Not many authors ever get to live comfortably from their writing alone. I like to day dream about quitting my job and supporting myself with my writing, but there are too many variables that rely on chance for me to consider this as a viable option at present. I don't think I'd be brave enough to leap off the cliff into full-time writerdom without a parachute of some kind (a five-book deal? A big fat royalty cheque? A Nobel prize?). So I have a lot of respect for people who do leave the rat race, even part time, to pursue their dreams. Does playing it safe though mean that I'm a worse writer? Or that I'm any less serious than someone who has made more of a sacrifice, who has taken those risks? I don't think so, and I hope not. I think of it as being "sensible" rather than anything else, though there is a little bit of insecurity and fear mixed in there too.

I really enjoyed The Black Magician Trilogy by Trudi Canavan, and after taking a short break to read The Boy With The Cuckoo Clock Heart by Mathias Malzieu (good), I have now started reading the first book of Canavan's second trilogy The Age of the Five. I'm only on page 5 at the moment, but will tell you how it goes. Enjoyable so far, though her prose style is a little abstained - still, it is early days and I'm sure I will get into the story in a couple of pages time.

Still in the planning stages of what I *think* is going to be my next novel (don't want to jinx it!). Will give you more details next time. It's all very exciting at the moment, as I can see the potential in the story stretch out for me for miles. But whether I'm able to do it justice, well, we'll just have to wait and see!

Frustrated

I am currently working on a short story about two sisters who hate each other and have magical powers. I don't know if it is any good, or if I will continue the story into a novel. At the moment, I quite like my two characters, so I'll see where it goes.
This is what I've been trying to do for the past few months - just play around with characters and settings, trying to find a voice, a story, a protagonist that interests me. So far I've come up with several short pieces, none of which are completed, and I am longing to write a novel again. It's like when you break up with a long term boyfriend - soon after the break-up, you don't want to go on dates again and get to know someone from scratch. You want that shared intimacy, the secrets, the safe comfort that comes with prolonged knowledge. At the minute I want to jump ahead to the novel part, in spite of not having a story, a plot, an idea even about what to write. Which is why I'm trying to write short pieces. Even though it's frustrating the crap out of me. Can't run before you can walk, as the adage goes.

Chatsworth

This past week I've been off work, using up some of my holiday. And it's been bliss. I've planted tomatoes, strawberries, runner beans and both red and green peppers in the garden (as well as a patio rose bush), did a little writing, and, on Friday, hired a car and went to Chatsworth House. It was absolutely beautiful. The house is striking in its grandeur against the lush countryside around it. To be honest though, I was a little disappointed when touring the house - the state rooms were lovely, but the rest of the house we were allowed to tour was more like a museum than a residence, and it's the people that interest me. The gardens, on the other hand, were magnificiant. If you can't find inspiration for a Fantasy world setting there, then I don't know where. The rock garden in particular was beautiful - going to bore you with a few photos, but you get the idea!

Officially I am now part of the Speculators group, which is a SF writing group that meets every week on Queens Road. They're producing a magazine to promote the group, and this was the motivation to finish my short story "Tick", which is the steampunk reworking of Inter Vivos. The word limit for the mag was only 1,500, so I think I'm going to go back to the story and develop it further.

Development for my Corrie Flint/Selena Waterford/Mattthew Gray story is coming along, although I still don't have anything to link all the stories together - aside from the fact that they all take place in London. I'm sure my brain will puzzle it out eventually though.

Hope you all enjoy your bank holiday Mondays!

The Plan (Take 2)

Hope you all had nice holidays everyone! I meant to write a blog post two weeks ago, but was so busy at work that I never got around to posting.

So, over the last few weeks I've been taking some time to think about what to do next. It feels like ages since I actually came up with a new writing project, which is both exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. As I mentioned, I've been busy with work, which meant only snatched moments to ponder things, but not really any time to be productive and dedicate to new projects. And then over Easter, when I thought I'd have time, I had food poisoning instead. So yes, anyway, this post is about the Plan. Or the New Plan, as it should be known.

I want to continue on with Dorcas Grubb and The Banshee, my two completed first drafts that are currently sitting on my memory stick collecting electronic dust. I need to work out what the main event is in Dorcas, and I need to come up with an actual plot that means something for the Banshee, rather than it being just a string of events that don't lead anywhere.

I came up with an idea for a new novel, I think, though it's all a bit sketchy at the moment, and to be honest, every time I start it, it doesn't come out how I want, and I don't know whether it's fear or inability that's hindering me. The idea anyway - there is a town in contemporary England (at the beginning it was going to be Medieval, but I've scrapped that now) run by two very powerful, feuding families - the Knights and the Bakers. The story goes that once upon a time, Death had a fling with this mortal woman, who had three daughters by him. Death gave each daughter a special gift - the eldest could turn invisible, the second could move as swiftly as Death himself, and the third could see into the future. Anyway, the mum dies and the sisters start squabbling. The eldest married a Knight, hence the surname, the second the local baker, and the third became a nun (Cloister). Anyway, the story is about their descendants today, using their powers to gain the upper hand in the feud which is verging on all out gang war (a bit like modern day Capulets and Montagues). I have a few sketchy characters, a setting, a back story, but no plot as of now. So that's what I'm trying very hard to come up with at the moment.

I also started a short story last night, and I really enjoyed writing it, but I'm not sure where it's going, if anywhere. I was told a few weeks ago that Jay Lake set himself the goal of writing one short story a week, which is a great idea if you have time, so I've decided to write one short story a month starting April 2010. Even if they are just "practice" stories, it'll still be good to write on a regular basis. Plus you never know, some of them might have potential.

And there it is, the Plan. Write a short story a month. Come up with a plot for Three Sisters and write that. Work on the plot of Dorcas Grubb. Come up with a plot for The Banshee story. I think I'm sensing a pattern...

Ho-Hum

Another rejection email today. When it rains, it pours, right? I'm about at the limit of how much my optimistic attitude can take, so I'm off for dinner tonight with the boyf to cheer myself up.

Sigh.

I have started working on something new, which has the potential to become a new novel. I think I'll wait though until I'm in a better mood to tell you about it.

Editing

I'm feeling a bit down today. One, because I got an email yesterday saying that one of my stories was rejected from a magazine, and two, because on my way to work today I went arse over tit and fell over in the snow. Was very embarrassing (and painful).
Editing Inter Vivos is time consuming and not very exciting. It is good when you get to a part of the story where you suddenly find yourself swept away by it, but those moments are few and far between, and most of the time I'm rewording clumsy sentencing, or else cutting scenes altogether. Chapter one has had to go entirely, which has meant rewriting half of chapter two to make it make sense.
Sigh.
Anyway, on a positive note, I've an idea for a story but I don't know really where to start with it, and whether it might be a short-story or a novel. It is set on a dying Earth-like planet, where the rotation of the planet has stopped completely, and most people now live in the shadowy part along the world's equator, sandwiched between freezing cold and boiling hot. I haven't written anything yet, but I think it might be something I work on in the future.

NaNoWriMo Day 11

Things are still going well for me, NaNoWriMo-wise. I'm one whole day ahead of my target word count, which I'm hoping to add to tomorrow and Friday as I have a hen weekend to go to this Saturday, and chances are I won't get any writing done.

In terms of word count I'm doing well. In terms of story though...it all feels a bit rushed. I haven't read back over anything I've written yet, so I don't have anything to really reflect on, but I feel like at the minute I'm merely capturing scenes, rather than feeling and living them. I've moved away from 3rd person singular to 3rd person multiple viewpoint, so that now I can jump into anyone's head that I feel like it, depending on whose is the most appropriate mind to view a particular scene from. It's working so far. Plus, it's nice to get out of Tom's head. He's a bit dull. I might have to inflict him with a lisp or something to make him a tad more interesting. If he was a Sim, I probably would have drowned him by now.

I've had quite a productive year this year. I've written Inter Vivos draft 2 from scratch starting in January, which amounts to just over 120,000 words in its unedited state. I've completed three short stories, two of which are making the rounds at the moment looking for publication. And now I'm almost 19,000 words into my new Banshee novel.

I'm not sure what I'll do when I can finally say "Inter Vivos is finished" and start sending it off to publishers and agents. I will start working on another novel, naturally, but the decision will be between Dorcas Grubb and Banshee, and possibly something else, depending on how long it takes me to finish IV. I also want to work on a collection of interlinked short stories, ordered a bit like Pulp Fiction out of chronological order with occasional recurring characters.

It's good to have options.

So that's it really. Still reading Juliet Barker's Brontes biography, which weighs a tonne. I've drawn the conclusion that Charlotte wasn't particularly likeable, rather selfish actually and quite condescending. My favourite is Anne, the more practical, realistic one. Going to read The Tenant of Wildfell Hall next.

New Story

Greetings again, this time from Essex. Hotel is quaint, quiet and tidy, though the two lamps by my bed don't work. There's only 5 TV channels, and Five is fuzzy at best.
I have decided to reread the Harry potter books, and have just finished the first, and I'm also reading The Host by Stephenie Myer. It's not bad. Good idea, pretty well executed so far, though the love scenes are embarrassing. Plus, I don't get why having sex at 17 (post apocolypic world or not) is a bad thing. Guess that's mormons for you.
I have a new story in development - Corrie Flint, fire demon, auditions for America's got talent. As I started to write today (idea occured whilst in hotel room yesterday in Sheffield) I thought that I might like to write a series of short stories with intersecting characters, sort of Pulp Fiction style but without all the shooting. Not sure when ill have time for this grand project, but thought I'd document it here in case I forget.
Inter vivos tomorrow. Am locking myself in my hotel room in the hope I finish at least two chapters. There is a chance though that I instead go mad, a la the shining. Five TV channels, I mean!

A Dystopian Jane Eyre, with Cyborgs

I'm trying to work out what Inter Vivos is about, in prep for editing it and trying to pitch it to publishers and agents. I know what the story is, of course, but what are the themes I want to bring out? What is the central conflict and message? Perhaps when it's finished (draft 2b) and I read through it I'll have more of an idea. I'm kinda thinking it's a biopunk bildungsroman sort of story, and I think I might be treading on some new ground there a little bit (think Jane Eyre with cyborgs, and you get the idea).

Have started another short story - I'm starting to wonder whether this is productive procrastination - this time for an anthology that I'm hoping to get accepted for. Deadline is in September, so I figure, if I start now, then I'll hopefully be finished by then. My story is about pirates, which is a condition of the anthology, and I have created this wonderful grotesque female pirate - I'm thinking of Claire from Der Besuch Der Alten Dame with a bit of "Fevvers" from Nights at the Circus thrown in - this huge, repulsive, but larger than life woman as a very unconventional anti-heroine. Anyway, I'm trying to decide how (stylistically) to tell the story, but have made a crack at it anyway.

Starting short stories isn't the problem. Finishing them is. I do suffer from The Fear quite a lot; what if this promising story with these intriguing characters is made crap half way through by some stupid plot device I've thrown in? Urgh.

OK, will aim to finish off one short story by next Monday. Can she do it? Stay tuned to find out...

Tidings from Manchester

The cycle of UCAS conventions has started again, so I will be away every week now until April. This week it's Manchester. It's not a bad place, but I'm intimidated by the tallness of the buildings and their close proximity to each other. Still, I found the central library and a cosy Starbucks, so after work I was able to get a bit of work done, which I'm going to continue in a sec (after Judge Judy of course!).
Ideas keep fighting for my attention, but I'm trying to keep focused on Inter Vivos. Chapter 15 is still ongoing, but I'm hoping it'll be finished before the night is over. Then its on to chp 16 which is going to be tough. Why is it so hard to write about falling in love? Sex, no problem. Death, piece of cake. But love at first sight? I feel decidedly under qualified. I fell for my best friend; it's so difficult to write about lightening bolts without, ahem, resorting to clichés. Perhaps because (aside from lust)love at first sight doesn't really exist? I wrote a post last week about my thoughts on love, which I never had time to post, and might not do after this one, but its all interesting nonetheless (well to me anyway).
Anyway, greetings from Manchester, how are you?

Banshee

So what is my day job? Well, in a nutshell, I give advice to people about going to university. I am paid to promote one university, but I try to keep my advice as neutral as possible, emphasising the importance of the individual doing what is best for them. I give careers advice, I advise about student loans, about UCAS, about filling in the application form, and also about the different courses that are on offer and what an individual might need in order to secure a place at the uni. I like my job. I mean, it has its bad days, but so long as I feel that I'm being helpful, then I'm happy. Yes, there are problems in terms of the soon-to-be too many graduates for graduate job opportunities (especially in this economic crisis), but university is a life changing experience, and I believe that if someone has the potential and aspiration to go, then they should, regardless of what background they are from.
Ahem.
Anyway, you see, my job is even infringing on my blog now! Crazy!
Sorry to my... I don't know... three readers who have been peeved that I haven't been updating more regularly. I'm going to try to do better from now on (ooh, school parents' evening flashback!).
One of the reasons for the absence of posts recently is that I've actually been busy writing. And it's been pretty good, so far. I know the story, what's supposed to happen, and so I've been working through the first draft of Inter Vivos, and in some places merely connecting the dots, but in others I've had to do a major overhaul of the chapter, else start from scratch and add scenes where none previously existed. I'm on chapter fourteen at the moment, now known as "the longest chapter in the history of the world" because I've been working on it for about a week and I've still not got to the part where the chapter ends! I think when I come to do the proper edit that I'll end up splitting it in two, but I'm not worrying about that now. It will just be a relief when I can finally save it and move it into my "Finished Chapters" folder.
And seeing as activity breeds activity, whilst writing my chapters I also had a new idea for a story. I think I might toy with having two narrators, one a banshee, the other a wannabe rock star university student. Not a love story, but a death story, about losing someone and the futility in not only that loss, but in being powerless to prevent it. It's a work in progress, anyway; something to work on when my Volunteers are reading through Inter Vivos looking for spelling mistakes and huge plot holes (there's still plenty of time to become a Volunteer, btw, so let me know if you're up for it. I might even make you t-shirts).
Just a note about the picture - I was searching Yahoo images for a pic to use for my Banshee, and I came across these slightly creepy but really beautiful dolls. Anyway, the website is: http://www.enchanteddoll.com/ Absolutely lovely, but extremely expensive! (I even found one that looks like "Nox"!)

The muse comes a knockin' ... and I'm at work!

All day I've been wanting to write. Crazy, eh? Right from this morning, I've been itching to do some writing. That rarely happens. But instead, I've had to go to work and do office things instead. And I'm betting this latest wind of inspiration won't last until Friday. Hmpf.
Anyho, Chapter Two of Inter Vivos (the rewrite) is almost completed. I'm not sure about the tone in the middle, and there's a bit of language polishing that needs doing, but it's progressing well. Seeing as Chapter One might as well be renamed "God-awful chapter that stalled the writing of this book for seven months, and is still rubbish", the fact that chapter two was easy, and - dare I say it? - fun is great. Perhaps I'll just start at chapter two, to heck with back story. Interesting idea.
I realise that you few people who do read this blog don't have any idea what I'm writing about when I talk of Inter Vivos. Maybe one day if it gets published, we can all come back and read over these sections and go "ah, I see, that's how that happened".
I have a new character in my head at the minute. Well, when I say 'character', really it's more of a name, and a feeling. Jessie. Female. A bit pissed off. She's probably pissed off that she doesn't have a story yet, but there you are! I also have another name too - Raeley/Railey Quinn. Female too. Perhaps fragments will float around inside my head until a story (or at least a few more characteristics) come together to form a plot.
Have been reading Carrie Vaughn's blog today about "Urban Fantasy" (read part one ,two and three). Was amusing that in part two she talks about tattoos on girls on covers and next to this is a photo of her book cover with a girl with a tattoo on the front! Guess it proves the point. Good blog though nonetheless.

Some Ideas

OK, so whilst I'm working on Inter Vivos (which isn't particularly interesting to blog about, I'm just reading it right now), I thought I'd share a vaguely new idea for a short story with you.

It's about a company who start to sell a new soft drink that is highly addictive (a bit like Pringles laced with something!), marketed at kids. Once a person has drank enough of it, their tongues fall off and get stuck to the cans. I'm not going to tell you why, or what happens to the tongues once they have been removed, or what happens to the people without tongues, but the story is a bit of a satire. I think I might have it ready by Hallowe'en.

I really want to go on holiday, but I'm completely broke. If money were no object, I'd go to Hawaii, or Rome, or Budapest, or Kenya, or Peru. Suppose I should at least renew my passport before I start day-dreaming of running away.

Carnival Band

I had a new idea for a play recently, inspired by my journeys to rehearsals in Hinckley, passed the church where the town's marching band practices. The idea is to write about the xylophone section of a marching band who are rehearsing for the town's summer carnival. There's only 5 of them, as they are a smaller section within the marching band, and they're all misfits and having to have extra seperate rehearsals because they can't keep up with the rest of the group. Each scene is them getting a bit better, until it ends with them joining the carnival procession. I have a couple of characters in mind, but the main one is a 16 year old girl called Tara, who is 14 stone and wishes she were the carnival queen.

Don't know when I'll get around to writing it properly, but it's something I've been writing lines of dialogue for when I'm bored at work!