And so...

After all of your kind feedback and support, I sat down and wrote for an hour on Sunday. I timed it on my phone and set an alarm and everything.

Going back to my novel, I found it was actually in pretty good shape. I mean, don't get me wrong, it still needs work, but the skeleton is practically there. Now all it needs is a few large meals and it'll be sorted.

Now I just need to find a way to keep writing. My motivation is back at any rate, and I suppose that's half of the battle.

How to get writing again?

Work has become crazy busy recently, now that I am in charge of organising events full time. I am trying to finish the second draft of Banshee, my WIP, but scheduling time to write is really difficult, especially when my "day job" creeps into evenings and weekends too.

So I've been thinking about ways that I can still work on my project, but without obviously slacking off during the day and getting into trouble at work.

Here are some ideas I've had to get started again:

* Writing for 30 mins - 1 hour before breakfast.
* Pretend conversations in my head between characters, and then scribbling it down or recording it on my phone.
* Staying late after staying late to write a little bit (this is how this blog post has come about!).

What are your suggestions? Do you have a good way of staying focused when life tries to get in the way of your writing?

W.I.P

Right, so I'm still trying to work on my novel about the witch/superhero sisters, which started life as a short story and developed into a first draft during NaNoWriMo 2010. I've been having problems with it because I just didn't know how to tell the story - whether to set it in the present with flashbacks or to tell it chronologically and perhaps stretch it out into a series.

I've finally decided to give the version with flashbacks a go. I had started to write a series, but the reason I got stuck, I think, is that all the good stuff that I was interested in actually happens in the present, rather than the past. So anyway, here goes version 3.

If anyone would like to recommend good novels (SF/Fantasy or not) that deal with flashbacks particularly well, I'd really appreciate it.

There's an interesting competition looking for stories to be included in an anthology at Fantasy Faction. I think I might use it as motivation to finish one of the short stories I've had lying around for months. The details are here, if any of you are interested (good luck!).

Monsters, Monsters Everywhere

My god-daughter is really into Monster High at the moment. I bought back a doll for her from New York in April, thinking how cool it was to have little goth dolls, as opposed to the normal pink-wearing Barbies or those Bratz dolls with their freakishly-large heads.

I really fell for the idea of them, these anti-Barbies who face the oppressive "Norms" to get an education and get on in life (afterlife?). So I was a tad disappointed when I saw that there was a Monster High website, which seemed to imply that all these monster teens actually cared about was cheerleading and stealing someone else's boyfriend. I know that's the bread and butter of teen dramas, but really. Perhaps they ran out of imagination after the initial product designs were completed.

Anyhow, she's asked for another one for Christmas, which I will happily supply, because she's currently too young to read the novels and I like the fact that not all of her dolls are blonde (OK, so Zombie-Blonde is allowed).

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.

Just A Thought

Why do some people hate JK Rowling so much? I suppose the question can be directed at many famous successful people, but I'm choosing JK Rowling because I've just stumbled across some really vile comments on the internet. I know that there are people in this world whose only happiness seems to be writing mean things on the internet, but I just don't understand where that passion, that hatred, comes from. Her only crime is writing some books that lots of people have enjoyed. She hasn't wronged anyone (as far as I'm aware), doesn't seem to be a mean person, doesn't harm animals or take drugs, etc. Why do people feel the need to be so completely hateful? I know there are differing opinions about the quality of her work, but should that really stir up such a strong reaction? Seriously, take a nice deep breath and go lie down somewhere quiet for a while.

Hatred is such a strong thing. I think the only times I've ever really felt hatred (or something akin to it) has been caused by jealousy. Well, jealousy and hormones. It's strange how people can become obsessed with people they don't even know, and think that just because they're online all rules regarding etiquette and appropriateness don't exist.

Baby Steps

I have put the faerie story to one side for the moment to concentrate on the rewriting of my Matti novel. Will it be finished by August (in reference to the deadline I set myself earlier this year)? No. But this rewrite is stronger than ever and I am feeling happy that it is now sounding more like I intended.

I had a really nice rejection email the other day - sounds like an oxymoron doesn't it? - possibly a sign that I'm actually getting better at this craft. I'm feeling pretty positive right now. I feel like I am starting to establish my voice through my writing, and I have a good idea of what my brand will be when I do get published.

So, enough with the update already. I'm off to do some writing. Catch you later!

Thumb Flap

I haven't been so productive today, in part due to my new thumb flap freaking me out every time I look down at my right hand.
Thumb flap. Oh yes. You read that right.
You see, on Saturday I trapped my thumb in the fridge door. It was highly embarrassing and extremely painful. Three days later, and the bleeding has stopped, but I have a hole in said thumb, which is covered by (you guessed it) a flap of skin.
Sorry. Perhaps I should have warned you that this post would be a bit icky.
Currently, my thumb is deathly white, though this may be because I've just removed the plaster rather than a sign that my thumb is about to drop off. One hopes anyway.
It's also making holding a pen difficult, so cue a writing session that is computer based for today. Today is a "Dorcas Day" so I will be spending this evening mainly working on my Dorcas Grubb novel. For further info, please follow the labels below. It's all about a girl dealing with bereavement and mending the hole in her family, much more than it is about her genetic ability to travel in time. Off now to do some work. I would still like to successfully reach my deadline of having a novel completed by September.

Canterbury

I am currently taking advantage of the (hopefully) free wi-fi in my hotel room to update my blog. I'm in Canterbury for work, staying at a nice hotel on Wincheap trying to take advantage of the alone-time to do some writing. Unfortunately, my writing session has turned into an amazing feat of procrastination. For example, I took a detour home via Chilham to see where Jane Austen's brother once lived and where they shot some scenes for the newest BBC adaptation of Emma. When I did get back to the hotel finally, after only writing two lines of notes I then took another detour to writerdom by seeing how much honeycomb I could eat in twenty minutes whilst drinking an entire pot of tea. I then dallied further by reading Carrie Vaughn's story in Fantasy magazine (tis good, go see for yourself).
My attention span is ridiculous. If only I could concentrate for more than 10 minutes at a time I might actually have more things accomplished.
So on that note, I'm going to go back and do some writing.
Wish me luck.

Banshees for NaNoWriMo

Thankfully, the busy period is over with at work now, and so I can finally get back to concentrating on my writing.

I am still working away at Inter Vivos - going to go and do some more once I've finished this blog post - and I'm still waiting to hear from a couple of magazines where I've submitted work, so it's quite busy at the moment, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed all goes well.

It's almost NaNoWriMo time, and so I thought I'd blog a little bit about this year's project, although I don't have everything planned out yet. I have mentioned it before in bits and pieces, but thought I'd try to expand a little bit on what I've already told you, so you have more of an idea what I'm on about.

Right, so this year, my story is about a banshee named Caoimhe (pronounced Kee-va), and a fresher called Tom. Tom starts university and instantly goes about forming himself a band. He's talented and convinced he's going to be a rock star. He's quite big-headed, with that arrogance that comes from being 18, fairly attractive, and the best thing from his little local sixth form. So anyway, he's playing his first gig at some pub and is drawn to bar maid Caoimhe, who looks like a model - 6 foot tall, skinny, with long white-blonde hair (see picture above for how I see her), who happens to also be enrolled at the university reading mathematics. Turns out that not only is Caoimhe the only one he's ever met who isn't instantly into his music (and him), but she's also a banshee - born several centuries earlier, she and her "sisters" are charged with the task of escorting the ancestors of the ancient noble families of Ireland to the underworld when they die. Drawn almost magnetically to a place whenever someone with noble blood is marked with a "halo", the banshee doesn't know until it is too late whom that person is. Some of the sisters, such as Caoimhe, play detective to try to find the person to protect them from death (if they are able to) as a way to save those whom they are eternally bound from suffering and misery. So Tom becomes attrached to Caoimhe, and follows her about until he witnesses her at "work", and is eventually drawn into her world as she tries to track down her latest halo, who also happens to be enrolled at Tom's new university.

So that's the jumble that's in my head at the moment. Will hopefully have it in some sort of semblance of a plot before November 1st.

Quick Post

I'm pretty busy with work at the moment, so this is just a quick post to share a couple of things.

Firstly, I found a really interesting piece on the net about the typical advance paid for a novel. Apparently it's about $5000 (so slightly over £3,000) in the US for SF/Fantasy fiction. The author has also compiled stats about how much your advance is likely to be if you have an agent or not. It's interesting stuff. You can read more about it here: http://www.tobiasbuckell.com/2005/10/05/author-advance-survey-version-20/

Secondly, I found a great little comic today too here: http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php There was a very cool Holmes-Watson one, and a funny "Dude watching with the Brontes".

Inter Vivos is ongoing as ever, and I'd better get off to the library and get some more done, if I ever wish to get my hands on any sort of advance. You know, I've found it's a lot harder to become a writer if you don't actually have anything to sell...

Hagging It Up!

I wrote the following last night when I was out and about, and was going to post this to my blog then, but I couldn't get signal for my BlackBerry! Anyway, here it is:

I am presently sitting in Starbucks - since when did they become so ethnic? African drummers on loop on the CD player, and prints of Kenyan elephants and Antigua on the wall. Last time I was in here, I distinctly remember them playing Christina Aguilera. Oh well. Times they are a-changing.

Speaking of which, all seems to be going well with my Semper buddies. Broken Holmes is into its rehearsal period, Phil's book is now available from Amazon (plug, plug), and Hannah is taking over the internet, one tweet at a time. I sincerely hope that I have some news soon, but unfortunately right now all I can report is that I'm writing. It takes so long!

In other news, I have a small project in the works at the minute, more news to follow, but hopefully it will take off and be grand!


So that's it! One more thing I wanted to add to that was, I think I may have found the perfect job! http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8138665.stm

Top Bum

Over the weekend, I watched Top Gun. Isn't it the most homoerotic film of all time? And Tom Cruise stabbing that woman with his tongue ("kissing"??!!) whilst backlight by blue light - how icky does that look? Don't think I had watched it all the way through since the early nineties, so had never noticed those things before.

Busy time at work coming up, not really looking forward to, but perhaps I can use it to become more focused with my time again. I know I keep saying it, but I really really want to get IV finished.

Finally - urgh, too hot and raining. My hair is now a ball of frizz.

I Better Blog Soon, Else People Will Think I've Vanished!

I've written so far 99,840 words of Inter Vivos, and have eight chapters (and possibly a prologue) to go. Which means hopefully when I come to editing, my word count will still be reasonable even after I've got rid of all the guff. Excellent.

This week I've been finding it difficult to find time to write. I've had work commitments each evening, and I start my travels again soon. I know, I need to get motivated again and just plough through. Will try starting tomorrow, as have another work engagement tonight too. Oh to be a student again!

240th Post!

It's been too hot to write recently - I mean, seriously, how do people who live in hot climates get anything done? Though I guess air-conditioning (which is very rare in the UK) has revolutionised the world in which we live. How else could you attribute the economic success of hot places like Singapore and Brunei? (That's a joke, people).

European Elections tomorrow. One thing that confuses me (I don't know much about politics mind), is how some people are very anti-Conservative, when really what they are referring to is the Conservative party some 19 years ago (Maggie Thatcher), rather than their policies today? I also get the impression that Labour (as in New Labour)'s policies are very similar to the Conservative party policies today anyway. I'm not planning on voting for either of them, but it just seems a little strange. I'm reading manifestos right now, something I've not done before, as I'm hoping to make educated decisions from now on, rather than just voting for the person whose name is prettiest. ;-)

I'm watching Arrested Development at the mo, and it's really good. Have you seen it? It's really funny, and the writing is just so tight - there's not a bit of dead wood anywhere (up to series 2 at the minute). And I care about all the characters, which is quite an achievement these days.

Bit bitty this post. Will try to be more coherent next time!

Edinburgh Here I Come!

Before I start: Congrats Phil for your "Experiment" at the Accidental Festival. Hope it went well!

Am bored of Twitter already. I just don't have anything to say that anyone would be interested to read. "Brushing my hair", "At work", "Sneezing due to hayfever" - hardly makes riveting reading, right? Plus, I still don't get it. I mean, at least with the status update on Facebook you can reply to it, and have a bit of a conversation. But Twitter, well it's just micro-blogging, but without the feedback, right? Oh, I guess there's that "@" thing, but they don't show up unless you manage to catch them on your home page before they disappear into infinity. It's not like Facebook, where they get saved nice and neatly under the original posting. Perhaps I'm using it wrong. I don't know. Maybe someone with more "Twitter" knowledge will clue me in.

Oh, I'm such a luddite!

I've had a nice long break from writing, but I think I'm in the right mind set to actually enjoy it again. It's been bloody torture these past months - I've had to resort to crude similes just to get the bastard text out. It's not good, funny or clever, but I'm hoping in the edit that'll all get sorted out.

Off to Edinburgh at the beginning of August to see Robin's show. We're definitely going now, as we're booking our accommodation tonight. It's a little bit expensive, but I thought it would be; it's peak time, and normal hotels around the country are £40-70 a night at off-peak times, so paying £50 a night during the Fringe is actually a bargain. Yeah, it's standard student accommodation, but it's ensuite and comes with breakfast, so can't complain. We're going from 6th - 12th, as that's the only time we can have off work. Will try to blog each day whilst I'm there and fill you in on the happenings!

Right, off to the library now to do some real work...

Busy!

This is one of those very rare occasions where I'm actually writing this blog post from a desk via blogger's website, rather than from a bus or a train or a hotel room via my BlackBerry. It's actually rather nice. Though saying that, it won't last for long, as next week is crazy busy again (Reading, Lewisham, Stanmore, home) and the week after that crazier still (Stoke, Guildford, London, Northampton). Perhaps this is what book tours are like, in which case I'll be well practiced.

I'm off to write in the library for a bit as soon as I'm done here. I'm feeling quite tired, as I've been at work since half 8 this morning with no break as yet, but I need to stay motivated. Once I've finished this draft, then it's time for the big edit, and after that, I'm half way there. It is tough to try to write, and be a writer, when you've also got a full time job, but I'm doing it as best I can and trying not to waste a second of my time.

Well, aside from the odd blog post ;-)

After Inter Vivos is finished and doing the rounds with friends, I'm planning on finishing off a couple of short stories and sending them out to slush piles around the country, and also I'm planning on making a proper start on my next novel, which I think will be the banshee story. I'd like to squeeze in some drama too somewhere, but haven't really got the time.

Oh! That reminds me, for those of you interested, Script Frenzy, which is the play/film/graphic novel version of NaNoWriMo, begins on 1st April. You have to write 100 pages in a month. Interested? Details here.

Berlin

I've been slogging my guts out recently, trying to get this draft of my novel finished. I'm currently almost halfway through, and hoping to finish by next weekend. It'll be champers and cocktails afterwards, I'm telling you.

It is difficult to write when you have a full time job, but not impossible. It takes a lot of discipline, something that I never thought I had, but have managed to procure some from somewhere. I've found I can write in 90 minute chunks before my concentration and bladder get the better of me, so in the evenings after work I've been managing to write somewhere between 1,000-2,000 words, and at the weekends (when I'm not working) I can polish off on average 2 and a half chapters.

Which is all very good, except I'm becoming a bit of a "novel bore". The only thing I can think about is the novel, the only line of conversation I have outside of work is writing, and I've had no time to see anyone or do anything even remotely worth blogging about. Have booked a holiday to Berlin, so now I at least have something to look forward to.

Pictures!

A few pictures for you today. The first is a mock up of the book cover for Dorcas Grubb. Thanks to Morph for the photoshopping! I stole the picture of the girl from Flicker (via a yahoo image search) so if she ever finds this, sorry! But that's almost exactly how Dorcas looks in my head, which is a bit scary.
I'm up to 6,098 words, and it's still going well. I do think I'll need some help a bit later though, but will post on the forum about that.
It's quite exciting, because at the minute, I am feeling really optimistic, as the story is so full of possibilities. So I can day dream about agents, and publishers, and book tours and my book cover, safe in the knowledge that at this stage of the writing, it is still all possible. Apparently, this is a common feeling for week one NaNoWriMo-ers.
The second and third photos are from our latest office craze, courtesy of http://www.yearbookyourself.com/. If you're bored, go have a go, it's hilarious. Anyway, this is what I'd look like in 1964 (left) and 1982 (right). In the 1982 pic, I look scarily like my mum on her wedding day!

Free Books!

I've just discovered Google Books, and thought I'd share for those of you who haven't seen it before. http://books.google.co.uk/books?rview=1 It has lots of e-books on there, mostly classical literature, some non-fiction, and I've had a good day popping in and out of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", and also a bit of "Japanese for Beginners". Enjoy!