Writer's Little Helper

The Marriage Scrappage Scheme

2012-01-17T16:31:00.001Z

My short story, The Marriage Scrappage Scheme, is up at Untoward Magazine under the featured fiction section. Thank you, Matt and everyone at Untoward.

Here's the first paragraph to tempt you:

Brenda was darning her husband’s socks when the radio presenter interrupted a gardening segment to bring an announcement from the Iron Lady’s Government.

“The government will be launching the Marriage Scrappage Scheme tomorrow,” the presenter said.

She slid from her stool and headed to the living room door. Jack, her husband, was slouched on the sofa, with the television on mute. She closed the door, shuffled back to her stool and turned up the volume.

“The Government are offering the chance for women to trade in old, tired husbands for new ones.”

The Marriage Scrappage Scheme can read by clicking Here.

Forthcoming

2012-01-13T16:31:00.001Z

Author Caroline Smailes is putting together an ebook anthology to raise money for 'one in Four,' a charity which provides support to people who have experienced sexual abuse and sexual violence. Caroline set the challenge last week for writers to send 100 word stories based on a song that could be accessed from YouTube. Over 350 people sent through stories and out of that 100 were picked for the project.

A short piece by me will be appearing in the ebook!

I decided two days before the deadline that I wanted to write something. At first, I tried to ignore the 'go on, enter' voice because I had not written anything 'new' for a while. But I caved in, listened to my favourite songs and started writing down ideas and phrases. My original story started off at 500 words and gradually I edited and redrafted until I was left with a 97 word story.

My short piece is based on a White Lies song - Farewell to the Fairground.

All of the proceedings will go to One in Four.

More details will follow on where you can donate and/or buy a copy.

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012!

2012-01-04T16:10:00.000Z

Okay, the compulsory end of year / start of the year blog post. I’m about four days behind with this one! But there was no way I was going to start doing my ‘best books of 2011’ at the start of December – there were still four weeks to find new books. 2011 had its highs – moving house and some lows – being ill.

During 2011, I had a short story published at Static Movement called Batteries Not Included For The Apocalypse and my flash fiction piece, The Department of Extinct Objects, appeared at Referential Magazine. I talked about my writing desk over at Hazel Foster’s website and I took the Five Minute Friday challenge at For Books’ Sake and I talked about my favourite books.

I have redrafted my novel several times. I have now started to send it out to some agents so fingers crossed. I am also contemplating a title change.

There have been rejections too – lots of them. But it only makes my writing stronger. I have felt like giving up but that’s all lip service.

Books and Reading

This year I read forty-one books! That must be a record for me. I originally set myself the task of reading twenty over on the GoodReads website and thought that I wouldn’t hit that target because 2011 was going to be busy. But instead, I got more reading done than I expected. One of the main reasons is that I spent all of the summer tucked up in bed, being very ill. I’m still suffering six months later but definitely not the same scale as before.

My favourite five fiction books of 2011 were:

The Tiny Wife by Andrew Kaufman (read all in one session, cuddled up in bed on Christmas Eve morning)
The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obreht
Blow on a Dead Man’s Embers by Mari Strachan (my review will be appearing at The View from Here soon)
Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada
The Best of Everything by Rona Jaffe.

Just my Type by Simon Garfield is my non-fiction pick for 2011.

I can’t decide between The West Wing or Battlestar Galactica being my favourite box set.

Films

My favourite films for 2011 were:

Midnight in Paris
Perfect Sense
Another Earth
Drive
X-Men: First Class
Take Shelter

Comfy Christmas present from Kieran

Hello 2012!!

2012 is also going to be exciting writing wise – I have pieces forthcoming in Untoward Magazine, Little Fiction, a piece will be republished at Eunoia Review and a short story will be appearing in Kerouac’s Dog (I have seen the PDF and I’m looking forward to the print publication).

I am still hopeful that an agent will take a chance on my novel and represent me.

I have the twinkles of novel 2 in my head. Maybe. I don’t know. We’ll have to see.

AND I am getting married and going on a plane for the first time – our honeymoon will be 14 day tour of the East Coast of America and Canada!

Review: The Tiny Wife

2011-12-28T10:27:00.000Z

There are some books that you want to save for a special occasion and The Tiny Wife is one of them. Knowing this was on my Kindle kept me going through the long tunnel of a very long, frustrating book.

The Tiny Wife is an enchanting short novel from Andrew Kaufman, author of My Friends Are Superheroes. The book opens with a robbery but the robber isn't after money. Instead he makes the customers and the bank workers each hand over one object of sentimental value. The narrator's wife hands over a calculator that she has used to calculate house costs and if she could afford to have a child. Another hands over their house keys. The robber has taken bits of their souls and tells them to regrow or they will die.

The robbery frames the series of capivating stories as the reader learns what happens to the victims. One of the women turns to sugar and is eaten by her family as a way to pacify them. Another has their lion tattoo come alive and chase her through the streets, someone finds God under their sofa and then loses him. The narrator's wife, as well as having to deal with a shaky marriage, starts to shrink.

Kaufman's ideas and writing are very imaginative. The Tiny Wife is heartbreaking yet heartwarming. It's a book about hope and finding that there are always ways to reignite your soul.

The silhouette illustrations through the book reminded me of the fairy tales illustrated by Jan Pienkowski that I used to read as a child. They capture the tone of the book perfectly.

The Tiny Wife is an enchanting fable and modern fairy tale. It is definitely one of my books of the year.

You can buy The Tiny Wife from any bookstore or online store.

Sit Down And Write The Story

2011-12-12T16:23:00.000Z

I came across this a few months ago but I'm afraid I saved it on my hard drive and forgot to remember who posted it. I need this at the moment - I have a review half written across two notebooks and my computer and there's a short story (a long short story) needing some attention too. And there are another two short stories needing some edits and re-jigs too.

The main reason for not writing that much is the face that I won an iPad the other week and I have been playing with it ever since. My mantra at the moment is 'I'll just play another game of solitaire and then I'll do some writing...' but you know how things go - solitaire sucks you in and spits you out two hours later.

I might do a Kindle vs. iPad - but can they really be compared with each other. One is a tablet computer with eReader functions and another is an eReader with limited internet browsing functions. I know one thing - I won't be ditching my MacBook anytime soon.

Trends in Literature

2011-12-08T10:19:00.001Z

I should have posted these a few weeks ago but I have been writing and rewriting and submitting. I am only now catching up with blog posts.

Here are a few bullet points from a talk given by The Society of Young Publishers back on the 25th October 2011, in a very cramped room in London. It was really hot and crammed with bodies so most of this is from memory and people who 'live-tweeted' the event.

Trends in Literature

Society of Young Publishers

25^th October 2011

The panellists were Jo Rodgers (Literary Agent), Carrie Duffy (Author), Kate Bradley (Commissioning Editor, Harper Fiction), Emma McArthur (Bookseller), Kirsty Schaper (Commissioning Editor, Bloomsbury) and Sam Copeland (Literary Agent).

Society of Young Publishers Event page.

It’s the job of an agent to ignore trends – you can’t predict trends.
If you spot a trend then it’s probably not worth trying to write for that trend because it could be over by the time the book is over.
Series publishing is on the way up – easier for readers to stick with what they know – Mills and Boons are on the way up.
Recurring characters / sequels are the next big thing.
Richard and Judy have changed people’s perception of reading. More people want a challenge when reading.
Publishing is all about connecting the author with their readership.
Debut novelists need to build up a readership / have fans like long-term novelists. The best thing to do is have an internet presence e.g. blogs, Twitter, reviews, Facebook page. Need to be interactive / approachable.
Brands aren’t important to agents – they just want the publisher to be enthusiastic about the author. Publishers are concerned about brand but people aren’t ‘imprint’ loyal.
The panel believed that Amazon can’t do what Publishers do i.e. nurture careers.
Trends are unpredictable.

Review

2011-11-21T16:30:00.000Z

My review of Nancy Holder's and Debbie Viguie's Unleashed: Wolf Spring Chronicles is now live at The View From Here Magazine

Favourite Authors - Margaret Atwood

2011-11-19T10:06:00.001Z

Happy belated birthday to Margaret Atwood who was 71 yesterday. She is one of my favourite authors. I love all of her books. I am trying to not rush through her back list - I want to take my time. She writes novels, shot stories, tweets, blogs and writes non fiction. I'm glad she hasn't decided to retire.

My first Atwood was Cat's Eye. It was the first book I read after my A-Levels. I got it out of the library the afternoon of my last exam and battled through it's stale smoky smell. After that I got back into reading in a big way.

My favourite quote from Cat's Eye is this one:

“Another belief of mine: that everyone else my age is an adult, whereas I am merely in disguise.”

In Happy Endings, a short story, Margaret Atwood references both the mechanics of short story plotting, and the effects of gender stereotyping in Happy Endings. A story that unravels and also reveals more as it progresses.

Lots of her books deal with crisis of identity, finding a place in society, memory. She has strong female characters in her novels who have to battle against cliched ideas of gender and politics. Her characters are pro-active and want to fight back against preconceived ideas.

I like the way that each book is never the same. She writes across genres and bends the rules. One novel will be a historical tale and then she will write a spec-fiction book. I want to be able to bend genres like that. I'm not much of a fan of writers who always stick to the same genres for their own writing career.

My favourite short story collection is The Tent.
My favorite short story is Happy Endings.
My favourite novel is either Cat's Eye or Handmaid's Tale.

How To Survive When You Have Fallen Into A Writing Black Hole

2011-11-18T10:21:00.001Z

I’m not sure what it is about this time of year but around October time and into November I find writing really hard. Ideas don’t want to budge. Stories get stuck in draft zero. Stories written months ago now seem stupid. Rejections feel like a punch in the stomach. I started questioning myself – why should I be writing, I can’t write, I should pack up all my writing bits and pieces and hide them in the loft. I had fallen into a writing black hole. Maybe it’s the nights getting darker, earlier.

So this year I have been filled my notebook with tips and tricks to stop myself from being sucked all the way into the black hole:

Don’t over think ideas.
Struggling with an idea? – Take a bath, relax, let the idea roll around in your head. Have the notebook on stand-by.
Don’t feel like you need to write a story chronologically. The story might operate with a beginning, middle and end but you don’t have to write within the structure. Cut, Copy and Paste are your best friends.
Not everything you write deserves to be published.
Writing is subjective.
Stuck? Read Writing Down The Bones.
Keep a writing diary – write down what you achieve even if it’s only ’50 words written’ or ‘read ten pages of book.’
Sometimes playing Eye of the Tiger can really help. Don’t punch the laptop screen.
Once you're ready to write then keep the word counts small and build up - try 100 words each day with anything else being a bonus. Expand word count.

So what have I been doing? Well, I have been writing a brand new chapter 1 for my novel. I am hoping this chapter will set up the character and the world in a better way than the now defunct chapter one (which now becomes chapter 3). I have been reading. A lot. And my first review for The View From Here Magazine should be appearing over the next few weeks. I have some ideas that need teasing out. I’m hoping they will become flash fiction pieces and short stories.

The Department of Extinct Objects

2011-11-08T22:34:00.001Z

Just a quick post before bedtime. I have a flash fiction piece, The Department of Extinct Objects, up at Referential Magazine.

Here's the first sentence:

There have been confirmed reports from the Department of Extinct Objects, that the last known book, a tatty, circa 1990s edition, of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, which was being cared for by Beatrice Ingles, aged nine and three quarters, has gone missing....

You can read more by following this link > The Department of Extinct Objects

Thank you Jessie and Referential Magazine.

Batteries Not Included For The Apocalypse

2011-11-02T15:57:00.000Z

My flash fiction piece, 'Batteries Not Included For The Apocalypse' is now available in November's edition of Static Movement Magazine.

Here's a snippet to tempt you:

Douggie didn't want to be rude but the end of the world was boring. The apocalypse was more like a bird watching film rather than the sandy wastelands of Mad Max .

You can read the rest by following this link > Batteries Not Included For The Apocalypse.

For Books' Sake

2011-10-29T18:03:00.000+01:00

For Books' Sake is a book website, founded in 2010, for independent women who love reading. For Books' Sake help give women authors and readers a platform to have their voice heard.

I am currently over there talking about my favourite authors, favourite literary characters and books in the Five Minute section. Those questions were really hard to answer!

You can read by answers over here > Five Minute Friday: Jessica Patient

For Books' Sake are also looking for more Five Minute Friday participants.

Review: The Fall - Claire McGowan

2011-10-24T21:22:00.000+01:00

The Fall
Claire McGowan
Headline, February 2012

Earlier this month Claire McGowan was offering proofs of her debut novel on Twitter. I jumped at the chance as I love reading her blog even though I rarely read psychological crime novels. And you know what, I enjoyed The Fall.

The Fall is about a murder that takes place in a nightclub and the after effects of that incident. A former banker, Dan is arrested as his credit card is found at the scene. But Charlotte, his girlfriend, along with Keisha who was at the bar that night with her boyfriend, have to face reality and unravel the truth. The tag line to this book is 'What would you do if the man you love was accused of murder?' This is a book about Charlotte's fight to find the truth.

The three different perspectives told from Charlotte, Keisha and Hegarty, the arresting police officer, show the reader the way an act of violence can change ordinary lives. McGowan creates the split narrative in a very convincing way. Each character has their own voice and conflicting opinions on what is the truth. Ultimately the truth will tear the characters away from each other.

Through the course of The Fall, both Charlotte and Keisha need to let go of their past. Charlotte needs to escape from her cotton-wool, middle class lifestyle to face the realities of surviving on her own and taking control of her life. Keisha needs to face up to her life and responsibilities with her family and escape her violent boyfriend and get her daughter, Ruby, back from the authorities.

The Fall is very topical in the way it looks at how the recession effects live, sometimes for the worse, the way the media reports the 'truth' (especially around Dan, the banker), the gang culture in inner London and opinions about the police.

McGowan's writing style is very engaging. The reader may think they know what way the plot is heading but McGowan turns it around and hits the reader with something unexpected. The Fall held my attention with its twists and turns.

The Fall comes out in February 2012 and will be available online and offline.

Guest Post: Scott Pack: How Not To Be A 21st Century Writing Dodo

2011-10-16T08:00:00.000+01:00

Scott Pack aka Mr Harpercollins / Friday Project aka Steve Stack aka the Author of 21st Century Dodos has kindly agreed to pop over to Writer's Little Helper and talk about the Internet being an important tool for writers. You don't want to become a 21st century Dodo!

***

I am on a blog tour.

If you don’t know what that is, allow me to explain. Pretty much every day in October I am appearing on someone else’s blog to promote my new book, 21^st Century Dodos. I have posted a video of my son unicycling while reading an extract, chosen three literary dodos, shared a picture of my copyright page (of which I am justly proud) as well as answering questions, sharing extracts and other delights. The idea is that by spreading myself across the Internet I am also spreading the word about my book.

Beats spam mail, that’s for sure.

And the Internet is an important tool for writers today. OK, so my blog tour isn’t going to sell millions of books but it will get the word out to a whole bunch of people who may not otherwise come across it. Especially those readers in Israel, USA, Ireland and New Zealand, places I am unlikely to visit in person for signing events.

I think it is vital today for writers to have an online presence of some kind, ideally a few kinds. I run an imprint of HarperCollins and most of my most successful authors are very active through blogs, Twitter and Facebook. They are able to interact with their readers, get to know them (if they want), support each other (very important, that one) and keep themselves in the public eye in the gaps between books.

Now, I realise such activity isn’t for everyone but find me an author who has no online profile and I will show you either a) an author who was already big before the Internet exploded or b) doesn’t sell all that many books.

And with many authors now turning to self-publishing, especially digitally, there is even more reason to be online every day. It is where your future readers are, it makes sense to spend time there.

But not until you have bought a copy of my new book, of course!

***

You can buy a copy of 21st Century Dodos from Amazon and other online/offline retailers.

My review of 21st Century Dodos is here.

Book Reviewing For The View From Here Magazine

2011-10-13T10:23:00.002+01:00

Now this is some good news after two short story rejections this week. Mike French, Senior Editor at The View From Here Magazine has asked me to do some book reviewing for his online magazine. Reader, I said yes!

My reviews will appear alongside a lot of great writers and publishing wizards. There is Claire King, her novel comes out in 2013, Jonathan Pinnock his book, Mrs Darcy Versus The Aliens, was reviewed here a few weeks ago, Elizabeth Baines writes the great 'Fiction Bitch' blog, Simon Trewin, Literary Agent, who looks after two of my favourite authors - Steven Hall and Scarlett Thomas, Literary Agent Annette Green and Publisher and blogger, Scott Pack, his book, 21st Century Dodos, was reviewed last week and he will be here on Sunday with a guest post.

Look, it's real I'm on the Crew page > here. There's a real-life picture of me!

Review: 21st Century Dodos

2011-10-06T16:22:00.000+01:00

Steve Stack's new book 21st Century Dodos, published by The Friday Project (an imprint from Harpercollins) is an affectionate farewell to the many inanimate objects like your beloved VHS player and collection, cultural icons like your local lighthouse keeper and other general bits and bobs like minidisc players (I literally saved up my pocket money for months to buy one only to be told by the guy in the local record shop that no produced albums on minidisc) and Smash Hits Magazine. Most items are on the verge of extinction and many have vanished already. For the first time we have an endangered list and it is up to us to save these objects in our lofts and basements.

21st Century Dodos will make a great present for anyone who says 'in my day' and/or like to sit on the toilet, reading. The short chapters make it ideal for toilet reading. I didn't actually experiment with reading the book on the toilet because I didn't want to have a ring around my bum as the book pulls you into a nostalgic frenzy.

21st Century Dodos is funny and I guarantee you will be reading out extracts to your partner, the person sitting next to you on the bus or your pet snail. I don't remember the days when you have to use tapes to load games on computers but my boyfriend did and he loved that section of the book!

I found this book really inspiring too - I am currently writing a series of stories called 'The Department of Extinct Objects' and I now have a few more ideas. One will be published at Referential Magazine in the near future. Thank you to Scott Pack (the real Steve Stack) for sending me a copy, ready for his visit later on in the month. You can buy 21st Century Dodos from Amazon and other good book outlets.

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You can now access all of my previous reviews by clicking on the 'review' label on the right-hand side.

Three, Two, One And A Coming Soon

2011-10-02T18:25:00.000+01:00

Good news - one of my short stories will be re-published by Eunoia Review February 2012.

Three short stories out in the field, waiting that red cross or green tick.

Two competitions entered and patiently waiting the results.

One agent has the first three chapters of my novel.

Coming soon - Steve Stack AKA Scott Pack AKA Me and My Big Mouth will be on the 16th October as he continues his blog tour for his book 21st Century Dodos.

Reviews: Mrs Darcy Vs The Aliens / Made In Britain

2011-09-29T12:53:00.000+01:00

Mrs Darcy Versus The Aliens - Jonathan Pinnock

'The truth is out there, though it is not yet universally acknowledged’

I recently won a signed copy of Mrs Darcy Versus The Aliens, published by Salt’s science fiction and fantasy imprint, Proxima Books.

I read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and it was fun for the first couple of chapters. But honestly, it was a cut and shut job. A sprinkle of zombie sentences within the original story. But Mrs Darcy Versus The Aliens by Jonathan Pinnock is different. Firstly, Mrs D is a sequel to the events in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen but with aliens. Mrs Darcy and her merry band of companions’ swashbuckle their way through alien shape shifters to help save the planet but more importantly save her sister. Think Mulder and Scully with Elizabeth Darcy as Scully and Mr Wickham as Mulder. There are regency bonnets galore alongside the ghosts, ghouls, tentacles and a pigeon named Colin. Mrs D is a witty and intelligent read. There are lots of in-jokes for the Austen fans – a mad man named Mr Firth, the housekeeper Mrs Dench, etc. Even Jane Austen makes an appearance and there’s even talk of the wet shirt scene too (I think a few mums at the back might have collapsed, please prop them up at the bar).

You can buy Mrs Darcy Versus The Aliens from Amazon and other good, yet undead bookshops. You can find out more about Jonathan Pinnock on his website.

Made in Britain - Gavin James Bowers

I recently downloaded the Kindle version at a bargain price of £1.99. Made in Britain is published by Quartet Books.

Made in Britain is gritty, close to the bone, showing the real state of affairs in England and the life choices of young people. The novel centres around three northern teenagers: Russell who lives with his depressed mother, Hayley who lives with her father and whose mother dies of cancer, and Charlie, who lives with both of his parents. His father bullies Charlie’s mother. All three characters are coming to the end of compulsory education and need to face up to the opportunities (or lack of) available to them. These families are not the Haribo kind. Dysfunctional, grim and the lack of hope. Bowers succeeds in showing us the realities of the working classes (or as one character refers to ‘underclass’) in this tough economical world.

You can buy Made in Britain from Amazon and other good bookshops.

I Really Should be Writing but...Call Centres

2011-09-25T13:59:00.000+01:00

Cancelling my dongle internet has turned into a complicated operation. It has taken me over five days to actually get an answer from their call centre. I have tried in the evenings, in the mornings and lunchtimes. All Precious writing time.

I finally got through and this is want happened:

ME: I would like to cancel my mobile broadband, please.

Phone drone: Would you like an iPad for 16 pounds each month plus 400 pounds for the ipad?

ME: No thank you. I would like to cancel my mobile broadband.

Phone drone: We have looked at your usage and we can offer you a discount – how about 8 pounds each month?

ME: No thank you. I would like to cancel my mobile broadband.

Phone drone: why?

ME: I now have normal broadband.

Phone drone: What if you want to go outside with your laptop?

ME: I have my phone.

Phone drone: What if it breaks. You will have no internet. You will be stuck with no internet.

ME: That’s fine. I would like to cancel my mobile broadband.

Phone drone: But you. Will. Not. Have. Any. Internet.

ME: I can cope.

Phone drone: We can transfer your account to someone else and you can pay for the internet for them.

ME: No thank you.

Phone drone: Do you want a new dongle?

ME: No thank you. I would like to cancel my mobile broadband.

Phone drone: Do you want pay and go mobile broadband.

ME: I NEED to cancel my broadband and my account.

Phone drone: So, you want a full cancellation?

ME: YES!

Phone drone: Oh. *puts me on hold, again* Okay, the contract finishes on 23^rd October and we’ll send you the final bill. *hangs up*

Hilary Mantel and Her Writing

2011-09-21T17:17:00.004+01:00

Back in 2010 I saw Hilary Mantel read an extract from her Booker-winning book, Wolf Hall at the London Book Fair. I had already read a great interview in Mslexia (writing magazine) and really wanted to give Wolf Hall a try. And the usual thing happened - what happens in London Book Fair, stays at London Book Fair and I forgot about my promise to myself to try some Tudor historical fiction.

A few weeks ago my Dad got me a copy of Wolf Hall from a charity shop. It's now on my to-be-read pile on my desk and will be read after Mrs Darcy Vs The Aliens.

On Saturday, The Culture Show (BBC) did a special on Hilary Mantel. She is a very intriguing writer and She did a good job to explain endometriosis as I know that it is a very serious condition that not many people know about. I know people who have this condition and when they explain it, people scratch their heads and just blame it on 'women troubles.'

I loved her approaches to writing:

Trust your readers.
Concentrate on sharpening your memory.
Cut each page you write by one third.
Work out what you want to say and write it in the most direct and vigorous way you can.
"Do I take my own advice - not a bit."
Mantel never wants her reader to feel settle - she doesn't want the reader to guess what the next sentence contains.
Layers beneath every interaction.
On rejection - series of doors slamming
"Everyday I write I feel like a beginner" - there are no guarantees.
Have to endure barren days. It can be slow as if it is the end of the world.
A chapter can exist and you need to grab it quickly.

If you live in the UK then you can catch the programme on iPlayer for the next couple of days, over at the BBC website.

Here's a taster from YouTube.

Time To Get Back To The Writing

2011-09-15T16:00:00.000+01:00

Having a sprained rib cage hasn't been fun. I'm now an expert in daytime property programmes, could put an estimate on your antiques and can tell you about the right ways of keeping chickens. You never know there could be short story in all of this!

To be honest, I haven't written anything new for a while. My notebook is starting to fill up with ideas. I really want to create an ebook full of previously published short stories (by me, obviously) so they can be all in one place. I want the ebook to free because all of the stories have been published before and I don't want to rip off people! I have read a lot of articles on the Internet about creating ebooks so it will be fun putting the knowledge into practice! I have already started editing the stories and polishing them to within an inch of their lives. It's funny when they were originally published I considered them 'finished.' Now I am finding phrases that I don't like or titles that need changing. Is a piece of writing ever finished?

I have another idea for a series of link short stories, which could end up as a short story collection. Hold on, don't we call linked short stories 'novels' nowadays! This one is definitely a short story collection.

I have several short stories out on submission at the moment. Fingers crossed. There is also a competition I have quite tempted to enter too!

So, time to get back to the writing.

(Image found on a google search for typewriters).

Fat Girl

2011-08-25T11:05:00.000+01:00

Jessie Carty's enjoyable poetry collection, Fat Girl (published by Sibling Rivalry Press) exposes the insecurities we have with our bodies and how we are perceived by others. Carty looks at the question - what is reality when it comes to body image. Fat Girl is accessible and thought provoking. She challenges the reader, with her well-written and honest poems to reflect on their own body image.

Carty's poems are honest, truthful and themes I can relate to in my own life. I was once a fat girl too and I remember being called 'Thunder Thighs' and the embarrassment of swimming. At times I found myself nodding with agreement.

Carty can write entertaining poetry, which can be seen in Fat Girl: The Superhero, and most of them could even be enlarged to flash fiction and short stories because I want to know more about Fat Girl: The Superhero.

Carty looks at the struggles that we all have with feeling uncomfortable in our own skins and does this by creating humorous poems with serious undertones. This is demonstrated in Fat Girl at the OB/GYN - 'Mom told the doctor I needed the pill./ She was sure my love/ of twinkies would translate / to my fat thighs opening at any touch.'

My personal favourite poems from the collection: 1990s Fat Girl, Fat Girl at the OB/GYN, Fat Girl: The Superhero, Fat Girl on Fashion, I'm Trying Weight Watchers, Ill-Fitting.

You can find Fat Girl over at Amazon or you can find Fat Girl over at the Sibling Rivalry Press website.
Jessie Carty's online home is here: www.jessiecarty.com

How The Duvet Provides An Important Role In The Submission Process

2011-08-21T11:14:00.002+01:00

Submitting short storiesand flash fiction while wrapped in a duvet is probably the best method for theofficial submission process. The duvet is hugging you, whispering, 'It'll beokay if you get a rejection, remember it's subjective,' or will be shouting,'This will be an acceptance. I can feel it in my stuffing.'

I Went To Pick Up A Prescription And Came Out With A Kindle

2011-08-16T11:07:00.001+01:00

Last week I went to the supermarket to pick up my prescription and came out with a Kindle. Unfortunately, Kindles are not available on the NHS.

I feel very 21st Century at the moment.

My books on my bookshelves aren't scared or worried - I'm still going to buy them some new friends every now and then. I still want all my favourite authors in physical form.

My Kindle is great - I have downloaded free eBooks, home brew eBooks and also paid for some books too. Knowing about the 'Page Break' function in your Word processing programme is essential. One of the downloaded eBooks looked a bit messy because the author had obviously used the 'Return' button to create new pages but it didn't translate over to the Kindle - they just produced big gaps on the screen.

Even going outside can't ruin my reading enjoyment as the screen isn't like a laptop or iPad.

I'm not sure if this ideal or even a curse (especially for a book-nerd like me) but it takes less than 60 seconds to download a book from the Kindle store to the device.

I strongly recommend the wifi and 3g version. I know it means saving a few more pennies but it is worth it. The 3g is a one off payment and is available worldwide. Having the 3g, for me, is essential as I'm still surviving on internet via a dongle. Also, when we go on holiday I won't have to take a whole suitcase devoted to books.

They also have an 'experimental' feature which allows you to browse the internet - it does struggle if there are a lot of images - so if you know the mobile address alternative then I would recommend using that as a way to access any sites.

I'm finding my reading speed is quicker and I'm munching my way through books at a rapid speed (maybe this is due to the fact that I'm in bed reading all day because I can't stand to watch another property programme).

You can also have newspapers and blogs sent directly to the Kindle too - a feature I would definitely use when on holiday (I need to go on holiday to use these features!).

I am going to be looking into publishing with Kindle over the next few weeks/months and also having my blog available on the Kindle too. - Will report back.

Anyway I should stop before I start sounding like an advert.

Flash Fiction Acceptance

2011-08-10T16:24:00.000+01:00

Just a quick post to let say I have had an acceptance from Referential Magazine. My little piece of flash fiction will be appearing in the near future.

Referential Magazine is an online magazine with a difference. Each piece is inspired by another piece of poetry/story/photograph on the website. So if you're a poet, short story writer or even a photographer then you should consider having a look at the website and get inspired.

Review - The Radleys

2011-08-02T16:46:00.000+01:00

I have never read a vampire book. Hold on, I might have back when I binged on Goosebumps and Point Horror but to be honest, I can't remember most of those plots. That period was one huge book blur.

Anyway, I read 'The Radleys' by Matt Haig the other week and really enjoyed it. The Radley family live in a detached house in the suburbs, have respectable jobs, have two children - one girl, one boy, have the people carrier parked on the drive way. From the outside, they are the perfect middle class family. But the parents have a secret. A big secret. They are vampires. Their teenage children find out and it all starts to fall apart.

The short chapters are great and make it very hard to put down the book. I kept promising to read just one more chapter and then another one and then another one. Extracts from the 'abstainers handbook' are funny too.

Think American Beauty but with vampires and a mixture of British middle-class repression.

You can buy the book by clicking on the below link.

The Radleys

Review - The End of the Alphabet

2011-07-29T16:00:00.001+01:00

The End of the Alphabet

Do you like Amiee Bender's quirky plots?

Do you like Raymond Carver's sparse writing style?

Do you like Andrew Kaufman's novels?

Do you like the alphabet?

If you answered yes to more than one of the above questions then you will love CS Richardson's short novel, The End of the Alphabet. Ambrose Zephyr is obsessed with the alphabet. Around the the of his 50th birthday, he fails a medical. The doctor tells him he has only a month to live, give or take a few days. In the time that he has left, he decides to travel with his wife, Zipper Ashkenazi, to places he has always wanted to go, in strict alphabetical order. This book is quirky and charming and definitely not sickly.

This is a great short novel and people who like the above authors will love this book.

A Shower of Writing Links

2011-07-25T15:41:00.000+01:00

Lets not talk about the fact that I went back to the doctors and have another round of antibiotics. It's worse than a broken MP3 file. All I will tell you is that it feels like someone is repeatedly punching my ribs. And it is highly likely that I will turn into an antibiotic.

There have been lots of great articles appearing on the internet recently:

Blake Butler over at HTML Giant tells us about the '22 things I learned from submitting writing'.

Kirsty Logan shows us the ideal covering letter. Cover letters.

Michael Amos provides writers with a helpful PDF on organising your novel on Microsoft Word. A novel approach to Word.

John Harding gives a few pointers to help get that publishing deal. A few tips to help you get published.

The New Yorker looks at the Art of Writing. Words, Words, Words.

Elizabeth S. Craig talks about the '8 things you need to know about living with a writer.'

Ultimate Desk Search

2011-07-20T16:13:00.000+01:00

Today I am over at Hazel Foster's place talking about the history of my desks. Hazel is currently running a brilliant series called The Ultimate Desk Search.

You can read my post by click on the next sentence : Ultimate Desk Search - Jessica Patient

Gone Coughing

2011-07-17T16:21:00.001+01:00

Sorry for neglecting you little old blog. I can see you have spiders hanging from the corners with huge webs full of dead flies. Not nice at all.

Originally I had a long blog post about mucus, being sick, coughing, more coughing, the number of tissues used compared to the number of cough mixtures I had drowned my sorrows in.

For the past four weeks I have been suffering from bronchitis. I have been to the doctors over six times and to the hospital twice. The doctor banned me from work and the gym. My duvet became my best friend forever.

I am still suffering with costochondritis - inflamed cartilage around the ribcage, which then rubs the lining of the lung.

Anyway, I'm off to have a nap - the pain killers have kicked in and my eyelids are h-e-a-v-y.

Review - Not so Perfect

2011-06-27T15:49:00.001+01:00

The other week I won a Nik Perring's 'Not so Perfect' short story collection over at Dan Powell's blog. It went straight to the top of my mental to-do reading list. And over the weekend, I devoured the whole thing. I gulped down the 22 stories and even re-read some of my favourite ones. My particular favourites are 'When You're Frightened, Honey, Think of Strawberries' and 'The Mechnical Woman.'

This pocket-sized book is ideal for lovers of small handbags. I really love the square coaster shape. I have been thinking of putting all of my published pieces in one place and I think a small square book would do them nicely.

Most of the characters are on the fringe of society and are mostly looking for acceptance or who are wanting to find a way forward with their lives - a stalker watching a mother in a library, a woman who vomits animals, a shark boy who has to always move. In a few carefully chosen words, Perring can make the read care for a character who vomits lemurs.

I like short stories where things are hinted at but not fully told. This collection does that.

Not So Perfect is ideal for someone who only wants to dip into a one page story, maybe while they wait at the doctors or waiting for a train but it is also ideal if you want to read a book from cover to cover.

Editing in Wonderland

2011-06-20T17:11:00.000+01:00

Some times editing this novel is very much like Alice in Wonderland. You tell the long chapters to 'drink this' and then they start shrinking. Descriptions shrink and then head off to the naughty bin and boring speech disappears.
You tell the short chapters to 'eat this' and they start expanding at a rapid rate. The characters start talking and a whole section about a major part of the plot needs adding because one silly little sentence isn't going to cut it.

I'm over half way with the redrafting of this novel. A lot of the chapter openings are being sliced and diced. I need to get to the important stuff. This version is definitely going to have a smaller word count. But I think this is a good thing.

Days Out For Writers - Out Of This World Exhibition

2011-06-15T16:10:00.001+01:00

Last Sunday, on a drizzly morning the Mister and I drove off to Cockfosters (parked the car for £1 all day!) and got the tin can to Kings Cross and then a quick walk to the British Library, trying to dodge puddles and people dragging suitcases on wheels.

The Out of This World Exhibition at the British Library is a showcase of science fiction through the ages. The atmosphereic room (along with sci-fi sound effects) is split into catergories, helping to link together books with a simliar theme. Future worlds, alien worlds, parallel worlds, virtual worlds, the end of the world, perfect world led us through a visual reading list of books right back from 2AD, right up to the present.
One book was even about getting to the moon by Swan. Brilliant. Even the Brontes tried their hand at writing science fiction. Something I didn't know until I went to the exhibition. And their writing - blooming heck - so so so so tiny. I remember being told off at school when my writing took a shrinking pill but their writing is very 'Honey, I shrunk my notebook'.

Even some of the ideas expressed by writers back in the 19th Century and early 20th have come true - going to the moon, the internet, communications, etc. As yet, no time travel machine. Even the tardis was there but it seemed the doctor wasn't - maybe be he was trapped in one of the reading rooms.

It was great to see some of my favourites on display - Margaret Atwood, Philip K Dick, George Orwell, Huxley, Time Traveller's Wife.

I found the exhibition very inspiring. I now want to read 'The Female Man' and 'Zoo city.' Even the mister felt inspired to read more fiction. It was fasinating to see how literature from the past has influenced our modern world about science fiction - whether in books, art and film.

The exhibition is on until September.

Short Story Playlist

2011-06-08T12:25:00.003+01:00

Short Story Playlist is a Tumblr site I have set up so I could put the links to some of my favourite short stories all in one place. In the past I have printed them off and kept them in a folder and then lost the folder either due to moving or my over zealous spring-cleaning. I then used my favourites tab to collect them but that just cluttered up my browser. So Short Story Playlist will keep them in one place and I will end up with my own ultimate collection.

I'm also going to put some of my writing quotes on there too.

It's a work-in-progress.

The link is http://jessicapatient.tumblr.com/

Feel free to recommend any of your favourite short stories.

I Really Should be Writing but...

2011-06-05T19:09:00.000+01:00

'I really should be writing but...' is a new blog series. I am currently reading 'Taking Reality by Surprise' and one of the exercises in the book is called 'I've always wanted to write but..' which looks at the things we put in the way to distract us from writing. The exercise is meant to confront and dismantle the blocks that stop us from writing.

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Box Sets

Coming home, slumping down into the cozy chair, pulling down the blinds to block out the evening sun and chain-watching episode after episode of Mad Men, BSG, West Wing or what ever Amazon has posted to you. Before you realise it, it has gone half nine and the washing-up still needs doing, you need a shower and your eyelids need some major shut-eye.
Box sets are addictive. There is no need to wait for next week's episode because it's waiting for you on the main menu. After staring at a computer screen at words all day and then torturing your muscles at the gym, your body needs to have a sit down. The eyes are craving something that doesn't involve an ISBN. You do want to write because there is a new desk upstairs and it's your novel. You know it has been rejected by one or two agents but one of those offered some really great feedback so you should be spending every minute polishing and pruning to send it back to them.
But the box set pulls you in with its four episodes per disc. Watch every one and you get a prize. Its the satisfaction of knowing that you can chain-watching without needing a break. While upstairs, chapter thirteen is in need of a major-major-major redrafting and chapter fourteen needs a read through before adding paper notes.
You come up stairs after watching Don Draper drink ten billion whiskeys, still win the girl and get an award for an ad campaign that he wrote down on the back of a fag packet. You give your manuscript a little pat and promise to work on him tomorrow. You promise one episode. Because you need to wean off a box set slowly...

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If you want to write your own 'I really should be writing but...' post then feel free to either write a guest post for here or send me the link. I would love to know your distractions.

Help Wanted: A Superhero Is Needed

2011-05-27T13:27:00.000+01:00

I know that someone can help because I have watched great documentaries such as Heros, and X-Men and I have read great non-fiction like All My Friends are Superheroes. So I know super heroes exist.

If you know one then please let me know. I am looking for someone to push the 31st May 2011 back for at least two weeks. It really is important. I want to enter a writing competition but this story is being awkward. First the short story wanted to be a flash fiction piece. Then it wanted to be a nine page story. Now its in limbo. I don't have much time. One minor character is wanting a bigger role and another character wants to wear tin-foil hats. Don't even get me started on the cat who is actually wearing a tin-foil hat. I really need to lasso this story and train him. Even the ironing seems more appealing at the moment.

So let me know if you have contact details for this sort of superhero.

Florence and Giles

2011-05-25T16:05:00.001+01:00

Florence and Giles – John Harding

I don’t normally do horror books. I think the reasoning for this is my binge-reading antics over Goosebumps books and then the Point Horror ones when I was younger. I didn’t want that Point Romance rubbish. I needed the hard core stuff and I needed one at least every other day. I read all of the ones in the school library and would haunt the shelves each lunchtime, hoping to find a title that I hadn’t read. I even worked my way through the local library’s collection of spooky teen books.

I heard about Florence and Giles via Twitter – a lot of people were recommending it and there was also an offer on the Kindle version too. However, I don’t own an eReader (I’m still divided over them) so I went to a real-life bookshop (yes, they still exist) and got a copy for full price. If a book gets two thumbs-up then it has got to be worth the full price, right?

Florence and Giles is about Florence, a 12 year orphan, living in her Uncle’s remote New England Mansion in 1891, with her younger brother, Giles. The reader is sucked straight into the captivating narrative; following Florence’s unreliable perspective as she learns to read, secretly, after her absent Uncle bans her from books. In the dusty, neglected library, she devours books by Shakespeare and Poe. Because she is teaching herself to read, Florence’s language expression is great – “I would wasp her picnic". Sometimes it is confusing but this is adds to the atmosphere and is also questioned by the other characters.

I like the way Florence stands up to the stereotype of women from the turn of the century, by defying her uncle, being a strong character, and standing up for her beliefs. I could see Florence becoming a Suffragette in her adulthood. All though I think the adorable nature is to lure in the reader because she can be very scary too. At night she sometimes sleepwalks around the isolated, crumbling mansion (complete with strange figures in the mirrors, portraits watching every move and unexplained noises AND a boarded up tower) and has recurring dreams about a mysterious woman trying to threaten her younger brother. Other times she pretends to sleepwalk so she can find out about her past and her family.

After the sudden violent death of the children's first governess, a second, creepier teacher, Miss Taylor, arrives, and reigns over the mansion. Florence becomes convinced that the new governess is a malevolent spirit who means to do Giles harm. She sets all to do anything to protect her little brother at all costs. The ending is chilling and ambiguous – I’m not going to tell you though. I like a book that leaves the reader asking questions at the end.

I wanted to try and write a review without using the clichés of page-turner, spine chilling and gripping but I really am struggling but Florence and Giles is all of these things.

You can buy the book from Amazon. Florence and Giles .

Time Management for Time-squeezed Writers

2011-05-10T20:26:00.000+01:00

Stephanella Walsh from The Creative Identity sends out a newsletter each month, The Creative Times. I don't normally do newsletter - I like to browse the website. Also I need room in my inbox for emails from my bestie mates - Sainsburys, Tesco and Amazon who email me every day. Sometimes several times a day! See, I told you they were my best friends forever.

But Stephanella's newsletter is great - there are always links to her past articles from the website, links to writing comps and links to great writing/creativity websites. This month there is a link to Word Saucery about time management for writers. Click this sentence to read the article. This article is really interesting and is worth some of your precious internet time to have a read.

Some of my favourite points included:

Writing a little every day - build 'writing hunger'
Write in your head - 'incubate ideas'
'Be kind to yourself - without letting yourself off the hook.'
Writing down ideas even you don't know what to do with them - they could help later when you're stuck for ideas.
'Let go of perfect'.

New Writing Desk

2011-05-06T12:09:00.002+01:00

We have now parted the junk in the spare room. (A bit like Moses with the Red Sea. But it wasn't the Red Sea - it was spare car parts, boxes, and bags of clothes AND neither of us are called Moses). In the corner, my new desk, a present from my lovely boyfriend for my birthday, has been assembled, following the novel-length instruction book. I now have a home for my laptop (no more warm lap or back ache) and also my printer (the leads are still missing in action).

On the left is a partial short story. Originally it was meant to be a flash fiction piece. At the moment it reches over 1000 words. On the right is my new notebook too. Not much in there - just an idea for a non-fiction piece and also notes for the current short story.

A Catch-Up

2011-05-03T16:10:00.000+01:00

“I really should blog” was a phrase I kept saying during the Easter/Royal Wedding break. But what to blog about, well a few things:

Watching
Finishing the West Wing complete box set – we started this back in September 2009 (I only remember this because we were on holiday in a cottage in Edinburgh but the TV there was so tiny that we gave up) and the other night we watched the final episode. West Wing looks at the politically life-span of a Democrat president and his senior staff. Definitely a happy ending for all of the characters. I know feel like I know more about American politics than British politics. When ever I see an American politician/White House worker on a news item I always sit there and work out their counter-part on the show.

We also finished Battlestar Galactica. I got the box set for my birthday. BSG is set in a distant galaxy; where a human race live on a series of planets know as the twelve colonies. In the past, the humans had been war with robots (originally created by the humans), known as the Cylons – who have human-looking robots and also the traditional, chrome looking bots. They attack all of the colonies with nuclear bombs. Only a few ships survive and are guided by the only surviving Battleship, Galactica, in search of a fabled planet know as earth. I am a big Stargate fan and also like Star Trek but BSG is by far the best science fiction series I have ever seen. Huge themes are tackled – religion, cults, genocide, death, ambiguous morals, politics and terrorism. Every character has flaws and there are no set goodies and badies – they smoke, they drink (a lot), have sex, argue. There are no aliens, no saving planets, no stand-alone episodes – there are long story lines that go across several episodes, series, and entire series. Humanity is on the endangered list. Even non-science fiction fans would like this.

Reading
I read a Charles Yu’s short story collection – Third Class Superhero. (I believe it was published before his novel). I really enjoyed reading the short story called Third Class Superhero – it could actually make it into my top ten short stories. All of the stories have similar themes – no father presence, identity, soul less jobs, mothers, the need to express feelings.

I am currently reading Nicole Krauss’s Great House. (I won it via Twitter). I can’t make out if it’s a novel or a short story collection pretending to be a novel.

Novel progress
Over the holidays I planned to redraft a chapter each day. That would have been a huge chunk of the novel. But in reality, I only managed two. At first, I thought I would make it. First day, chapter seven. I read through it. Seems good. A typo. A few confusing sentences. delete a small paragraph. Add another paragraph. Yeah, awesome chapter eight! You are the best!

I left the notes sitting for a few days before pulling them out again. I read through the chapter again. eeek. The beginning went on for pages. Things weren't explained. A hole here, another hole there. eeek. The opening was crap. I really want to type up those notes and pretend it was okay but that nagging feeling made me stop. So, a major rewrite of the whole chapter took up another four days. But at least I like it now. Not so much fluff at the beginning and more details in the middle and beginning.

Chapter nine was all over the place. The major character kept thinking about the same things and moving into different rooms. Too confusing for a chapter. So the character was cut back to two rooms, some more internal thoughts, more character interaction because my two major characters who meet for the first time and improving the dialogue.

So the lessons learnt - being honest with your own writing is the best policy, editing chapters can't be rushed and don't trust a chapter if it says 'I'm awesome.'

Short Story
I had an idea. It involved robots. A boy and his obsession with the girl across the road. I thought it was going to be a piece of flash fiction. It turns out the idea wants to be a short story - So I am currently making notes, expanding and also deleting a few parts.

Genre Wars: Literary Fiction Against Science Fiction

2011-04-19T16:15:00.000+01:00

Writers, do you wonder why other writers/agents/editors/friends want to know what genre your writing falls into? It’s so they know which regiment you will fall into if there were ever a genre war. If you written a novel with bits of different genres and can’t work out which army you should fall into, well, you need to make a decision or you’ll be sent to a writing camp and made to write until you have a definite genre.

You would have thought the crumpling publishing industry would make authors join forces and live in harmony. Chicklit authors would be hugged by fantasy authors. YA authors would be welcomed into the inner circle. Literary authors would sit around the camp fire with science fiction authors, laughing at some lame publishing joke. But this is delusional.
The simmering friction between literary fiction versus science fiction is now national news. Science fiction / Horror / Fantasy authors have sent a letter to the BBC asking why their genre doesn’t get the same coverage as literary fiction. You can read some reports here, here and here. “When two tribes go to war” went around, in a loop, in my head as I jumped between articles.
A war is definitely going to happen.

The war will look strange to any one not familiar with genre clichés. Yes, clichés will be the main weapons of choice. No one wants to use new metaphors for a war. They want to save fresh prose for their epic novels.

Other genres will be involved, but will mainly watch from the sidelines. Chicklit authors will promise to run the refreshment tent but will either fall into a champagne coma or get bored and go shopping. The Lad-lit crowd will probably be running bets on who will win, who will get the first red card, which side will swallow a troll.
The location will need to be a huge empty space, maybe the pages of a blank book. The guttering of the pages will be no-man’s land.
No hand sake at the beginning – just in case the other side try to break those essential typing fingers.
The science fiction writers will fire first. They will send hundreds of trolls into enemy territory to bite the ankles of literary authors. After bandaging up the wounded, literary fiction authors will send over child narrators with squeaky voices, until the ear drums of the science fiction writers pop. Science fiction authors will send out an air-based strike. Battle star ships will use their cannons to fire out space opera books. Characters, whose names begin with X or Z, will parachute into enemy territory and try stealing plot lines about council estates. A mushroom shaped cloud of purple prose will silence both sides. No one will know who fired the weapon. Many will probably think it was the science fiction writers because they normally fight until they have a dystopian landscape, resembling the landscape of many novels.

Of course, like a playground game, no body will die. They will be made to suffer a course in their most detested genre, then made to read at least fifty books of that genre and finally, write a novel in that genre.

Books Still Exist and 'Bigging-Up' Writing Courses

2011-04-16T19:00:00.000+01:00

Books still exist. I went to London Book Fair and there were books – and guess what – there were publisher stands – so I can’t see the publishing business becoming extinct just yet.

I went to a seminar about up and coming illustrators. This area has always fascinated me – I have actually have written two picture books but they are in that ‘bottom of the drawer’ and will never see the light of day – One of the panellists was saying now her illustration degree didn’t prepare for the picture books. I could relate to this with my writing degree. You can have a writing degree – but once you’re out in the real world, still writing, you realise that you need to set your own deadlines, there are more things to learn all the time. A writing apprenticeship doesn’t end once you have the certificate saying you have taken a writing course. I have learnt, about flash fiction, writing for the Internet, social networking, blogging, public performance, submission process, finishing a novel, and rejections. Nobody tells you that to be a writer you need motivation by the lorry-load, determination by the trainload and discipline by the boatload.

A few winners of the new illustrators prize gave ‘big-ups’ to art education. Which, with the rising costs of course fees, writing courses need to be ‘bigged-up’ too. Doing a writing degree allows you time to explore the rules (so you can break them), peer reviews, advice from established writers, time to write, deadlines, friends, guidance, hardening of creativity skin against the rejections.

I don’t think people come out of writing courses, all writing the same. I found on my writing course that we were specifically told to find our own style, tone and voice. We may of all have the same assignment but every piece of writing was different.

I didn’t come from a high-income family. In fact I had to delay my entrance to university to have a gap year and work, work, work just to pay for the accommodation. I had to even work 25 hours each week during term time (good for writing inspiration) just to feed my stationery habit. If you want to do something, then don’t let money stop you. It might delay you but don’t let it stop you from achieving

I might have a huge student loan (thanks to high inflation) but it comes out of my wages and doesn’t bother me. I would not have learnt about properly structuring a short story, of the principles of novel writing, or met like-minded people. I would not have this blog either or published pieces.

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

2011-04-08T16:15:00.000+01:00

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

I have just finished reading a great book. A really good four star type of book (Five being ‘top notch’. One being ‘send to the pulp machine immediately’). Aimee Bender’s The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake was a birthday present from my parents, the other month. We were in the local bookshop and to tell you the truth, I let out a gasp. The bookshop doesn’t normally have books that I like in there (quirky, cult-ish, surrealist, etc.) The quote from Jodi Picoult didn’t put me off either. My Mum did say, are you sure, because I know you found Picoult same-y after two books?

I had heard about Aimee Bender through Nik Perring’s blog after he interviewed her. I loved the interview and went away and read some of her online short stories and checked out her website. Quiet Please is a great one. The Rememberer is a good one too.

Anyway, back to the book.

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake is about Rose Edelstein, who, on the verge of turning nine, bites into her Mother’s homemade lemon-chocolate cake and discovers she can taste emotion. She can taste the emotions that people are trying to cover up. And her brother… but that would be a spoiler. This book is about growing up, relationships, facing the real world, fear. The way that the fantastic is told in a normal, everyday setting, as if having a ‘power’ was normal is brilliant. The story is told in a subtle way and convincing too.

I see, via Goodreads (On you on there? It’s a social network site for book lovers – I want to stalk your reading tastes – please join!), that a few people felt disappointed that there was no indication between dialogue and the story. It’s experimental, people, move with the times. I like a book that challenges me to take more time over the words and makes me sit up and pay attention.

Bender’s writing style is sharp. She tells the story in a beautiful way without getting sentimental. The descriptions of the food are mouth-watering and reminds me of Nigel Slater’s Toast.

You Are The Next Big Thing

2011-03-30T16:11:00.001+01:00

You have become obsessed with refreshing your email, so much that you have RSI in your mouse-clicking finger. Click. Refresh. Click. Refresh. Zero new emails. Click Refresh. Then you remember that you only have one short story submission out in the ether at the moment. You checked on Duotrope Digest’s website and the minimum time of response is thirty days plus and you only sent the story the other night. Have a think. Make mental note to only check emails twenty times in the next hour. Click. Refresh. Zero new emails. Lips are sore. Refreshment is needed. Can’t believe stupid body needs watering. Off to kitchen. Pour out a glass of water from the jug. Run back up the stairs as the Macbook doesn’t like being left alone with the HP laptop because of previous ‘bullying issues.’ Click. Refresh. One new email. Internet slowing. Whack the side of the screen, hoping it will speed things along. A slight hesitation – the email is in your spam box. See the subject line – Next Big Thing. Open immediately. ‘I am writing to you because you are the next big thing. You really are going to be huge.’ Stop reading the email. Take a breath. Give self a tap on the back. You have finally made it. Someone has recognised your talents. You don’t recognise the name of the person who sent it. The name is definitely not on your ‘Literary Agents to stalk and then send 100,000 novel on the human condition’ list in your moleskine. Maybe it’s an Editor bypassing the whole publishing structure. Re-read the sentence ‘You are the next best thing.’ Let out a cheer. The cat stirs. 'Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore,' you say to the cat. The cat isn't called Toto and you don't even live in the USA. Scroll further down the email that keeps boasting about how grand your will be and how all the hotties will flock to you. Then you stop. Take a step back from the Macbook. They are selling you Viagra.

Newspaper Clippings

2011-03-29T20:56:00.000+01:00

A while back (actually quite a while back) I went through a phase of cutting out interesting newspaper headlines/clippings that either inspired me, sounded intriguing or insightful. Most of them were writing focused. I remember having them up on my wall at University. A few helped with story ideas.
I came across them at the weekend while I was unpacking and came across these two.

I like the quote 'The novel did not grow organically. It was force-fed and boosted with steroids.' Editing sometimes feels it like you're giving your novel a steroid boost just to get it to the next level and maybe finally reach that stage where you can say, yes, it's finished. Injecting new descriptions, an extra dose of dialogue, a smaller dose of 'tell the reader everything at the beginning' pill. But you wouldn't want a first draft to be pumped with drugs though - you want it be natural, raw and flow because it will be the foundation.

Sorry about the poor quality photographs - I only have my Blackberry camera to hand.

At Least The Books Are Unpacked

2011-03-21T16:19:00.000Z

I have been moving hosue and unpacking for the past week. If the Mister didn't have so many car parts and I didn't have so many books then we would have a ship-shape house. At the moment the car parts are balanced in the spare room, my desk is still in its box and the microwave has disappeared. But we're getting there.

I nearly had a breakdown over a flat pack bedside table and swore at every screw for the bookcase. We have three now - yipee. One was already built, another one took me thirty minutes to build and the last one took me over two hours. I have the blisters to prove it. Anyway, I won and now the books are in their new home.

I have found the time in between ironing curtains and break our new hoover to send out a flash fiction piece to an online magazine and also enter a short story in a competition. The redrafting of chapter three is also in progress - slowly but I will get there.

I'm currently reading Toast by Nigel Slater. I have had the book for years but the television adaptation that was on over the Christmas holidays finally inspired me to pluck the book off the shelf. Bilmey, what great descriptions about food - makes me hungry. I can also see why fans of the book were annoyed with the adaptation - the film has left out a lot of detail.

I haven't quite finished the book yet but it has inspired me to finally sit down and write a fodo article I have had in my head for months. Just need to find some time.

Also, don't you think these look good (click here) - mini books that fit in the pocket. A bit like Polly Pocket but for booklovers.

Women Writers Who Have Inspired Me

2011-03-09T21:53:00.000Z

International Women's Day was yesterday so this blog post is a little bit late but I have a genuine excuse - I got my keys to my new house yesterday!

Tuesday was the 100th International Women's day and is a day for people to debate, educate and celebrate women. one hundred years and the world still isn't equal. Things do need to be more balanced because we make up half of the planet. Some people celebrate International Women's day with public holidays, dancing, debating to get their voice heard or educating others about inequality. This post is a celebration of the women writers who have inspired me and my writing.

Judy Blume - I can't remember my first Blune. My favourite is Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret I just remember the agony of waiting for one of her books to be returned to the school library because someone else was reading the one I hadn't read, yet. I could really relate to the characters and the subject themes. She taught me that writing believable characters is essential to writing.

Jeanette Winterson - My first Winterson was Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit I think it was during the second year at university and it was on my bookshelf. The previous tenant had left it behind and the title grabbed me. I had heard of Winterson and read some of her articles in the past. Confident writing style, great themes.

Margaret Atwood - My first Atwood was Cat's Eye It was recommendation from my A-Level tutor and at the time I had exams to prep for. But as soon as I was out of the exam room, I headed to the library and borrowed the book. Incredible descriptions, incredible characters, incredible writing style, always a range of themes. I think the fact that Atwood doesn't stick to one genre.

Ali Smith - My first Smith was Hotel World I believe it was half price when I bought a newspaper. I remember that I was at university, in the second year and reading the book in the launderette. I went straight home and wrote a story with the middle at the beginning, the beginning in the middle and the ending dotting through out the narrative. I loved the structure, the voice and the viewpoints - It stamped all over the rules from writing books. Reading Ali Smith taught me that breaking the rules is fun.

Charlotte Bronte - Originally she had to use a male name to get herself published but she paved the way for other women to become published. My first Bronte was Jane Eyre (Penguin Classics) Complex characters, intrigue, early feminism.

Daphne Du Maurier - Great opening sentence in Rebecca. A first sentence always needs to pull the reader into the story and make the reader want to read more.

Tricia Sullivan - A woman writing science fiction - yipee. Strong female leads, great writing style.

Natalie Goldberg - Writing Down the Bones is a one of the best writing books. I always head to this book when I am struggling with my writing. A real comfort blanket.

The Editing Bin

2011-02-27T19:04:00.000Z

Today I have been laughing at my past writing self (as well as doing other things).

I am currently redrafting Chapter One at the moment and it's funny how I thought a conversation exchange between my main character and a member of the chorus was essential. It went on for three pages. There was no plot advancement and it wasn't characterization either. Just a conversation with slight conflict. What was I thinking? I needed to be at the main event. So it was added to the bin.

Another example is giving away too many details in the first chapter. I want people to read further - not get all the info from the first chapter. I need some intrigue. So another thousand words added to the bin.

A building, central to the plot had a quite bland description before. There was nothing to make it special and it was also 'too perfect' - so out with the old, one sentence description. On the redrafting arrivals lounge was a paragraph of description.

So, this weekend's editing session involved losing two thousand words, adding another thousand and then cutting 800-ish words. I now have a less flabby chapter that gets to the point.

Calling the red pen back into action

2011-02-25T16:15:00.000Z

For a while I have been stuck in the phase of 'I have worked on this for two years and I can't go on anymore,' with my novel. I sent it out to several agents, because that's what you do when you can't stay your novel anymore, isn't it? I got the beginning longlisted in a novel openings competition and then a string of rejections.

Today I was given some great advice. I have new-found motivation for the novel.

I am going to redraft the novel, put it back into edit mode and be savage with the edits and cautious with the 'telling.' I seemed to have given away too much information at the beginning. The theme for this draft is 'subtle.' I don't want to punch, punch, punch the reader with information. I want it to be light kisses. Let the reader put the pieces together. Less sermon, more showing.

Stylish Blogger Award

2011-02-17T16:08:00.000Z

Lovely Suz over at Bang Out the Prose has given me the Stylish Blogger Award. Thank you Suz!

I really do appreciate the award. It's nice to know other people are reading my blog. I always see these on other blogs and I like them because it means there are new blogs to explore. However, sometimes I don't like it when a blogger gets the award and then says 'anyone who reads this, please take the award.' I think it's nice to take out the time to point people in the direction of new, interesting blogs.

Right, to fully accept the award I need to give 7 random facts and also nominate ten blogs. I also need to thank the person who nominated me (done). Then I need to tell everybody about their nomination.

It's really hard to pick ten blogs. I wanted to have a long list of blogs but I am finding that many have either gone private, deleted or just disappeared. I have heard of bloggers giving up as it's no longer fashionable and then headed to Twitter. (I do both). Anyway, here are my ten nominated blogs but also check out the ones in my blog list (on the side bar).

Seven random facts
1.) I have a blue dressing-gown with an owl on the front. It's called the 'Owl-igan' (rhymes with cardigan).
2.) I will be 26 on Sunday.
3.) I like reading speculative fiction but I sometimes find hard-core science fiction too much.
4.) I am a picky eater - I don't eat pizza - all though the other half has gotten me into curries.
5.) I don't have drinks that contain caffeine.
6.) I am scared about writing down my idea for the second novel just in case it's a rubbish idea.
7.) I have no writing desk at the moment so sitting upright, in bed, is my new desk.

My ten nominations:
Fragments and snapshots
Sophie Playe
Jessie Carty
Noticing things to wonder about
Pains, trains and inkstains
Jenn Ashworth
This writer's life
Ray Morgan
Newtowritinggirl's blog
Matthew James Arts

Moving House

2011-02-11T16:25:00.000Z

We could be closer to actually moving into our house. That means become a home owner is getting closer. No more landlords to please. Yipee.

At the moment we're staying at a relation's house twenty miles away from our normal location. It means we're closer to work but we are not close to our 'stuff.' We have boxes and bin-liners full of bits and bobs in three locations. I believe there were a lot of book boxes. *Cough* I didn't realise I owned that many!

One thing we have ready for our house are the bookcases. At our first little house with its single glazed windows and no room for drying washing and it being north facing, it became damp very quickly. The bookcases were ruined, a wall was covered in 'black stuff' and some of our books had damp stains too. When we moved we couldn't afford new book shelves so I cleaned them up to the best of my ability.

Now we have new bookcases after getting my wonderful boyfriend to drive to two seperate shops to get ones that match. I'm looking forward to unpacking my books (they have been packed since October) and being surprised by what I own.

I'm down to the last in a pile of books that I pulled out from the main herd, to read while 'squatting.' So I need to move really soon or I might have to visit a bookshop and that will mean another bookcase!

Save Libraries

2011-02-05T17:09:00.003Z

I hope I can get this blog post written and posted before my internet dongle decides to disconnect again. I'm currently staying at a relation's house while they do the finishing touches to the house.

Today is Save Libraries day. Across the UK, local councils are going to be making cuts to help bring down the deficit. Libraries are on the line. Which doesn't make sense because they want to bring back strong communities and that's what libraries provide.

To me, my local library was played a vital part in my childhood. Books are expensive things, especially to a family with only one parent working and another at home, bringing up two children and then the working parent losing their job, thanks to the previous Tory government.

I read my way through the Dr Seuss books, through a huge book of fairy tales and picture books. I once lost my bookmark and then found it in their 'lost bookmark' box and was so happy that day. I then re-borrowed a book that I had from a previous trip and found another one of my bookmarks. That's why I like collecting bookmarks but don't like using them as I have a habit of mis-placing them.

Then we moved and our new local library had two floors! Kids, top floor. Adults, bottom floor. There, I graduated from Roald Dahl to Judy Blume, Goosebumps, Point Horror and The Saddle Back Books. I read books on crafts, books on natural disasters, books on aliens, books on weather, books on being a journalist too. I joined the Summer Reading Challenge with my sister and we would have to give mini reviews of each book we read to the Librarian so we could get stickers to add to our charts and then get certificates.

When my Sainsburys' encyclopedia wasn't up for the job of helping me with homework then I would count on the library. In the late 1990s a computer went into the corner. Wow a computer. Our family couldn’t afford one at that moment. The Encarta CD-ROM was my second option after ploughing through books for research. After some research, I would head straight on the games on the CD-ROM. There was one where you had to use the articles to find your way around the maze and free some one from a castle. I loved that game. It was a sad day when the library upgraded their CD-ROM collection and the newer version didn’t have the game anymore.

I discovered all of my favourite authors at the library. My first Margaret Atwood book happened the summer I left school. My library was really good for having strong backlists of any author. If they didn’t have it then they would order it from another library in the county. All though for some reason, the Librarian would always say that Luton was out of bounds for ordering but any other library in Bedfordshire would be able to send it.

I also helped my Dad with some family history once. One of his relations had a family tree that showed a distant relation who lived in the town we had recently moved to. Using the micro-fiche we tracked down the ‘mystery man’ and his relations via the census to find out that he was an umbrella maker and also spent some time in the local poor house.

Plus the library was where I had my first Internet experience. ‘You mean you type in a word and it finds it?’ Incredible.

Even when I started working at the bookshop, I didn’t stop going to the library. I would make a note of books and then order them at the library. My family over the years has also rented lots of CDs, VHS and DVDS from the library too.

I strongly believe libraries need to be saved. They are a great place to teach your child to read, a place to show them the ‘world’ isn’t all digital, a place to meet others especially if you go the story time, author events or a local reading event. It can provide you with some quiet time, a place to escape bullies or even a place to read newspapers. They even do large print books, audio books and talking newspapers

A library is so much more than a building.

Please, please don’t shut libraries.

Short Story Acceptance and Keeping Stories at Arm's Length

2011-01-24T20:57:00.000Z

Today I got a short story accepted by Kerouac's Dog Magazine. Kerouac's Dog is an independent UK magazine, inspired by Jack Kerouac and the 1950s Beat generation. My short story will be appearing in issue three. Yay happy dance.

This is a great boost after a series of rejections. Even the story accepted today has been rejected three or four times but each time I refused to retire the story. I grabbed the editing pen and shook the story even more. I didn't want to give up with the story - I really enjoyed writing it too much.

I came across this quote via Twitter the other day and it has been swimming around in my head since:

"You send that work out... If you have talent, you will receive some measure of success - but only if you persist. ~ Isaac Asimov"

At the moment, I am mulling over a first draft of a short story. I have pushed it to arm's length and have a page of 'new ideas' to add and also reminders to delete some scenes. Later this week I am going to print it off and hopefully look at it with a fresh, more critical eye.

At the moment it is hard to get a regular routine as I am in the middle of packing up the house and cleaning every surface. We are moving out of our current house next week, squatting in a family member's house for two weeks and then, hopefully getting the keys to our new house. I'm really looking forward to unpacking all of my books - they have been in boxes since November.

Creative Writing Books - The Creative Habit

2011-01-20T20:50:00.001Z

The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life

Twyla Tharp's 'The Creative Habit' has been hanging around on my bedside cabinet for nearly a year. (A year in Februay, because it was a birthday present!). I having been dipping in here and there, taking my time, absorbing the great advice. This isn't a how-to on writing but this book looks more at the creativity side.

Tharp is primarily a cheorgrapher and not a writer but her creativity habits can also relate to writing too. One of her ideas is to have a box for each project. In this box you put ideas for this project. It could be cards, posters, quotes, books, etc. I really like this idea but for me, especially as I'm downsizing to a small house in a few weeks, a box would be too big. So I am going to get myself some cardboard folders (or something similar - it depends on what seduces me at the stationery shop) and create an 'ideas' folder for an idea I have had in my head for a while. At the moment the idea is for a short story piece.

Tharp also talks about 'scratching' away a fragments of ideas, trying to tease out a solid idea. I have found this piece of advice particularly when I struggled with 'idea finding' at the end of last year. Tharp says, 'Remember this when you're struggling for a big idea. You're much better off scratching for a small one.' She talks about turning those scratchings into spines for the project. This will help inject speed and attention into the project. It's all about focusing on that idea and teasing it to its full potential.

Something I have now written in my notebook, in capitals, is ' WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO SAY?' I think it'll help me focus more on what lurks underneath the story.

Tharp also explores the 'ruts and grooves' that all creative people seem to suffer. Tharp's suggestion to get out of rut is '1. Identify the concept that isn't working. 2. Write down your assumption. 3. Challenge the assumptions. 4. Act on the challenge.' It's all about pushing yourself out of the rut and fighting back against the fear of ending up in writer's block.

Overall, the message of this book is how important it is to make creativity (in a variety of forms) a part of your routine in life. This book helps you look at your creative perspective and the ways you can build on those ideas. I am definitely going to harness those ideas more after reading this book and really sit down and explore them before racing ahead and writing a short story that eventually lands in the 'retired folder' on my Macbook.

Directions For The New Year

2011-01-09T15:59:00.000Z

I started to write a short story in between finishing my novel and Christmas. It was about a writer. I had fallen into a cliche. A writer writing about a writer. Big yawn fest. All five files (all bits of the story, nothing whole) are filed away in the retired file.

Open new file, start again.

No ideas, nothing.

I was having writer's doubts.

I blogged about writer's doubts and also rejection.

I was still stuck in a rut.

I have clawed my way back out. I think its the new year and the new determination.

I am now writing a story. I have read blogs and on those blogs, people have wrote about the character taking over the story and the writer having to 'deal with it.' I never really understood. I always thought it was the imagination taking over the keyboard and sticking its fingers up to the 'story plan' and not the character. But some how a character has a poodle perm and now the whole story is going to be set in the 1980s. Bloody characters.

Without getting all 'appraisal' - I have set myself some ~~targets~~ ~~resolutions~~ directions for the following year:

Write some short stories. (notice the word some - I'm not going to add number. Don't want to scare myself).
Think about that idea I had for novel two - maybe start expanding and maybe write a few words for this project.
Be proactive about that flash fiction / short story collection idea - write some.
Dabble in non-fiction. No pressure.

Looking Back Over the Year

2010-12-30T13:10:00.000Z

So my new year resolutions for this year were to edit and redraft the novel ready to send out to agents, pass my driving test and write a short story every month. I did the editing and redrafting of my novel several times. I even pass my driving test too. I only managed to write two short stories over the year because all of my time was spent on the novel.

I didn't have as many short stories published this year. At first this did bother me. But then I sat back and remembered that it isn't about quantity plus I hadn't really written much in the way of the short stories this year. My priority was the novel. I was in the 'groove.' All my writing time was devoted to the novel. I am at the stage where I love and also hate it at the same time. I hate to look at it at the moment because of all the editing, redrafting and re-reading sentences over and over again but I also love the fact that I actually wrote a novel. It has been something I have wanted to achieve way before university.

One of my other goals was to get a piece into a paper magazine as the previous year most of my work appeared on the internet. I was able to get two pieces published in 'real life magazines.' Jasper's Betrayal was published in Inkspill Magazine and Sandbox was published in View From Here Magazine (online and also in their magazine).

I even had a piece published over at Metazen. Snowman was inspired by the snow from last winter.

I even dipped my toes into non fiction and wrote a short piece about notebooks over at Teresa's blog.

Currently I am writing a short story. Some of the feedback recently, from rejected stories, were having the start too long or not enough conflict. So I am taking it slowly with this one. Breaking it down into sections and actually planning the plot.

Also, I have an agent reading my novel at the moment.

Right, now I need to think of writing goals for next year...

Not Writing

2010-12-19T16:43:00.000Z

I haven't been writing much. My excuses include:

Packing up the house - we were meant to be moving just after Christmas. Now it's going to be the end of January.
Chest and sinus infection.
Cross stitching Christmas gifts and cards.
Wrapping presents.
A disaster with making a cheesecake.
Thinking about making mince pies.
Working.
Going to the cinema and seeing The American (okay-ish) and Monsters (brilliant).
Wrecking the side of the car with help from the garage wall. Apparently a big dent and being able to see the metal of the car isn't the best look.

To help myself back into the writing routine, I have forced myself to sit down on the sofa (because I have sold my desk) and try to write at least two hundred words on an idea.

I have also done some reorganisation. From today there are three new folders on my computer's hard drive:

Published - self explanatory

In Progress - The ideas I am currently working on. Some files have pages of half stories, some have one or two sentences.

Retired - Repeatedly rejected stories. I will rework them sometime but at the moment they are resting in this folder.

All My Friends are Superheros

2010-12-06T16:21:00.000Z

Are you in a reading rut? You look at your bookselves and none of the books inspire you. I had that a few weeks ago. I tried reading an early novel by one of my favourite authors and found it awful. Then I remembered that there was a book I was desperate to read after reading some blog reviews. And you know what, this book deserves the hype...

I could have read the book in one sitting but because it was so good I made the book last for two days. I really think you should read it. The book is awesome. Even the title is great - All my Friends are Superheros by Andrew Kaufman. The book is a slightly surreal love story. It is about a guy, Tom, who is married to a superhero and also all of this friends are superheroes too. One of them has convinced Tom’s wife that he is invisible and he needs to convince her that he is still there.This petite book at only 110 pages is quirky without being obscure, sweet without being sickly, tender without being mushy.

I'm now reading Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada.

I am starting to write down some ideas for stories - I might be climbing out of the writing rut...

Rejections and Writing Confidence

2010-11-21T13:13:00.000Z

What is the procedure for rejections?

I ask this because there seems to be three camps about them.

There are people who don’t talk about rejections. You only ever read about the achievements, the good times, the glamour side of writing.
There seem to be people who talk about rejections on their blogs. They say that it doesn’t matter about rejection. It’ll make you a stronger writer (which I agree with) and seem to still praise the editor who rejected them. Do people do this because they don’t want to upset the editor, just in case they come across the blog entry?
There are also people who write about rejections and use it as a way to slag off the magazine, etc. They take it personally and just let rip with the swears.

I suppose I am thinking about this because I have recently had a few rejections. A story for a lit magazine was rejected, I didn’t make the short-listing for the novel opening competition and not winning a writing competition.

I am probably in the second camp. But I have probably been in the first camp too. Keeping quiet, not wanting to admit. Is it all down to writing confidence?

for me, yes. Getting hit after hit of rejection can take its toll. I think, am I good enough? Do I have the authority to keep a writing blog? Emails to other writers seems to slow down or stop because I can’t keep emailing saying, oh I had a rejection and I have run out of ideas.

Another aspect of aspect of this loss of writing confidence is the novel. I keep wondering if I can still write short stories? Will there be another idea? Have I used up all of my writing juice? Then more doubt creeps further, crumbling at the writing confidence.

Then I write this blog post and laugh at myself from being so silly.

Then I remember I have achieved my writing goal – write a novel.

I am now off to unpack my copy of Writing Down the Bones. Its my go-to book when the writing gets tough.

Writer's Guilt

2010-11-09T16:30:00.000Z

Yesterday I realised I had writer's guilt. I had totally forgotten about my novel. I used to sit there thinking about the plot, working out character history in my head. The novel was constantly in my head. Now nothing. I even forgot the title. I am a bad mother to my novel. I'll have to make it up somehow, maybe pay for its punctuation fees or even donate more pages.

I have an idea for a short story but at the moment the character is still not wanting to interact. He wants to still in his cramped flat and make me write descriptions about his life. He won't budge from his threadbare armchair. I am going to have to roll up my sleeves with this one and show him who is boss.

Oh Comely Magazine

2010-11-05T16:03:00.000Z

I don't like women magazines. There, I have said it. Shock horror. I don't care about the latest red-carpet dresses or the best way to smack on make up or even the hottest celebrity gossip (I have Yahoo news for that, don't you know it is the best!). I don't find women magazines to be confidence boosters but more confidence crushers. This is why Oh Comely Magazine fills the void. The bi-monthly magazine is about quirks, exploring new things and people's creativity. The magazine is full of gorgeous photographs and compact essays. I especially liked the article in issue two by Ellie Phillips, Plan b. The article talks about finding a balance between the creative life and paying the bills. Sometimes you need a job to fund the creativity or even a motivator. I wonder if I would write more if I didn't have a job or would I use the time to do chores, reading and internet stalker rather than be more prolific with my writing. Plus, if I were to be a full-time writer then I would definitely need a chaise-lounge and a typewriter.

The Creative Habit

2010-11-01T21:02:00.000Z

I am currently reading a great book by Twyla Tharp called 'The Creative Habit.' I highly recommend this book about the creative process. Tharp might be a choreographer but the principles are still the same, when searching for ideas. My favourite quote at the moment:

"That is why you scratch for little ideas. Without the little ideas, there are no big ideas.... Remember this when you're struggling for a big idea. You're much better off scratching for a small one."

I have this written in my notebook and keep reading over it at the moment. I am struggling with a short story idea - I have my character and a situation but they just don't want to mix at the moment. I am either writing too much character description and not enough action. But I just need to keep working at the little idea and will eventually find the bigger idea.

A Week in Bullet Points

2010-10-22T16:20:00.000+01:00

Life wise:

My lovely boyfriend and I went off to London the other week for an afternoon/evening trip. We went to the Science Museum – boy, it has definitely changed since the last time I went there when I was a little one. One of my favourite times at the museum was going to see a Star Trek exhibit for my birthday. My boyfriend also went to the same exhibit and we could have walked past each other. Spooky.

That same day we went to see prog-rock band, Porcupine Tree at the Royal Albert Hall. I won the tickets, via work, so we had really good seats near the front. I really enjoyed myself – I especially enjoyed the acoustic set at the beginning. I’m looking forward to heading back there in a few weeks time to see Imogen Heap.

I recently finished reading Easter Parade by Richard Yates. I really liked the characters Emily and Sarah both striving for the American Dream, in different directions, in post war America, both finding disappoints and disillusionments with the realities of the world. The characters reminded me of my sister and I and the different paths we have taken with our lives. I really want to own all of Yates’s novels, all with the new Vintage covers. That’s my Christmas sorted!

Going to the cinema and seeing The Town – this was about living in Charlestown and its history of bank robbers and how it was a tradition in families and how difficult it was to break away. Ben Affleck directed the film and also starred in it too – I was surprised because his recent films have been a bit under average but this was brilliant.

Watching the DVD box set of Mad Men – I can’t the television audience levels for this are so low. The characters are brilliant, the writing is brilliant and the mise-en-scene is great too. Mad Men reminds me of Richard Yates’s novels.

Getting discharged from the hospital for my headaches – the steroid injection in the back of the right side of my head has helped. I have gone from 5-6 headaches each week to just 4 since July. Top notch.

Writing wise:

Coming to the end of an entire round of editing on my novel. I am at the stage where I love but also hate my novel at the same time. So at the moment I am taking a rest from it.

Making a plan for a short story.

Maybe, having several ideas for another novel – still early days – it could be an extended short story…

Also, check out this website, Fiction Uncovered as they are want to boost the profile of mid list authors and writing.

Compulsive Editing

2010-10-12T21:04:00.000+01:00

Editing
I am onto another round of editing at the moment. I can't help myself. I must keep going around in circles, deleting sentences, re-instating paragraphs, etc. But this is good - I think I can see light at the end of the novel one's tunnel. This round of editing has me playing the role of janitor - I am sweeping up clunky sentences, spotting naughty spelling mistakes and giving the whole manuscript a good polish. I even have my lovely boyfriend giving it a read too.

I found this recently on Writer Unboxed, a cartoon about compulsive editing.

Synopsis
I have struggled with this task. I don't how why this has caused me such trouble because after all this editing I should know the novel inside out. But I had to make myself sit down the other Sunday and just write it before anything else could be done. I now have a one page synopsis and also a ten page, chapter by chapter breakdown of the novel.

I am also researching Literary Agencies at the moment - seeing which ones publish my favourite authors. This will be the 'sell, sell, sell' part of writing. The part that a lot of writers call the ugly part but this is the reality.

It is two years this month that the first twinges of the novel started to appear in my head. Even if I don't get my novel published I am still going to be happy with actually finishing a novel - I have had several false starts but this idea was the one that made me commit. I know my printer has definitely felt those two years. I am hoping he still has another year left in him but he is starting to groan with every print job.

Synopsis Research

2010-09-24T16:17:00.000+01:00

I am currently splitting my writing time between editing and writing the synopsis, chapter by chapter. It is taking longer than I thought but I think it has got a bit out of hand. I am currently at chapter sixteen and the synopsis is now ten pages long. WAY too long! So I have been having a look at some Literary Agency websites and the Agents who represent my favourite authors. This is what they ask for when sending a synopsis in the submissions pack:

Full plot synopsis,
outlining novel on one page,
brief synopsis,
simple synopsis of no more than a page.

So from this I know that I need to do some serious editing on the synopsis. Serious editing. I also came across another agency asking for the synopsis to be simply three sentences long. So I am going to have some simple versions ready and also keep the long one too. You know, ‘just in case.’

I also had a rejection for a piece of flash fiction. This is a good thing because I got back some lovely, personal comments on how to improve the piece so now I have an idea how to expand the idea and possibly turn it into a short story.

In other related writing news, I have sold my huge desk. No more magazine rack on the side, no shelf for my long-suffering printer, no book shelf along the top, no place for knick-knacks and no official home for my Macbook. This is for a good reason – it was too huge for when we move in December/January. So now I am on the look out for a nice one. This weekend I am planning on editing five chapters and writing more chapters into the synopsis. This will probably be done at either the dining room table, on the sofa or wrapped up in bed. It seems this non-desk working could be more comfortable than I first thought!

Happy Belated Roald Dahl Day

2010-09-15T16:25:00.002+01:00

Monday 13^th September was Roald Dahl Day. I had every intention of posting on Monday but got caught up with writing this synopsis and editing. I am currently aiming for one chapter to be edited and then written about for my synopsis every evening. I am currently on track (famous last words).

Roald Dahl was my first favourite author. I borrowed from the library any titles I didn’t own. Relations would buy me his books and I even had a copy of the rail safety code too (with gruesome pictures of heads coming away from bodies if you hung you head out of the window). I had a huge (well it was huge for little me) hardback with Matilda, the BFG and George’s marvellous medicine and I needed to read it while it sat in a small table because it was so heavy. I also remember one teacher reading a chapter every afternoon from Boy but I couldn’t wait for her to finish so I got the book myself. The rat story was my favourite chapter. Even as a teenager I loved his short story, Royal Jelly. Just brilliant. Quentin Blake’s illustrations were splendid too. Roald Dahl was such a great writer because of his great imagination. He didn’t stick to that horrid rule of ‘write what you know.’ He went with this imagination. Anything and everything was possible.

I can tell you my favourite quote:

“She whipped a pistol from her knickers” – Red Riding Hood, Revolting Rhymes.

But to pick my favourite book? That is a hard one – it is either the BFG, Matilda or Revolting Rhymes.

Back From Holiday

2010-09-06T21:11:00.000+01:00

I didn't get all of my planned reading done and I only edited 17 chapters but I was most doing this:

Now I am back and ready to knuckle down with another round of editing. This round won't be structural but rather checking and making sure it flows. I also want to make sure I don't like mistakes of accidently writing my character is five instead of fifty. I am reading the novel slowly and very closely to spot any inconsistencies.

I am also writing a chapter by chapter synopsis too. I have only typed up two chapters and it's already two pages long so I am going to have to do some editing and 'killing my darlings' on that piece too.

On Holiday

2010-08-28T12:28:00.001+01:00

Today, we are off on holiday and will be heading to Northern Somerset. We will be staying in the pictured cottage. Doesn't it look like something off a postcard? Just looking at the picture makes me feel calm and relaxed and thoughts of work, mortgages and home have started to evaporate.

I have taken these books on holiday and will hopefully finish one or two:

K PAX trilogy - I am half way through the second book.
Dave Eggers' 'The wild Things' - I won this on Ebay - the seller didn't mention the spine looking like a small child had chewed on the ends.
A proof of David Vann's new book - I won it via Twitter.
Another proof of a non fiction title called 'Don't give up the day job' - the book is about writers and their jobs, before their writing careers.
Hopefully I'll finish 'The Creative Habit' too.

Lets hope I get some time to go to Cheddar Gauge, play some crazy golf and enjoy some cider!

See you in a week's time :)

P.S. I am taking my winter coat as well.

The Final Countdown

2010-08-27T16:15:00.000+01:00

Can't stop for long - high priority editing is happening.

So, this is the 200th post and also the blog's second anniversary! And this could possibly be the shortest blog post ever as well.

Last weekend I set myself a challenge to edit three chapters. I normally manage two. But this weekend I did four chapters and also another chapter's paper edits. This means I am now 10 pages away from finishing this draft.

It is now all hands to the deck to get those ten pages edited before tomorrow as I am off on holiday for a week and I would really like to take away a full MS to work on and also make a start on the Synopsis. So in between working, a meal at my boyfriend's mum's house, frantic packing, finding books to take on holiday and actually breathing - I am going to edit those last few pages.

Finding The Time to Write

2010-08-19T21:17:00.000+01:00

Finding the time to write (or edit - which is all I seem to do these days) can be hard. I have a full time job, householdy jobs, dealing with buying a house, preparing for a holiday too. This isn't a 'woe is me' sort of post, no. This is going to be one of posts about finding the time to write.

I find, having my own desk is great motivation for me. I can leave out my notebook, I can leave scribbled chapters in piles and have all my pens sticking out of old mugs. All of my 'stuff' is accessible. I also find crap TV good too - it means there is nothing to lure me into an evening coma. Reading great books is always helpful and films as well. I find having other hobbies can help by having something else to compare with writing. I like cross stitch because once its done, its done. While writing is mostly rewriting.

All my writerly-attention is on the novel at the moment. At first I resisted, wanting to write and edit short stories at the same time but I have found that once I am in editing-mode than there is no point trying to break out.

My new, recent discovered routine is to do the paper edits for chapters during the week. I can sit down with a chapter (or ideally two) in the evening, either at my desk or lounging across the bed, and scribble notes with my mechanical pencil, cross out stupid sentences and hopefully make improvements for the best. I tend to write/edit for around two-ish hours in the evenings. At the weekend I transfer my notes to the Word document.

Teresa, over on her blog recently suggested a technique that I am going to try. She makes a note of the time she spends writing but putting little blocks down to symbolize the time. One little block equals one hour. Click this sentence to read Teresa's post. I am going to try this is see HOW much time I spend on writing/editing. I have a feeling it will be less than first thought.

Editing update - I am only six more chapters away from finishing this edit cycle and then its back to the begin.

Longlisted and More Editing

2010-08-11T16:30:00.006+01:00

Big news first! The first 500 words of my novel has been long listed in a novel openings competition. The prize is lunch with an agent. I am really chuffed and good luck to the other long listers too!

The main question was - do I want to read on? I have this question in my head, helping me as I trawl through the different drafts. So it's good to know that my first 500 words can pull the reader into the story.

You can click on this sentence to read the announcement.

Even if I don't get short listed than at least I will have the motivation to carry on- another kick up the bum is always good.

I have been editing, trying to write an overall synopsis. I know have a two hundred word-ish overview of the novel. The next step is going to be chapter breakdown and trying to get the synopsis to sound enticing and intriguing. I am currently editing chapter sixteen via paper notes and editing chapter fifteen on the screen. So nine more chapters left and I'll be ready for another round of editing.

I also like this article in the Guardian about experimental fiction making a comeback. Say no to the norm!

Experimental fiction: Is it making a comeback?

On Creativity and Imagination

2010-07-27T16:30:00.000+01:00

Last week I listened to Grayson Perry (Turner Prize winner) on Radio 4 about creativity and imagination. (I’m not sure if the programme is still available online). With several guests, Perry discussed ‘what does it mean to be creative?’

Here are a few bullet points on some really great insights:

Perry has a concrete beam in his studio, engraved with ‘creativity is mistakes’

Being creative is about ‘feeding yourself’ – looking, looking, looking at the world around you; listening, listening, listening; a constant process – it is about storing away ideas.

Technology has helped ‘creatives’ escape the linear process of working – cut and paste, starting at the end, muddling up the structure.

Difficult for writers is ‘letting go’ – I agree with this one. I have only recently let a few people read the first chapter of my novel.

Creative types need reassurance from the outside.

Perry said ‘imagination is a curse’ as you’re constantly thinking of new situations. An idea comes into your head as a ‘golden glow’ impression (the romantic, perfect version) but then in reality it has spiky detail.

A fashion designer talked about what he looks for in students and I thought it also applies to writers too – an ability to investigate in a new, novel, structural way. You need to create an environment with discipline, styles, encouragement. ‘Love and boundaries.’

Autobiographical writing – take self forward and not to look back and write but to go forward and make new discoveries. Pretend to be someone else. Writing is a journey of exploration NOT the old saying of ‘write what you know.’

Prime quality – ‘be relaxed.’

How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe

2010-07-24T17:56:00.000+01:00

I finished Charle Yu's debut novel, 'How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe.' And it is brilliant! So I have decided to write a review but with a twist. So, here goes.

A review recipe
Place the following into a novel- creation blender:

A pint of Time Travel machine.
Add one time travel technician
Add one imaginary pet dog
Plus one operating system, TAMMY

Three dollops of time loop.

Add a shot of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Add a half shot of Back to the Future
A drizzle of Time Traveler's Wife
The comedy of Red Dwarf
Sprinkling of 1980s

Blend until a creamy, razor sharp plot starts to form. Add some a tea spoon of sugar to enhance the geeky fun.

This is not just a book for science fiction lovers but for anyone who likes literary fiction, likes comedy, likes novels within novels. Even Audrey 'Time Traveler's Wife'-fame Niffnegger agrees: "Tremendously clever...How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe is marvellously written, sweetly geeky, good clean time-bending fun."

An Excuse, A Novel Update, A Book Recommendation and Writing Analyzer

2010-07-17T18:08:00.000+01:00

So, July, mid July. Sorry little blog but I have excuses - really ones not 'faky' ones. I have had an injection in the back of my head for my headaches, I currently have a severe ear infection and there have been a lot of birthdays too.

My novel can't get too angry with me as I have been doing a lot of paper edits and I am nearly half way through this edit. At the end of this will be a fourth draft. Wow. I can't I have come this far. I used to dream about novel drafts and how cool it would be to have a fifth draft. I know, my dreams are SAD but well, you know, it is actually cool.

I am currently reading a proof copy of Charles Yu's 'How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe.' This book is about a time machine technician who lives in the present-indefinite. He finds himself stuck in a rut, trying to avoid work and using the time to spy on different versions of himself. If you liked Steven Hall's Raw Shark Tales than you're going to love this. I have only read 81 pages but I already recommending this to every one. It. Is. Great.

Coding Robots have created a program to compare a sample piece of writing with their databanks and will then tell you what famous author you write like. I threw in my first chapter and it has come back with 'David Foster Wallace.' A writer who I have always wanted to read but never gotten around too. So that's my Amazon wish listed topped up for another day! Website here .

Novel Fatigue

2010-06-28T16:20:00.001+01:00

I might have novel fatigue. Of course, I have self-diagnosed myself so I could have over-dramatised the symptoms so I could label myself with a 'condition' to explain my lack of motivation for my novel.Symptoms include a reluctance to head to my desk after work and spend the evening editing (either on the screen or paper), wondering why I am bothering to write a novel, dreading about people reading it and shaking their heads in disgust, having no motivation to transfer my edits. Those seem to be the core symptoms at the moment.

I have found relocating myself has helped. Away from the desk and on to the sofa or even the bed. Editing seems so much easier when you can lounge and have your legs resting on the mattress or coffee table.

I'm sorry novel - I only managed to edit one chapter this weekend but don't feel too bad because there is two weeks of washing that needs ironing so I'm having to wear jeans and a short sleeved jumper on one of the hottest days of the year.

I am keeping creative - I am currently cross stitching Monet's Japanese Bridge. Its a huge project but I am nearing the finishing line. I might try writing a short story and take a break. But then maybe writing this will motivate me again.

P.S. I passed my driving test first time!

P.P.S Caroline Smailes has a new book out and a new widget - become a bee and answer some questions. I have discovered a lot of new blogs too http://www.carolinesmailes.co.uk/hive (I'm a fat pink bee!)

My Bookmark Collection

2010-06-19T09:42:00.000+01:00

I have always liked bookmarks. The first I can remember having was a maroon leather one with gold lettering of a grand old house. I used it for all my library books. Then it went missing. One day I had it, using it in a thick book (I felt like a grown up with such a heavy book, shame it was mostly illustrations) and then it was gone. I moved on and read my way through the Dr Seuss books at the library and then a few months later the thick book was back on the shelf. I loved this book. I opened the book and out slid my lovely bookmark. After that I wrote my name on the back and always shook books before handing them back.

Then working in the bookshop reignited my love for bookmarks. Every time a publisher sent some I would take one and add to my collection:

I got the Egyptian Mummy bookmark when I was nine! I have over fifty - I have never counted but I know I have a lot - there are some in my books too. I have also used postcards in the past (good for when you need to make notes about a book) and also the cover's sleeve. I have never folded over a corner of a book (!), yet I have written in biro in some of them.

In the past I have made bookmarks for presents too - either cross stitched ones, hand drawn ones or ones made on the computer. And people give them to me as presents too (the dolphin one was from my sister).

However, my current bookmark is a tatty old post-it note with a 'three-for-two' sticker on it. I just don't want to ruin any of my bookmarks!

Room – Emma Donoghue

2010-06-07T20:37:00.001+01:00

Room – Emma Donoghue

I was lucky enough to pick up a proof copy of Emma Donoghue’s Room at London Book Fair back in April. I’m glad I did because this book is brilliant.

This is a compelling story about Jack, five, and his Ma, being held captive by ‘Old Nick’ in a Room. The room, measuring 11 feet by 11 feet, with a locked door and a skylight, conceals them from real life. Jack likes the TV and thinks Dora from Dora the Explorer is his best friend. Their only visitor is Old Nick but Jack always stays in the wardrobe when Nick comes to visit. Thins start to change when Ma tells Jack there is a world outside.

Told in Jack’s voice, this is a story with credible characters who drew me into the story. Jack is just superb with his observations about the world around him. I especially like his ‘word sandwiches’ where he squashed two words together to form a new one. I remember doing that when I was younger (and still do it now!).

I would say it is an uncomfortable read but that’s the one way it can be due to the subject matter. The humour took off the edge and kept me reading to find out what happened to the characters. Its one of those sorts of books you will not forget after closing the back page. There have been some comparisons to The Lovely Bones but I would say this is better. This is one of those books that you think, I wish I had written this.

Words To Help Me Through The Next Draft

2010-06-03T10:57:00.000+01:00

Last night I took the plunge and started editing chapter one. At the moment my head is full of novel and I want to use it all before it falls out of my head. So, sorry short stories but you're going to have to find someone else to tease with ideas. (I will write you down in my notebook, ready for later, I Promise (see, I even used a capital 'P'.))

Hopefully all the major structural changes to the novel have been made. So, it is now down to a spit and polish. And maybe, some minor structure changes if a chapter is completely rubbish. I have written a list of words in my notebook to inspire me though this draft.

Engaging

Original

Gripping

Specific

Detail - especially in the later chapters

Plot progression

Probing and poking further

Narrator's voice

Hello Draft Three Welcome to My Desk

2010-05-29T15:50:00.000+01:00

I now have a third draft. Some chapters have needed complete rewrites or have been reshuffled. A lot of chapters had whole paragraphs removed and even pages were scrapped. I have added more 'character voice' and taken out the 'author voice.' More description went into this draft too. Maybe I should add some salt and pepper for good measure?

Some stats (because we all deep-down love word counts):

End of first draft - 291 pages = 82,389 words
End of second draft - 248 pages = 71,002 words

I might have a break for a few weeks from the novel and attempt some short/flash stories. Or I might jump back on the wagon and edit like I have never editted before.

Preparing for the next draft (a bit like a royal visit):

Back up all relevant files - I do this monthly - I have lots of files on my USB stick called 'backup month year'
Tidy away papers from last draft - start with a clear space.
Get favourite editing pen ready to do some damage and/or repair.

I Recommend These Books

2010-05-28T16:15:00.000+01:00

As well as nearly being finished with the first draft and preparing to scribble over the second, I have taken some time out to read some great books. So here are my recommendations for the bank holiday:

The Rehearsal – Eleanor Catton – This debut novel is one of those Marmite books with the reviewers. I tend not to listen too much to what they say so I grabbed this one. This book is about the effects of a sex scandal at a girls’ school and also how the local acting school decide to turn into a play. One of the major questions through out the book ‘is adolescence a rehearsal for real life?’ and ‘What is reality?’ The main reason for liking this book is the way the story jumps around in the narrative, cutting to different time frames in the plot, swapping view point. There are flawed characters – I like that because it represents real life.

Eleanor keeps a blog here: Eleanor Blog

DELLA SAYS: OMG! – Keris Stainton – I own a signed copy of this book thanks to Twitter and Keris. This book takes me back straight to the days of searching the school library for Judy Blume books and pretending I was a year eight so I could take out the ‘naughty’ ones. ‘Della Says’ is about Della losing her diary after a party at her house. A summer romance happens with the boy of her dreams but there is someone out there with the diary, ready to make it all crumble. Here we have a honest protagonist – an icon for a generation – telling it like it really is. None of that fluffy Enid Blyton. The voice of the character pulls you straight in, making the book a compulsive read. I only stopped reading this because I needed to sleep and also I needed to go back to work after lunch.

Keris has a great blog here. Keris Blog.

I am currently reading ‘Room’ by Emma Donoghue. I believe it has been tipped to be the big seller for this year. The book is about a young woman and her son being kept in a basement away from real life. The story is told in the voice of a five year old. I’m twenty pages in but so far I am intrigued to continue.

Inkspill Magazine

2010-05-18T21:04:00.000+01:00

My short story, Jasper's Betrayal, has been published in the first issue of Inkspill Magazine. Originally the story was going to be about imaginary friends but then developed in to something slightly different.

There are not just short stories but articles, debates, poetry and photography. One of my class mates from Roehampton is also tucked inside the covers too. Big up Ray with her great poetry! The front cover reminds me of some of the older Mslexia covers with its wispy font and enticing colours.

You can either buy a print copy for £3.50 or download for £1.50. You won't be disappointed. There are some great pieces in this issue.

Inkspill Magazine is run by Sophie Playle during her spare time (in between writing and full time work). I believe she is open to submissions until the end of the month.

Thank you Sophie.

Website Recommendation and Editing Update

2010-05-11T15:40:00.000+01:00

I subscribed to the email from Writers' Centre - some of their events are local and some aren't but it is interesting to know what is happening in East Anglia, England. It's a shame to see nothing seems to happen in Bedfordshire (writing wise).

They have recently redesigned their website and they now have a section for writers. There is alot of great information and links on this website, not just for locals but for all writers.

Writers Centre - Writer's Area

Editing update - I am currently redrafting chapter 21 on the computer and chapter 22 is on the clipboard with lots of scribbles. Draft two is nearly ready for printing off. Then the whole editing process starts again. I have already lost 10,000 words. I am going to end up with a poem if I'm not careful...

Creative Writing Courses - Part 2 - My Experiences

2010-05-10T08:00:00.010+01:00

Here’s the second part of creative writing courses. Last time it was advantages and disadvantages, this time it is my experiences of the courses. Please note these are my experiences. I have tried to offer good parts and bad parts.

Evening course – ‘Creative Writing’

This was taken over 15 weeks on a Monday evening in a further education college. I took the course during my gap year so I could get a taster on what my degree would entail. Plus, I was still under 19 and the course was free. So nothing to lose. The tutor on the course was a writer (although she never pointed us in the direction of published work) and also a life coach. I remember her talking more about her life coaching then writing.

Basically, we wrote what ever we wanted. There was no theme or structure. There would be a small discussion on ‘scripting,’ etc but nothing substantial.

The tutor told us to read ‘Rebecca.’ This was the only book on the reading list.

I dropped out half way through. I handed over a story about a woman getting revenge on her cheating husband and his girlfriend (it was crappy). The tutor didn’t like the fact that the protagonist was a sinner who also got away with murder. She should in imprisoned or bet still, kill herself at the end. As well as the lessons being a sham and this comment – well, it pushed me over the edge… I smiled politely and then sloped off home during the break. Somehow, I still ended up with a certificate.

Degree course – ‘BA Creative Writing’

I picked this course as I wanted to be creative in every module, not have to write essays every two weeks or take exams at the end of the semester. I wanted to challenge my creativity. I really enjoyed the poetry, fiction and scriptwriting (in the second year) strands of the degree. This was also an opportunity to write three chapters of a novel for the third year project. I didn’t continue the novel after my course but it has helped since.
Experimental techniques were explored - my favourite module!
I really enjoyed all of the fiction writing and poetry modules. Scriptwriting made sense in the second year but journalism wasn't my cup of tea.
I wish there were more tutorials and feedback. One each term for each module was enough and going to see a tutor within office hours was a nightmare.
Some people didn’t want to be there and would chatter through the class. They were normally the people who begged for feedback but never returned the favour or bother coming to the editing group.
I thought the course would make me more prolific – I imagined we would roll out a story/poem every week (as most critics think about these courses). I was wrong (which is good) as it is more like one story per module – those editing skills are really put to the test.
There was a lot of ‘free time’ outside the class room so writing could be done with out the pressure of constant lectures.
Went to some of the events in the uni and got to hear some of the tutors perform. I wish they had run some sort of ‘open mic’ or performance for the students to perform their work and/or an anthology. However, the course was fairly new.
There was no career advice.
No one talked about the internet and its opportunities.

Postgraduate – ‘MA Professional Writing’

I picked this course because it was near enough to commute, fairly reasonable fees and offered a scope of choices. The tutor was also really enthusiastic on the opening day and also encouraging. But it all came crumbling down …
Lesson after lesson was spent listening to one person read out their story as the tutor verbally corrected the grammar. This was the sort of thing that screams tutorial.
We had to do a module on ‘research methods.’ It was a waste of time and dull. We even spent a whole session on using Google.
I wanted to extend my knowledge on experimental methods. But most of the group in the ‘creative writing’ module got annoyed that my story had no dialogue. But apparently, every story must have dialogue. Oh right. You better tell those big name authors the same.
My project was a shambles. My supervisor said my project was chick-lit because it had a female protagonist.
Writing London was one of the best modules - Trips around the capital for inspiration.
I took arts reviews - I like reading reviews but I learnt, not very good at writing them. But at least it gave me practice of reading out work in front of an audience.
The course was aimed more at Journalists and people who preferred non fiction. I did manage to write a few pieces. But a career in journalism isn't for me.
Tutorials were not encouraged.
I did come out with a couple of pieces of writing, which were published/awarded a prize.

So, I passed my Masters degree. I have no regrets though because it offered me a chance to concentrate on my writing without worrying about a full time job.

I developed a bad case of writer’s block after that course and even thought about giving up for a while. But I couldn’t let the negative hold me back. Okay, I’ll shut up now because I’m starting to sound like a self-help book.

The View From Here Magazine - Print Edition

2010-05-07T16:30:00.000+01:00

Issue 23 of The View From Here Magazine is now available. My story, Sandbox, featured last month on their website will now be in print. Which is exciting - one of the writing resolutions was to have at least one piece appear in a 'real life' magazine.

You can buy the magazine from here.

Creative Writing Courses - Part 1- Advantages / Disadvantages

2010-05-06T15:11:00.000+01:00

I am going to be writing a couple of posts about the advantages/disadvantages of creative writing courses and also my experiences (part 2). I thought it might be useful for a few people. when I thought about applying for a CW degree I googled about the advantages but there wasn't much out there at the time. So I hope this might help someone at some point.

I also want to point out that:

I know a lot of writers who did creative writing courses and have gone far e.g. published, agents, book deals.
I know a lot of people who stopped writing as soon as their certificate was nailed above their fire place.
I also know a lot of people who didn't do a course and have succeeded too.

At the end of the day, even if you do a course or you don't do a course, you will still need the following:

Motivation
Determination
Dedication
Realistic about rejection/acceptance
Plus ideas, of course!

Advantages for creative writing courses:

Discipline - You can't put it off. A deadline is a deadline.
Motivation - Prompts help a lot of people. Also preparing for editing groups is a good kick up the backside.
Feedback - From peers and tutors. My advice is to be in an editing group that your best friend or flatmate isn't in. You want partial advice, not someone who is overly nice/nasty. However, having a friend on the same course can help you have someone to bounce off ideas and have pre-edit discussions. Feedback helps push one to be a better writer and step up one's game.
Competitive - Not racing but having the attitude of 'I want to write a story that will get clapping too.' It is healthy. Again, it's motivational and it spurs you on to write.
You can learn the rules and then break them.
Book recommendations - find new writers to explore.
Like-minded friends.
You need to also remember - the tutor's advice isn't always the right advice. Get confident with your own judgements.

Disadvantages for creative writing courses:

Money
Time - a degree is three years. Someone famous once said writing is a lifelong apprenticeship so those three years are just a drop in the ocean (I might have paraphrased).
You can find a lot of advice in 'how-to' books or essays on the internet.
Attitude of 'you can't teach talent' - no you can't. Its about nurturing.
Read, read, read is the best education and then write, write, write - Actually this is the best advice!
You can only work on assignments.

Having a degree doesn't give you the advantage over someone who hasn't got a degree. Its about the words you write. You can also create most of the advantages at home by making up your own deadlines, own goals, etc.

I will be also writing a post about my experiences of attending a BA, MA and also evening class soon. One was a complete disaster, another one had be reconsidering my future and another one got good near the end.

Writing and Also Not Writing

2010-04-28T15:49:00.000+01:00

I only seem to be here once a week, maybe twice. Sorry. I am attempting to finish the first draft's edits. The internet modem is switched off when I get back from work and then I type. Type until my eyes are heavy and my fingers can't type. Chapter nineteen is being added to the already huge file and chapter twenty is waiting in the wings. I'm not writing in my notebook or even creating new short stories. I feel bad about that but all my concentration is on the novel at the moment. Am I putting all my eggs into one basket? Probably. I could end up being the only one who reads it.

When I haven't been editing I have been doing the following:

Radio
Listening to Naomi Alderman's Lessons on Book at Bedtime. I normally catch up the day after. A lot of writers seem to write about university for their second novel.

Reading
Our Tragic Universe by Scarlett Thomas. I think this is one of my favs from Thomas. Philosophical about story telling yet also readable.

Craft
I am currently working on Monet's Japanese Bridge in cross stitch.

TV
I am now on season three of West Wing. Plus Glee. I haven't seen the Madonna episode, yet. The writing is so sharp and funny. I don't care if watching Glee is considered low-brow. We can't always be pretentious all the time.

Dear Chapter 19, or 18, Sorry, I Can't Remember

2010-04-22T16:22:00.000+01:00

Dear Chapter 18/19

Deepest apologies for not spending much time on you over the past week. Three pages of edits isn't good enough.

However, I have been busy. Monday was London Book Fair and I was so tired after work that I went to bed early. I did get several new pens and I promise to use some on your pages. Tuesday, as you remember, I worked on you for a while. Crossing out sections, adding new chunks, making characters more menacing and making others stronger. I didn't do much because I watched an episode of West Wing (I'm years behind). Last night, we shared some time together and got another couple of pages written but again you were sandwiched between West Wing and bedtime reading. Tonight, I am going to the cinema to see 'The Ghost.' Its about a writer, so I guess that is allowed, right? I will try to edit you some more afterwards but I can't promise.

I guess I am having 'Editing Fatigue.' I edited and redrafted two chapters last weekend. I'm not looking for the sympathy vote just for you to understand that I have my reasons for you to still be sitting on my clipboard, probably tucked away under a pile or slung under the bed.

I have also been doing some crafty hobbies too and reading. Chapter 18/19, don't laugh but I am reading some chick-lit. Sometimes it's nice to have a break. Plus over the past week I have won a book, got my mitts on a proof and have a nice shiny pile of books.

I promise to type up my notes at the the weekend. Even if I have to do it early one morning or late into the evening.

With love,
ME X

Sandbox up at The View From Here Magazine

2010-04-13T09:04:00.000+01:00

I have a new flash fiction piece up at The View From Here Magazine.

Sandbox is a piece about raining sand. I read an article last year about China shooting pellets in the sky to create rain and it got me thinking about other sinister ways this could technology could be used against people.

The story will also appear in the May printed edition.

Thank you View From Here Magazine :)

In Your Face Chapter 15

2010-04-09T17:00:00.000+01:00

In your face Chapter 15 - I won!

Somehow, the interwebs stopped working last Saturday. The world was going to end. No more home shopping, no more virtual friends, no more blogging. The end of the world was going to end with a 'we-can't-connect-you' message. But there was a new dawn and Chapter 15 came bursting out with a new plot, new location, same narrator but in first person narrative and shorter.

So now I am tackling Chapter 16 who seems to be more polite and healthier than its sibling.

Writing Haiku everyday is coming on nicely - I try and write one or two before bedtime in my ntoebook. It feels good to be writing something new.

I keep worrying about not having ideas for novel two. Why can't there be books or courses about the second novel? What if I only have one novel inside me? Oh, second novel, why are you cursed? AND why am I worrying about this now - I have my first to edit and nurture.

Conversations with Chapter 15

2010-03-30T20:23:00.000+01:00

ME: So, chapter fifteen we meet again. Are you ready for your turning of edits, scribbles and rewrites?

CH15: Hold on, slow down. What do you mean chapter 15? Somehow, between being typed on the computer and printed off I have slipped down the pecking order from chapter 7 to 15. I liked 7 it is my favourite number.

ME: Chapters have been renumbered. I gave numbers to the alphabet chapters - you're still in the same place in the novel-

CH15: Nobody remembers the fifteenth chapter. (Goes off to sulk in the corner). Do you know what is even more hurtful? Can you guess, no, well you said when writing me that I was the hardest chapter to write but it didn't mattered because you would polish me up, make me sparkle for the second draft. But I have heard rumours that my make-over is more radical.

ME: Did chapter thirteen tell you that? Because he is a slippery character.

CH15: It doesn't matter if it was chapter eight or 13. I wanna know what you're planning.

ME: Okay, you want the truth. I nearly binned you from the novel. Cut you out of the credits. Got the other chapters to cover your shift.

CH15: You what?

ME: Don't get upset. I thought about it and I thought, chapter 15 is one of the good guys.

CH15: You don't need to tell me that. Just look at that line of girls waiting at my door. I'm a superstar.

ME: So and this is a big SO, you are going to be renovated back to the foundations and rebuilt. An extreme make over.

CH15: It sounds like you're going to knock me down, rip out the original features and make a different chapter 15.

ME: Nobody wants to know about the main character's day at work. No body cares if her boss wants to offer her a promotion even though she is part of some sort of Resistance group. No tension. Plus it doesn't move the plot forward.

CH15: Readers like routine. It makes people feel safe.

ME: No it doesn't. It is boring.

CH15: Now you're hurting me.

ME: Look, its going to be for the best. I want you to be a chapter that matters. Don't you?

CH15: I suppose so. (He climbs back on to the pile of paper and waits his turn patiently).

Comps and Challenges

2010-03-29T17:00:00.001+01:00

There are a few competitions coming up - I saw the links on Twitter and I thought lets share them.

Harpers Magazine - deadline 12th April - write a short story based on the theme of the 'face.'

She Magazine are also running a competition - write a short story based on the theme of 'summer.' - The details were in the previous edition of the magazine.

One for the poets. I know you're out there, lurking in alleyways. April is Poetry writing month or NaPoWriMo (a bit like novel writing month in November). The idea is that you write a poem for each day in April. I really want to write something new but the novel is munching at my time. So, my plan is to write one or possibly two haiku everyday.

Progress Report

2010-03-22T17:43:00.002Z

I am now technically half-way with editing the first draft – lets just say I have definitely cut 10 percent off the word count. What happens if the word count is too low? My boyfriend said. I don’t know. I really don’t know.

The chapters alternate between two female characters – I have now decided to put one in first person because I want the reader to know her opinions, see the world from her eyes. Also, give her a unique voice in doing so. I don’t want the character to have the same voice as the other character or even sound like me.

I haven’t written any new stories at the moment but I did edit two chapters over the weekend – which counts though don’t it? I also slashed out the beginning of chapter 13 – something that took six pages to explain (!) is now one paragraph. Bish. Bash. Bosh.

Lunchtime Reading

2010-03-17T18:16:00.001Z

Recently, (okay January), The Guardian published an article about the winter ruining lunchtime reading. The writer couldn’t sit out amongst the snow nor sit at their workplace because of the noise. I agreed to the article. If I am reading the best-book-since-sliced-bread then I can concentrate through rustling crisp packets, VIP phone calls and the temptation of the internet. However, I prefer to read on the train, in bed, in the bath and on the sofa. Places away from the computer. I still read at lunchtime but I prefer to use the time to catch with blogs and websites. I thought I would share with you (and also help me organise my bookmarks).

Bookshelves – photographs of people’s shelves

The Intern – an anonymous blog about the publishing industry

The Literary Project – interviews with authors/agents/editors

Mslexia – Reading the blog.

Naomi Alderman – author of ‘Disobedience’ – one of the rest reads from last year.

Passive Aggressive Notes – because there are a lot of angry people in this world

Good Reads – a good place for storing my reading past, present and future.

And the blogs on my blogroll!

Do you read at lunchtime?

New Look

2010-03-11T20:34:00.001Z

I have made some changes - all the links to my published pieces are now available on the 'Published works' tab (just below the header). There is also new pages for 'About me' and 'Reviewed works.' I am trying to organize the blog because it has become more of a permanent home rather than a fad.

Tell Me How You Write

2010-03-08T17:18:00.010Z

Teresa is running a 'Tell me how you write' series over on her blog at the moment. Jo Stanley, Nik Perring, Diane Becker and Alex Thornber have all stopped by and given a same account of their processes. Now it is my turn. Click on below link if you fancy a read.

Tell Me How You Write - Jessica Patient

I have written about the role of notebooks in my writing and how important they are to me before even hitting the first key on the computer.

My novel notebook is currently suffering from overload - I'm adding more notes every day for plot changes, name changes, notes to add more detail, notes to take out detail.

I have also been reading alot of blog posts recently about the dreaded second novel. And it has got me thinking, what if I can't write another one? What if this is it? What if there are no more ideas left in my head once I have finished editing? I know, I know, there is no need to worry because I am still editing and redrafting this one. I just can't help it.

Snowman - A Love Story at Metazen

2010-03-05T11:34:00.000Z

My short story, Snowman - A Love Story, is up at Metazen today.

Snowman - A Love Story

I wrote the story back when it snowed, snowed and just kept snowing. I remember standing at the window, looking out over the street and watching the old woman next door shuffle out of her door and drag her bin back. She has a husband but we never see him. The writing cogs started turning.

This is also the firt story I wrote after finishing the first draft of my novel.

Subbing the Old Fashioned Way

2010-03-05T07:30:00.001Z

In a time where people are converting to eco ways, creating simpler work processes, making the world more accessible. Why are some literary magazines asking for postal submissions and postal submissions only?

I have just literally sealed up the envelope for a short story. Snail mail is so last century. The literary magazine in question (who shall remain anon) has a decent website, has a blog, and even e-versions of the print magazine. Postal submission doesn't seem to fit with their digital vision. To be honest, postal submissions is a bit backwards.

The company I work for embraces technology for submissions and queries. Firstly, it stops wastage of paper (paper comes from trees) and secondly, the query can be dealt with quicker. Postal is so long winded, for the writer and for the editor at the other end. And in these 'economic times' money saving ideas are the only things to save magazines and publishers. I have heard of E-book readers be used by editors to read submissions.

What do others think?
Should postal submissions be thrown into a museum along with dino bones or should we save this extinct method?

Added - An article about the same idea - Email Submissions: Why we love them (and hate them).

Happy World Book Day

2010-03-04T10:30:00.000Z

This was my favourite time of year when I worked in Bookselling. Every school child got a book token and those book tokens made a lot of children happy and their parents a little poorer.

What will you be reading today?
I am currently enjoying Rapture by Liz Jensen.

World Book Day Website

Out With The Theory and In With The Creativity

2010-03-03T20:56:00.000Z

Blogging, writing any new stories and reading has been put on hold since my birthday. Reading the Highway code, reading the big car theory book and watching the hazard awareness DVD had become my number one occupation after working and sleeping. I now know about speed signs, first aid and lane restrictions. I also know too much about the colour of studs on the motorway. It feels like a curse.
I passed!
That means I can start enjoying all the books I got for my birthday. This includes: England's Best Loved Poems edited by George Courtauld, Scorch Atlas by Blake Butler and The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp.

The editing is progressing slowly - but that is fine with me. I have split two chapters into four chapters! Plus I have a growing notebook with notes for the next draft. I have also scribbled all over chapter one, again.

A Quarter of a Century

2010-02-20T10:00:00.000Z

It's my birthday today. Quarter of a century. That sounds old so lets stick to 25.

I always see birthdays as my new year. I can either restart any resolutions or think of new ones. I seem to be doing pretty well with most of them. The driving is progressing - the theory test is in 2 weeks time, going to the gym and losing weight is one of those longer-term goals and the editing is progressing, slower than I thought but these things can't be rushed. The whole writing one story per month is a bit of a squeeze so I am adapting it to be 'write something new every month.' This will include non fiction too.

Image from Google - searched for 'birthday.'