Writing about Writing

More silliness!

2009-07-07T23:00:00.003+01:00

This is what an extract of book 1 would look like if it was animated by really rubbish animators then voiced by really wooden actors!

Fun to make though (apart from when I tried to publish it, it crashed and then I had to start all over again...)

In other news I've started a new notebook (I love me a new notebook). I've called this one "Book 2 Rewrite" and I've been scribbling down all the rewrite notes I've secreted in various places including my phone, 2 other notebooks, scraps of paper and in the comments section of YWriter.

I love this stage of writing a novel - working out how to restructure the book, how to make it stronger, how to make the characters more rounded, how to up the tension/emotion, even making myself grin with new ideas for funny bits.

It's just the actual doing it I'm not so keen on.

Oooh I know...I think I'll read some of my 'how to edit' books and then I'll get my blank index cards out, have yellow for character 1, blue for character 2 and pink for characters 3 & 4, then write each scene on the appropriate card, lay them out on the floor to look at the balance of characters and scenes, maybe write down the level of tension on each card to check that it increases as the book progresses and then...um...look at them a bit more...

The 1st draft of novel 2 is FINISHED!!!!

2009-07-05T23:04:00.007+01:00

Apologies in advance for any typos in this post - I've just drunk the best part of a bottle of champagne so am typing this post very carefully... ;)

This weekend I resolved to finish novel 2. My self-imposed 6 month deadline to reach the end of the first draft whooshed past several weeks ago and I promised myself I'd get it done within 7 months - and not one day over.

Tomorrow, July 6th 2009, is exactly seven month since I wrote the first word of novel 2 and I'm done - I've finished the first draft!!

On Friday, fellow Novel Racer Helen posted on Facebook that she was intending on completing the first draft on her novel by the end of today and, just like 2007 when I raced L-Plate author to finish book 1, there was a real feeling of camaraderie as we updated our statuses over the course of the weekend to reflect how many words we'd written and how many we still had left to write.

Helen finished first (at about 6pm today) but I was determined to reach 'The End' in time to enjoy the bottle of chilled champagne I'd bought from M&S earlier today. I wrote on my sofa with the TV burbling along in the background then moved to my balcony and continued to type in silence, the sun making me squint until it finally set and I shivered, too determined to finish my final scene to go in and get a jumper.

And finish I did. At about 9.25pm. Total words written today: 5,612! Total number of words in 1st draft of novel 2: 97,134 (so much for thinking it would be 90k!)

I'm not ashamed to admit that I jumped up and down in my hallway a fair bit and may even have punched the air!

There's a fair (okay a LOT) of editing to do for this novel but I'll worry about that another today. Tonight it's all about "Yeahhhhhh I DID IT!!!", and another glass of champagne *clink*

A post in which I present you with a rubbish trailer...

2009-07-04T14:09:00.004+01:00

...for novel 1.

I should, and have been, writing novel 2 (a whisper away from 90,000 words now but it's definitely going to be longer than I planned!) but I just took a break to have a play with Xtra Normal, the online software Karen and Lane have already had a play with, to make a little trailer for Book 1.

It's rubbish (the trailer, not the book - hopefully), and you don't get to customise your characters, but making it amused me for an hour!

p.s.

2009-07-01T19:48:00.004+01:00

Thank you all for your lovely comments about my book cover and for supporting the idea that I sign one and give it away in a competition. I'll definitely be doing that! Sorry I didn't reply to the comments but I'm desperately trying to get book 2 finished.

Nearly...nearly..nearly there...

(and then I can start moaning about the edits! ;))

p.p.s. I also need to blog about the SAF and Novel Racer meets I've been to recently. God I'm rubbish.

My cousin the magician!

2009-07-01T18:05:00.026+01:00

A little while ago I received two emails...

The first was from the assistant at my literary agency, asking if I could please supply her with a 8x10" black and white head or head and shoulders shot of me so they could hang it on their newly created 'author hall of fame' wall.

The second was from PR at my publishers, asking if I had any photos that they could use for publicity purposes (and possibly put at the back of my novel).

Both requests made my heart flitter-flutter.

Flitter-flutter with FEAR.

a) All the photos I have involve me looking a bit dorky/sweaty/scruff on holiday and
b) I HATE having my photo taken!

So I put off replying to the emails for a while and did what any serious author would do and ~~wrote my novel~~ surfed facebook. During one of my surfing sessions I discovered something on one of my cousin's pages that made me go "Ooooh" very loudly. The source of my Ooohs were these photos:

I had no idea that Jacqui was such a talented photographer! Over time an idea started to form in my head...if Jacqui could take such gorgeous photos of the kids then maybe, just maybe she could take a halfway decent photo of me? Okay so I'm at least 30 years older than these children and I've got a faceful of blemishes and lines whereas they've got lovely flawless skin but, well, it wouldn't hurt to ask would it?

Ask I did - and to my delight she said yes, she'd take some shots of me!

So earlier this week, after hours of shovelling on the make-up and wrestling with velcro rollers and a curling tong I turned up at her house (quaking ever so slightly). It was early evening and Jacqui said we'd be able to get some good light (and scenery) at the common at her house so off we trooped, catching up as we walked.

I was still a bit nervous as Jacqui asked me to sit on a bench and hold a big circular light-reflecting disk thing (I'm no good at the terminology!) while she checked the light but she soon put me at ease and started clicking away. We changed locations a few times, laughing at the fact we could only take sitting down photos because I'm so much taller than her! The session was over before I knew it and I made my way back home, hoping against hope that at least one of the photos would be usable!

Yesterday evening I receiving a series of emails from Jacqui containing photo attachments...of me! I felt a bit sick as I clicked them open, telling myself it wasn't the end of the world if there wasn't a usable photo for my book/PR, I'd just invest in a sturdy paper bag and do a 'bete de jour'.

But God...Jacqui is INCREDIBLE! She's a magician not a photographer! Hell, sod that, she's a bloody miracle worker! Look what she created with her camera (and a bit of photoshop):

I couldn't be more pleased (or shocked!).

If you live in Worcestershire (or even further afield, am sure Jacqui would travel for the right price) and would like some gorgeous photos of your kids, or even some half-decent photos of yourself please do get in touch with her (photographer.jacqui@yahoo.co.uk). She's an absolute sweetheart and very talented with it.

Things that make you go Ooooh!

2009-06-21T13:14:00.004+01:00

Look what I received earlier this week:

It's the proof of the cover/jacket artwork for novel 1! (click on the image if you want to see a larger version). All it's missing is the quote the lovely Kate Harrison provided for me (I think that'll be added in before final printing).

All I'd seen up to this point was an emailed jpg of the front cover so receiving the proofs in the post was a wonderful surprise. I received 5 in total, all printed on proper book cover thin card with the title of the book embossed in gold. I framed one and put it on my desk, sent one to my parents and am hanging onto the other three for a bit.

To be honest I'm not sure what to do with them (other than peek at them from time to time and make a little 'Oooh' sound when I touch the shiny gold title). I was tempted to fold one around the advanced copies I received a month ago so I can really get a feel for what my finished book will be like but I don't want to ruin one by creasing it up!

I'm thinking I could run some kind of competition when the book comes out and give away a copy of my book and one of the jacket artwork prints, signed. But would anyone want one? Would that be a bit of a wanky thing to do? It's not like I'm JK Rowling or Sophie Kinsella or someone!

It's oh so quiet!

2009-06-17T21:46:00.005+01:00

Sorry for my recent radio silence but life has been somewhat hectic since I got back from this gorgeous place...

I couldn't have asked for a more wonderful place to go on a writing course - a small island off Greece called Skyr0s. The views were breathtaking, the sea was crystal clear, the weather gorgeous (36C one day) and the 'community' (I think that's probably the best word to describe the place where I stayed, we were so isolated) was just beautiful. And don't get me started on the people I met - I haven't laughed so much for ages.

The writing course itself was slightly disappointing (it was very much geared to total beginners) and I only had time to write 3,000 words of novel 2 but it didn't matter because I had so much fun, was constantly busy talking to people and doing stuff (and even made a panel of stained glass in one of the other classes!).

Now it's back to the real world and as my tan fades it's on with the writing again. I failed to meet my six month target (6th June) to finish the first draft of novel 2 so I've given myself a new deadline - the end of the month. I've plotted the final few scenes of the book and I reckon I've got about 10,000 words left to write. I can do it. There's just the small matter of a flat to sell/buy, author photos to be taken (by my very talented cousin) and a social life to attend to!

Writing novel 2 has been much, MUCH harder than writing novel 1. I've made life harder for myself by going for a totally different structure and 3 different POVs. I thought, when I was planning this novel, that going for another 1st person, hero's journey approach might bore me (after using that format for novel 1) but I'm starting to realise quite how much I've bitten off by doing things differently with book 2. It's like learning to write a novel all over again! There's going to be a LOT of editing this time around but it's okay, I'm quite looking forward to it (don't quote me on that in a month's time when I'm banging my head on the carpet!)

In other news I spent a fantastic day with the SAF girls last weekend and was sorry to leave when I did (party to go to). It was fantastic to meet everyone (some of whom I'd met before) and I thought the fact that ALL OF US showed up was a real sign of how close the group has become. You couldn't ask for a nicer, more supportive group of womag writers. You're all ace!

What else? The marketing team at my publishers has got behind book 1 and I received a copy of a fantastic sparkly in-house promotional email today. Apparently people were clammering to get hold of a copy of the proof of my book as a result of the email but I think it was more to do with the sparkling gift bag they were giving away with it (containing a mini bottle of champagne, a glitter bath bomb and some chocolates) rather than my novel.

Sod being an author, I want to work for a publishing company! ;)

TTFN!

2009-05-28T19:08:00.002+01:00

Just a quick note to let you all know that, as of tomorrow, I'll be in Greece! It's a week-long writing holiday ('Imagination and Voice') with other bits and bobs thrown in like yoga, stained glass making, wind surfing etc.

I'm hoping the course will inspire me (and give me a fab idea for book 3) and that I'll get the first draft of book 2 finished while I'm there but I'm going with an open mind. If I don't write a word and instead meet loads of new people, have a brilliant time and come back feeling all refreshed and inspired I'll be more than happy (a bit of a tan would be good too! ;)).

See you when I get back!

It's a Wonderful (Publishing) Life...

2009-05-24T00:25:00.003+01:00

A couple of days ago I noticed that people were posting messages on their blogs and Facebook about the fact that Salt Publishers, one of the very few independent presses to publish short stories and poetry, were in financial trouble and desperately needed people to buy 'Just One Book' to help their business survive.

I read around a bit, found out that everything I'd read was true, and went to visit Salt's website. I looked through all the short story anthologies and decided to buy "Balancing on the Edge of the World" by Elizabeth Baines. Then I twittered about the 'Just One Book' campaign and was delighted when some of my followers retweeted it.

Why did I feel so moved to help? Because I started off writing short stories (and I'll go on to write some more once I've finished the first draft of novel 2) and know how extraordinarily hard it can be to find a market for them. Those of us who write womag stories are lucky that Take a Break, Woman's Weekly et al pay quite well. Admittedly it's still a very tough market to crack but at least you're decently rewarded if you do sell one. When I was writing literary short stories the most I ever made from a sale was £15 - once to an Australian print mag and, on another occasion, to an American ezine. And it's not just about money. Writers like to see their work in print and fewer and fewer magazines are dedicated to short stories.

The market for short stories is tiny. It's almost impossible to get yourself an agent, even if you've pulled together a fantastic, prize-winning collection, because publishers just don't see big bucks in short story collections. Even in womag-world more and more magazines are closing their doors to fiction. So what's a short story writer to do? Where are they supposed to turn to see their work in print?

That's where Salt came in - they offered one of the very few havens for short story writers who wanted to see their work published and they've published some of the best - Vanessa Gebbie, Alex Keegan, Elizabeth Baines and Charles Lambert to name but a few. And let's not forget Tania Hershman whose short story collection, published by Salt, so impressed the judges of the Orange Prize for New Writers that she received a commendation.

If Salt folds it'll be another punch in the guts for short story writers, and readers, everywhere.

Today Salt published a blog post on the amazing response to their plea for 'Just One Book'. It's an amazingly honest post and I couldn't help but be touched by this paragraph:

"During the course of the day, a further 157 orders come in. Twitter is full of the news, our authors are picking up on the story. It seems as if everyone we’ve known is pulling together to save Salt. We’re overwhelmed. All I can think of is the closing scenes of Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life and Jen and I are James Stewart and Donna Reed. I wonder if it will continue, if it does, in 18 days we’ll be saved, in 30 we’ll be able to take the business forward."

It's only a couple of days into the campaign, not 18 and certainly not 30 and Salt still need you to buy a book. Buy one from their website or the Book Depository or Amazon, they really don't mind. Just please, if you've ever enjoyed reading a short story or dreamed of seeing one of yours in print, buy one book. It would be such a shame if they became another business that tried, and failed, to support short story writers.

Here's the Salt website again if you want to have a look (you could buy some poetry if short stories aren't your thing!).

PS. If you're a short story writer and you've ever wondered what kind of story wins a literary competition you could buy any one of the books I've listed in this post and you'll find the answer - many of their prize-winning stories are included.

8 Things Meme

2009-05-22T18:38:00.005+01:00

My blog has been a teeny bit angsty and very 'me and my book' recently so I've decided to rectify that a bit.

I was going to blog about how busy I am at work, how stressed I am as I try to sell my flat and how I'm struggling to balance a social life and writing but, er, well, that's all a bit angsty isn't it?!

So, to keep in line with my previous post, I'm going to steal content from someone else's blog again. This time I'm stealing the 8 things meme from Karen!

8 Things I look forward to

1. Holidays (I'm off on a Skyr0s writing holiday (Imagination and Voice) a week today and I...CAN...NOT...WAIT!)

2. Holding my published book in my hands for the first time

3. Finishing the first draft of book 2

4. Finishing the edits of book 2

5. Getting back to writing a few short stories for SAF

6. Chocolate

7. Seeing my niece

8. Weekend lie-ins

8 Things I did yesterday

1. Hid my dirty washing in my wardrobe because my laundry basket was over-flowing (see point 2)

2. Wandered round a crematorium remembrance garden in the sunshine (I was wiling away half an hour while someone viewed my flat)

3. Went to see 'A View from the Bridge' (by Arthur Miller) at the Theatre Royal. It was absolutely AMAZING and I recommend everyone sees it if they can.

4. Ate a Graze box containing chopped apple, chilli rice crackers and BBQ cashews (if you want to try one for free go to www.graze.com and enter the code WTGJVYMA)

5. Opened YWriter to see how many words I need to write a day to finish novel 2 by 6th June (six months from start of 1st draft). Realised it had gone up to 1,047. Closed YWriter.

6. Twittered

7. Returned from theatre and used the Virgin OnDemand function to watch the latest episode of Katie & Peter

8. Read some more of Kate Harrison's excellent "The Secret Shopper's Revenge".

8 Things I wish I could do

1. Worry less.

2. Sing.

3. Fly

4. Travel by blinking my eyes and then magically appearing in my chosen destination

5. Cook

6. Procrastinate less

7. Play a musical instrument really well

8. Lose weight without exercising more or eating less

8 Shows I watch

1. Heroes

2. Lost

3. America's Next Top Model

4. Katie and Peter

5. 24

6. Grey's Anatomy

7. The Apprentice

8. Jools Holland

If you'd like to do this meme too - just steal it!

Shamelessly stolen from Keris

2009-05-22T17:45:00.002+01:00

Because it made me grin - and well up a bit too! I love these Flash mob things. The shock, swiftly followed by childlike delight, gets me every time.

Keris's blog: http://keris.typepad.com/

When your family reads your book

2009-05-15T19:22:00.007+01:00

When I met up with my publisher in Liberty's the other month some of the girls expressed astonishment that no one, other than them and my agent, had read my book.

In fact, when I confessed that I'd refused to let my mum read it they looked so shocked that my cheeks went a bit warm and I felt like the world's worst daughter!

But there were three reasons why I didn't want my family to read my novel until a book-shaped proof was available:

1) I didn't want them to have to read 300+ page of A4 printer paper!
2) I wanted it to be as perfect as possible
3) I wanted my parents to see the 'For my parents' dedication in the front

Oh yes, and there's a four...

4) I was scared shitless!

Agents and publishers are supposed to like your book - they wouldn't have signed you if they didn't - but releasing your book to the 'real world' is a whole different ball game. People have different tastes, strong opinions, likes and dislikes etc etc and it's not part of their job description to bolster your ego!

And if there's one thing my family is very good at - it's being honest (often too honest) and expressing their opinions! When I first started secondary school I was often accused of being 'tactless' and that's definitely a family trait.

So yes, I was scared about sharing my book with them. Scared that if they responded with "it was okay" or "I didn't like X bit much" or "I though that scene with A and B was a bit unbelievable" I'd be horribly, terribly crushed (you're never to old to want your family to be proud of you are you?)

So when the proofs came out I bit the bullet and sent a copy to my Mum.

She started reading it on a Saturday morning, texting me sporadically to tell me what page she was on.

But Sunday night I felt a bit sick.

Then there was a text - she loved it, she was hugely proud of me and she was going to buy copies for all the teachers at her school for Christmas!

Apparently she liked it so much (and went on about it so much) my dad asked if he could read it next. Dad wanting to read a book, any book is a huge deal. In fact, I can't ever remember him reading anything other than a newspaper or gardening or DIY manual.

And he loved it too and texted me to say how much he enjoyed my characters and that I'd obviously inherited his sense of humour!

Then my soon-to-be-sister in law asked to read it. And emailed me to say she was "weeping with joy" and that it had made her laugh and cry and that I was "the best writer ever" (I think I might have to marry her now!)

Then my brother and sister read it. They've both inherited the 'I don't do reading' gene from my dad. In fact, my twenty-six year-old brother told me that the last book he'd read was "Stig of the Dump" when he was 15!

My sister read the book from cover to cover in six hours and said it was "addictive" and posted a note on Facebook to tell all her friends that she loved it and to order it off Amazon.

A couple of days later my brother finished it. Now out of my whole family he's the one that worried me the most. As much as I love him my little brother's favourite sport is taking the piss out of me so I was fully expecting to hear "I could have written it better" or "people paid you for that?" but no...his Amazon status said

"finally read his biggest sister's book. A clever ending, couldn't see that one coming, good twists and turns, but my god, I'm not reading again until book no.2!"

So that's it. My entire (close) family have now read my book and I've survived unscathed.

Scratch that. It sounds too negative.

My entire (close) family have now read my book and their reactions have made me impossibly happy.

It's taken me thirty-five years but I've finally made them proud.

Neil Gaiman was right!

2009-05-06T18:52:00.002+01:00

Sorry to waffle on about the 75% slump but it appears I went through something similar with the first draft of novel 1!

This is what I blogged on 1st June 2007 when I was writing book 1:

"I just wrote about 900 words of my novel and the word count is now at 70% of novel written. I can't help but feeling, however, that I'm just churning out words now, desperate to reach the end. I need a new burst of enthusiasm. I need to feel excited about the novel again. I guess I've had a bit of an attack of the 'fears'. I'm aware that this novel will be on an agent's desk by the end of this year and I'm thinking, "what if it's not good enough?", "what if she hates it?" "what if everyone hates it?" "what if it gets published and it gets slated by readers on Amazon and reviewers in print? My name will be attached to it and everyone will think I'm a crap writer." ooooohHH wibble, wibble, wibble.

This is a normal feeling right? Everyone feels like this? Even successful, published authors?"

Ha! Same worries just different questions!

I'll shut up now...

Actually...

2009-05-06T18:05:00.002+01:00

I've just discovered where that Neil Gaiman quote came from - it was from a pep talk page for NaNoWriMo.

There are loads of other inspiring author pep talks on it.

Go take a look:

http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/node/3138144

Novel fatigue and why I love Neil Gaiman

2009-05-06T17:22:00.004+01:00

How far are you through the first draft of your novel?

10%?

30%?

50%?

According to YWriter I'm 0.09% away from hitting 75% of the way through novel 2 (assuming the final draft will be 90,000 words and won't mysteriously grow to 100,000 words like novel 1 did!) and find myself constantly fighting off negative thoughts including:

"It's shit"

"No point sending this to my agent in September, she'll be so disappointed"

"Oh god, what if my editor hates it and makes me give part of my advance back?"

and "People who love novel 1 will hate this one"

So I've been browsing other writers' websites, gawping at the number of novels they've written (check out Carole Matthew's astonishing list of published books for example!), assuming it came easy to them and feeling like I'm the only author in the world to struggle with her second novel (I'm not).

Nothing I told myself (including, "Don't you realise how bloody lucky you are to be in this situation!") was making me feel any better.

Until someone posted this snippet from a Neil Gaiman blog post on one of my writing forums...

"The last novel I wrote (it was ANANSI BOYS, in case you were wondering) when I got three-quarters of the way through I called my agent. I told her how stupid I felt writing something no-one would ever want to read, how thin the characters were, how pointless the plot. I strongly suggested that I was ready to abandon this book and write something else instead, or perhaps I could abandon the book and take up a new life as a landscape gardener, bank-robber, short-order cook or marine biologist. And instead of sympathising or agreeing with me, or blasting me forward with a wave of enthusiasm---or even arguing with me---she simply said, suspiciously cheerfully, "Oh, you're at that part of the book, are you?"

I was shocked. "You mean I've done this before?"

"You don't remember?"

"Not really."

"Oh yes," she said. "You do this every time you write a novel. But so do all my other clients."

I didn't even get to feel unique in my despair.

So I put down the phone and drove down to the coffee house in which I was writing the book, filled my pen and carried on writing."

... and suddenly I felt a whole load more enthusiastic about novel 2!

So thanks Mr Gaiman. I'm going to buy one of your books now to show my appreciation!*

* I know - so shameful that I've never read one of his books before. Anyone got a recommendation for which book I should start with?

Ta daaaaaaaaa!

2009-05-05T17:49:00.004+01:00

Want to know what's freaky?

a) This is pretty much how I always imagined my book cover would look but my publishers came up with it all on their own-some.

b) That street looks so much like my street that if you were to go through that door on the left, up the stairs and turn left that's pretty much my flat that Lucy (main character) is standing in!

When it's printed and a proper book (rather than a flat image) there will be glitter/sparkes in the sky and Spot UV (which I think is a kind of printing technique that makes certain bits of the illustration stand out/adds texture) but yep, this is pretty much what my book is going to look like :)

What do you think?

Buenas noticias!

2009-05-02T01:30:00.003+01:00

What does the blog title mean? For those of you that don't speak Spanish (and I've got got a grade C GCSE so I cheated and used an online translator!) it means 'good news'!

I was in a right grump the other day - long story short I've decided to sell the poky 1 bedroom flat where I've lived for the last 7 years and get a 2 bed place (so I've got a separate room to write in) and the lease is costing a bloody fortune to extend and there's no way I can get out of it.

Anyway, I was so grumpy I wrote, on Twitter, "Dear Cosmos/gods of literature. Some good news would cheer me up right now, love CalistroWriter".

Then I went to see my solicitor.

When I came back an email was waiting for me from my agent...

My book's been sold to a Spanish publisher!

I'm flabbergasted.

It's not for much money but still...that's SIX countries (including the UK) that are now going to publish my book!!! (The others being Russia, Hungary, Brazil and Germany).

That's SIX different covers!

So yes, I'm a very happy bunny.

Errrr...apart from the fact that I'm 14,000 words behind my (self-imposed) schedule for book 2 (currently at 70% of the way through the first draft). That's not good.

Still, I have a plan. One that involves lots of words on Saturday and Monday. Hopefully it'll help.

I'm already dreading the editing. I was lucky with book 1 in that it all seemed to fall together fairly easily but book 2 is going to need some quite substantial editing including a whole new subplot, some extensive tweaks to one of the main characters and a total reinvention of one of the more minor characters and a whole lot more funny.

But I'm not freaking out.

Much.

Second Book Syndrome. It's alive. It's well. And it's living in my head.

Time for a new letter to the Cosmos/gods of literature....

Composer Competition

2009-04-29T22:52:00.004+01:00

Fancy hearing your short story read out on radio?

Then enter the competition run by 'The Verb' on BBC Radio 3.

All you need to do is write a short story of no more than 1000 words which use the names of all four composers- Mendelssohn, Haydn, Purcell and Handel in the most inventive, imaginative and cunning ways possible.

Closing date May 11th 2009.

More details here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/theverb/

There doesn't appear to be a cash prize but winning the competition and getting your story read out on the radio would look fantastic on your writing CV (or query letter to an agent). My story 'SuperEd' was read out on BBC Radio Cumbria a little while ago and it was wonderful to hear someone else interpret it and give it a voice.

Why not give it a go?

p.s. Thank you all so much for your wonderful comments on my proofs arriving. Sorry I haven't replied to you all but I'm trying to press on with the first draft of book 2. Only 5,000 words and I'll hit 3/4s of the way through!

Look what I've got!!!

2009-04-24T19:55:00.005+01:00

Yep, the proofs for my novel!!! (click on the images to make them larger)

I can't begin to tell you how excited I felt when the postman handed me an ever-so-slightly battered package with my publisher's stamp on the front and a lumpy, book-like feel!

I'd already seen a print-out of the front cover (NB: this isn't what the final cover will look like, it's all about the blurb for the proofs!) so that didn't come as a surprise but it was utterly magical to open something that looked like a book, felt like a book and smelled like a book and find my words inside it!

And I was sooooo scared that those words would seem really, really rubbish once they'd jumped from my computer screen into a real, live book but - you know what - they didn't. I flicked through the book (being careful not to bend the spine, Elaine & Caroline!) and read random passages and I just felt SO DAMNED PROUD. Yes there were sentences that I could have improved, yes I spotted the odd adverb and adjective that could have been replaced with a stronger verb, yes I might have skimped on the description every now and then but...I just didn't care!

Of course now I'm utterly convinced that book 2 is utterly rubbish in comparison and I'll never write anything decent again but, if I'm honest, there were times when I doubted book 1 too. I don't now. Now it's the most gorgeous thing I've ever seen.

And I wrote it, one word at a time.

I have to remind myself of that as I plod on with book 2 (which is horribly behind schedule but let's not mention that!). It might look ugly now (and believe me it's a bit of a minger) but, hopefully, one day, it'll be sitting pretty next to book 1.

Yes, I just need to keep telling myself that.

In other news...

2009-04-14T00:20:00.007+01:00

The new title of Book 1 is now official!

I found out it had been officially changed by googling myself (sssh, I know you do it too) and finding that my details have been posted on my publisher's website (which was very exciting!), along with the new title of book 1.

I'm sooooo happy. I know this title is the name of a fairly famous film but it's absolutely perfect for book 1.

Want to know what it is?

Look at the little Amazon widget underneath my profile (on the right of this page). If it doesn't seem to have changed from the old title click on it to be taken to the Amazon page.

I'm still gagging to see the final design of my book cover and have been haunting my email inbox for days but nope...no news yet. And no news on when the proofs will be available either but I'm told it will be soon.

AND...in other news. My publishers have published a holding page for Book 2 on Amazon! I'm only 62% of the way through the first draft (as of today) but it's there, with a publication date and everything.

I'm so excited I might be sick (although that might be the fact I've eaten my own body weight in chocolate this Easter).

Novel 2 wordcount: 55,762 / 90,000 (62.0%)

Sorry for not blogging, I've been thinking about sex instead!

2009-04-13T23:58:00.007+01:00

More specifically, I've been writing about it.

There's no sex in novel 1 but I always knew there would be in novel 2 and I've been ~~dreading~~ waiting for this moment for some time. As it drew closer and closer I started to get the fear. What if I write really bad sex and end up getting nominated for the Bad Sex Awards? What if I write really mushy lovey-dovey sex that makes my readers want to throw up in their mouths a little bit? What if the sex I write is too explicit and makes my agent blush?

And then the biggie...

"What are my parents going to think when they read it?!!"

I brought the subject up with my mum on the phone last week, or maybe she brought it up and asked if there was any sex in book 1. Anyway, I can't remember but the subject came up and my mum voiced her opinion which was something along the lines of,

"It's perfectly natural darling. Everyone does it. Your gran used to read the Danielle Steeles that Auntie Joan would send over from Canada and she didn't raise an eyebrow. You've got nothing to worry about."

You'd think those reassuring words would make me feel better wouldn't you? They didn't. They just made me think about it even more.

There's always a danger, with whatever you write about, that people will think it's somehow autobiographical. None writers don't realise that when you're writing from a character's point of view you inhabit them in the same way an actor inhabits a character they're playing and what they say, or do, is true to the character and not you. Yes, small parts of yourself might slip in (ooer) here and there but our characters are normally more outspoken, daring, witty or feisty than us (particularly if you're writing romantic comedies). If I wanted to write 80,000 words about me not only would I a) bore myself silly but b) I'd call it an autobiography and not fiction.

So anyway, when I sat down to write the sex scene this week I did the only thing I knew would get me through it - I poured myself a glass of red wine - and it was all going so well during the build up, the first kiss, the removal of clothing but as soon as I typed the word "nipple" my brain started screaming "YOUR MUM'S GOING TO READ THIS! YOUR MUM'S GOING TO READ THIS!" and I suddenly felt self-conscious (more self-conscious than my characters that's for sure. They were steaming drunk).

So I did the only thing I could do.

I had another glass of wine.

And then another one.

And finished the scene.

Two years worth of writing links

2009-04-01T21:42:00.004+01:00

I've added quite a lot of writing links to this blog over the past 2 years and thought it would be a good idea to put them all in the same place (mostly so I can find them!) but thought some of my more recent readers might find them useful too so...here you are...

The writing links I've found most useful

1. Plot

i) What to do if your plot gets stuck - http://justinelarbalestier.com/blog/2009/01/05/jwam-reader-request-no-3-how-to-get-unstuck/

ii) Creating a plot outline - http://hollylisle.com/pdf/Lisle-Plot-Outline.pdf

iii) The 3 Act Structure - http://www.musik-therapie.at/PederHill/Structure&Plot.htm

iv) Narrative tension - http://ezinearticles.com/?Creating-Narrative-Tension-in-a-Novel&id=88160

v) Tips for adding tension to your novel - http://www.fictionfactor.com/guests/tension.html

vi) The Hero’s journey - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monomyth

vii) How powerful is your novel? - http://pbackwriter.blogspot.com/2007/07/vw3-turn-up-wattage-story-power.html

2. Writing encouragement

i) The secret of writing success - http://sallyquilfordblog.co.uk/2008/12/new-year-message-and-writing-secret-of.html

ii) Even hugely successful chicklit authors like Jennifer Weiner have been rejected - http://jenniferweiner.com/forwriters.htm

iii) Jasper Fforde, rejected 76 times over 10 years - http://writerunboxed.com/2007/06/22/author-interview-a-conversation-with-jasper-fforde/

iv) Write as though you’ve got a gun to your head - http://spreadtheword.org.uk/index.php?id=miscellaneous&text=1053

3. Agents/Editors

i) What they want - http://writeblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2008/09/road-ahead.html

ii) When should you fire your agent? - http://bookendslitagency.blogspot.com/2008/06/when-to-cut-ties-with-your-agent.html

iii) When agents ask for revisions but don’t offer representation - http://bookendslitagency.blogspot.com/2008/05/revisions-before-representation.html

iv) Do agents look at wannabe author’s websites? - http://pubrants.blogspot.com/2008/03/talking-websites.html

v) BBC website on how to lay out a novel for submission to an agent/editor - http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/scriptsmart/novel.pdf

4. Characters

i) Body language cues to emotion (useful for show vs tell) - http://www.joannawaugh.com/Craft.html

ii) Create images of your characters - http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/t4/microsites/M/makingfaces/yourface_createMate.html

iii) What makes a sympathetic character? - http://www.sff.net/people/alicia/artsympathy.htm

iv) What makes a compelling character? - http://nathanbransford.blogspot.com/2008/06/character-and-plot-inseparable.html

v) Matching a character’s name to their age - http://babynamewizard.com/namevoyager/lnv0105.html

5. Gadgets & software

i) WRITE or your computer will bleep at you! - http://lab.drwicked.com/writeordie.html

ii) Free writing software - http://www.spacejock.com/yWriter.html

iii) Create a ‘word cloud’ of your novel or short story - http://wordle.net/create

iv) Semi-colon quiz - http://www.bristol.ac.uk/arts/skills/grammar/grammar_tutorial/page_44.htm

v) Do you write like woman or a man? - http://bookblog.net/gender/genie.php

vi) Get your computer to read out your novel/story for you - http://www.naturalreaders.com/

vii) Online editing software - http://www.autocrit.com/

6. Writers block

i) http://www.copyblogger.com/writers-block/

ii) Writers block vs chronic procrastination - http://www.slate.com/id/2191312

7. Publishing

i) How do you get your book into the supermarkets? - http://www.danutakean.com/blog/?p=245#more-245

ii) Don’t expect to earn loads of money - http://emmadarwin.typepad.com/thisitchofwriting/2008/02/not-just-singin.html

iii) “Things I’ve learned since my first book was published” - http://cmpriest.livejournal.com/879864.html

iv) Author tries to promote his first book - http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/fiction/article2151594.ece

v) Snowbooks publishers – “How We Choose What We Publish” - http://www.snowbooks.com/weblog/2007/06/how_we_choose_what_to_publish.html#more

8. General advice for writers

i) 35 traps writers fall into - http://www.rachelsimon.com/wg_common.htm

ii) Writing a novel - http://www.fictionfactor.com/novel.html

iii) Really informative videos on writing and getting published - http://www.videojug.com/tag/writing-and-publishing

iv) BBC GetWriting site - http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/getwriting/minicourse

v) Writing fiction for 8-12 year olds - http://www.ianbone.com.au/pdfs/NovelsYoung_IanBone.pdf

vi) Writing tips - http://www.lisagardner.com/tricks/index.htm

vii) Writing advice - http://www.caroclarke.com/writing.html

9. Random stuff

i) Have a nose at other writer’s rooms - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7754115.stm

ii) Guardian newspaper ‘How to write’ articles - http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/series/howtowrite

iii) The Book Show on YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=TheBookShow

iv) Test your vocab and help charity at the same time - http://www.freerice.com/

v) Are you right-brained or left-brained? - http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,22492511-5005375,00.html

vi) What drives writers to write? - http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article2615414.ece

10. Editing

i) Kill your darlings - http://brendacoulter.blogspot.com/2008/01/how-to-kill-your-darlings-without.html

ii) Rewriting a novel - http://justinelarbalestier.com/blog/?p=890

iii) 3 steps to edit your novel - http://www.autocrit.com/pdfFiles/ThreeStepstoEditingYourNovel.pdf

iv) Editing - http://www.caroclarke.com/rewriting.html

v) Revision Toolkit - http://theresefowler.blogspot.com/2007/07/revision-tool-kit.html

Cream Teas and Covers

2009-04-01T00:15:00.006+01:00

I've got a ton of photos of Prague to post but I'll spare you my holiday snaps to tell you some writing-related news instead!

On Monday afternoon my publishers (my paperback editor, a marketing person and a PR person) took me and my agent to Liberty's for afternoon tea. And very tasty it was too - two fruit scones with jam and clotted cream and a big ol' pot of Lady Grey.

The food was great but it wasn't the most exciting bit. THAT was seeing a print out of the first draft/design of my book cover!

I swear my heart stopped for a second as my editor reached into her bag. What if I hated it? Could I lie convincingly if it was the worst cover in the world? Or would I cry?

I needn't have worried. I absolutely loved the cover. I don't know if my editor is a bit psychic or what but it was JUST as I'd imagined it. Even when I started writing Haunting... I had an image of a house and a sky and stars and that was just what they'd come up with. AND it looked a lot like the cover of Lisa Jewell's "Ralph's Party", the book I mentioned as one of my favourite ever chicklit reads when I was interviewed by Helen for Trashionista!

I would have happily agreed to have the cover I was shown immediately published but my editor said there were a few more tweaks they wanted the illustrator to do to it first - including shrinking the house down a bit, adding in more sky and a London cityscape, moving the title up into the sky and adding glitter! I was so pleased I can't even begin to describe the feeling, and seeing my name there, on the cover, was just surreal. Even now I can't stop staring at the cardboard 'book' printout they gave me. One day I'm going to see a cover a bit like that in the bookshops....I just can't get my head around it.

The other thing they showed me was the print out of the proof. That was slightly different from the cover although it did have some sky and a cityscape on it but the majority of the front cover was taken up with blurb and the title. On the back was the synopsis (same one as Amazon) and a pink box with stuff about how the book makes you laugh one minute and cry and next and some stuff about me as a writer. In less than a months time that will converted into a proper, hold-it-in-your-hands proof that will be sent to reviewers! Aaaaggh! That's exciting and scary at the same time. I don't even want to think about people reading my book critically. Ever since I got my agent I've heard nothing but positive things about my book (which was hugely surprising but wonderful) and now I have to brace myself for some more varied opinions!

The other news I received was that the title is going to be changed - again! - but I really, really love the new title. It was one that was on my list of suggested titles and I'm really pleased that the sales team think it's a better title than Haunting... I won't say what it is yet - I think I'll save it for when I've got a final, final copy of the cover to post on this blog but I will say that it does share a name with a 1970s film but there's no book with the same name. Yet.

What else? The marketing girl had a chat with me about some ideas for online quizzes and competitions for when the book comes out (watch this space for more details nearer publication time in October!) and the PR girl asked me to start thinking about anything interesting or unusual about my life that could feature in an article in a women's magazine. My mind went instantly blank... in fact I'm still trying to think of something! I rang my mum earlier this evening and berated her for not bringing me up in a circus or letting me be raised by wolves or something!

Anyway, I chatted for my publishers for a good hour and a half and then my agent and I had a good old chinwag over some more tea. It's the London Book Fair in April and she's hoping to get me some more foreign sales. I am hugely grateful for the one's she's already got me (and really excited about seeing the foreign covers when they are published), any more would just be a bonus!

I haven't made huge progess with novel 2 in the last week (because I was away for most of it) but seeing novel 1 come to life has really inspired me to make novel 2 as good as I can make it. Of course it seems pretty damned shoddy in comparison to novel 1 at the moment but the most important thing right now is just to get that first draft written.

A while ago Beth posted this quote on her blog and I've stuck it in the front of my notebook to inspire me whenever I start worrying that book 2 is a bit crap:

"You have no confidence? No one who is any good has confidence. So tell me what makes your particular lack of confidence so special." - Anne Enright.

Puts me right in my place!

Novel 2 wordcount: 47,157 / 90,000 (52.4%)

Could I have a few more hours in a day please?

2009-03-20T00:37:00.005Z

Isn't it weird how life suddenly seems to go into fast-forward mode and you feel like you're constantly running to try and catch up?

I'm off to two different European cities next week so I've been rushing around like a mad thing to try and get everything done before I go away. Work is super busy (I've been training up a new member of staff whilst trying to keep up with my own work), my social life is hectic and whenever there's the smallest gap between the two I've been frantically scribbling away at Novel 2.

At the end of February I was 6,000 words behind the schedule I'd set for writing the first draft of Novel 2. I wasn't hugely worried because I was planning on catching up in March, which seemed pretty free at the time. Now it's not. With next week looking writing-free I've tried to fit as many words as possible into this week so I could hit 50% of the first draft done and go away without feeling too guilty. And I was doing well...

Until my editor sent me through the copy edits for Novel 1! Admittedly there weren't loads but it was one more thing to add to the 'to do' list. I wasn't sure I'd be able to get them done before I went away but tonight I nailed them!*

AND I hit 50% of the first draft of novel 1 written.

Okay so there are still LOADS of things on my 'to do' list but they're just going to have to wait until I get back next week. Writing comes first**. I know where my priorities lie!

In other exciting news - my editor also got in touch to say they've received the design for the book cover from the illustrator and she's "thrilled" with it! She wanted to take me and my agent out for tea in Liberty's to show it to us but that's on hold because I'm away next week (although she did say she'd still like to take us out some time :o)). Instead she's suggested she send us a jpg of the cover so they can work on it while I'm away if I like it. Oh god...I so, so, SO hope I do. I just emailed her the copyedits saying I'd love to see the jpg but I just know my heart will be in my mouth whenever my email inbox shows a new message tomorrow. Please, please, please let me instantly LOVE it.

What else? Oooh yes, the wonderfully thoughtful woman who is Helen got in touch to ask if I'd like to be interviewed for Trashionista.

Would I?

God yes!

I was reading Trashi back when I was writing Novel 1 and used to read the author interviews and think, "Oh God, I love that to be me one day" And now it is! It's so surreal seeing my photo gawping out from the Trashionista website and my words on the screen for all to read. Surreal but wonderful.

So yes - I may moan about how busy I am (and I frequently do on Twitter) but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Novel 2 wordcount: 45,047 / 90,000 (50.1%)

* Well, I say I've 'nailed them' but I wouldn't be surprised if I came back to a few more queries.
** Don't tell that to the VAT man, the NI man or any of the other companies that want money off me!

Pay It Forward

2009-03-13T19:53:00.004Z

What a lovely surprise this morning!

I received my 'Pay it Forward' parcel from Helen. And what a lovely parcel it was.

She sent me:

- a card
- a friendship card (love the expression on the kid on the left's face - click to see it bigger)
- a fairy wishing coin
- some real, genuine fairy dust (you should have seen my jaw drop when I opened that pressie!)
- my very own millionaire so I can ditch the day job and spend the rest of my life writing (what an amazing, amazing gift!)

So now it's my turn. I'll be paying it forward and putting together my own little parcels of joy to the first three people who reply to this post (I can't promise the parcels will be as exciting as Helen's but I'll do my best).

NB: By sticking your hand in the air you agree to pay it forward to three more people on your own blog.

If you're one of the first 3 to leave a comment please email your address to: CalistroWriter@googlemail.com

Spread the joy - pay it forward! :o)