Posted on 18 September 2017 14:54
Rejections are an inevitable part of being a writer, at least if you have any ambition to see your work printed by anyone other than yourself. But there are different types of rejections, and some of them can have beneficial consequences.
Read morePosted on 17 September 2017 17:17
Summary:
I’ve been a bit all over the place this week, finding it difficult to settle to anything, and not feeling as if what I’ve been doing is particularly worthwhile. Still, recording it all for Weeknotes shows me that I am getting things done, even if it doesn’t feel like it.
Read morePosted on 11 September 2017 13:40
Summary:
Weirdly, I think I’m missing having a big project to work on. I’ve been doing writing-related stuff, but I haven’t felt very focused or motivated this week. Perhaps I need to pick my next novel and throw myself into it...
Read morePosted on 04 September 2017 16:22
I got back from NAWG Fest yesterday, after two days of workshops, q&a with agents, and lots of chatting with other writers.
Read morePosted on 04 September 2017 14:24
Someone my husband, Dave, knows started a project called Weeknotes, whereby he puts together a summary of what he’s done at work each week and posts it online. Other people have started to do it too, and I wanted to join in. I wasn’t overly enthused about compiling Weeknotes for my day job, but I thought it might be fun to do it for my writing, so here goes...
Read morePosted on 20 August 2017 14:44
At the moment, I am struggling with finding balance in my life.
Read morePosted on 31 July 2017 14:17
Yesterday, I experienced a profound sense of accomplishment.
The four-month writing period of the Six Month Novel Programme is coming to an end, and I actually finished writing the last scene of my current draft about three weeks ago. That felt pretty great, not least because it happened on a writing date with a friend who was also there when I finished my first draft of the novel nearly two years ago.
Read morePosted on 08 July 2017 07:11
Last weekend, a few friends and I went to Felixstowe Book Festival. This was my third event of this kind, and probably my favourite so far. NAWG Fest in September last year was an intensive two days of excellent workshops, with a couple of author talks thrown in. Tremendous fun, but very tiring. Chipping Norton Literary Festival, in May, was all author panels, which I found very interesting, but didn’t spark my creative muscles. So, I was glad to discover that Felixstowe had a range of different sessions on offer, including both panels and workshops. I signed up for several of both, and thought the combination worked really well.
Read morePosted on 05 June 2017 17:09
I didn’t write anything all last week. Then, I had a tiring, somewhat stressful but ultimately enjoyable weekend away at a gaming event, getting home later last night than planned. And I’d completely forgotten about my dentist appointment this morning. All I wanted to do with the rest of today was sit on the sofa and watch TV. But I had a writing date scheduled with a writer friend this afternoon, so I duly made my way to Brick Lane to meet her.
Read morePosted on 14 May 2017 11:09
My relationship to aural input whilst writing has changed dramatically over time.
I used to need complete peace and quiet in order to write, and I certainly wouldn’t be able to listen to music at the same time.
Read morePosted on 17 April 2017 16:46
After two writing weeks on the Six Month Novel Programme, I am six chapters and over 30,000 words into the new draft, which is way more than I anticipated.
Read morePosted on 02 April 2017 14:40
When I wrote the first draft of my novel, it took five years, a lot of teeth-pulling, and a gradual progression from the original 1,500 word story to the eventual 90,000 word novel. There was a lot of mystery and excitement along the way, coupled with periods of staring into the void, wondering what on earth was going to happen next.
Now, I’ve signed up for the Six Month Novel programme, and I’m in a whole new world of plotting and outlining.
Read morePosted on 13 March 2017 20:04
Whilst on the retreat in Devon last month, I got to talking to my lovely host, Charlie of Urban Writers’ Retreats, and she mentioned she was taking applications for her annual Six Month Novel Programme.
Read morePosted on 22 February 2017 19:18
This is an article I wrote this month for the Get Your Words Out online community:
So, you’re fearful of putting your writing out there into the world…
Well, you’re not alone. Every writer experiences anxiety about letting other people read their work. Every writer fears rejection and criticism of their work.
Read morePosted on 12 February 2017 15:21
Last week, I took a lovely, four-day trip down to Devon, to attend a residential writing retreat at Stickwick Manor, organised by the ever-awesome Charlie from Urban Writers’ Retreat.
Read morePosted on 29 January 2017 13:45
Charlie, who runs the Urban Writers’ Retreats I go to, also just finished running an online writing programme for four weeks, starting on 2 January. It consisted of a daily email, containing a writing prompt, a suggested amount of time to write (starting at five minutes and working upwards), and either a task to help with story-planning or a link to an article or video containing writing advice.
Read morePosted on 09 January 2017 16:35
I’ve been thinking about my writing goals for the year, in conjunction with my renewed pledge to write 150,000 words for Get Your Words Out in 2017. And, interestingly, my main goals for this year are actually about writing less, rather than more.
Read morePosted on 29 December 2016 17:49
One of the other writers on the course I attended recently at Moniack Mhor told me about an online critiquing website called Scribophile, so I decided to check it out.
Read morePosted on 11 December 2016 18:16
I spent the whole of last week on a writing course at Moniack Mhor, near Inverness. It was aimed at science-fiction and fantasy writers, with workshops in the mornings, led by the two tutors, Juliet McKenna and Pippa Goldschmidt, and the afternoons left free for individual writing time. I always find these kind of events really useful and enjoyable, but this one also provided me with a new focus for my writing as we head into 2017.
Read morePosted on 30 November 2016 15:31
This blog post marks a major achievement in my writing.
At the beginning of the year, I joined the Get Your Words Out online community of writers. In order to sign up, you have to pledge to write a certain number of words over the course of the year. They also have to be certain kinds of words - not just random scribbles in a private journal, but actual progress on works of fiction, or blog posts intended for public consumption. Now, on looking at the available pledges, I was somewhat dismayed to discover that the lowest number open to me was 150,000 words. At the time, this seemed pretty much out of the realms of possibility, but I decided to sign up anyway and do my best. At the very least, it would mean a new tracking spreadsheet to add to my collection.
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