Sunday 16 December 2012

First draft finished and Happy Christmas!

On Friday I finally typed those magic words: 'The End'. Yay!

Of course, it's not the end, not by a long chalk. What I've completed is the first draft and I know the story is going to need major revisions before it's ready for submission. But still, I've written a story that has a beginning, middle and end and I'm letting myself sit back this weekend and enjoy the glow of achievement.

This will probably be the last post before Christmas, as I'm off to Yorkshire on Friday to spend the holiday with my family. Here's hoping that this year, Father Christmas decides not to give us the Norovirus...

Happy Christmas to one and all! I hope everyone has a wonderful time.

Wednesday 5 December 2012

Now NaNo is over

I meant to post this earlier but was felled by the Dreaded Lurgy. Now it looks as though I'm going to live, it's time to assess my NaNoWriMo achievements.

First of all, the big news is that in the month of November I wrote a staggering 52,000 words. And I thought I would struggle to reach 30,000! I'm so pleased with myself. I haven't quite finished the first draft but I'm halfway through the final chapter. Nearly there!

So what has NaNo done for me?

Firstly it's given me the push to complete (well, almost) a first draft that's been dragging on since early summer. Giving myself permission to dedicate a whole month to writing meant that I had no more excuses not to write and I found that I enjoyed the intensity of having to produce 2k words a day.

It's also given me the confidence to know that I can write to a deadline. As an unpublished writer I have the luxury of time. But if I achieve my goal of selling to a publisher then I'm going to be facing deadlines. I needed to know if I had the stamina for that.

Another thing I've learned to do is focus on the story rather than the words. When I wrote my first novel it took ages because I spent so long agonising over the right words. I couldn't afford to do that with NaNo and I found it liberating. Time enough to get the words right when editing. For now all that mattered was to get the story down. Think I even used the word 'thingy' a couple of times!

Finally, Nano has given me a house that looks like the aftermath of a riotous teen party. I knew there had to be a downside...

Thursday 15 November 2012

Progress report

It's the halfway point of November and I'm proud to report that my word count for the month so far is 25,306. Yay! I was only hoping to do 30,000, but now I'm wondering whether I shouldn't just go for broke and aim for the full NaNoWriMo target of 50,000. Something tells me I'm going to hate myself when I start editing though. I'm writing some appalling crap just in order to move past a sticky patch and keep my word rate up.

I saw on Twitter that Harlequin UK are asking NaNo writers to send them their books at the end. What? Let an editor read my raw 1st draft? I'd have to be very drunk before I sent in that for their consideration!

Sunday 11 November 2012

Update, a local legend and November targets

View from Gelert's grave
I went to Beddgelert last weekend for my writing group's annual retreat. I managed to add about 6,000 words to my work in progress as well as polishing a couple of short stories, so I consider it time well spent.

Beddgelert is in Snowdonia and the scenery is stunning. In my last post I wrote how I get inspiration from scenery, so it won't surprise anyone to learn that I managed to fit in walks each day. It's one of the most beautiful places in the world. I only wish I could have stayed longer.


Something I didn't mention in my 'inspiration' post was local legends. As a writer of historicals, I like to collect local legends. Then I dip into them to help me create depth to a setting. There's a wonderful story associated with Beddgelert and the clue is in the name: Beddgelert is Welsh for 'Gelert's grave'. (Note to self: Gelert is a great name. I must use it sometime.)
Here's a photo of the plaque at Gelert's grave that explains the story. Have tissues ready - it's sad.

And finally...my target for November. I was tempted to join in with NaNoWriMo, but due to family commitments at the end of the month, I thought 50,000 words was over-ambitious. But I like the idea of pushing myself, so I've set a 30,000 word target. That way, I'll have broken the back of my first draft and hopefully have it finished by the end of the year. I'm already 15,000 words in, so I'm well on the way :)

Tuesday 23 October 2012

Aids to creativity

Following advice from someone in my writers' group, I've been working on identifying things that put me in a more creative frame of mind. Here's the list I've come up with so far:
Hawkstone Follies - always an inspirational place for a walk
  1. Walking. I've found that if I'm stuck with my writing, there's nothing like a good walk to sort things out. There's something about walking that sends my thoughts zipping along pathways that hadn't occurred to me before. I don't consciously think of my plot or characters, but I'll often get struck by a thought that gives me the key to how my characters are behaving, or reveals a plot twist that makes the story. 
  2. Cycling. As for walking, but I also use it more consciously for fresh inspiration. I'm very lucky to live in Shropshire - one of the most beautiful counties in England (not that I'm biased!) It's predominately rural and filled with historical remains: stone circles, hill forts, Roman ruins, castles and priories...all the way to the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. I don't have to go far to see any of these, and on my bike I get the time to take in the atmosphere of the place and think what the place would look like in Roman times or the twelfth century, how the land would shape the people who lived there. If I've already got characters sketched out, I try to picture them there and look at the place through their eyes. It really helps me to get to know my characters better.
  3. Music. There's something about music that switches on that part of my brain marked 'inspiration'. It puts me in a more receptive frame of mind and whatever I listen to - from classical to rock - always gives me fresh ideas. I have to be careful, though - I once wrote what I thought was a real tear-jerker of a scene, only to find when I read it through that all the emotion had come from the music I was listening to at the time. Without the music, the scene was dead. Until someone invents a way to add incidental music to books, I now plan with music on, but write with it off.
  4. Cross-stitch. Maybe not one for everyone, this, but I find that concentrating on cross-stitch helps focus the part of my mind that's worrying about the everyday niggles, and frees the rest to go walkabout. I've come up with some great ideas, while working on a birth sampler for my niece. Who's now three...
My trusty steed, about to carry me over the Severn at Coalport. How easy was it to cross the Severn in earlier centuries?
So that's my list. I'd love to know what other people do to find their inspiration.

Friday 5 October 2012

Update and SYTYCW

I know I've been neglecting my blog recently. Unfortunately various issues with my family have eaten into my spare time. It'll be a few more weeks until things are back to normal. I'm just glad I hadn't decided to enter the SYTYCW contest. There's no way I'd have had a completed MS ready in time.

I am still making progress - just very slowly. I'm trying to keep an eye on SYTYCW as well. There's some great advice on the site, as well as the entries. I'll confess I find the site confusing though. On the old NV site, reviews were easy to find. Now, unless I've missed something, reviews are just done via Twitter. It doesn't give much scope for an in-depth review.  I learnt so much from reading reviews in the NV contest that it's a shame there doesn't seem to be the same facility on SYTYCW.

Anyway, best wishes to all the entrants. I know how nerve-wracking it is to put your chapter up for all to read, so congratulations to everyone who did.

Thursday 13 September 2012

Lack-of-progress update / IT Crowd

Moss - not your typical M&B hero
This summer has been such a wash-out that you'd think I'd have stayed in, writing. Well, I have stayed in, but to cheer myself up, I've been watching re-runs of the IT Crowd. The trouble is, I've now watched so many episodes that whenever I try to add more to my new Medieval romance, in my head, my hero sounds just like one of the IT Crowd characters - Moss. Not exactly the effect I'm trying to achieve with my alpha male, twelfth-century warrior...

So I have made some progress since my last update, but it's been painfully slow. Hopefully now that there are some breaks in the rain, I can get out for some walks and bike rides, and clear my head.

Can I learn anything from my experience? Umm...(sounds of barrel being scraped out)...I suppose that I should aim to create characters who are so strong that I can predict what they would say or do in any given situation. Just as long as they don't sound like Moss.


Tuesday 4 September 2012

A long overdue update

This summer has been a complete washout - in more ways than one. Why is it that I always think I'll have more time to write over the summer, when it always turns out to be the complete opposite? I've had a lovely time visiting people I haven't seen for a while, but I've fallen badly behind schedule with my first draft. Ah well, I'm back to work now and getting back into my writing routine too.

I got some good news yesterday, though - I found out that I've won a copy of Pamela Hartshorne's first time-slip novel - Time's Echo. I love her Mills and Boon romances (writing as Jessica Hart) and I also love time-slips, so I'm really looking forward to reading it.

As an additional bonus, it's set in York, where I lived for nearly ten years. It's always fun to read stories set in familiar places. I can picture the action more vividly if I've seen the sights that the characters are seeing.

Of course, I also love the way that books can take you to a place you've never been before. What do you prefer - reading about new or familiar places?

Monday 13 August 2012

In search of heroes

It takes a special kind of hero to look good in lycra
Yes, I know I've been quiet, but now the Olympics are over, I can get back to posting here more regularly. I will admit to being distracted during the games, but who can blame me with the inspiring heroes and heroines performing there?

I'm going to stick with the heroes in this post. I write historical romance, set in post-Roman and medieval Britain. My heroes are driven warriors, struggling to carve out a life for themselves in dangerous times. I'm always looking for inspiration for my next hero, but living in a time so different from the ones I write about means there's a dearth of brooding warlords roaming the streets.

But now my eyes have been opened. The Olympics were full of exactly the type of man I model my heroes on. Maybe they've swapped their destriers for bicycles and swords for javelins, but they've all made sacrifices to achieve their goals, struggled against set-backs and fought tooth and nail to gain the edge over their rivals. Every Olympian is a winner, whether or not they are a medalist. And they all have a story to tell. If I find myself needing fresh inspiration, I now now where to turn.

Roll on Rio!

Sunday 29 July 2012

Sun at last!

After months of pouring rain the sun has come out! While it's not been good for my word count, being able to go out for walks and bike rides has improved my mood no end. I was going stir crazy after so much rain.

My word count has actually gone backwards. I'd written three chapters, only to decide that I'd started in the wrong place. I've just finished the new chapter one and I'm much happier with it now. It's just a bit depressing that I've got fewer words down now than I had this time last week.

Saturday 14 July 2012

Progress report and Scrivener

I started work on my first draft this week and so far I've exceeded my target of writing eight hundred words a day. It doesn't sound like much, but if I set out to write, say, fifteen hundred words, I freeze and convince myself I'll never do it. The best way I've found of fighting the fear is by convincing it there's no reason to start whispering to me in the first place. I know I can easily manage eight hundred words and once I've got going I can usually do much more.

My progress has also been helped by the discovery of Scrivener. I downloaded it a while ago, on the recommendation of a writing group friend. However I was in the middle of my previous novel at the time and because it looked complicated I didn't think it was worth the bother of switching over from Word.



I wish I had. It's quite simply the best way I've found of organising my writing. And it's not so complicated. I spent an hour going through the tutorial project and that's all I needed to grasp the basics. Now all my research notes, outlines, character sheets etc are one click away, on the same page that I'm working on. Previously I had to save everything into folders, or bookmark web pages and I was always mislaying things.

There's no way I can talk about all the features, but there are two I've found particularly useful this week. Firstly, it's dead simple to create a template. Eg a blank character sheet or location sheet. I used a tip from Jessica Hart and cribbed her scene sheets. I've found these so useful for planning each scene and it saves me a lot of time in the long run as I don't have to work it out when I write the scene. The second thing is the target setting gadget. I can set a target word count for each scene and as I type, a red line gets longer and gradually turns green as I approach my target. It's a great motivator.

I can't recommend Scrivener highly enough. Give it a try if you haven't already. (I use the Mac version BTW, but a Windows version is also available.)

Monday 9 July 2012

Plotting

I feel like I should be rubbing my hands, going, "Bwa ha ha ha ha!" at regular intervals when I say that I'm plotting. And in many ways, planning a romance is a bit like being an evil mastermind. I take two lovely characters, ask myself what's the worst possible thing I could do to them, then go ahead and do it. And like an evil mastermind, I have enormous fun watching them suffer :)

Anyway. Progress report: I've got a feel for my hero and heroine now. It took me a long time to get to grips with my hero. Then a single phrase jumped into my head while I was out on a walk and it immediately showed me his internal conflicts and the turning point of the story. I even managed to write it down before I forgot!

I finished the outline today. Now it's time to start the first draft. I'm setting myself a low target of 800 words per day, because I've got other writing projects I'm working on at the same time. With a target of 70 000 words, that brings me to the end of October. It seems like ages away, but I bet it speeds past.

Friday 6 July 2012

New books and research




My book from Nicola Cornick arrived today - Whisper of Scandal. As it looks like being a wet weekend, I'm going to enjoy curling up in my conservatory to read that. When I'm not chasing around with buckets, trying to catch the drips...

It was a bumper post today. I also got Hedgerow Medicine by Julie Bruton-Seal and Matthew Seal - the first of the books I bought with the Amazon token. It's a fascinating read. It lists fifty British herbs and their uses in medicine. Not only that, but it gives instructions on how and when to harvest, store and create recipes. I've been wanting to get a book on herbal remedies for ages, because several times I've found my characters needing to treat ailments or wounds. I've spent hours searching websites, looking for information on the herbs they would have available. Now I've got all the information I need in one book.

I've been hooked on historical fiction ever since I read my first Rosemary Sutcliffe book, but it's only since I started to write it myself that I fully appreciated how much research is needed. Not so much into the events surrounding the chosen time period - although that's important too - but the everyday details. Like what my characters would eat, what utensils they would use, what they would wear etc. When I was writing the first draft of my post-Roman Britain story I kept stumbling over niggling details that weren't vital to the plot, but were really difficult to find out. I've now read so much about the archaeology of Roman and post-Roman Britain that I wonder if I shouldn't go the whole hog and do an archaeology degree.

Of course, now I've completed that ms I've decided to set my next novel in twelfth-century England and Wales. So I've got to start my research from scratch. It's a good thing I enjoy it!


Tuesday 3 July 2012

I'm a winner!

I just heard that I won a contest run by Nicola Cornick. I'm thrilled! I love her books. I get my choice of a book from her backlist and an Amazon voucher. Now I'm off to browse Amazon to decide what to spend it on.

Also I'll admit that I might have spent some time dreaming about being a famous historical romance author and how aspiring writers would be delighted to win my competitions. Better get on with my outline, then :)

Friday 29 June 2012

Letting go

I've been having trouble planning my new novel. It's not that I've had difficulty coming up with characters or plot ideas. My problem is letting go of my previous hero and heroine. They've been with me a long time. I know what makes them tick, their hopes and dreams. I can even feel the rasp of my hero's stubble against my face (I've imagined that a lot!) So how can I cast them aside and move on to another couple?

When I first started to learn about writing romances, I kept hearing about how you're supposed to fall in love with your hero. But I can't find any advice on how to fall out of love with him once his story's over. In my opinion, that's a major oversight. What I need right now is a book called How To Dump Your Hero. I'll have to make inquiries at my local library.

In the meantime, I'm just going to have to get over my ridiculous hang-ups about monogamy and search for my inner floozie.


Monday 25 June 2012

Fresh targets

I'm just back from a weekend away. Now that I can forget about my finished ms for a while it's time I set some new targets.

I've got some decisions to make. Firstly, what period of history to set my next novel in. I've already decided to go for medieval rather than Roman this time. Although I love Roman and Dark Age historicals, I don't think there's so much of a market for them. Certainly M&B don't have many slots for them, so I need to expand my repertoire. At the moment I'm torn between two periods of English history: the reign of King John and the Anarchy. Both exciting times with plenty of potential.

My second decision is novel or novella? I love the Historical Undone series and I'm tempted to try my hand at a novella. It would be good discipline for me to write something where I have to focus so closely on the characters' relationship and conflicts.

I'd also like to write some more short stories and try for publication in a magazine. I got so buried in my ms that I abandoned my short story writing. I think it's time to have a go at it again.

So I've decided to declare this week an ideas week. Time to read up on my chosen periods in history, sketch out some character ideas, scour the internet for some faces for them, and review all the short story ideas I jotted down in my notebooks over the past year and promptly forgot.

Thursday 21 June 2012

Done it!

Today's a day for celebration. I've reached a significant milestone. Yes, I've finally hit the 'send' button and submitted my first three chapters to Mills and Boon. I can sink into paranoia tomorrow, but today I'm going to enjoy my achievement :-)

Sunday 17 June 2012

End in sight and a new deadline

I went over the first three chapters with my friend yesterday and it was really encouraging. She's picked out a few things that could be improved, but nothing major. Now I'm going to work through them and once that's done I can finally submit my partial.

One of her main criticisms was on my tendency to blunt the impact of a statement by using qualifiers. I know I do it. I'd already pruned out a load during editing, but there were still far too many left. They were so obvious once she'd pointed them out; I don't know how I'd failed to spot them before. All I can say is it's a good example of why it's vital to get someone to critique your work before sending it off.

So now it's time to set my revised deadline. Ideally I'd like to get it done by Friday, but I've got a busy week and I don't want to have to break another deadline. Therefore I'm going to set my deadline for the end of June. If I haven't submitted my partial by then, feel free to come after me with pitchforks.

Monday 11 June 2012

Progress Update

I got an email from my friend who's been looking over my first three chapters - she's finished (yay!) and likes it (double yay!)

She's going to bring the chapters with her to the writers' group we go to. The next meeting is on Saturday. So I'll be able to look at her suggestions there and then start work on any alterations. Hopefully I'll have a good idea by the end of the weekend of how long it will be before I can finally submit to Mills & Boon.

I'm really going to do this...scary!


Wednesday 6 June 2012

The Power of Four

I've been tagged by Charlotte Phillips, so now I need to answer the following questions. I won't tag anyone, but consider yourself tagged if you'd like to do it.

 Four places I have worked

1. A holiday job in a concrete research lab. It was brilliant - I got to cast concrete beams and then smash them.

2. On the 12th floor of an office block in Kent. Great if you like views, terrible if you're scared of heights. Guess which one I am! I swear I could feel the building sway on windy days. I was working as a civil engineer at the time. The good days were the ones I got to spend out on the sewage treatment plant I was working on.

3.  Clearly the whole civil-engineer-with-vertigo thing wasn't working, so I retrained as a maths teacher. I then spent several years teaching in a rural school in Suffolk. As a result there are now several names I would never consider using for a character.

4. A school on the edge of the Kalahari. It was an amazing time - I would go off with friends each weekend and holiday and travel around Botswana and Zimbabwe.

Four films I could watch over and over

1. Sense & Sensibility (with Kate Winslet and Emma Thompson). I think this film captured the spirit of the book perfectly. And Greg Wise as Willoughby is the epitome of the Regency bounder :)

2. 2012. No, really. Disaster movies are the best. There's something about watching the world disappear under a sea of lava, and whole cities crumbling to dust that appeals to me. I must be a very bad person.

3. The Matrix. The whole concept of this film just blew me away. Plus it has Keanu Reeves. What more could you ask?

4. When Harry Met Sally. I'm a sucker for rom coms, and it was so hard to pick just one. In the end I went for this because it was the film that started me off on rom coms.

Four TV Shows

1. The Killing. I love thrillers and crime dramas. I have to concentrate really hard on the subtitles, though, or I end up missing really important stuff.

2. QI. This makes me laugh, and Stephen Fry is brilliant.

3. Downton Abbey. Pure escapism - this is one of those dramas that I can just lose myself in.

4. Dr. Who. When David Tennant left I thought it could never be as good again, but Matt Smith proved me wrong.

Four Authors I enjoy

1. Sharon Penman. She's got a real talent for bringing distant historical figures to life, and making their concerns relevant. I particularly enjoyed her novels set in Wales.

2. Katie Fforde. More escapism! I love her heroines - all quirky and self-sufficient.

3. Tolkien. The ultimate world-builder. And I can't resist a good black-and-white good vs evil plot.

4. David Baldacci. I can't resist a tense conspiracy thriller, and he writes some of the best.

Four places I've travelled to

1. Botswana
2. Malaysia - I got dizzy just looking at the Petronas Towers!
3. Australia - I backpacked round Oz when I finished my degree
4. Czech Republic - romantic fairy-tale castles on rocky crags. It would be a great setting for a romance.

Four websites I visit daily

1. BBC News - I have to check first thing to make sure the world hasn't ended.
2. Blogger
3. Gmail
4. Google

Four favourite foods

1. Chocolate
2. Fish pie
3. Tyrrells crisps
4. Brie cheese

Four places I'd rather be

1. Pembrokeshire
2. A luxury safari lodge
3. A treehouse
4. The Amazon Rainforest


Monday 4 June 2012

Am I a robot?

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm finding it increasingly difficult to get those captcha things right. You know, those things where you have to type in the made up word you can see displayed in a wobbly font. I've had to give up trying to comment on someone's blog several times. It's getting annoying!

Thursday 31 May 2012

Deadline Update

Since I set a deadline of the end of May for submitting my ms to Mills and Boon, it's high time I updated.

I've finished my synopsis and cover letter, and formatted my ms to the layout given on the Harlequin website. I'm just waiting for my friend to finish reading it. I'm itching to just go ahead and send everything off, but I know if I do that my friend will come back to me saying I've committed some howler of a typo. I've worked so hard to get this far, I'm not going to mess it up by being impatient.

So I'll wait for my friend to finish, make any necessary corrections and send it off then.

I can't believe I'm nearly there! For so long, submitting my work has been a misty goal, way in the future. Soon it will be a reality. Then the nail-biting begins...

Sunday 27 May 2012

The inspirational effect of wearing rubber gloves

As painful as it's been, writing my synopsis has been a valuable experience. It's really made me get to grips with my hero and heroine's conflicts.

Towards the end of the story, there's a scene that I felt wasn't moving the story forward, so I was going to delete it. However, I kept hesitating to do it, because I had a nagging feeling that it was necessary. I just couldn't put my finger on why. Doing my synopsis - in fact, I was doing the washing up after a spell of working on the synopsis - it hit me why the scene is important. It's the moment where the hero lets go of the toxic emotion that's kept him from the heroine; I just hadn't realised it myself. A bit of tweaking later, to make the moment more obvious, and now the resolution of the conflict is more convincing. All thanks to the synopsis.

I'll never moan about synopses again. Well, not until next time...

Sunday 20 May 2012

Synopsis Blues

With my first three chapters still with my friend, I've been trying to write my synopsis. All I can say is, I'm glad I had no idea how difficult this would be before I started or I'd never have found the motivation to finish the first draft. But now I've got this far, I would never forgive myself if I didn't actually send it off.

Saturday 12 May 2012

A scary step

I've done two things today that I'm proud of. First, I mowed my lawn. That might not sound like much, but between illness, holidays and torrential rain, I hadn't been able to do it this year until now. That meant it was a jungle that really needed to be attacked with a machete, instead of my flimsy Flymo. But I did it. It was so wet that now the lawn looks like it's been nibbled by a rabbit with most of its teeth missing, but it's still an improvement.

The other thing I did was to email my first three chapters to a friend from my writing group. That's definitely the most scary thing I've done in a long time. I didn't want to do it - I'm terribly self-conscious about showing my work to people I know - but I had a stern word with myself about needing my MS to be the best it can possibly be before I send it off to Mills & Boon. As much as I really don't want to hear about all the bits that need improving (or, heaven forbid, scrapping and completely rewriting) I've just become too familiar with my work now, and blind to its faults. It definitely needs a fresh pair of eyes.

But I know I'm going to cringe next time I see my friend...

Wednesday 9 May 2012

A Grumpy Post

I'm back from a lovely, if wet, holiday in Wales. Unfortunately I managed to pick up yet another cold and this time it's gone to my chest. So now I'm feeling grotty, miserable and, yes, grumpy. Therefore, while I'm in the mood, I'd like to take the opportunity to get something off my chest. Possibly not the best expression to use, given the chest infection, but here goes...

Why is it that when I tell people I work from home, they always take that to mean swanning around, doing nothing? I've been inundated with calls this week from friends, all starting with, "As you're free, I wondered if you could help with..." In each case I wanted to point out that I wasn't free, I was in fact trying to work, in between hacking fits of coughing, but I just don't seem to be able to do it. As a result I've got all sorts of niggling little jobs to do for people when I'm desperate to get down to work.

Knowing how to say 'no' is a useful skill, and one I don't have. Just call me 'Doormat' *sigh*

Monday 23 April 2012

Ahead of schedule and but pruning

I've finished all the alterations on my list, so I'm two days ahead of plan. Yay! Tomorrow I've got to do some but pruning. Although that might sound like some kind of drastic form of male grooming, it's actually down to my extreme overuse of the word 'but' at the start of chapter one. I don't know how I managed to miss that until now.

Saturday 21 April 2012

Another update

I didn't get much done this week, but that was in my plan - I've had a busy week both in my day job and preparing for a visit from a cousin and his family. Now that's over, I've gone through my first three chapters and made notes on all the things that need changing.

I'm encouraged that there's nothing too major on the list. I've already made a start - I rewrote the all-important opening paragraphs this morning and it's a big improvement.

I've got to get the changes done by Wednesday - I'm off on another holiday after that. This time to sunny Pembrokeshire. I don't want to have unfinished work hanging over me whilst I'm away.

Sunday 15 April 2012

I'm back!

I said in my last post that I would confess up to how much work I had done on my ms whilst I was in Prague, so here goes...

Well, I like to look upon all new experiences as research. For instance, I now know what it's like to look after a toddler with a death wish, I've learned all about jelly-floods (courtesy of endless episodes of Ben and Holly) and I got whipped on Easter Monday (didn't manage to avoid that after all). So while I didn't actually work on my ms itself, I've built up a store of experiences that I'm sure will come in useful in my future writing.

Wow - that almost convinced me! Back to work tomorrow...

Monday 2 April 2012

Holiday time and an arcane Czech tradition

I'm off to Prague tomorrow for the best part of a fortnight. I've been looking forward to this for ages - Prague is such a beautiful city. My brother lives out there so I've been there loads of times, but I never get tired of it.

It's especially beautiful at Easter. They hang ribbons and painted eggs in the trees in the Old Town Square which looks charming, although all the pastel colours do give me cravings for Cadbury's mini eggs :)

It's not all fun, though. Not for women, anyway. On Easter Monday, it's traditional for the men to whip the women to keep them fertile. To add insult to injury, the women are supposed to weave and decorate the whips themselves! The men go around the neighbourhood, whipping all the women and drinking a glass of slivovice (a potent mixture of plums and TNT) at each household. The  next day the poor women have to nurse their menfolk through their hangovers. Something tells me that this particular tradition wasn't thought up by a woman.

I think I'll try to stay out of the way on Monday. I've sent the latest version of my first three chapters to my Kindle, so I hope to be able to read it through and make notes. I'll own up to how much I did or didn't do when I get back.

Happy Easter!


Saturday 31 March 2012

Typical...

I'm going on holiday to Prague on Tuesday, so of course my body decides that now would be a good time to catch a stinker of a cold :( On the upside, it's a good excuse for eating ice cream (to soothe my sore throat) and watch dvds.

 A couple of years ago I bought the complete series of a BBC adaptation of Dorothy L Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries and I've been working my way through those again. As a writer and reader of romance, I suppose it comes as no surprise that what I love best about Dorothy L Sayers' books is the relationship between Lord Peter and Harriet Vane. And what's struck me, watching the dvds this time, is how much she has to teach a budding romance novelist on the importance of internal conflict. Of course, being crime stories, there's plenty of external conflict in her books to keep the lovers apart - the little matter of Harriet Vane being in gaol on a murder charge for starters - but what really keeps them from each other's arms is the multi-layered internal conflict. Right from the start you can see they are perfect for each other, but Harriet pushes Peter away owing to a crippling inferiority complex: the fact that he's cleared her name and saved her from the gallows means that she'll always feel beholden to him, and that is not a sound foundation for an equal partnership. The fact that Sayers manages to sustain the tension for three books (Strong Poison, Have His Carcase and Gaudy Night) shows just what a master she is at her craft. It just goes to show you don't have to stick with reading romances to learn how to write one :)

Wednesday 28 March 2012

Learning by my mistakes

It's funny how things that jump out at me as obvious flaws in someone else's writing, I completely fail to see in my own. Today, as I finished yet another revision of my first chapter, it finally dawned on me that I wasn't allowing the reader into my heroine's head; there were far to many 'she thought that...'s or she wondered if...'s, rather than communicating her thoughts directly. Using too many phrases such as 'she thought that...' puts a barrier between the reader and the character, distancing the reader from the story.

Now, I've known about that for some time - I've read How To books and articles that have explained it in great detail. So why couldn't I get it right first time?

I think the answer lies in me being someone who learns by doing. Knowledge only really sinks in when I make a mistake, puzzle out what I've done wrong and then correct it. Unfortunately it means that I'm having to spend far longer on editing than it took me to write the first draft! I had a moment this afternoon when I was tempted to chuck this story in and just start on another one, but thankfully that didn't last long. I'm determined to get this ms to the stage where I can send a partial off to M&B just to see if I've reached the standard that at least merits some feedback along with a rejection! So I'm carrying on.

I'm going to have to revise my submission date, though. I'd wanted to submit by Easter, but as I'm off on holiday for a fortnight next Tuesday, there's no way I'm going to achieve that. April's an incredibly busy month for me, so I'm going to move my deadline to the end of May. Wish me luck!

Saturday 10 March 2012

Kindle as editing aid

I've just found something else I can do with my kindle - I saved the first three chapters of my ms as a pdf and sent it to my kindle. It was fun reading it as though it was a published book! But wasn't just an aid to fantasising about being a published author - it also gave me a way of reading an over-familiar text through fresh eyes. I picked up things that grated and pulled me out of the story that I hadn't noticed before, even though I've read it through loads of times. Definitely a useful exercise.

Friday 9 March 2012

Confession time

Okay - I'll admit I haven't done much writing this week. The trouble with having a long weekend away is that it's so hard to get back into a routine afterwards. Also I got a kindle as a belated birthday present and I've been busy downloading all the free books that I can find, including several Mills and Boons. I suppose I can put it down to research...

I'm still mulling over what to do with my opening chapter. I think my task for tomorrow is to read through the first three chapters again and see if I get any fresh inspiration.

Wednesday 29 February 2012

More computer problems

The day after I made my last post my laptop started playing up again. It completely stopped registering clicks on the trackpad, which made it impossible to do very much at all. I could open a document and read it, but without being able to select text, editing was too laborious to contemplate.

What I was able to do, however, was read my ms from start to finish. I didn't make any notes, I just wanted to get the feel of the whole thing, as if I was reading it for the first time. The verdict? I'm much happier with how the conflict evolves in this draft. I also think the writing gets stronger in the later chapters - I was almost able to forget I'd written it and was just enjoying the story while I was reading it. However, the earlier chapters feel a bit rushed, as though I'm too desperate to get to the good bits to give the reader time to catch her breath. I also don't think they have a well developed sense of place. When I wrote them I was wary of swamping the story with too much description, but I think I went too far the other way. Also, on re-reading Kate Walker's excellent 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance, I think I'm short on sensuality in my writing - i.e. engaging all the readers senses. So my challenge is going to be to rewrite the first three chapters, throwing in glimpses of the world my characters are moving in using not just sight, but scent, texture, taste and sounds. Only I mustn't overdo it - it's a precarious balancing act!

My biggest problem is Chapter One. I completely rewrote it for the New Voices comp, and as it didn't get so much as an honourable mention I clearly can't leave it as it is. I'm still looking for inspiration on that one...

Anyway, back to the laptop - after spending hours at the weekend, I managed to find something called 'mousekeys', which are a set of keys that can be used to replicate the mouse functions. So although my trackpad button still doesn't work, I now have a way of selecting text etc, making my laptop usable again. Halleluia!

Friday 17 February 2012

Milestone reached

I'm feeling very proud of myself today. I'd set a target of having my continuity/gap-filler edit finished by the end of the week, and I finished it today with two days to spare. Go me!

So now I have the story set out how I want it, with conflicts that evolve and are resolved in a logical sequence. Next I need to work on making each scene come alive on the page. I get the feeling that that's going to be the toughest task yet!

I'm going to stick my neck out now - I would very much like to get to the point where I can send off a partial (first three chapters plus synopsis) by Easter. I don't know if that's a realistic aim yet, but I should know by the end of next week, once I've read the whole thing through in one go - something I haven't done in a while. I'll have a better idea of the magnitude of my task when that's done. Listen out for the wailing and gnashing of teeth...

Tomorrow's my birthday, so I'm taking the weekend off. Then it's back to it on Monday.

Friday 10 February 2012

Always back up your work...

...and back up your backup!

I had a heart-stopping moment yesterday, when the touch-pad of my beloved mac suddenly became unresponsive. I could turn my laptop on and see everything on the screen, but I couldn't click on anything. Disaster!

To make matters worse, I'd done a lot of work this week and forgotten to back up the five chapters that I'd edited. All I could think of, as I desperately tried restarting several times, was that I was going to lose a whole week's work if I couldn't get it going again. I don't mind admitting that I had a bit of a cry.

Anyway, once the moment of self-pity was over, and I'd quelled the urge to go and buy enough chocolate to undo all of last month's diet in one fell swoop, I did some research on the technical support forums (thank heavens for my iphone!). One suggestion was to remove the battery pack because sometimes the battery can swell and press against the touch-pad. I didn't for one moment think it would work, but I tried it and it did! The first thing I did was to back up the new chapters onto my pen drive, and into my Dropbox folder. From now on I'm going to work directly from my Dropbox folder, so even if my laptop explodes, I won't lose any work.

It wouldn't be so bad, if I hadn't once worked as an IT consultant. I really should know better...

Friday 3 February 2012

I haven't updated for a while, but actually I have been writing every day, and made good progress. So I'm feeling quite proud of myself. That means I can go away for the weekend without feeling guilty that I won't be able to do any more work until Monday.

Revising earlier chapters, I've found that I now have a much clearer idea of my characters than I did when I wrote those parts. In places I've had to completely rewrite sections because my hero and heroine were doing and saying things that now strike me as false. In my rewrites I'm now finding that the tension between them is building more naturally. Before, it all felt rather contrived. When I start my next story I'll spend much more time getting to know my characters from the outset. It's advice I've read many times on other blogs and how-to guides, but I'm one of those people who only seems to be able to learn by doing...





Sunday 8 January 2012

I'm back and I'm writing

Finally! After weeks of feeling like I'd had my brains scooped out and replaced by porridge, I seem to have regained my motivation.

I think it helped that I was forced to take a complete break over Christmas. With my new niece arriving early, and my brother having to work the week before Christmas, I ended up going down to stay with them, to help out my sister-in-law while my brother was at work. Although it wasn't the most restful of breaks, I had a wonderful time. My niece is such an adorable little baby!

Maybe my subconscious was ticking over while I was running around and cooking meals, because since New Year I've been making steady progress with the editing. I've also come to the conclusion that I was trying to do too much with this edit, so now I'm focusing purely on gap-filling and changes to earlier chapters necessitated by plot changes in later chapters. I think that by simplifying the aim of this edit, I'm less terrified of it, and therefore I'm finding it easier to get writing each day.

Also I feel more positive about what I've written so far. I was rereading a scene yesterday and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. It gives me hope that even though I doubt this story will ever find a publisher, I will make it with the next one...or the one after that...or the one after that...