IWSG December: You've got to accentuate the positive...

Welcome to the final IWSG post of 2014!

Once again, thanks go out to Alex J. Cavanaugh for creating this wonderful group. Why not check out the official IWSG website or, even better, download the Insecure Writer’s Support Group Guide to Publishing and Beyond - it's completely free!

I was planning on writing about how my old fear about no one liking my novel has resurfaced once again, but I've read so many positive and inspirational posts this month, that I decided to write a positive post too.

You're all awesome. Seriously. I genuinely don't know where I'd be in my writing (I certainly wouldn't have written an entire draft of my novel) without this group's constant support and encouragement. It's so lovely to know that whenever I'm feeling down or insecure, I can visit any one of your wonderful blogs and be encouraged to keep writing. So here's my small piece of encouragement for you all:

Your writing IS good - Worried no one will like your novel? Some people might not, but others will fall head-over-heels in love with it. You can't please everyone - if you're writing chick-lit or a family saga, don't expect a hardcore zombie/paranormal romance fan to like it (unless, perhaps, you're writing Zombie Pride & Prejudice...) - but that's just the way writing goes sometimes. Don't write to please others, just write for yourself :).

Your idea IS worth it - see above. But, also, remember this - if you're passionate enough to write a whole damn novel about this characters; if you pour all your love and enthusiasm for these characters into your words, your readers will pick up on it, and they'll end up loving the book just as much as you do.

You ARE a good writer - You wouldn't be here reading my writing blog - or anyone else's in IWSG for that matter - if you didn't love writing. You might not think yourself as a 'true author/writer' yet because you haven't got that shiny new multi-million dollar book/film deal...but the second you start writing that idea that you just couldn't get out of your head, the moment you write that very first word that will be the first of many, many more - you are an author. And don't let anyone else tell you different.


So that's it for now. Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a positive start to your New Year!

P.S. Slight self-promotion here, but it you're in the mood of something not-quite-Chrismassy, check out my short flash fiction piece here, and let me know what you think ;)

So, you wanna know what I've been up to lately...?

You know you probably need a break from, well, everything, when you enter the below story into a Flash Fiction competition. The rules were simple: it had to been 100 words or less, and it had to be vaguely 'seasonal' in some way.

So read on! I hope you enjoy my entry ;)...

"The table was set for the feast.

Polished silver cutlery and gleaming plates stood out against the white linen. Steaming dishes full of buttery vegetables, cranberry sauce and rich, thick gravy lay, just waiting to be devoured.

He sat back as his ever-dutiful wife entered, bearing a large platter in her arms. His mouth began to water. She placed the tray carefully in front of him, where he could admire that pink, tender flesh all the more. He had chosen this year's meat well.

He picked up the razor-sharp knife and, slowly, began to carve up that beautiful human head."

Don't ask me where the idea came from - I literally read the email, wondered how I could put a bit of twist in a story of 100 words, and this idea popped up basically fully formed in my head. 

I sincerely hope they can see that I've put a spin on the idea of the traditional Christmas feast, and I'm not just a complete psychopath!

If you don't hear from me in a while though, you know why ;).

Happy 1st December everyone!

Rewriting, rewriting, rewriting...

So since it's a Sunday night and I'm sleepy and all I want to do is curl up with my book in bed, I've decided just to do a short post while I remember.

Following on from my IWSG post on Weds, I stumbled across this post by Nova Ren Suma, and it could not explain more accurately how I feel about my writing right now. All I've been dreaming of the last few weeks is having a glorious block of time where I can blissfully write - no job to worry about, no chores to do, the house would somehow miraculously cleans itself, and I'd magically have the inspiration necessary to power on through my rewrites.

Unfortunately, the lesson that this novel seems to be teaching me at the minute is that I can dream all I want - but this book is never going to get written without me actually, y'know, writing.

It's hard. It's so hard trying to juggle this little thing called life with writing a novel, but ultimately I believe it's worth it. If I didn't, I wouldn't be blogging right now. I wouldn't have spent my Sunday afternoon rewriting a single scene. I wouldn't spend my car journeys to work thinking up pieces of dialogues between my characters. I wouldn't be scribbling almost illegible notes while I'm half asleep in bed, because it appears inspiration likes to come along and knock REALLY LOUDLY when you're on the verge of sleep.

The piece of advice I'm going to take away from Nova's post for this month is the idea of momentum. I'm still going to try and finish my rewrites during November and this week, I'm going to be trying out a couple of new things that I hope will mean less distractions and more writing i.e. not coming home straight after work, listening to music (but not having a huge playlist that means I spend more time changing the song than I do writing), keeping my novel open on my laptop. But most of all, no matter how many, or how few, words I write, I will try to write every day. Because the only way I am going to get through this is to keep going, one word at a time.

How about you? What methods have you got to keep yourself writing?

November IWSG: Getting over the (random) fear...

This blog post probably would've been more appropriate for Halloween, but seeing as how that was less than a week ago, I'm going to use it anyway ;).

It's that time of the month again, when insecure writers from all over the internet unite and blog about their deepest, darkest fears that have been plaguing them for the last month. Special thanks go out to Alex J. Cavanaugh for setting up the group, and a huge thank you to all of this month's co-hosts :)!

Although I'm not officially participating in NaNowriMo this year, I'm currently in the rewriting stage of my first draft, and my Other Half has given me the deadline of the 30th November to get it done - so in a way, I'm with all you brave NaNoWriMos out there, at least in spirit.

But here's the thing - I'm STILL struggling to get my mojo together to get into my rewrites properly. It's not because I don't know what I want to do, or that I hate my story (actually, I've felt more hopeful about this novel in the last few weeks than I have done for a while) - it's something else, and I only managed to put my finger on it last night.

I'm scared of succeeding.

I know, I know how odd that sounds - but the fact is, writing a novel is something I've been working towards since I was about 15. And the thought that by the end of this month my novel should (theoretically) be in a readable form (i.e. I could send it out to my beta readers if I wanted to) really does scare me. Do I have the dedication and motivation to actually finish something for once? After so many false starts and disappointments, I find it hard to believe. It's almost as though my subconscious is telling me that no, I can't do this, I can't actually realise one of my life dreams, heaven forbid - so why bother working on it?

So that's it for this month - a slightly odd topic, I know, but it's been bothering me for the last few days. Hopefully it'll pass soon - only 25 days to go until the finish line!

Happy bonfire night, everyone! Stay safe out there tonight!

Sunday night inspirations...

This weekend has been a bit crazy - for once, I've actually been participating in real life, meaning that although I've barely had the time to write, I feel kinda happy and satisfied at the thought that I've hung out with other human beings (y'know, apart from the ones in my head...). I went to a christening, had a catch up with the Engineer and his sisters, went to the cinema and went out for a meal. Phew!

Oh, and seeing as how the Engineer works ALL THE TIME, he dragged me into his office yesterday afternoon so he could finish something off. He did try to persuade me that this was a good thing, as I could work on my novel uninterrupted for a few hours. "That's all well and good," I grumbled, "but what if I don't WANT to work on my novel? In case you haven't noticed, my muse has TOTALLY AND UTTERLY DESERTED ME!"

I still went (because I'm sucker when it comes to promises of a mocha and chocolate). And you know what? Even though I didn't touch a word on my manuscript, it was a surprisingly productive evening.

I finally pulled together all my scattered notes on the second and third books in my planned trilogy. I added in details to those notes. I made folders for each book on my laptop (this always gives me a geeky rush). I started to get flashes of inspiration for certain scenes in both my current WIP, and the second book which I hurriedly scribbled down. I thought of a vague plot for the third book (which I've been drawing a complete blank on, until now) And finally, finally, I felt myself getting excited about the world that I'd built once again.

And that's not all. I think I may have found a way to drag myself through my rewrites. I knew I wasn't getting anywhere by just opening up my manuscript, copying and pasting a chapter, editing it and then pasting it back in. It still felt like an overwhelming task, even with my beat sheet. So I thought, what was it that got me through my first draft? What did I do this time, that meant I actually finished the damn thing? And that's when it came to me - I needed a new detailed synopsis.

Now, I know this probably seems like a step backwards, but I don't think it will be. I'm not going to do one for my entire novel (at least, not yet). Instead, I'm just going to do it up until my 'inciting incident'. I've chosen to do this because it's the beginning of my novel that needs the most attention - it's the part that I'm essentially going to rip apart and put back together again. To me, this is far to big a task to do with just a few scrawls on my beat sheet. 

We'll see how it goes. I've only just written the first scene for my new detailed synopsis, but already I'm getting a good feeling and what's more, I want to keep writing. I'll let you know how it goes but hey, even if this just turns out to be another form of procrastination - at least it's bound to help my writing in one way or another.

Happy Monday, everyone!