Guest post by Misha Gerrick: My Favorite Writing Quote

Today, I'm honoured to have the lovely Misha Gerrick on my blog talking about her favourite writing quote, as part of her tour for her new book, 'Endless' - what better for a little Tuesday inspiration for us all? Take it away, Misha!

My Favorite Writing Quote

I think that all writers have the same insecurity deep down. That niggling thought that says that we really shouldn’t be writing. The idea that in reality, we suck at it. That we’re deluding ourselves and we should be giving up.

Personally, I’m almost constantly battling against this little voice in the back of my head that says ‘you can’t write.’ Sometimes, the voice becomes as loud as a hurricane if I let it. But I have one thing I try to do every day in order to keep it under control.

And it comes from my favorite writing quote, which, ironically, isn’t actually about writing.

If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced - Vincent van Gogh

I’ve always thought of writing as painting with words, so for me, the quote totally works. It also goes to show that not only writers are hampered by that stupid little voice.

But it is an inspirational quote and instruction for being a writer rolled up in one.

Doubting that you can write today? Then write and prove yourself wrong. No one says you have to be good at writing. You just need to get a few words down for now. And then a few more tomorrow. Every word you write is proof that the voice in your head is a liar. You CAN write. And if you do it long enough, you’ll discover that you’re actually getting better at it.

What’s your favorite writing quote? Care to share a bit of encouragement with other writers? 

Endless - Misha Gerrick

“First, do no harm.” Blake Ryan swore that oath to become a doctor. Ironic, given that he spent most of his thousand year life sucking souls out of other immortals.

Things are different now. Using regular shots of morphine to keep his inner monster at bay, Ryan has led a quiet life since the Second World War. His thrills now come from saving lives, not taking them.

Until a plane crash brings Aleria into his hospital. Her life is vibrant. Crack to predators like him. She’s the exact sort of person they would hunt, and thanks to a severe case of amnesia, she’s all but defenseless.

Leaving Aleria vulnerable isn’t an option, but protecting her means unleashing his own inner monster. Which is a problem, because his inner monster wants her dead most of all.

Amazon US | Amazon Universal | Apple | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Goodreads

About the Author

Misha Gerrick lives near Cape Town, South Africa, and can usually be found staring at her surroundings while figuring out her next book.

If you’d like to see what Misha’s up to at the moment, you can find her on these social networks:

Tumblr | Twitter | Google Plus | Writing Blog

Weekend reading: the truth about writing...

I read an interesting article on The Guardian website today about the life of a writer, and the public perception of what a writer's life looks like.

This article, entitled 'You think writing's a dream job? It's more like a horror film' really made me think. In all honesty, at first I was quite annoyed at the author - Tim Lott seems to complain a lot about his life as a writer, even though to all extents and purposes, he's enjoyed what I would consider to be a very successful writing career to date. Winning awards? Generous advances from publishers? Sign me up on the dotted line!

But as I read through the article, I realised that what he was speaking was the truth.

Writing is lonely. There's no way around that. If you're not comfortable in your own company, then you probably won't get very far as a writer. As an author, you have to spend A LOT of time in your own head and it's not always pretty. You have to get used to spend every spare minute you have furiously scribbling away, obeying the whims and commands of the imaginary people inside your mind. If this was any other profession, you'd probably be sent straight to a psychiatrist to have a long chat. But we're writers - it's simply what we do. And if you want to write for a living, it's just something you have to get used to. You don't have to completely cut out everything in your life - but you do have to be prepared to make some sacrifices (watching TV/generally relaxing in the evenings is one for me) if you want to get serious about your writing.

Writing also takes a lot dedication and time. Unless you have that burning passion - that fire to write a story because if you don't you'll simply explode - you might as well give up right now. I'm not saying that in order to be a writer you have to churn out book after book in quick succession - time is irrelevant. Some of the greatest literary masterpieces took decades to write, but that's okay - the point is, they got written. The authors simply had to write their character's stories, no matter how long it took them. And I think this is one of the few industries (barring professional sports) where perseverance is key. Every day you've got to have that self belief in your writing, you've got to believe that you can finish your book, you've got to keep going - because if you don't do it, who else will?

And finally, I'm going to re-quote Tim Lott's quote by George Orwell, which I'm going to remember from now on:

"...Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon which one can neither resist nor understand."

For me, writing is not a choice. Thinking up new story ideas is not a choice. I didn't just sit down one day and think, 'hey, you know what would be fun? Writing a novel! Let's go!' It's just something that I've always done from a very young age. I don't ever remember a time (barring the 'Black Period' where I suffered from extreme anxiety and panic attacks and thought I was going mad. But more on that another day) when I haven't been constantly making up different scenes and characters in my head. Apologies for the cliche, but I do strongly believe that writing is my calling in life. It's the one thing that's always stuck with me, no matter what else has been going on. I am completely and utterly a slave to the stories in my head.

But unlike Tim Lott, who would apparently rather swap his life for George Clooney's, I never would. There is nothing in this world that I would like to do more than write for a living. Even if I'm not successful; even if I don't win any awards or become a millionaire, I know that in the end, I wouldn't give up my writing for the world.

So what are your thoughts? If, given the choice, would you give up writing...?

Happy 100th post!

Yup, that's right, this post marks my 100th post on this blog!

I never thought I'd manage to keep this blog up for this long, but I'm finding that the more times goes on, the more I enjoy writing on my blog and connecting with other writers :). But its down to YOU, all my lovely readers, that have made it possible for me to continue for so long - thank you so much for believing in me, and coming back again and again to read my little posts :).

I just wanted to give you all a quick update and to say thank you so much to everyone who visited my blog and commented on my IWSG post :). I've been sick since Thursday and I couldn't even face my laptop until yesterday, so I haven't commented back yet - but I'm going to catch up now!

I was actually rather annoyed at myself for being sick - I thought that for the two days I was off work I could maybe cross one or two little things off my rapidly growing to-do list, given all the work I have left to do before April. But I genuinely wasn't up to the task. I literally slept all day Friday! But by yesterday, I was feeling almost back to normal and I managed to power through some more edits on my novel - I was actually quite proud of what I managed to do, considering I normally don't like writing in the afternoons, and I didn't get started until 1pm! So I'm happy I'm slightly more caught up now :).

Also, it's half term next week, which means I'll be starting to really up the pace - not only have I got to make sure my novel is ship-shape, I've also got to start contacting reviewers, book in my blog tour (if I decide to do one - still in two minds about that one), and start my posts for April's A-Z Challenge, because if I don't get started on it now, I know I'll run out of time! As well as catch up on normal everyday things, that are unrelated to writing. I know I've got a lot of hard work ahead of me, but you know what? I'm genuinely so excited :), I can't wait to get started!

After all....

Happy Monday, everyone!

Just a tiny update...

So I have some super exciting - and super terrifying - news for y'all...



I have set a publication date for Synthetica.



The thought makes me want to simultaneously jump for joy and throw up out of nerves.

How? How on earth am I going to fit everything in before my proposed date?? Will the novel actually be ready (i.e. will I wake up the day before and realise the whole thing needs to be trashed and completely rewritten)?? Am I actually capable enough to do all my own promo?? Will anyone even WANT to feature/review my book?? Have I made a serious error and I'm not actually cut out to be a writer at all??

Does this mean that I finally have to admit to the world that I've written a book??


I can't even believe the amount of fears and anxieties I'm experiencing right now - it's about 100 times worse than anything I've felt during an IWSG post....and I haven't even published my book yet.

And yet...it's also strangely exhilarating. I finally have a timeline to complete everything in. I can finally put a plan together for marketing my book. It's finally snapping me into action.

And that is, if I'm completely honest, the real reason why I made the decision to publish my book. Without this deadline, I could go through revision after revision and keep putting off doing the deed with excuse after excuse. But I don't want to do that. I don't want to be a writer who writes, but never has the nerve to publish anything. I want to write, and I want people to read what I've written.

People might hate it. People might (hopefully) love it.

But I'm never going to know what I'm capable of until I actually publish it. It's time for me to stop messing around and get serious about my writing.

So (providing there are no major major catastrophes) pop the date in your diary, folks...

1st April 2015...Synthetica is coming.

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 ;)

Just a little post to say...

...Thank you :).

I was truly overwhelmed by the comments I received on my IWSG post this month. 

In all honesty, I haven't felt this insecure/downbeat about my writing/novel in a long long time, and the messages of support I received really opened my eyes again to what's good about the world of writing. It made me remember why I'm so determined to do this as a career and why I love writing, despite it's many pitfalls. It also made me realise that I belong to a fantastic community of lovely encouraging authors, and despite all the insecurities I feel about my own writing, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

So to all of you who commented or read my post on Wednesday, thank you :). I wasn't lying when I said all your comments inspired me to keep going. For example, today I completely finished my beat sheet:

All the scenes in my novel are now annotated and ready to rock 'n' roll for my rewrites.

Have I got a huge job ahead of me? Hell yeah.

You see that first page? There's a massive red bit that says CUT THIS!!! with lots of red arrows and scribbled notes. Essentially, I have to rewrite/chop/move around a good third of my novel. 

Do I mind? Strangely enough, today I feel as though this task isn't impossible. I feel as though I can do it, and I will do it - all it takes is a little determination.

And thanks to all of you, I've got my determination and willpower back. I may not reach my original deadline of completely finishing this novel, but I'm going to damn well try.

Whether you're writing, or taking a break and doing something completely different over the next few days, I hope you're all having a lovely weekend :).

The light at the end of the tunnel...

I've been having a sick, twisty feeling in my stomach most of the afternoon.

Now, before you start backing away in horror and reaching for the face masks, it's not because I've contracted some kind of lurgy.

It's because I'm *this* close to finishing the first draft of my novel.

I have never gotten so far with one of my novels before, and while it's exhilarating and I can't help thinking of the millions in sales/the 1001 book deals/film deals that are obviously going to come my way the second I publish it, it's also incredibly scary.

I genuinely can't believe I've got this far. I know I'm not at the end of the road yet. I know I've still got a lot of work ahead of me before I can even think about publishing it, but to me, this is a big deal. 

Never before have I actually written the climax of my novel - you know, that epic scene(s) where everything comes crashing down and your MC has to fight for her life, save the one she loves, while defeating the bad guy with the twirly moustache in a battle to the death (if case you hadn't realised it yet, I have a flair for the dramatic...) - or y'know, whatever your novel's equivalent is.

These are the scenes that I've been imagining since the concept for my book first popped into my head. These are the elusive scenes I've been working towards, but never seriously thinking I'd get to. And today, I finally get to write them. The thought makes me want to squeal in excitement, and run away and hide at the same time. Am I up to writing these final scenes? Will I *gasp* actually manage to finish a book??

There's only one way to find out.

I'm not going to be blogging again until my first draft is finished. So you could very well see me in a day, a few days or a few weeks. But however long it takes, my story that started out as a tiny little idea way back in March will finally resemble something that looks like a book. An actual book.

I'll see you on the other side.

It's finally time...

After waiting and waiting for weeks, it's finally here....the summer holidays! *cries in relief*

Now, I know most people will be grumbling and saying that no one needs as much time off as teachers/TA's do, but let me tell you something - when you look after over sixty 4-5 year olds every day for weeks on end, as well as dealing with their parents - you need a break. Otherwise you'll just burst into tears and have a nervous breakdown. I love my job, I really do, but when you've had to put up with kids arguing with you (yes, even at that age), parents shouting at you, children getting hyper because it's approaching the end of term, as well as dealing with the 101 things you have to do as part of your daily job anyway....trust me, you're glad for the break.

On another positive note, we finally have internet in our house - hooray! Although the slight downside is that I'm now away for the next four weeks...but I have constant internet access where I am anyway, so there's really no excuse now for me NOT to blog regularly (apart from y'know, sheer laziness).

Anyway, the real point of this blog was this....

I think I'm finally ready for a Critique Partner.

I'm at that stage in my novel where I've edited (most of) it, I know what I want it to sound like...I now need someone to tell me how to whip it into shape, and to call me out on some of the dreadful writing I know is in there, but I just can't see it. And of course, I will reciprocate in kind :).

I guess I'd just love someone to read though it and let me know as someone who; A) isn't related to me and B) has no obligation to be nice to me because of point A, whether or not my story works and what I can do to improve it.

This is a big thing for me - for years my work has been private and I've shied away from sharing it with anyone because I'm just simply too terrified that people would hate it. Now, I think (and I honestly don't mean to sound arrogant here) I finally have a novel that I'm willing to share with the world.

So if you're a YA author and you're at all interested in becoming my CP, please just let me know :). I'd love to send you a couple of chapters for you to check out (don't worry, I won't bombard you with the whole thing at once!). The email address you can contact me on is: rachelsramblingsblog@gmail.com.

Or alternatively, feel free to leave me a comment in the comments section of this post :).

Like I said, it's a two way thing, so I'm more than happy to critique your work in kind. And just so you know folks, now is probably the best time for me to review your work as I have a long loooong summer ahead of me ;).

Happy writing!

A game for a rainy day...

...or a sunny day for that matter. The sun is shining, the birds are singing...and I'm sitting indoors like the little hermit that I am.

Anyway! I thought I'd share with you all a little writing tip I read about last week. Now, I don't know about you, but I always work/write better if I don't think of it as actual work...which is why I'm calling this a 'game', and not just a bog-standard writing tip.

Are you ready? Sure?

Ok, let's go - here's what you do:

1. You sit down.
2. You open up your laptop/computer/notepad/chalkboard
3. You write a synopsis for your novel that's between 35 - 80 words

That's it. That's all there is to it.

I know, I know - it probably sounds incredibly boring, but trust me on this - for the past few weeks, I haven't been that excited about my novel. So instead of slogging away forcing myself to write, I decided to thumb through the Writer's & Artist's Yearbook for some inspiration. It was only when I found the page on how to write a synopsis that I thought, 'hey, here's something I could do right now.'

Best. Decision. Ever.

It might sound counter-productive, but having a definite word count really sharpens your mind and forces you to focus on exactly what you want to say. If I didn't have a word count, I might end up writing a rambling 2000 words blow-by-blow account of each chapter in my novel. But by limiting yourself to a maximum of 80 words, you really have to think about the essence of your story, the bare basics of what makes up your novel. Instead of throwing the words down onto the page, I had to think about each one - and once I'd finished my synopsis, I suddenly knew exactly where I wanted my novel to go.

I know you're only really supposed to write a synopsis once you've finished your novel and you're getting ready to query it, but it you're stuck in a bit of a rut, it can be a fun activity to get your excited about writing again.

So what do you think about synopsises? Have you written one before you've finished your novel? If so, did it work or not? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Have a great Sunday, everyone!

One detailed synopsis down, one novel to go...

Today I'm proud to announce that I've actually finished something novel-related.

After about three months, and a lot of procrastination, I've finally finished the detailed synopsis for my novel! In case you're wondering, for a while now I've been following a 'how to' guide on writing a novel (because if left to my own devices, I don't get very far...), and in it, it suggests writing a detailed synopsis for your novel, so you can see exactly what's happening in each scene. The idea is that you write your detailed synopsis, then leave it for a couple of weeks and do something completely non-novel related, so you can come back to it with fresh eyes and see what parts of your novel might need fleshed out a little more, whether anything needs to be changed around, or perhaps cut out/changed altogether. That way, when you come to write your first draft, you've already got a solid idea of your novel in your head. Which, trust me, works a lot better for me because it stops me from fizzling out halfway through!

I'm so thrilled that I've actually managed to complete something novel related for a change (even if my original schedule dictated that I finish it in March – but that's a minor detail..) - but my only niggle is that it's only 8,902 words.

Now, I know this sounds like a lot, but the last detailed synopsis I did, it ended up being over 20,000 words...so now of course I'm completely paranoid that there's nothing happening in my novel and I should just give it up. I have no idea how long a detailed synopsis should be, but I'm assuming it's up to the writer, depending on how much, well, detail, they want to put in. But still, I guess 8,000 words is better than nothing!

Anyway, I'm now going to stop worrying now and relax. It's half term next week, so for once I'm going to enjoy the holidays without fretting over whether or not I should be working on my novel, and then come back to it well rested and with fresh eyes in a couple of weeks time.

I've love to hear about your experiences of using a detailed synopsis – do you write one? If so, does it work well for you? Or was it completely pointless? And if you've never written one, would you consider it or not?

P.S. About the book reviews – I definitely still AM writing my book reviews, although I do apologise thatI haven't been able to post any for a couple of weeks. The internet here is horrendous and I hate it. But I am hoping that at least for this Friday and next Friday, I'll be able to post something up for you guys :). Happy writing/reading!

Just keep swimming...I mean, writing...

So it's week 3 of NaNoWriMo - where has the time gone?!

I was actually fully expecting that I'd give up again this year, and that I'd only make it to 1,000 words again - but to my surprise, I'm still so enthusiastic about writing my novel! I'm currently on just over 30,000 words, which I have to admit, I'm quite proud of! If this was a normal November, I wouldn't be so far ahead, by the way - my sister is coming to visit me next Friday for a week, which means essentially, I've only got this week to get to 50,000 words!

I'm aiming to get at least another 5,000 written today - although I'm feeling a tiny bit worse for wear today, as I went out with my colleagues last night! I guess that's spirit of NaNoWriMo - writing when you'd really rather just laze around watching films and sleeping!

I do still have some major insecurities about my novel - but NaNoWriMo has made me seriously think about how I write, and I've had some revelations over the past few weeks.

When I used to start writing a novel before (note: start and never finish), everything I wrote had to be perfect, first time. But now, I'm slowly beginning to accept that nothing I write will be 'perfect' the first time I write it - whereas before NaNoWriMo I would've spent hours choosing the perfect word for a sentence, or desperately trying to think up of a new scene, or feel like crying over the thought of finishing my novel, only to have to go back and revise and write yet ANOTHER draft - now, none of that seems to bother me so much. If anything, I'm actually looking forward to December when I can edit and rewrite my novel!

Although I have the main plot points in my novel planned out, there are still large portions of it where I have no idea how the characters are going to get to A to B, or how one plot point will lead to the next. But for once, I'm not that worried. I know I'll figure it all out in the end, and I'm so looking forward to discovering new things about my novel as I write. For once, I can actually imagine my novel as a complete, shiny, finished product - and I can't wait to get there! All I have to have is a little patience and determination (and tea...let's not forget the tea).

So here's to the next 20,000 words! Roll on next week - and December!

How about you? How's your writing coming on this month :)?

Writing ups and downs...

This week has kind of been up and down, in terms of my writing. On the plus side, I'm all fired up and ready to go with my new novel idea for NaNoWriMo - I'm planning on spending the weekend fine-tuning the plot/setting/characters, so hopefully by November 1st, I'll have some clue of what I want to write about!

On the downside though, I had a very unpleasant surprise this week - I thought I'd open up my other WIP, just to see how far I'd got with it, with the vague idea that I may add to it again, if inspiration for my NaNoWriMo novel failed to strike. However, when I opened up the folder on my computer, I couldn't find my 20,000+ manuscript anywhere....as well as that, all my spreadsheets with my plot outlines, and several other Word docs with notes/scribbles in, had gone too...after searching around my laptop frantically, I decided to check the USB stick where I know I also saved the file (in fact, I'd transferred the file from the USB to my laptop). Unfortunately, there was nothing there either - I don't know how I did it, but somehow when I transferred the file from my USB to my laptop, these documents got lost along the way.

I'm so annoyed with myself for not checking my USB before I put everything on my laptop and it's disappointing that all that work has gone - but not all hope has been lost yet. I've asked my lovely Other Half back in England to check my old laptop just in case there's a chance they are still saved on there...so I'm crossing all my fingers for luck! I guess if they have been lost/deleted by accident, then maybe it's the universe's way of telling me it wasn't very good - and luckily, I still have a majority of my notes on this laptop, so if worst comes to worse, I'll just have to start again ;) - slightly irritating, but hey, that's life!

In other news, I told myself last night that I'd get up early today and get a good morning's writing done...however, due to the fact that I stayed up til after 12.30am writing, that kinda didn't happen...BUT I'm up, showered (not quite wide awake yet - but that's nothing several cups of tea won't fix...) and ready to rock 'n roll!

To be honest, I don't really mind that I've lost a few hours this morning, as I'm happy with the notes I scribbled down last night, and best of all, instead of waking up and thinking 'I suck at this, what's the point of writing, no one's ever going to read it anyway', I'm still absolutely determined not to listen to that little devil on my shoulder - instead, I'm going to keep going until I have a reasonable plot/outline/setting, ready for NaNoWriMo. I may not be the best writer in the world (yet :p), but I'm still going to try!

How are all your plans going for NaNoWriMo? Are you writing up plans, or are you just going to wing it? Let me know - I'd love to hear from you!

It's time! Let's get writing!!...

It's finally here!

Today marks the first day of NaNoWriMo!

For those of you who are slightly confused by the term, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. It's where you aim to write 50,000 words of a novel (note: novel, not short story etc) by midnight November 30th. Sounds easy right?...probably not.

I'm so so excited to get started. Although on the other hand, I'm also so nervous about opening up my outline again, after around six weeks of not looking or thinking about it at it all...strictly speaking, I'm not too sure if that's allowed according to the NaNoWriMo rules...but as it's my first time, I want to make everything as easy as possible to ease myself into the process ;).

If you want to learn more about NaNoWriMo, you can check out the website here.

So how about you? Will you be taking part this year??

Good luck to everyone who's taking part!!

Let's get writing!

xx

Tea and tunes...

So, the last time I wrote, I said I was finally going to open up my detailed synopsis and start writing.

That didn't happen.

Mainly because I am the world's biggest procrastinator and I kept putting off the big moment again and again.

HOWEVER, today is the day! I've got a free morning, so I'm sitting here with a mug of tea, the radio on, Spotify running and staring with increasing panic at my flash pen, before I finally take the plunge and see what kind of crap I wrote all that time ago. Still, it's got to happen at some point, and if I'm going to be serious about writing, I can't put it off any longer.

So here it goes.

I'll write again later, and let you know if a) I'm delighted and can't wait to start writing again or b) I've thrown my laptop out of the window in frustration.

Honestly, who thought just looking at a bloody synopsis would be so nerve-wracking?! If I'm like this now, I don't even wanna know what I'll be like if I ever finish the first draft!

On the plus side, if it really is that awful, there's another novel idea that's been floating around in my head for the past couple of days - so I could always do that instead ;).

Have a great day everyone!

xx

Lazy Sundays....kind of...

I honestly didn't mean to leave it so long until I blogged again - but I wanted to waited until I could share some exciting news with you all before I did :) (I could also use the excuse that I've been busy - which is perfectly true, but at the same time, I know I could've blogged if I was really motivated to!)

Anyway, first things first....a quick update on my book progress. As I mentioned in my previous post which you can find here, I'm stilling following the guidelines set out in 'How to nail your Novel' by Roz Morris. However, I may have, er, slightly have left my synopsis longer than I originally meant to! I did mean to start it again last weekend, as the Other Half was a away for a week, so I knew I wouldn't have any distractions - but I got distracted reading the AMAZING second book in the Game of Thrones series 'A Clash of Kings' instead (and I can't emphasize how much I absolutely adore this series - it is utterly amazing!). So instead, I think after I've been food shopping and to the gym (and possibly a small shopping trip thrown in for good measure too) today, tonight I am going to sit down and finally look over what I did, all those weeks ago. I know there are some parts I'm going to hate -  already I can think of a few scenes where I just want to cringe and hide - but I'm determined not to let that stop me. I really want this novel to finally go somewhere, so even if I don't like what I see, I'm determined to try and work on it, instead of just throwing it away like I have with so many other novels. I'll let you know how it goes!

So, onto my news - I can't remember if I've moaned over my lack of getting a job over the past few months (try about five) on here - I think I have, or at least, I've wanted to! However, it is with utter relief that I can finally announce that I HAVE A REAL GROWN-UP JOB!

Hooray!! I'm so so happy and relieved right now. I can't express the utter desperation, depression and exhaustion I've felt since, well, before I left university really. The job market really is horrendous, and it's so disheartening to keep applying for jobs and then to keep getting rejection after rejection. However, finally, a publisher has decided to take a chance on me and I am so happy that it's a job that I really really wanted - finally, all my tears and tantrums have paid off!

I know this means that I'll have even less time to write than I do at the minute, but hopefully it'll just push me harder to succeed in my writing - and it's proof that if you just keep trying and don't give up, you'll get what you want in the end :).

Have a great weekend, folks! I'll write again soon, I promise!

xx

Thank goodness for technology...

Well I've been on a bit of an unexpected hiatus lately - not because I wanted to take a break. but because the signal from mobile dongle we were using for the internet just kept getting worse and worse, until I could only stand going online if I absolutely had to!

However, all that's changed now - we moved house at the weekend (because our contract was up, not because of the poor internet signal) and we've just received our broadband package today - hooray! Finally, I can get back to writing and rambling once again ;).

I'm just going to give a VERY quick overview of everything that's happened over the past few weeks so I don't bore you all to death before I tell you where I'm at with my writing - I got a week's worth of temp work at a publishers, me and the Other Half went back up to Cumbria for a week and farmed, we've moved house and I've just received word that the publisher would like to go back and do ANOTHER week's work for them :)! Hooray! It's a start ;)!

Onto my writing now - I'm still working on the same project I started a few month ago (shock, horror - think this is the longest I've ever stuck with a project!). I'm still using the method I told you about in my last post (using the steps outlines in 'Nail Your Novel' by Roz Morris) - so I finished my detailed synopsis, slightly later than I planned, and now apparently I have to put it away for a while so I can come back and look at it again with fresh eyes. Luckily, I managed to finish it before we went up to Cumbria and before we moved house, so I've had plenty to keep me occupied to stop me dwelling on it! I was only going to leave it for a week - Ms Morris recommends a month, but I didn't want to wait that long - however, as I'm hopefully going to be working at a publishers again next week, that'll make it three whole weeks since I last looked at my synopsis (good gracious - time really does fly!). So I'll have had a good long break before I take it out again!

I have to admit, I'm actually a bit scared about looking at it again. I keep remembering certain parts and cringing a bit when I think of them - I really really don't want to open up my synopsis and discover that I hate it all! Hopefully, I'll decide there's something worth saving amongst all the cringey bits!

And now that I'm reconnected to the internet, I'll be sure to keep you all updated on my progress, and I'm looking forward to nosing around everyone's blogs once again and taking part in the IWSG once more ;)!

Have a great day everyone!

xx

Unleashing Creativity...kind of...

Ahh, it's such a beautiful day here in England - the perfect weather to start off the London Olympics! We ended up watching the whole of the opening ceremony last night, so I'm a bit frazzled this morning! However,
the Other Half's parentals are down for the weekend, so we can all just chill in the sun today :).

Anyway, I'm sneakily writing this as everyone else gets ready for our day out, but I have a few updates I just wanted to share with you all....

Firstly - I downloaded an e-book the other day called 'Nail Your Novel' by Roz Morris. I've been thinking about downloading a self-help book to writing for a while, and as I really want to get back into the habit of writing again, I thought I'd just bite the bullet and do it. So far, I think it's fantastic! It gives you all these tips on how to write, but instead of just telling you what to do, the writer provides exercises and games for you to do, to unleash your creativity and help you to spot where you're going wrong. At first, I wasn't too sure about her methods to be honest - but I thought I'd give it a whirl anyway and I LOVE IT!

No joke - in one section, you're supposed to write down each scene/major development in your book on a notecard, and then fit them together - that way, you can progressively see which parts of your book need work. I had a lot of fun writing out the notecards, but I had even MORE fun writing the whole thing up onto a spreadsheet in Excel and then colour coding different sub-plots! (That's just my obsessive organisational skills kicking in there - you don't have to colour-code everything!). Now I'm onto the stage of writing a detailed synopsis for my novel. Apparently you're supposed to write this based on your notecards, and then fill in the blanks. After you've finished, you're supposed to leave it for a week, so when you look at it again with fresh eyes, you'll be able to spot the mistakes.

Well, I'm about halfway through my synopsis at the moment. I don't know if I'll be able to get any more done this weekend, due to the Other Half's parentals visiting - but I'm really going to try and finish it at least by Monday night. I've FINALLY got a week's worth of work at a publishers (hooray!), so I thought it would give me the perfect chance to just leave my synopsis alone for a week!

Anyway, this post is getting long enough now, so I'll end this a link to Roz Morris' ebook, in case you feel like taking a look....she also offers a free sample on her website if you want to check out her writing style, but at £3.30, I didn't think I could go wrong by just taking a chance and downloading it :).

'Nail Your Novel' by Roz Morris

Does this sound like your type of writing style? Do you do exercises like this anyway? Let me know what you think - I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Have a great day everyone!

xx

So...did I do it?...

If you've been following my blog over the past few weeks, you might have picked up on the fact that I've been scribbling away trying to write a first draft for my novel by the 19th June...and I know the question you're all wondering now is - did I do it??

And the answer is....no.

I didn't manage to complete my novel, but am I disappointed? Hell, no!

In all my other WIPs, the most I've ever managed to write is around 17,000 words - the word count for my current novel is over 40,000. To me, that's a tremendous achievement. I've never stuck at one project for so long, or remained so excited about a WIP for so long either. I still find myself constantly dreaming up scenes while I'm trying to get to sleep, or while I'm out and about, and I simply have to scribble it down. I keep imagining that moment when I've finished it completely, and how excited I'll be when I can finally share it with the world....

Although ideally I would have liked to have reached around 50,000 words, I'm not going to dwell on the fact that it's a little short of that (ha! If 10,000 words can be called 'short'). All I can do now is keep going and hope that I don't run out of steam - it would be a shame if all this effort went to waste!

So, I'm setting myself a new deadline. Hopefully my writing time won't be interrupted by sudden illnesses (stupid stomach bugs...) or holidays (to be honest, I knew I was going away but I thought I could work around it...turns out holidays aren't the most productive writing time for me) or little things such as graduation (happening TODAY at 6pm - eek!!). I am determined to finish this book to prove to myself that I CAN do it!

So here's my new deadline: 1st July 2012


That gives me a little over a week to finish this draft - and after that, I have all the fun of editing it - hooray!

I can't wait to see if I actually manage to do it. Even if I end up putting the deadline back AGAIN, I think I've learned something over the past few weeks - I'm definitely someone who needs a deadline to work to!!

Happy writing, everyone!

xx

What's my name again?...

Okay, so given that I did my usual whiny/ranting post yesterday, I thought I'd cheer you all up again by writing about something different for a change :).

When I first started my WIP, I had an idea for most of the character names - all except my male protagonist. No matter what I did, no matter how many names I looked up on the Interweb, nothing seemed to fit. I just couldn't get it right.

However, while I was trying to find the perfect name, another name kept popping up in the back of my head. It kept whispering to me but I ignored it because, to be completely honest, it's not one of my favourite names in the world and I didn't want to use it (don't get me wrong - it is a nice name, it's just I personally wouldn't choose it...dunno why). However, because I needed to insert a name into my WIP to stop myself from writing 'BLANK' all the time, I decided just to give in and use the name that I kept thinking about. And once I did, a last name for my character suddenly came out too. I was surprised. Suddenly, the name didn't seem so bad any more.

In fact, I rather like it. I think it suits my character's personality. I'll probably stick with it, but then again, I might not - but I have finally gotten used to calling him by this name.

Isn't odd how sometimes you think of a name and it just seems to fit your character? It's almost as if the characters in your head are standing up and saying 'Hi, my name's so and so, and I'm going to be your new protagonist/antagonist/love interest...' - does that make me sound crazy lol?

How about you? Have you ever thought of a character's name and it wasn't right, and then you've stumbled upon one that's just perfect for your character? Or have you even ever just left a character with a name you weren't sure about, and you've never found out their true name?

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Happy Thursday, everyone!

xx

I'm not complaining about the weather but....

....it is ridiculously hot.

I wouldn't normally mind, but I've started to get weird spot things on my arms, where I'm assuming I've been in the sun for too long,  so I've decided to take a break from the sun completely today. It's probably not a bad thing, as it'll mean I'll (hopefully) get more work done.

So, I was very pleased with my progress yesterday - managed to write over 10,000 words :O!! So that brings my entire total up to near enough 15,000! Not bad for a few days work I'm thinking....however, I didn't manage to get any writing done at the weekend, as we went to Somerset for a few days, so I guess I'm really just catching up on what I missed before.

Also, we're heading to Norfolk for five days tomorrow, which again, is going to severely cut into my writing time. I just feel like it would be a tad anti-social of me to sit there feverishly writing and ignoring all of the Other Half's family....but I think I will get some opportunity to write (I hope) - the Other Half has some work to do, and he said I could tag along to his workplace with him and sit and write, so I am quite looking forward to that :). Otherwise, I guess I'm just gonna have to do what I did over the weekend, and just keep scribbling down notes when I get a spare moment and then write them up when we get back.

So progress so far is coming along nicely! Although as I was writing yesterday, I did notice something that was wrong - I always knew that the beginning of my novel wouldn't be the beginning that the book would end up with (I was essentially just writing it so I could get some writing done), but I finally figured out what I can put in front of it, so the story makes sense lol. However, I have now realized that I have in effect started writing my book from about a quarter of the way through. Tad irritating, but I am looking forward to see what the beginning will actually look like!

I'll keep you updated throughout the day, and will hopefully get the chance to write up a more interesting blog post for you all later :). Have a great day, folks!

xx