It's been a while

I've spent a lot of time in recent weeks editing BTL and at other times I've worked on old stories, you know re-working, re-submitting etc but it's been a while since I worked on anything that was completely new.
Until today.
Today I finally had a new story to tell.
And that felt great

Something for me

My new friend that I do it and my good friend Olivia Ryan has a post on her blog about why she writes. Well no-one has ever asked me why I write but I thought that I would tell you anyway.
I write because I have a story in my head. I do the writing for me. I try to get that writing published for the glory. It's a great feeling when an editor says that they like your writing and want to pay you for the right to publish it.
Olivia writes full time - for a living and she is lucky because that is what she wants. As I have just said in a comment on her blog sometimes I think that is what I want. Then I have a good day at work and I think "Nah." You see I actually have a day job that I enjoy most of the time and I work for something that I believe in which always helps.
I think my writing ideal would be that I earned a decent second living from it. I would like it to put me in the position that if the way that I currently feel about the day job ever changed I would have something to fall back on.
I guess I want the best of both worlds.
However, if it doesn't happen, it's no big deal because like I said, I do the writing for me and I wonder if that would feel the same way if my livlihood depended on it.

Another question

This was spawned from my previous question.
Do you prefer old or new? Pristine or creased?
I'm talking about books and spines.
Himself is so careful when he gets a new book not to crease the spine. I don't delibereatly set out to crease a spine but I don't mind if it happens. I think that there is something about a creased spine. It shows that the book has been read - prossibly more than once and hopefully enjoyed. I think that a crease or two gives a book a bit of character (a bit like a face.)
I also like an old book - again I think that it's something about character. There's something about the way that books used to be bound.
How cool would it be if in 50 odd years or longer someone was holding an eary edition of one of my books in their hands? That's always assuming that we still have books then.
Now there's another question.

A question.

Okay, I have a question for those of you that have a book published.
How do you feel when you see a copy of your book, the one you lovingly wrote sitting on a shelf in a charity shop for 99p or similar price.
If you see that the spine is creased and the the book has obviously been read, maybe more than once do you feel good? Or are you just narked that someone is going to buy a copy of your book and you're not going to get any royalties out of it.
I'm not sure how I would feel if it were me. A bit of both I suppose.
Of course this question isn't only for those of you that have actually had a book published. I'd be interested to know what any of you think.

A barrier broken

When I'd finished the first draft of BTL it was just shy of 70,000 words which I know is a little short these days. But I also knew that there was scope for improvement as there were parts of it that I needed to develop. Well this morning i.e. about 2 minutes ago I broke the 75000 word barrier and I'm feeling quite happy about that thank you very much.
I just hope that when I give it the final revision I don't think "what the hell is that all bout" and take it out again.
Little things and little minds as they say.

Confused - just for a change.

i was reading an article earlier which was reviewing someones second book. The reviewer said that Miss X (as she will mysteriously be known) had like so many other wannabe's "trawled her book around publishers before being accepted by British publisher BeWrite.) This is what reminded me of the confusion that I have. Am I right in saying that BeWrite are a print on demand publisher? When I was much younger I remember being warned away from Vanity Publishers for very obvious reasons that are still valid today but how are POD publishers different?
Please forgive what is probably the stupidity of this question but I have very little knowledge of the POD business.

Number 4 in my head

I was in the cellar at work today (rememeber it's a workspace not a punishment area) and I was looking out of the window (it's a very odd very old building) when a sentence popped into my head. I wrote the sentence on a piece of paper and shoved it into the pocket of my jacket. Then I started to think about it. It could be book number 4.
The current state of play is:
Book number 1 - having a final polish.
Book number 2 - about 10,000 words so far
Book number 3 - Couple of thousand words in longhand in a folder that's shoved behind the sofa.
Book number 4 - One sentence.
It's good to dream.

Fiddling - but no violins

I'm currently working on chapter 16 of BTL and have just had to stop myself from fiddling for the sake of it. I was just going over a short paragraph when I decided to add a sentence. Then I deleted it. Then I wrote a different sentence and deleted that. After I'd written another half a sentence I deleted that too. None of them added anything to what was already there and I felt that I was changing things just for the sake of it. I have had to step away from it for a couple of minutes.
Okay, I'm going back in.

Nudge update

On Tuesday I emailed the magazine that have had my story for a year. I emailed the 3 times. When the email was undelivered 3 times I was a bit concerned. Maybe they'd gone out of usiness or something. That might explain things. Undetterred I looked on their website and found a way of contacting them through that. I had a reply from them saying that the story should come to the top of their list in a few weeks time.
That's some pile of slush!

20 years on

I don't often post about anything other than writing but today I'll make an exception.
I happened to be in Sheffield on 15th April 1989 and I remember seeing the police cars and ambulances flying towards Hillsborough and wondering what on earth was going on. Not for one second did I think that it was what was going on. My heart and thoughts go out to anyone that was effected by what happened that day.
As a football fan who has stood on a kop you can't help thinking there but for the grace of God.

Happy birthday to....my submission

What a surprise, no emails regarding any submissions that I've made - AGAIN.
Some of these pieces were submitted months ago. I decided that I would check my what to where list and see just how long some of them have been out there and I discovered that one of them was submitted on 14th April 2008. That is one year ago today. As I recall I had an email from them about six months ago apologising for the delay in getting back to me but I think it's about time that I gave them a nudge.
Okay I'm calmer now (deep breath and all that) I've had a look and of the 16 pieces that are currently under consideration only 4 of them were sent before the turn of the year. I have another piece that I need to submit but I have to send a recent photograph with it. They'll be lucky.

The perfect writer

Writers should......

Answers on a postcard please.

My only excuse for this is that it's 6.20am and I've already been up for two hours. That said I would be interested to know what you think.

Why?

I don't often check how many hits my blog has had possibly because it's right at the bottom of the page and I forget that it's there. However just a couple of minutes ago I thought I'd have a look at it and where the hits had come from (Thanks womag, a lot seem to come to me via your blog.) Anyway, one of the referrers was a google search and the thing that had been searched was "gonna be a writer blog." Why would somebody search for my blog so specifically? I'm confused but hey that's me default state most of the time anyway so what's new.

More advice required please

Okay so the editing of BTL is coming along and I hope that in a few months time and certainly by the end of the year it will be in it's finished form and ready to be sent out to agents/publishers. I did send it out a couple of times about a year ago and the agents I sent it to were complimentary about the style of writing but declined to take it on. Okay that's their opinion and that was before it was changed and polished etc. I know that I went about it the wrong way before and this time I am determined to do it right.
I sent it out to each agent individually one at a time and had to wait for their reply before sending it to someone else. I read somewhere of an author (can't remember who but then I read about so many of them) who sent their book to about half a dozen different agents at the same time. Is it really okay to do that? What if three if them love it?
What I would be really interested to know (if you don't mind sharing) is, those of you that have agents, how did you find them?
By the way, Happy Easter!

Post Script to "Why I keep a secret"

In a comment on my last post Captain Black asked what a fake writer was. I wasn't sure what my colleague had meant by that comment but I took a guess. I now have a difinitive answer.
They said that you can sing as long as you like when you're cleaning the house but it doesn't make you a singer. So by that same token unless you are paid for what you write you aren't a writer. Phew! I haven't been paid a lot but I have been paid so I guess I'm not a fake writer afterall.

Why I keep a secret

I know that I've told regular visitors this before but for newcomers writing is my secret. People that I work with don't know that I do it. Even my family beyond my husband don't know that I do it. I think Son Number 2 might knows that I'm often writing stuff down but I don't think that he has any idea that I've ever had anything published.
I was having a conversation with someone at work today about a couple of people that I used to work with who both described themselves as writers. One wrote short stories and poetry and the other was writing a mystery/thriller novel. You'd think that they would have given each other help and support but nothing could have been further from the truth. They couldn't abide each other and on the rare occasions that they did speak it wasn't about writing. In fact when they spoke to me they were each very dismissive of what the other was doing.
Anyway getting back to the conversation I was having today with someone who didn't know either of them they said that the reason these two people didn't get on was because they both recognised the other for what they really were. As a fake.
That started me thinking about why I don't tell people that I write.
Just for the record I don't consider myself a fake (writer or anything else) but do you know what sometimes a girl (okay quickly approaching middle aged woman) has to have something that she does just for herself and for me that's writing. So I'll not be telling anyone other than those I want to tell thank you very much.

My mum

A couple of weeks ago I told you all that I had started something for a Harper Collins competition around the subject of "Mothers."
I chose to write about an experience that I'd had with my own mother many years ago and in the process of writing I learned a lot of things about both myself and her. They were things that we have never said to each other but writing about it made it all so clear to me.
This piece of work is not going to be submitted to the competition or anywhere else. It is not for public consumption.
Now I finally really appreciate just how much my mother loves me and I hope that she realises that the feeling is totally mutual.

Tea induced euphoria and other stuff

Even though I received one of those "R" things this morning (well technically it was yesterday but I didn't check the email until today) I'm still in a good place. The sun is shining, I had a lovely walk with the dog (even though I did have to drag him away from the flirty little collie down the street that was giving him the glad eye. the minx!)I can smell the cake that is cooking in the oven and I'm feeling optimistic about the future. "What's she on?" I hear you cry. Tea is the answer. I've had nothing stronger than a good old fashioned cuppa for hours so my good mood is induced by nothing stronger than that.
Remember that poetry that I submitted a while ago? Well that was also "R'd" this week but hey ho, that's life I suppose. No point letting it get you down. Just take it on the chin and get on with it.
Maybe you also remember that I said that I would submit seven things in March. Well I did but I don't feel good about it. Which wuld be better? Submitting seven mediocre pieces just to say that I'd achieved what I set out to do or one good piece that's pitched just right. I'm thinking that it's the latter.
Therefore, from now on I will be concentrating on quality rather than quantity. I'm not saying that the pieces that I've sent out weren't ready to go or weren't pitched at what I thought was the right market. I think that they were all fine and I wouldn't have sent them if I didn't think that they were ready but I do think that I need to adopt the mantra that I use in my day job. It's not a new thing and I'm sure you've all heard it before but it's "Work smarter not harder."
I don't have a lot of time for writing although I do spend a lot of time thinking about writing. I think that the crux of the previous paragraph is that I need to work smarter in my writing in general. I need to organise my time and my efforts better. I need to be more oganised.
Sadly for me being organised is not one of my strong points. Having said that I am organised with the day job.
Maybe there is hope for me.

Just a thought

I was thinking today about sites that allow you to publish your work and receive feedback from fellow writers. I don't want to single any of them out by name because I don't belong to any, never have, so don't know the good from the bad. I have heard of instances where some writers have received negative comments that might have been given for personal reasons rather than the write (attempt at interesting play on words) reasons.
I'm curious also as to what benefit it is to anyone for me to say that I like their writing. It doesn't matter if I like it because if they are trying to get their work pulished surely what matters is if an editor likes it.
It was just a thought.

Ironing out wrinkles.

I've just spent the last hour or so trying to iron the wrinkles out of chapter 4 and I think it's finally at a place where I want it to be. I'm leaving it behind for now anyway. I don't want to over analyse it. I want to get the whole thing into more or less the shape that I want it to be in before I get into the fine detail. I thnk I've earned the cup of tea that I'm going to make when the kettle boils who knows I may even have a biscuit. But hang on I don't want to ruin my apetite just in case either Son Number 1 or Number 2 turns up with chocolates. The dogs already got me q bottle of port. Clever doggie. Just in case any of you think that I actually believe my dog, clever though he is could go to the shop and buy alcohol I don't. He's not old enough for a start. No, my beloved Himself bought the port on the off chance that his sons disappoint me today. And trust me, if they disappoint me they will be his sons.
Anyway, getting back to BTL, I'll carry on with the ironing after my cuppa.

Slapping may be required

I'm trawling through BTL again doing fine tuning etc and currently stuck on chapter 4. It's odd because as I'm going through it this time I'm noticing things that I didn't the last time. I guess that just shows that you could probably tweak forever but I think that this will be the final time that I go through the book in its entirity.
I have two other books in the planning stage and I have been thinking of one of them quite a lot recently and feel like I want to get on with it but I am determined to finish BTL first. I've told you all a dozen times about how I flit from one thing to another but I'm not going to do that this time. having said that though, I need to make sure that I don't rush through BTL just to get to the next one.
Patience was nevr my strong suit.
If I mention working on my other book before BTL is finished I want you all to give me a virtual slap.
On a different note, I heard that I sold a story today which is always good news. It was a story that I sent out in October of last year. I'm yet to hear anything positive about anything submitted this year.

Must be more interesting

When I popped over here just now I was a bit disappointed to see that I've lost a follower. While I don't judge the success of my blog by the number of people that follow it the fact that someone decide to not follow it any more made me ask why. Mabe I need to be more interesting.
Thanks to the rest of you that are hanging in there.

Quick turnaround

On Monday I posted a story to People's Friend so they received it at best yesterday morning. It was back on my doormat this morning. When this happens, do you think the story is even read?

Not A B or C

Before I became disillusioned with my writing course I had to write a short story as an assignent which I duly did. My tutor said that it was good and suitable for magazine A and that I should send it to them which I did. They didn't want it so I sent it to magazine B. They didn't want it either so just after Christmas I sent it to magazine C. This "good" story was returned to me again this week. I can't give it away.

Chapter by Chapter

Okay, true to my word I have looked at BTL with a view to composing a chapter by chapter breakdown of the book. I'm doing this because I assume that if I am lucky enough to get someone interested in it they are going to want to see such a breakdown. The trouble is that I have never done this before and I wondered if anyone could give me any advice. Which would be a better approach?
A) Dark house. Where is this place? Why is she here?
or
B) Margot finds herself in a dark unfamiliar house. She has no idea where she is or why she is there.
or
C) Both of these are wrong and there's another way that I should be doing it.
Any advice would be most welcome.
Just for the record, I don't know where the house is or why there are no lights on. I don't know why she is there and I've never met Margot.
Oh and so much for that lovely weather that I talked about earlier. That has swiftly been replaced by wind, rain and even a bit of snow. Don't you just love this country?

Time of Year

It must be the time of year for me to be a bit lethargic writing wise. I wasn't blogging 2 years ago and I didn't keep a diary that year but last year I posted on 6th March that I was struggling to get my head around writing. How very odd. I think it was around the 4th/5th march this year that I said the same thing.
Anyway, I am happy to report that the lethargy has lifted, it is a beautiful morning up here in the far North (not only past Watford but Leeds as well) and now that the kettle has boiled and I can have a cup of tea I'm going to settle down to a couple of hours writing. I did start something yesterday for the Harper Collins competition on the subject of Mothers so I might work on that later. For now it's another look at the start of BTL. I'm doing it this time with a view to compiling a chapter plan. There are a couple of other things that I want to do but I'll see how we go.

Nothing much

I came over here with the intention of posting but now that I'm here I don't know what to say. I don't know if I have anything interesting to say. Some of you may say that I rarely do. But since when did that stop me from talking to friends?
I submitted something earlier in the week but I can't remember what it was. I could look it up on my spreadsheet but the way my day's been going if I tried to do two things at once the computer would probably blow up. Oh I remember it was a letter to a magazine. Okay so it probably wasn't a real submission but I had something to say and, if accepted, the reward will be worth the effort. There's a competition that I want to enter and I worked on that earlier. I'm looking forward to having a look at BTL this weekend but I'm still not sure what the next stage will consist of so maybe I should wait and give it a bit of thought first. I almost wrote a poem at lunchtime. It started off as random thoughts that turned into a verse. The second verse however didn't flow so well. I may look at it again, probably in the distant future when I come across where it was scrawled into my notebook.
That's it really. I'll try and have something more interesting next time.

3 times not a charm

I'm sure I'm not the only one amongst us that received that email today, you know the one, it said that Best will shortly be stopping their Fiction slot.
I received that email three times today.
Bummer!!!
I'm particularly disappointed by the one that they'd had since August.

So far and plans for March

Is it really March tomorrow? Time to set myself a new target.
So far this year I have submitted 11 bits of work, 5 in January and 6 in February. Sadly 3 of them have been rejected.
1. The WW competition entry with the critique by Sue Moorcroft.
2. A tip in TaB where I got the email response that made it easier to take.
3. A story that I sent to The Yellow Room where I received feedback saying that my characterisation was good.
The other 5 stories, 2 articles and 1 poem(or rather 6 poems as a showcase) are still out there.
In addition to my submissions, the first rewrite of BTL has been completed and the first 10 chapters are currently with my "reader" and I am awaiting feedback.
That's not bad - for me anyway.
So in March, to earn my reward I will submit 7 pieces of work (comes after 5 and 6 so seems sort of logical) and start work on the next phase of BTL. That second part might seem a bit wishy washy but I'm not sure what the next stage will be. I don't know if I will need to go through the whole thing again or if I should concentrate on the things I noted that I wanted to change. Either way I said that I would give myself 2 weeks off it so that I can look at it with a fresh perspective. That means that I won't be looking at it until next Sunday at the earliest.
I won't be doing anything much today though. Himself is taking me out for a little retail therapy (so what if it's only soil and paint - not for the same job I hasten to add) and then a spot of lunch. It's to help cheer me up after baby bird's departure yesterday. Himself is such a lovely man and I am so lucky.

Time off and baby birds

I haven't been around blogland much this week so I thought I'd take the chance to catch up. My reason for not visiting much has been that Himself and I have been on holiday from work this week. That has also lead to a distinct lack of writing this week too. I did write on Sunday and edited a short story on Monday but I think that's been it. I don't feel bad about that though because, well I just don't. I've also had other things on my mind this week. I am both unhappy and glad to report that my eldest has flown the nest. He told me on Monday and he moved out today. It's left a bit of a vaccuum - maybe I'll write about it. There was something quite sad about one less plate at tea time.
I had a rejection this week but that's okay too. I got positive feedback from the editor who liked my characterisation (they all say that) but it just wasn't right for them. They said that the plot was a bit "slight." I think that was the word they used I think but I might be wrong. I read it and took it on board and then went back to worrying if baby bird's wings are strong enough to support him. But don't worry, I'll go back and take it in properly in a couple of days time.
I've had my week off though now and when the weekend is over I'll knuckle down to work again, both the day job and the writing.
Apologies also to anyone who's comments I haven't replied to. I'll get caught up this weekend.

A second income

When I've been paid for a piece of writing in the past I don't know what's happened to the money. I think that most of it went into the "Rome Fund." We'd been planning that trip for a year and then had to postpone it for a year and I don't think I'd earned anything before then. Anyway it was just sort of eaten up and even if it did fill the holiday coffers which meant that we could afford to treat ourselves I didn't feel like I was earning a second income.
Well that all changed this week. I must be earning a second income, albeit an incredibly modest one because today I used money earned from writing to pay a bill. Last week I was paid for a story and today I used all but 5p of it to buy the road tax.
I never imagined that giving the DVLA money would mean so much to me.

Progress report

I have just finished the rewrite of BTL. Or should that be the first rewrite. There are still some things that I want to have another look at, chapter 26 for instance. Anyway, I just wanted to let you all know. I have gone from doing a chapter maybe two each week (Sunday's are the only day that I can get a real crack at it) to racing though it because I wanted to know what happened. The book was finished over a year ago and I couldn't remember exactly what had happened. But I wanted to know. Also there was a scene between two characters towards the end where I found myself sobbing. I cared so much about what was happening to them.
This is not a finished project by any stretch of the imagination. I know that. There are still things that need to be looked at and possibly altered. And then the really hard work of finding an agent/publisher will begin.
What do you think? Agent or publisher?
I just wanted you all to share in my euphoria in the fact that my creation is one step nearer completion.

Mixed messages

I'm a great believer in a)"being prepared" and b)the power of the mind.
"Yeah, and?????" I hear you cry.
Well, my thinking on this very good morning (hope I've not hexed the whole day) is that as I don't keep "proper" records I am not "being prepared" and I'm sending my mind mixed messages.
Okay I can hear you all asking what I'm banging on about so here goes.
The only record that I keep of my writing etc is a spreadsheet that records what I send where, if they accepted it, how much they paid me and when. I never keep records of expenditure.
By doing that I think that I am sending my mind mixed messages. It's like saying that I don't need to do that because I'm never going to be successful enough for anyone official to be interested in it. I know that the mind has great effects on what happens to a person. (This is not something that I think, it is something that I know from experience.) I've said before that if mega success doesn't come for me in this field then I'll be okay with that and I will because there are things out there that are so much more important but I would like to think that if the mega success does come I'd at least be a little bit prepared for the taxman.
I'm going to buy envelopes and stamps at lunch time, maybe I'll buy a small ledger too.

A different viewpoint

Last week when I was banging on my rewrite of BTL (for a change - sorry about that) Captain Black asked if it had been read by a "trusted reader." Well it will be now. Some time ago a dear friend that I trust read the first 3 chapters and gave me some feedback which I took into consideration and prompted me to change a few things. She did say that she would like to read more when I was ready to show her so today I gave her the first 10 chapters. I'll let you know what she thinks when she gets back to me.

Something said.

I don't often write poetry and I never submit it. But today something asked me why. The truth is I don't know why apart from the fact that I don't have a lot of raw material, I don't know if it's any good and I didn't know where to send it. Then something made me look in my "Poems" folder and I saw that I did actually have a fair bit of raw material. Something also pointed out that until I sent it out how would I ever know if it was any good and hadn't I recently read an article about a poetry publishing house. All very true so tomorrow I will be submitting poetry for the first time. Because Something (deliberate capital letter to denote the fact that Something has taken on a persona of it's own) told me to.

Rant followed by request

Ooooohhhh!!!!!! This is so hard.
Okay it's not hard really but I was just feeling the need to be a bit a dramatic artiste/creative type and I didn't much fancy lopping an ear off.
This is my problem.
I am editing BTL and I have realised about ten minutes ago that I seem to be getting through this rewrite much quicker now than I had been when I was doing the early stages. Now, it could be that the early chapters were really rubbish and needed a lot of work on them while the part I am on at the moment is just brilliant. Somehow I doubt it. Do you think that maybe I'm rushing it because I'm keen to send it off to the agent that I was going on about the other day. (I am sort of thinking out loud here so please bare with me. Do however feel free to jump in at any time.)I think that I am rushing it. Yes definitely now that I've put it like that I think that I am. There was a point in my last chapter when I thought "hang on that happened a bit quick didn't it" so if I'm thinking that then readers but more importantly in the first instance agents probably will too.
Deep sigh.
Yes, I am rushing it. There are parts that need changing but I'm going to plod on 'til the end and then go back. I went over and over the first 3 chapters until I was heartily sick of them so I don't want to make the same mistake again.
Okay so that's that drama over now I would like some more hard and fast advice rather than just the kind listening of friends to someones rant.
I have a problem with chapters.I made the mistake of just writing the book without any chapter breaks so now I am busily trying to fit them in. What advice can you give me about the best place to do this. Is it when you move onto a different aspect of the story? Or would some of you do it a different way? I would love to hear from anyone who can help. I think that i am happy with my chapters but I would like a different perspective.
Thanks as always for listening.

Best magazine

Does anyone have any idea what Best's turnaround time is like at the moment. They've had a story of mine for 6 months and I still haven't heard anything. I know that they were a little backed up before Christmas but I just wondered if anyone had any news.

Fighting the urge.

As I've told you before it is my plan and my hope to have my book ready to go out to agents and publishers by the end of the year and I've been plodding along with my rewrite quite nicely. How ever (elongated word) I have been given a heads up about an agent and now I'm feeling ...oh I don't know what the word is but I'm feeling it. I had been given the names of two agents to try and I had sent it to the first one who said that they really liked the writing but weren't in the position to take on anyone at that time but I didn't try the second. i found the two names written on a scrap of paper the other day and it was like karma or something. I want to send my novel off and have it accepted and be loved by the literary world right this second but I know that it's probably not ready yet and so I don't want to send it off until it is. I am by very nature an impulsive person who hates to wait for anything that I want so it's very hard to fight the urge. I am trying though. I'm trying to tell myself that I cannot send it off until....
So far I have come up with - the first rewrite is completed.
Anyone for anymore.
BTW it's snowing again here - again and my oldest friend was laid of yesterday without any warning. Just ta ta and go home. It sucks.

A great way to focus the mind

When I decided that I would set myself writing targets each month with a reward if I was successful, I never imagined that I would be so successful with it. Today is only the 10th and I have already completed my writing tasks for the month. The promise of a reward is really focusing the mind on getting the job done. Before the month was over I wanted to submit three pieces of work and edit four chapters of BTL. I have just finished that when I emailed off my third submission. However I think that I will be harder on myself next month and give myself more to do. It doesn't mean that I won't be doing any writing for the rest of the month though. I'll be working on my bonus for the rest of the month.
BTW my reward this month was a full hour curled up on the end of the sofa with my feet up. a pot of tea and my book.
Some of you may have noticed that my January reward also included reading time and that is because that is something that I really precious to me. By the time I've been at work all day and then I've come home and taken care of my men I usually have to grab the odd minute here and there to read a book or magazine. having a whole block of time to indulge myself is a real treat.

Double figures

I got a lovely surprise when I came by here this morning and discovered that I've made it into double figures - followers that is. I can't tell you all how chuffed that makes me. I love you all and thank you for being interested in me.

All tips welcome

I was just sitting at my kitchen table (it doubles as an office on Sunday mornings) editing another chapter of BTL and I started to think about how, hopefully this time next year it will be out there trying to find a home. So I then started thinking(okay there may not have been a lot of editing going on at this time) that want to do it properly. I don't want to waste my time by sending it out to the wrong people in the wrong way. So what I would like from you learned folk is any tips that you may be willing to share on the art of preparing a manuscript and choosing the right agent to send it to.
I am currently about 60% of the way through my first re-write so I have way to go yet but one of my writing aims for 2009 is to have it ready for submission by the end of the year.

A Me Day

I don't usually work the day job on Thursdays so I usually try to write as much as I can, especially in the mornings - after I've done the grocery shopping because we still have to eat. Anyway, today I've given myself a day off from that. I'm going to have a "me" day. I was saying to someone the other day how I missed the days when I'd tidy the house up a bit, do a bit of ironing, maybe bake a cake and wait for the kids to get home from school. Life seemed so uncomplicated then but sadly those days are long gone. Now I work full time because even though we said that we wouldn't when I went back to work we spend full time money so I can't just jack it in. I actually do enjoy my job and it is very worthwhile but now and then I do hanker for the life of a housewife. So that's what I'm doing today. I've just stopped by here to say hello after checking if I'd been paid for a story I sold recently and sadly I haven't so I had to ping off an email asking if there was a problem. But apart from those two things I'm doing nothing else on the computer today. I may pick up a notebook later because I used to from time to time when I was a housewife but I doubt it. No, I'm off to make an orange and sultana cake, clean the bath and do a bit of ironing. That should take me to lunchtime and as Himself is here for that today I shall make something nice for that (what instead of the dross that you usually dish up I hear you cry.) I might even get the hoover out later. Steady on though, there's no need to go mad is there. Then it'll be tea time by which time I'm sure I'll be bored with all the domesticity so maybe I'll pick up a pen then. We'll see.
I highly recommend that everyone has a "me" day from time to time. I actually have a "me" week every year in April. It's fantastic.

Easier to take

Remember Womag's post the other week about filler opportunites? Well I thought I'd give it a go with Take a Break. I sent off my tip and my picture and a couple of days later received a rejection email. The point of this post isn't to complain that my tip wasn't used because come on how many brand new tips are there out there. There was always going to be a good chance that it wasn't new. I mean I got it from somewhere. No the point of this post is that I actually got a reply. I thought that I would hear back from them if it was accepted but not if it wasn't. It makes the rejection easier to take - somehow.

What Sue thought

I received my critique back from Sue Moorcroft yesterday and this is what she thought. True to my word I will be sharing it all with you - he good and the bad.

Presentation: nice clear font, indented paragraphs and double line-spacing. Good grammar, punctuation and spelling.
Wordcount: Just right.
Dialogue: good. Advances the story and adds to the characterisation.
Characterisation; good. Christine is somebody I feel I could meet any day. Because you remain firmly in her viewpoint we are party to her thoughts and emotions, which is always engaging.
Overall: you have a flowing style with a good command of language. But i don't feel that this is the right story for Woman's Weekly. The plot is slight and sort of upside-down - instead of there being a problem that is solved, there's a good situation that gradually deteriorates into a disappointment. Instaed of ending the story with a glow, i feel fed up.
For this market, you generally need the central character to be instrumental in the resolution that, by reaching a turning point or epiphany, gives rise to a satisfying ending.
I like your writing style and characterisation and with the right story you might well be a future Woman's Weekly writer. Good luck!
Best wishes
Sue.

So there it is. I'm pleased that she liked the way that I write but a bit disaapointed that she thought it was an unhappy ending. I thought it was ironic. I have to say though that I think it was £3 well spent.

Deja vu or what?

I started to write a story a couple of days ago and gave the two characters in it certain names. The story hasn't really developed very much so i put it to one side and picked up something from my work in progress file to type up. I was amazed when the characters in the old story were called exactly the same names as the ones in the story that I had tried to write earlier in the week.
How mad is that?
I don't know where the names came from or why I would choose them together more than once.
When I'm writing a story I tend to pluck the names of characters from somewhere around where I am or what I'm doing e.g. if I'm writing at work I might give a character the name of someone who is around. It's all a bit random so I think it is really weird that I should put these people together more than once.

And what do you do?

I read a post on a blog recently and read the comments that had been left. The name of one of those leaving a comment intrigued me so I clicked on their link to have a look at them. Next to occupation they had said "freelance writer." As I'm sure you all know you can click on that link too and it will take you to all the bloggers that describe themselves in that way. There are a lot of them.
I am getting to the point trust me.
It is this. When someone asks what you do do you say "freelance writer"? (Sorry, not sure where the ? should go. Think I might have put it in the wrong place.)
I appreciate that this is blogland and maybe they wouldn't describe themselves like that in the real world.
Anyway that's irrelevant really, my question is when someone asks what you do what do you say?
I'll get the ball rolling. I say "I work for (name of company ommitted for intrigue purposes)." But then, my own mother doesn't know that I write so why would I tell a complete stranger?
Just a thought.

Was it really that long?

Has it really been a week since I blogged. If that's what the date says then it must be true. It doesn't seem that long though.
So, what have I been doing all week?
I've been in blogland a few times because I've been checking up on people and leaving messages. What else?
I tried starting a short story yesterday but that's not going so well. I had the start and I know what I wanted the final words to be but can't work out how to get there. That can't be all the writing that I've done this week. Maybe it was, I can't think of anything else.
Oh hang on I remember, there was something else.
I had an idea last weekend for a non fiction project and I was working on some ideas for that earlier in the week. I need to do some more work on that.
I honestly don't think there was anything else though.
Mmmm. Maybe I slept a lot.

Was it really a

I wonder

I've just submitted a short story - yes I know, that's 4 this month I'm on a roll - and in my covering letter I intruduced myself and said I've had work published in this and that. That started me wondering. Do you suppose Della Galton and Christina Jones have to do that?

Nero here I come.

Remember back in December when I told you about my plan to set monthly objectives to get me where I want to be at the end of 2009?
Well I am happy to report that as of this morning I have completed my set objectives and am in a position to claim my reward. The objectives I set were:
1. Submit 3 ideas/articles/stories.
2. Edit 4 chapters of BTL.
I have just finished editing my 4th chapter after posting off my third story this morning. Well if I'm being perfectly honest it was 2 stories and a feature idea. I'm sure some of you may think that I didn't set myself enough to do but there is absolutely no point in setting unachievable goals and I am a great believer of easing oneself in gently.
In case you don't remember the reward that I said I would give myself it was half an hour in Cafe Nero's with a hot chocolate and a good book.
I'm not going to rush off a give myself the reward straight away though. I think that I shall anticipate it a little first.

Such and such

Well, I typed up the story editing as I went along and as I was doing it I thought *Hang on a minute this might interest such and such." Then, would you credit it, when I do the word count that's perfect for them too. Needless to say after a polish or two I think I'll submit it to such and such and keep my fingers crossed. Then if they decline to take it I'll tinker with it a bit and send it somewhere else.
As usual I'll let you know.

Writing for Blah magazine

Speaking as someone who had a whopping 3 yes I said 3 pieces of work accepted in 2008 I was wondering how the rest of you target your market.
Do you think "okay, today I'm going to write a story for Blah magazine," and work to their guidelines or do you come up with an idea for a story, write it and then see who you think might be interested in it. Personally I use the second method but I'm not sure if it's the best one.
I tried the former once when I came up with what I thought was an amusing idea. I wrote the story with a particular magazine in mind and wrote it to fit their style, word length etc and sent it of to them. I was devastated when they declined to take it. (Rejection is not a word for Sunday mornings.)
I liked the story though, in fact I think it probably is one of the best ones that I have ever written. I'd planned it's structure and thought it through before I even put pen to paper which is very unusual for me.
Because I liked it I didn't give up on it. I sent it out to another magazine without changing so much as a comma and they accepted it.
The story that I'm about to type up this morning (currently on 3 bits of A4 paper that's been stuffed in and out of my jacket pocket a dozen times this week) wasn't planned at all. I had the idea and I knew how I wanted it to end but I wasn't sure how I was going to get there. I have no idea yet of the length of it so I'm not sure if or who it's going to be suitable for.
I guess I'll type it up and see.

Money well spent

I sent a story to the Writers Forum Womans Weekly competition today and invested £3 in requesting a critique from Sue Moorcroft. This is a first for me. Not the competition, I've entered those before but the critique. I'm really excited by that. Even if I don't win (and obviously I am hoping that I will) I'm going to get some valuable feedback. I'm willing to bet it's the best £3 that I'll spend this week. Obviously I'll let you know what she says.

Dull but true

Just thought that I would let you know that I did submit something this week, or rather I will in the morning. I've just printed it out and I will post it tomorrow.
It was while I was preparing to let you know this that I suddenly thought.
Why?
Will you be interested?
I hope so because all I can do is tell you what I'm doing. I can pass on a tip or two when I discover one but I don't feel qualified to offer advice. Obviously if someone asks me a question I can say what I think but I don't pretend to be an authority on anything.
All I can do is tell you what I've been up to with my writing and what I have done this week is edit a short story and print it.
Oh and yesterday I was looking through one of my notebooks and came across a plan for a story. I originally thought that it might be a good idea for a book but I'm not sure if it will have the legs to carry it to 70,000 words. Now I'm thinking that it could be a longer story for a fiction feast. It actually is a well thought out plan and I was really pleased with it.
That's been it though this week. Himself has been off work for a few days and we've been spending a lot of time together.
By saying what I have just said I'm not saying anything about anyone that does offer direct advice. I've learned so much from people that do. All I am saying that I don't feel that I can do this.
I suppose I'm also apologising for the fact that sometimes my blog might seem a bit dull compared to others. Dull but true.
And I thank anyone who reads what I write, I really appreciate it.

Easing back into "normal"

I love a statistic. Sorry if it makes me sad but there it is I have said it.
One of the things that I aim to do this year is to have my book (BTL) fully and finally edited and ready to be sent to agents/publishers. After much deliberation which I won't bore you with becuase God knows I could bore for England on the subject of how much to edit, I have decided to do a second edit which is what I am on now and then a final polish.
As of this morning (2 minutes ago) I am currently 43% of the way through my book's second edit. Okay so I haven't done all that since Thursday morning but it gives me a reference point of where I am and where I need to be.
I want at least another two chapters done by the end of January or the hot chocolate reward is forfeited.
I love Christmas even more than a statistic and I had a wonderful one but the tree came down this morning and it's time to get back to normal. A little light editing was my way of easing my self back into "normal." Who knows I may even submit something this week.

Non holiday holiday

Christmas/New Year is a woring time for me and I generally only get 2-3 days off. I'm not complaining because it does mean that I get to take some of my 26 days holiday when I want to rather than when the company is shut down for Christmas. The down side is that I have all the extra domestic stuff that is required over the festive season to fit in around the day job which means that, well not to put too fine a point on it I am cream crackered at the moment. Consequently there hasn't been a lot of writing done over the past two weeks. Hopefully things will get back to normal this week.
Oh, could someone please come over and finish these chocolates.

A difficult year for GBW & Co Ltd.

In the year 2007-2008 production was down by 30% and sales were down by 50%. The Board (that'd be me and the dog) has decided therefore, that unless the company is to go the way of so many other companies this needs to be addressed and addressed immediately.
The Chairman (the dog) has asked that I (the only person in the company that can type) "do something about it." (Please note the non specific nature of the Chairman's instruction so that if it doesn't happen he can deny all blame.)
The Chairman also asked if I had a theory on why the company had endured such a bad year and I told him that I felt that the reasons were threefold.
1. I didn't submit as much as I should have or hoped that I would.
2. What I did sub wasn't good enough.
3. I didn't write enough
Okay so that's the self pity over for another year and this is what really happened.
1. There were huge parts of 2008 when writing wasn't my number one priority. Okay, so as a year it wasn't as bad as the one before but it certainly had it's moments. So sometimes, writing and subbing were the last things on my mind.
2. I subbed some things to the wrong market at the wrong time or before they were ready.
3. Can't argue with number three - it's true.
After listening to my argument the Chairman nodded like the wise old sage that he is before knocking me to the floor and licking me ferociously for five minutes. That concluded the Board Meeting and we went for a walk to devise a plan to have a better year next year. Said plan will go before the Board at a later date.

Ho ho ho and all that

So it's that time of the year again and I don't suppose that there'll be much blogging going on in the next few days so I would just like to take this opportunity to say Merry Christmas to you all. I hope that it is everything that you hope it will be.
I'll be spending mine with my menfolk all four of them which makes me very lucky and I am so looking forward to it.
Have a good one everyone but spare a thought for those out there that are having a hard time making their Christmas happen for them.

Coming out of the closet

I'm still largely in the closet as far as my writing is concerned. Himself knows that I do it and my good friend Tuesday Moon knows too but that's it. I don't even think that my kids know they probably just think that I mess about on a laptop a lot. Anyway, you may recall I told you recently that I had sold a story to The Weekly News and what should my mother-in-law be reading last week but The Weekly News. So if she reads the edition with my story in and she reads the authors names she is bound to ask. I guess the cat will be out of the bag then.

A reward in mind

A firend of mine told me that to help you to be successful you should record what you want to have achieved in a years time and then work out what you need to do in the next month to help you to achieve that. Also you need to note a reward that you will give yourself if you do what you said you would do in that month. I'm going to give it a go. I'm not sure what my to do list for January will be but my reward will be half an hour in Cafe Nero with a good book and a hot chocolate.

Here is Georgiana

Georgiana

Thanks to Annie who gave me this writing cave dragon to take care of. I have called her Georgiana and discovered that she likes to sleep late and spend the afternoons playing with my dog. The two of them have become great friends.
Thanks Annie

Same old problem.

Do you remember a few weeks (might have been a bit longer than that) I was talking about editing my novel and how I couldn't stop myself tinkering with it? Well I'm still in that dilemma. I'm currently working on chapter 10 or at least I was a couple of minutes ago and I started to think about what Cally said. She told me that she stopped fiddling with her book (currently accepted and due for publication) when she bacame sick of looking at it. At that stage I was heartily sick of looking at the first three chapters that I had been tweaking for a while. So i left them and got on with the rest of the book and am currently as I say on chapter 10. So I'm asking myself should I go back and maybe work on say chapters 4 - 6 until I am sick of them or should I just plough on to the end?
Okay, so I'm thinking that I'll plough on for now. I'm thinking that I should work my way through the entire book because it's been a while since it was finished and I'm interested to read on and see how I developed the idea. (This book was finished before the bad stuff that happened last year so was stuck in a metaphoric drawer for a long time.)
Yes that's what I'll do...decision made...maybe.
Thanks for listening. I knew that you'd help me see sense.

Risking the hex

Do you remember a few weeks ago when I told you that I'd read about a freelance author who never submitted in December? Their theory was that editors didn't commission as much and they lost submissions etc. Well I thought to myself "What the hec! I'll take the risk" (brave soul that I am) and I have submitted. Yes that is correct I have risked the December hex and sent out a story.
I wanted to go back and read the article again so that I could clarify a few things but I can't find it and I can't remember who the author was so I can't look them up. Thinking about it they may well have been just referred to as "a freelance writer". Anyway couldn't find it - what a shocker!
Then I thought that maybe the whole December thing had just been said for effect because as a freelancer their income is not guaranteed so they must make loads in the other 11 months.
I wanted to submit so I did and I wanted to tell you so I have.
Now I'm off to make fish pie (insight into my domesticity.)

Oh no not another one.

Following the rejection emails I received in the past two days you can imagine what I thought when I saw a message from an editor sitting in my inbox this afternoon. But, I thought bravely, best open it and get it over with. At least it was from Jill Finlay and she writes the best rejection emails I have ever had. She trys to find something positive and always lets you down gently so it wouldn't be so bad.
I while I still maintain that Jill writes great rejection emails, she writes even better acceptance ones.
Yes, you've understood me correctly. I've sold a story. It seems like ages since I was able to say that (I'd need to check my WW file to give you the exact length of time but it's been too long.)
I could barely keep the smile off my face all afternoon. And there's nothing like a bit of success for spurring you on.
Thanks Jill.

Would you credit it?

Can you believe it? I don't hear a dickie bird from anyone about anything for months on end and then following yesterday's rejection email I get another one today. Ya boo hiss and all that but never mind it'll soon be Christmas.

A small thing

My latest rejection meant that I had to visit my "What's Where" file where I discovered that I only have 12 bits of writing currently with editors.
Of them there's one non fiction that I think I can forget about. It's with a magazine that is notoriously long at getting back to you and they have had it just over a year. I'd forgotten about it anyway so maybe I shouldn't count that. I only noticed it because I scrolled too far.
Then there's the story that has been with someone for 8 months. They asked that I give them 6 months so I have queried that one this morning.
There's one that People's Friend have had since May, another with Best since August and one with The Weekly News since later in August.
That leaves two with the magazine that rejected a story I sent them in November. They have had the two that they still have since October. I also have one fiction and one non fiction with editors I have never worked with before and they have had these particular works of genius (I am laughing you realise) since November.
There are also a couple of stories with a foreign editor who I have been warned never gets back to you sometimes not even when they want your story. I didn't know that when I submitted and I won't submit to them again so maybe I should just forget about those and out them down to experience.
So that, in a nutshell is my WW file. It is small but it is mine and just like my bank balance I will try and improve it in the coming months.

A lesson to learn

I've just read an article that stated that you shouldn't practise writing you should practise finishing the writing projects that you start. Now there's a lesson I should definately learn.

One year one

On this day a year ago I wrote on this blog that I had a big personal week ahead and that I wasn't going to set myself anything too difficult. I stated that in this week I would:
1. Work on my Topsy project
2. Develop an idea from my work in progress folder.
3. Come up with an ending to a half written story that I had come across.
One year on I can report that:
1. The Topsy project still isn't completed.
2. My WIP folder grows bigger by the day.
3. That story still doesn't have an ending.
Wasn't a very good week writing wise was it. Personally it was terrific and that's what really matters.
I think that this wa sthe week when my attitude to writing and what it actually means to me changed.

Revisiting chapter 3

I was having a conversation with Himself yesterday when he made a throw away comment about something. (Sorry, I can't be more specific without giving something of the plot of my book away.)It was just one of those comments that you make and then forget you ever said 30 seconds later. But as soon as the words were out of his mouth a lightbulb went on as I thought of how it could be introduced into my book. I thought about it for a while and wrote the passage last night. It's not a long passage probably not even 100 words but I do think that the story is better for it. Do you know what? (sorry bit of colloquialism there but this is a conversation between friends) Writing this has just made me think about what I wrote last night and I think that I might mention it again later - a bit of a theme. Now there's a thought.

Turn around times

Has anyone had a story accepted by "Best" recently and how long had they had the story? They've had a story of mine for 3 months which is way longer than they've held onto anything else I've sent them. I'm hoping it's a good sign.

Thanks Annie

Thanks Annie for the insructions on how to add a link. There'll beno stopping me now.

Annie's Award

The lovely Annie gave me this Marie Antionette award last week for which I am very grateful. I'm supposed to name 7 people that I want to forward this on to and add a link to their page. I have to tell you though that I haven't a clue where to start with the adding a link thing. But I was so pleased to get it that I had to put it here. Sorry for breaking the rules Annie.
Also if I could add a link I would struggle to find 7 blogs that I read on a regular basis that haven't been nominated already. I think that I could come up with 3 and they would be
Calistro
Captain Black
Womagwriter
I would love it if someone could give me an idiots guide to adding a link.

Since we last spoke

I've just realised that haven't posted anything on here for over a week even though I've visited my usual blogs almost every day. I don't know why that is other than maybe I've had nothing to say on the writing front.
I'm trying to remember what I've written since the last time I blogged and I've not completed anything new although I've pottered a bit with a couple of new ideas and I've submitted two short stories and an article. That's not so bad.
Himself and I went Christmas shopping on Thursday and got almost everything apart from each others which was very satisfying. I can't bear Christmas shopping. Well not so much the shopping as the queues.
I have my customary couple of hours free today (Sunday) for writing but before I get to that I have something else to work on. My good friend J (I won't mention her full name - you know, privacy and all that) has asked me to produce a piece of art for an exhibition that she is in charge of. It's all to do with "peace" and "lines of communication" and I have to say that I'm quite excited by it. It's still creative but totally different from what I would normally do. I will point out to you all though that I am not a visual artist in any way, shape or form. J knows this and still wants me to do it.
I'll try not to leave it so long next time.

Well done calistro

I do hope that calistro doesn't mind me posting this but here goes. I'm sure that you're all familiar with her blog and know this already but I thought that it was worthy of comment. In common with a lot of the blogs that I read, I haven't visited her blog for a couple of weeks but I was there this morning and read that she's got herself a publisher. This is fantastic news and her agent has done a great job in a relatively short time.
I just wanted to say here, publicly on my blog that I am really happy for you calistro and your success gives hope to the rest of us. It really can happen if we work at it.
For those of you that aren't familiar with calistro's blog follow the writing about writing link.
I'm now off to check the other places that I haven't bee to in a while. Who knows what's been going on.

All answers welcome

I know that the answer to this question is going to be "Whatever works for me" but that's the problem. I'm not sure what works for me and I'd appreciate some other viewpoints.
Here is my conundrum.
My book has passed it's second draft phase and is now being edited/polished etc. You may remember that following the advice given to me by my friend after she had read the first few chapters I decided to make a few changes.
My editing process is basically going through the whole thing from the start and correcting typo's, continuity errors or whatever as I go along and making changes to the storyline. The problem is that I find that I'm constantly going back over what I did, changing it.I think that I am striving for perfection too much which is very odd because I never do that in any other walk of life.
So, what I would be interested in is how you go around the editing process, especially of longer pieces of writing and how do you stop yourself becoming neurotic?

Beating the hex

I've submitted a couple of short stories this week and an article proposal which is the first in a couple of months at least. I thought that I'd better send them off now so I'm able to beat the writers hex that is December. At the start of the year it was my intention to submit more regularly, at least once a month but you know what life is like. It has a habit of getting in the way of what you want to do, so the submitting just hasn't happend. Oh well, there's always next year ("if God spares me" as my friend would say.)
PS Just out of interest where should that last full stop go? Should it in inside or after the bracket?

What I was thinking

I don't know if it's the time of year that's coming up (the end of it that is) but I've started to think about things. I won't bore you with the bulk of it because it had nothing to do with writing and we're all worried about the price of electricity and gas so there's no point whinging about it. But here's what I thought about my writing.
I should point out that I have no idea what I am going to write now. I just know that I wanted to blog about this but haven't really thought about it. Regular visitors may know that once it's written on here I don't change it because in normal conversation you can't unsay (possibly not a word) something that you have said. So here goes.
I've been writing semi seriously for just under 2 years. By semi seriously I mean that I have a day job that takes up the bulk of my day, a family that take up another chunk and writing gets fitted in half an hour here and there. I don't have the success rate that some of the people writing the blogs that I read have. Maybe that's because they commit more time and effort to their writing or maybe they're just better than me. Either way I don't begrudge them their success.
In my two years of writing I've been published probably a dozen or so times. I haven't actually counted it but it will be somewhere around there and almost all of those hits came in the first year. 2008 hasn't been a tremendous success for me but maybe that's because my priorities changed at the end of 2007 when I realised that in the grand scheme of things being a successful writer wasn't the most important thing to me. But it must still be important to me or I wouldn't still be doing it. I could write for pleasure and tuck it away in a drawer if that was the only reason I did it. But I don't. I still submit things even if it is on a not too regular basis so I must still want the recognition that someone likes what I have created. And if that is the case, am I trying hard enough? The honest answer to that one is probably not but like I said before it's hard to give something all your attention when you know that at the end of the day it doesn't matter. Maybe if I depended on the money I earn from writing to pay the gas bill I would give it more time. But then, if I depended on it to pay the gas bill I would be writing as a job so I could give it more time.
So I asked myself a few questions.
Q. Why do I write?
A. Primarily for pleasure.

Q. What is the other reason.
A. I get a buzz out of getting an acceptance.

Q. In an ideal world, how would your writing world work?
A. I'd still have a job because I actually like my job (and the regular income that comes with it) but I would find more time to write. I would have more hits than misses and earn the odd bob or two for the retirement fund.

Well that's as far as my thinking got because my mum rang and I was chatting to her and then got on with other stuff.
But basically I have accepted that my opportunities may be limited but I can make the best of them - if I really want to - and I do.
Maybe I need to remember what a former boss of mine who turned out to be a great mate used to say.
"Work smarter not harder." It used to annoy the hell out of me when he said that but he was right.
I have only a small amount of time that I can give over to writing so I need to make sure that I make the most of the time that I do have. That will include studying the market more which is something I know I don't do enough of.
So in conclusion to this very random blog I would say something that I have seen written on dozens of my school reports. "Must try harder."

Something to work on

I've just counted up the stories that I have sitting in my short story folder. There are 31 of them sitting there in various stages of completion. Some are finished, some need another polish and some are a paragraph or two. Of those 31 only 3 are actually under consideration somewhere.
It's a liitle surprising that I have 28 stories that could be worked on. I had no idea that it was so many.
This doesn't include the stories that are still in longhand form on various bits of paper or in notebooks.
I know that all of these stories probably won't get published. Some of them aren't very good at all as they are but might lead to something, some are okay but need a polish but some of them are ready for submission.
I need to sort them out into what catagory they fall in and decide what's to be done with them.
I know what I'll be working on today.

Do you bother in December?

I was reading somewhere the other day an article about a freelance writer who said that they never submit in December. Their theory was that work submitted in December was more likely to be "misplaced" than at any other time of year. They also indicated that fewer stories/articles are accepted in December.
I've only been submitting for two years so I don't have a lot of experience to base it on but I did wonder what those of you with more experience thought.

POD

I was reading an article while I was in the bath about lulu.com and I wondered if anyone had any experience of it. I know that Sally has used it and I was curious if anyone else had and what they thought about it.

The right time?

Can anybody out there give me any advice on when to submit seasonal stories. I'm always a bit wary of submitting them because I'm never sure if I'm doing it at the right time.

A pocket full of paper

Yesterday I didn't get the chance to do any writing - you know the day job and all that. However, for some reason, I did get a lot of ideas for short stories. it was bizarre. I just kept thinking of them. I wrote them all down and even outlined a couple in a bit more detail. So I now have a pocket stuffed full of bits of paper. I'm sure a lot of them will come to nothing but at least it gives me something to work on. Or at least it will if I remember to empty the pocket before I put it in the washing machine.

Can I ask you....

what you're working on today. I am working on a travel article. I'd love to know what you're working on.

No news might be good news.

Remember the stories that I had to resubmit because apparently the magazine had lost them? They were the ones that I was expecting to be rejected straight away because I thought a sub editor had forgotten to send a rejection slip before deleting the email attachments.
Well they weren't rejected straight away - it's been a couple of weeks. But they weren't accepted immediately either though they never have been before from this magazine. So I guess they're still in with a chance.
Yay.

Looking forward

I've been working on the things that my friend pointed out with regards to my book. I corrected the grammar that she pointed out and then I thought about the points that she had made. I realised that she was right about the way that my central character was reacting to a situation and I changed that and I do think that the story is better for it. Also I have now decided that the way another character (not G) behaves isn't right so I have changed that as well. It will mean a substantial re-write later in the book but I'm up for it if it makes it better. I have now given myself the target of having it accepted by an agent or publisher by the end of next year.
I also wrote a short story yesterday. I haven't had much published in 2008 and what I've earned would hardly pay for a good night out but it's full steam ahead with 2009 in mind.

Anybody got a frying pan?

Something happened to me yesterday which started me thinking and this morning I decided that it would be a good premise for a story but wasn't sure how it would end. When I was driving to work it hit me like a frying pan over the head and I could see the ideal ending. However being a woman of a certain age by the time I'd parked the car it'd completely gone out of my head. I've thought and thought all day but I've got no idea what it was that I came up with.
Very annoying!!!

Which does it for you?

Writers News or Writers Forum.
Discuss.

Verdict's in

My friend has read the three chapters that I sent her and the verdict is in. The response was very positive and I got so much from having the feedback of someone else. She pointed out a few grammatical/typing errors which is horrific considering the amount of times that I have been through it. Also her observations on certain things have got me thinking and there are things that I will be developing and changing. The best thing that she did say apart from the fact that she thought it was a great story and that she thought that it had the potential to be a good novel was that it kept her interested all of the time. That is particularly satisfying because that is what I set out to do. Oh and by the way, she asked to see more.

G update

No don't worry I'm not still banging on about my "secondary character" again. This time the G is for Goulash. Just wanted to tell you that if I say so myself it was spectacularly good. Himself said it was the best that I had ever made. Result! It's been a good day. The only thing missing was someone accepting one of my stories but at least there were no rejections so that's good too.

Writing and other important stuff

This morning I made a determined effort to be more professional. I set myself up with my laptop and pads on the kitchen table instead of it being on my knee with me in my favourite chair and set to work. I allowed myself 15-20 minutes to check on a few blogs, write a few emails and take care of a bit of banking and then it was nose to the grindstone time.
I am happy to report that I feel like I have accomplished such a lot in the last couple of hours. I decided that I would carry on where I left off yesterday with my book and okay there may only be 300 or so extra words than there were yesterday but I have written a lot more given that I have chopped chunks out here and there. The plan for this morning was to make the relationship between my two central characters more interesting from the start and I hope that I've succeeded at least a little. I have decided that I need to get the reader to connect straight away with my central character and then see the secondary one through their eyes.
This afternoon I think I'm going to type up some of the short stories that I have written in long hand with a view to getting them submitted in the next week or so. And then I'm going to make a goulash. I know it's not writing but it's food and that's important too.
The only annoying thing is that apart from Sunday I'm not going to get chance to have a day like this for another two weeks and I've enjoyed it so much.

G

I've spent the last couple of hours going over the sample chapters that I sent to the last agent as well as re reading the letter that they sent me. Reading it again (and I think I may have mentioned this before) she didn't actually say that she didn't like G just that she wondered if he would work as a character. Well like i have also said in the past he is vital to the dynamic of the story so he can't be cut out so therefore I have to make him more interesting which hopefully I have gone some way to doing. it will however involve a major re-write but ho hum c'est la vie and all that.
I did manage to add 1000 words to the three chapters that I looked at. Not that more words mean a better story but I think in this case it is.
I'm also going to ask one of my dearest friends to have a look at it. And I can hear it already, some of you are saying that she will only say good things about it but I can assure you she won't. She is a commissioning editor for a major art company in America so she is used to being objective. i'll just ask her to put her "work" head on when she reads it. The three agents that I have sent it to have all said that the writing is good so I guess I need to make the story more interesting.
I'll let you know what my friend says though it may be a while before she gets back to me and also keep you abreast of how the re-write is going. maybe I should have one of those widgety things that calistro has to show how it's going.
Must go, the laptops about to run out of juice which must mean it's time for a cuppa.

V&P Take 2

This time last week I reported that I was full of vim and pep and rarin to go on my writing projects. That was before the lurgy hit me which has meant I've felt pretty lousy for most of the week. I only did the things that I HAD to do and sadly my writing projects weren'y on that list. I did manage to finish a short story that I found written on some bits of paper that I found in the pocket of a jacket that I wear for work. It was a bit risky leaving it in there because it was a risque story (see the play in words? I must be feeling better) Actually it wasn't risky at all because if I'm wearing the jacket for work I usually have it on so I'm guessing that I would have felt someone rifling through my pocket. I should emphasise that as a rule i do not work with pickpockets. Anyway I digress. The point is that the V&P didn't work last week so here we go again with V&P Take 2.
I've got a few hours on my own now so I'm going to look at the opening chapters of my book with a view to looking at G through slightly less rose tinted glasses. I'm going to look at how he can be changed and what effect that would have on the dynamics of the book. You all know that I am actually in love with G so I don't want to change him but I'm going to try and be objective.
I di have other things that I want to do but this will do for starters. I'll let you know how I get on.

Thanks Sally for passing this on to me. Here goes

1) Where is your cell phone? On the kitchen table.

2)Where is your significant other? Out with his mate.

3)Your hair color? Brown with grey highlights.

4)Your mother? In bed I expect.

5) Your father? With my mum

6) Your favorite thing? When I read this question I immediately thought "family" but I guess it has to be something that I own in which case it's a pair of earrings that Himself bought for me in Prague 2 years ago.

7) Your dream last night? I don't remember dreaming last night.

8) Your dream/goal? To be happy and healthy for as long as possible.

9) The room you're in? The living room.

10)Your hobby? Apart from writing, cooking.

11) Your fear? Going through again what I did last year.

12) Where do you want to be in 6 years? Retired from the day job.

13) Where were you last night? Exactly where I am now.

14) What you're not? A size 10

15) One of your wish-list items? A rocking chair.

16) Where you grew up? Yorkshire

17) The last thing you did? Had a bath

18) What are you wearing? Beige joggers and blue t-shirt.

19) Your TV? Silver. If you meant the make I have no idea.

20) Your pets? A staffie/boxer cross that we rescued in April. He is gorgeous.

21) Your computer? A Dell Latitude D600. That doesn't mean anything to me. I don't know if it's good bad or indifferent. It was a present from Himself.

22) Your mood? Content.

23) Missing someone? Not really but I do wish Himself was here.

24) Your car? A Ford Ka

25) Something you're not wearing? Anything on my feet.

26) Favorite store? I don't actually know what it's called I've never looked above the door but it's a tiny little shop run by an old Italian man and sells all sorts of yummy stuff. I was in there the other day and it's always a pleasure.

27) Your summer? Wet.

28) Love someone? Lots of people with Himself at the top of the list.

29) Your favorite color? Whenever I'm asked this question I always say red without hesitation. I don't know why because I don't have much that is red. I guess I'm just a red sort of girl. maybe it's the Aries in me.
30) When is the last time you laughed? Yesterday but I don't remeber why. I was on the phone with my friend and had to wipe tears away because I was laughing that much.

31) Last time you cried? I had a tear in my eye earlier tonight when I watched the news about the soldier who had been buried in this country 60 years after he was shot down over Germany. The last time I properly cried was the other day when I was watching a film and the dog died. I hate it when the dogs die.

I have to pass this on so I pass it on to anyone who hasn't done it.

Lost in Space

Himself and I returned from our trip yesterday and it was fantastic. We had a marvellous time and it was just what he doctor ordered.
I have returned full of vim and pep and the urge to get on with writing projects. (If anyone knows what vim and pep is I'd love to know.)
Before my holiday I'd sent off a query email to a magazine that have had two of my stories since the beginning of the year, asking them if they were still under consideration. To my dismay when I checked my eamils yesterday there was one from them saying that neither story was in their system and would I submit them again. I did that but I fully expect to get a standard rejection email from them this week. I think that some sub editor forgot to do that before they deleted my stories. I'm not being defeatest about it just realistic.

Thinking about it

I've spent a lot of time thinking about writing this week but that's as far as it's got. Other than a report for my boss I've not put pen to paper this week unless you count the shopping list. I think my head is too full of the trip that Himself and I are taking next week. I might not be back here before then so if I'm not I'll catch up with you all in a couple of weeks.

Decisions decisions

I usually get a couple of hours to myself on Sunday mornings to do whatever I like with them. Yay. The plan for this morning is to go over the sample chapters of BTL that I sent to the agent recently and work out how to make G (as I will enigmatically call my secondary character) more interesting. Or at least that was the plan. However when I was walking the dog I remembered, as I think that I have pointed out before that I love G. I don't want to change anything about him. He is exactly what I wanted to create. So now I don't know what to do. Part of me is saying that I have to write what the public wants but how do I know that the public won't like G the way he is now and all I have to do is find an agent who feels the same way I do. I should also point out that having re read her reply what the agent actually said was that his type of charater had been done before. But haven't they all??
Oh I don't know.
maybe I'll make a cup of tea and read a book instead.

Thanks

This is something that I have meant to do before but didn't get round to. Sorry about that. I just want to say a big thank you to the people who have chosen to follow my blog. I am deeply honoured that anyone is interested in what I have to say. Cheers

Not what I wanted

The agent that I sent my book to promises to get back to you within two weeks unless your submission coincides with a book fair or similar. Well I guess mine didn't because it came back today.
The response wasn't the one that I had been hoping for but she did say some good things about it. She said "You can obviously write well" (direct quote) and liked my main character. However she wasn't enamoured with the secondary character. She didn't say anything bad about him but she said that she didn't know if the public would be that interested in him. Sadly without him there is no story so he has to stay.
All the agents that I have sent it to have all said good things about my writing but none of them want to take the story on. The melodramatic part of me thinks of saying "maybe I should take the hint" and then wait for all you lovely people to say nice things to me to massage my bruised ego. And while I don't want to stop anyone from doing that if they want to I'm not ready to give up on it yet and I will be sending it again.

Remember the magazine that had had one of my stories since December and when I quried it I received a very curt rejection by return even though they'd had it for months? Well I finally plucked up the courage this week to query them about the other two stories of mine that they have had since January. I figure that it's best to now one way or he other. At least if they are rejected I can send them out elsewhere.
It's hard to write at the moment. In two weeks time Himself and I are taking the special trip that we should have taken last year but had to cancel because of the dark cloud business and I've already got my holiday head on.
I am going to be unbearable for the next two weeks - especially at work but I know that they'll make allowances for me. They always do.

Out of bed and off to school.

Regular visitors will be familiar with the quandry that I often find myself in i.e. which particular one of my writing projects I should be working on.
I think I told you recently that I had put my second attempt at a novel in a drawer and had started working on novel number three which I am happy to report had started to take shape. Then one day last week I remembered novel number one which was also languishing in a drawer. BTL (novel number one) has been out to two agents and one publisher and all of them had good things to say about it . I realise it couldn't have been that good as non of them wanted to take it/me on but I grasp comfort wherever I can. Anyway, to get back to the point, I remembered BTL and the good things that had been said about it and I realised that without meaning to I had given up on it. It was like I had tucked it up in bed and forgotten to get it up in the morning. So even though she might be late for school I got her out of bed and sent her on her way.
I have sent a synopsis and some sample chapters out to an agent that was recommended to me so I'll be keeping my fingers crossed.