*blows out the dust and spiders once more*
Yeah... this isn't a real blog post. But I really need to get around to writing one at some point. Maybe I will when I get back from the UL today (University Library) and have finished redrafting my dissertation. But then, there will be fireworks to attend... uh, you see how it is? Busy busy busy...
Anyway, a thrifty tip for you all:
Love a cup of tea, but worried by the expensive prices of tea bags? Try recycling them! You can usually get two cups of tea from one tea bag, especially if you're not keen on super strong tea.
That's it for now...but maybe I'll return...soon...
Friday, 5 November 2010
Wednesday, 21 July 2010
Pros and Cons
Hello everyone! I'm back for another blog...*waves to the empty space*.
In this month's blog, we have a series of pros and cons, which will be marked by +ve and -ve to summarise the current status of the writing dream...
+ve = my current novel is with a beta reader, who will give it lots of useful feedback and will hopefully catch any gaping plot holes in it that need major changes before heading on down to the nitty gritty of minor language usage.
-ve = she's had it for quite a while now and all that time is time that could have been used for getting down to the nitty gritty.
+ve = I've started writing a new novel...well, a very old novel re-written...the second in a trilogy that I've had in conception for about ten years. 7000 words into it now, so I think we can definitely say 'it's alive!'.
-ve = Writing something new is actually an excuse not to get down to the nitty gritty of editing my other novel...and considering that this is the sequel to a novel that is VERY unlikely to be published at any time soon, it's somewhat a waste of energy...
+ ve = I've been doing a lot of travelling. I've been to Edinburgh, land of J.K. Rowling, and I'm just back from my very first festival (Latitude), which was also a fantastic experience and my first taste of camping. Near future events include Paris and Vancouver, and voluntary work with children in August. It's all great life experience, which will be fantastic for developing me and consequently my novel writing. After drinking in a HUGE amount of comedy at Latitude, for instance, I thought: this is it, I'm going to be a comic, and my latest witticism came about on hearing that Cillit Bang is taking over Durex: BANG! And the sperm is caught! Oh dear, oh dear... (people not familiar with Cillit Bang, see their advertising campaign here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYYTlcdfr58).
- ve = All this is time consuming stuff and again gives me another excuse to avoid the evil editing of 'Zack'. Alas.
So, yes, it's a mixed bundle. I'm enjoying myself, of course, which is the main thing, but things like these always cost money, and on the down side, my writing's not really getting any closer to a position where it can start earning me money...
In this month's blog, we have a series of pros and cons, which will be marked by +ve and -ve to summarise the current status of the writing dream...
+ve = my current novel is with a beta reader, who will give it lots of useful feedback and will hopefully catch any gaping plot holes in it that need major changes before heading on down to the nitty gritty of minor language usage.
-ve = she's had it for quite a while now and all that time is time that could have been used for getting down to the nitty gritty.
+ve = I've started writing a new novel...well, a very old novel re-written...the second in a trilogy that I've had in conception for about ten years. 7000 words into it now, so I think we can definitely say 'it's alive!'.
-ve = Writing something new is actually an excuse not to get down to the nitty gritty of editing my other novel...and considering that this is the sequel to a novel that is VERY unlikely to be published at any time soon, it's somewhat a waste of energy...
+ ve = I've been doing a lot of travelling. I've been to Edinburgh, land of J.K. Rowling, and I'm just back from my very first festival (Latitude), which was also a fantastic experience and my first taste of camping. Near future events include Paris and Vancouver, and voluntary work with children in August. It's all great life experience, which will be fantastic for developing me and consequently my novel writing. After drinking in a HUGE amount of comedy at Latitude, for instance, I thought: this is it, I'm going to be a comic, and my latest witticism came about on hearing that Cillit Bang is taking over Durex: BANG! And the sperm is caught! Oh dear, oh dear... (people not familiar with Cillit Bang, see their advertising campaign here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYYTlcdfr58).
- ve = All this is time consuming stuff and again gives me another excuse to avoid the evil editing of 'Zack'. Alas.
So, yes, it's a mixed bundle. I'm enjoying myself, of course, which is the main thing, but things like these always cost money, and on the down side, my writing's not really getting any closer to a position where it can start earning me money...
Monday, 21 June 2010
On Facebook!
*testing*
Hey, I finally figured out how to get this thing to appear on my Facebook feed! *feels the connection* Perhaps now I'll get a person or two reading this thing, though there's no obligation, my friends. I wouldn't be a writer if writing depended on being read... -_-
Funny how everything is connected these days. I'm not on Twitter, because I haven't deserted Facebook yet, but most of the sites I visit link back to my Facebook: iPlayer, YouTube, now this blog... can't remember if there's anything else. I like it, most of the time, although sometimes, I don't want everyone on my Facebook friends reel to, say, know that I've liked a video. Not because it's anything bad, but perhaps slightly offbeat. I might be quite aware that something is terrible (crude filming, etc), but if it's vaguely related to Literature, it might still amuse me, and I might still want to give it some positive feedback. But I might not want to recommend it to all my Facebook friends, because most of them probably won't understand why I'd rate it. So then I have a bit of a dilemma.
But oh well. Look at me, writing two blogs in one day. I even started writing the opening of something that I've potentially considering developing into a new novel. I'm on fire... or perhaps I'm just bored...
Hey, I finally figured out how to get this thing to appear on my Facebook feed! *feels the connection* Perhaps now I'll get a person or two reading this thing, though there's no obligation, my friends. I wouldn't be a writer if writing depended on being read... -_-
Funny how everything is connected these days. I'm not on Twitter, because I haven't deserted Facebook yet, but most of the sites I visit link back to my Facebook: iPlayer, YouTube, now this blog... can't remember if there's anything else. I like it, most of the time, although sometimes, I don't want everyone on my Facebook friends reel to, say, know that I've liked a video. Not because it's anything bad, but perhaps slightly offbeat. I might be quite aware that something is terrible (crude filming, etc), but if it's vaguely related to Literature, it might still amuse me, and I might still want to give it some positive feedback. But I might not want to recommend it to all my Facebook friends, because most of them probably won't understand why I'd rate it. So then I have a bit of a dilemma.
But oh well. Look at me, writing two blogs in one day. I even started writing the opening of something that I've potentially considering developing into a new novel. I'm on fire... or perhaps I'm just bored...
Monday, 7 June 2010
Completed novel!
Hello! *blows out the dust*
Surprising how many spiders invade when you don't visit for a while...
Anyway! I just finished 'Zack'. It ended up totalling 68588 words. And because I like stats, that means I wrote 229 words on average per day, 10 words an hour, and 0.2 words a minute. Hehehe. More accurately, I tended to write a few thousand for a couple of days, then have a few weeks/months off...
It's likely that that word count will change in the editing process. At the moment, I feel it will grow, as I fear there's some work to be done on at least one character in the early stages of the novel, if possible.
I'm not too worried about the word count, even though it is probably 'over' what is recommended for YA. There are a couple of reasons. One is that I'm not even sure if it IS Young Adult. It feels too dark for a large part of the novel. I'm not sure. Another is that because it's a bit of a genreless blob floating on white space, it's probably not going to be a break-through novel... Hey, but I'm reasonably happy with it, and I think it will be a good one to read, even if I have to get another novel published before I can hope to get this one out in print.
The publishing world is a mean place. They want you to be original, but at the same time, they don't want you to be too dangerous, lest it flops. That's especially true if you're an unpublished author trying to break into the market.
Perhaps I'm just being pessimistic about my novel's chances, however. I'll run it through my writing circle this summer to see how it is received. Have I mentioned http://www.critiquecircle.com/ before? Without exaggerating, it's the most amazing place on the whole wide web. I've been a member for almost six years now...amazing how time flies.
It'll take about 20 weeks to get the novel through Critique Circle, chapter by chapter, taking us into November. After that, it'll be time to edit and decision time: do I bother trying to submit it? Hopefully, if I stick to the plan, and I do decide to go with it, then I'll get some submissions out in the new year. What a long process.
In the meantime, it's time to go back to the ideas folder. I have a vague idea of what I want to do next...
Surprising how many spiders invade when you don't visit for a while...
Anyway! I just finished 'Zack'. It ended up totalling 68588 words. And because I like stats, that means I wrote 229 words on average per day, 10 words an hour, and 0.2 words a minute. Hehehe. More accurately, I tended to write a few thousand for a couple of days, then have a few weeks/months off...
It's likely that that word count will change in the editing process. At the moment, I feel it will grow, as I fear there's some work to be done on at least one character in the early stages of the novel, if possible.
I'm not too worried about the word count, even though it is probably 'over' what is recommended for YA. There are a couple of reasons. One is that I'm not even sure if it IS Young Adult. It feels too dark for a large part of the novel. I'm not sure. Another is that because it's a bit of a genreless blob floating on white space, it's probably not going to be a break-through novel... Hey, but I'm reasonably happy with it, and I think it will be a good one to read, even if I have to get another novel published before I can hope to get this one out in print.
The publishing world is a mean place. They want you to be original, but at the same time, they don't want you to be too dangerous, lest it flops. That's especially true if you're an unpublished author trying to break into the market.
Perhaps I'm just being pessimistic about my novel's chances, however. I'll run it through my writing circle this summer to see how it is received. Have I mentioned http://www.critiquecircle.com/ before? Without exaggerating, it's the most amazing place on the whole wide web. I've been a member for almost six years now...amazing how time flies.
It'll take about 20 weeks to get the novel through Critique Circle, chapter by chapter, taking us into November. After that, it'll be time to edit and decision time: do I bother trying to submit it? Hopefully, if I stick to the plan, and I do decide to go with it, then I'll get some submissions out in the new year. What a long process.
In the meantime, it's time to go back to the ideas folder. I have a vague idea of what I want to do next...
Sunday, 17 January 2010
Career Advice
I love the entry for 'Writer' in a careers book I was given about a week ago. So much that I thought I'd share it with my very small audience:
Writer
For writers other than journalists, making a living purely from writing can be very difficult, so many writers, especially before they are established, have other careers as well. There are only a handful of people who become successful fiction writers or writers of really popular non-fiction such as biographies. There are some jobs for writers in residence within theatre organisations, prisons or university departments, but many of these posts are temporary contracts. Technical authors write user manuals and instruction books for anything from washing machines to computer software, and there are writers who specialise in writing textbooks and other teaching materials. Technical authors are often on permanent, or at least more secure contracts. Many writers of textbooks have other jobs in educations.
Oh well. At least they're honest. I have no idea what other career I want out of life, though...
In other news, 'Zack' has reached 20,000 words. A third of the way there! I have a real target now to finish it by the beginning of the summer, then edit it over summer, and hopefully get it sent out to some places in autumn. Working with (realistic) goals in mind is often a good technique.
Writer
For writers other than journalists, making a living purely from writing can be very difficult, so many writers, especially before they are established, have other careers as well. There are only a handful of people who become successful fiction writers or writers of really popular non-fiction such as biographies. There are some jobs for writers in residence within theatre organisations, prisons or university departments, but many of these posts are temporary contracts. Technical authors write user manuals and instruction books for anything from washing machines to computer software, and there are writers who specialise in writing textbooks and other teaching materials. Technical authors are often on permanent, or at least more secure contracts. Many writers of textbooks have other jobs in educations.
Oh well. At least they're honest. I have no idea what other career I want out of life, though...
In other news, 'Zack' has reached 20,000 words. A third of the way there! I have a real target now to finish it by the beginning of the summer, then edit it over summer, and hopefully get it sent out to some places in autumn. Working with (realistic) goals in mind is often a good technique.
Friday, 4 December 2009
10,000 words!
The latest novel has now reached 10,000 words! Something about that number is special to me, and perhaps because it's a marker. 5,000 was okay, but now we're into double figures in terms of thousands and it feels more solid. I have a weird phobia, whenever I begin to write, of running out of words (it's never happened so far), and it's always reaffirming to hit the targets and know there's still lots of the story left to tell. The next major one will be 30,000, which should mark about half way, because Zack (working title) is a Young Adult novel.
Word counts vary with target audience genre. As a general guide, 80-100,000 words is the usual for an adult novel, while 60,000 is a common one for Young Adult. Mid-grade tends to be 30-50,000. The largest influence in terms of genre is fantasy, which increases the limits quite a lot. But even if you're writing an epic fantasy novel, it's probably safer to stick closer to the advised word counts, if it's a first time novel. Once you're published, you have a lot more freedom to write the length you want. J.K. Rowling is a good example: after her first two books established her, the later ones grew longer each time... (until book 5 was probably too long...)
I'm not sure if Zack will be the breakthrough novel. Although it has been quite upbeat so far, it gets much darker very soon and doesn't end in particularly pleasant ways... But we shall see.
Word counts vary with target audience genre. As a general guide, 80-100,000 words is the usual for an adult novel, while 60,000 is a common one for Young Adult. Mid-grade tends to be 30-50,000. The largest influence in terms of genre is fantasy, which increases the limits quite a lot. But even if you're writing an epic fantasy novel, it's probably safer to stick closer to the advised word counts, if it's a first time novel. Once you're published, you have a lot more freedom to write the length you want. J.K. Rowling is a good example: after her first two books established her, the later ones grew longer each time... (until book 5 was probably too long...)
I'm not sure if Zack will be the breakthrough novel. Although it has been quite upbeat so far, it gets much darker very soon and doesn't end in particularly pleasant ways... But we shall see.
Friday, 11 September 2009
It begins!
Well, I've officially started writing a new novel about a character called Zack, 500 words and counting. As is usual for me, the genre is probably best described at YA fantasy, although it's quite different to the other 'successful' novels I've finished. The crucial difference is that it's set in our world, although Zack is quite an unusual human. It's been in my head for ... well, a few years, I think, although I still only have a vague sense of where it's going. My novels are often like that. I have a general sense of their direction, although nothing specific for what might happen along the way.
I wonder how long it'll take me to write? Will I complete it? I have far too many abandoned novels to be confident of myself in that respect. The last one I finished was for Nanowrimo, not last November, but the year before. Nanowrimo is a personal writing challenge. The aim is to write 50,000 words in a month, and for my mid-grade novel Between Time it was the perfect length.
I managed to complete Nanowrimo three years in a row between 2005-2007, with Between Time as the finishing success. However, since I've been at university, I just don't have time in November to take on the challenge. Last year, I attempted and managed to write about 4,000 words that were soon munched when my computer died (back up your work, people!) and this year, I know there's no point in attempting it. Not when I have dissertations and Middle English to wade through...
Anyway, I haven't told you much about Zack's story, although I'm never sure how much I should say on these blog pages. But if you feel like taking part in the Nanowrimo challenge (it's great for making you sit down and actually write), then the website is: www.nanowrimo.org.
I wonder how long it'll take me to write? Will I complete it? I have far too many abandoned novels to be confident of myself in that respect. The last one I finished was for Nanowrimo, not last November, but the year before. Nanowrimo is a personal writing challenge. The aim is to write 50,000 words in a month, and for my mid-grade novel Between Time it was the perfect length.
I managed to complete Nanowrimo three years in a row between 2005-2007, with Between Time as the finishing success. However, since I've been at university, I just don't have time in November to take on the challenge. Last year, I attempted and managed to write about 4,000 words that were soon munched when my computer died (back up your work, people!) and this year, I know there's no point in attempting it. Not when I have dissertations and Middle English to wade through...
Anyway, I haven't told you much about Zack's story, although I'm never sure how much I should say on these blog pages. But if you feel like taking part in the Nanowrimo challenge (it's great for making you sit down and actually write), then the website is: www.nanowrimo.org.
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