BLOGGETTE # 2

And Counting...
Well, there is not long to go and the pressure is mounting. We've had discussions in the NaNoWriMo forum on Writers Abroad about Outlining, Plotting and Point of View. Yesterday I concentrated on my characters as for me, this is the way to drive the story and therefore the plot. There are writers who disagree and that's fine. There is no definable template for writing. Sometimes that can be frustrating, sometimes its the freedom that makes all the difference. We really wouldn't want it any other way. So I have been delving into my characters traits and habits, interviewing them for the job and fleshing out those bits of their character that make them come alive on the page. Some of them don't have names yet, but that will come. I love using the Zodiac to help me think about characters, so when I've defined their birth date, I look up their star sign. This can give you an indication of their physical attributes, their behaviour and personality, their likes and dislikes, what they are like as  a lover, friend, parent and what kind of ailments they are prone to. Of course as in real life, characters will not all meet the definitions, but that's what makes character real. Being People. So onto the next task. Settings...


Until Tomorrow (is that a line of a song?)...

NANoWriMo BLOG POSTS

Now Known as Blogettes...
I know, I failed at the first post but I do have good reasons not for posting yesterday. Like all writers I have a life of other responsibilities and pressures. And, as I am told by many of my friends at Writers Abroad - family come first and so they should. 


So back to normal (of a sorts) today and as I promised on Monday I'm going to try and post a little snippet every day leading up to and during NaNoWriMo. A kind of diary I suppose. I have called these entries, 'Blogettes'. I'm sure there is another word for it but that will do for now. 


Yesterday I spent the afternoon writing with pencil in my 'bible'. This is a journal (large, hard backed, A4 and lined) where I start to record all my thoughts about the novel, my next Work In Progress. For NaNoWriMo I'm writing a novel based around the rumours that surround the 5th Duke of Portland and his double life. It's mostly fiction of course, but the facts are pretty fascinating in themselves and I'm not going to reveal all yet.
Suffice to say I sketched out a rough journey of the novel, listed the main characters, produced a very sketchy time line (most helpful in identifying some of the plot lines) and started a character portrait of the main character, the Mad Duke. I have yet to define a working title... but hope to have done so by the end of today.


So there you have it. My first Blogette...
Until Tomorrow.

COUNTDOWN

To NaNoWriMo
This will not be a long post, suffice to say that the deadline for the beginning of NaNoWriMo is less than a week away (Monday 1 November). I've spent the weekend reading about outlining, from snowflakes to phases, plot to character and downloaded two software programmes. Panicking? Me? Well that might be putting it mildly but I don't feel as though I'm prepared at all, I have characters and scenes and settings just floating around in the empty space between my ears. Calm down, I hears you say... Take some deep breaths... Close your eyes and now breath out...
Feeling better? No, but a little calmer and now I shall go and outline something, even it it may turn into this weeks shopping list. I will try and post a little every day, just to let you know (and convince myself) what is happening in my quest to get ready for this years event. I love it once I get there but it's the anticipation!
We are in this together remember!

OUTLINING YOUR NOVEL

NaNoWriMo Preparation
Okay, so a little more than a week until November 1st and I'm panicking. The thing is with NaNoWriMo is preparation, preparation, preparation. The cries of  'it can't possibly be done' only apply if you start on November 1st. The key is in the planning. And those of you who know me will be familiar with my planning. It's a kind of frenzied planning which usually fizzles and pops and then... panic. Sheer blind panic. Not this time though. This time I am going to plan properly and thoroughly so that I can get right into the writing come a week on Monday.
So I've asked my friends over at Writers Abroad what methods they use, I've spent the whole morning Google -ing 'outline templates' on the web and this afternoon been flicking through my reference books on writing. What I have come to realise is that the more planning you do... the more saturated you become with your story. It's helping me to thrash out where I want to go. I used to believe (in my very early days) that writers just sat down and... well wrote. I had a very 'romantic' view of novelists and admired them for their creativity and ability and believed that I would never, ever be able to call myself a 'real writer'. How daft was I? But I don't think I'm alone in my rosy view of writing and actually I don't think it would be the same. I like all the angst, the whole kit and caboodle. It just wouldn't be the same if I just sat down and it happened. Would it? 
Next week I'll let you know how I got on with my outline... 

ARE EBOOKS THE FUTURE?

Maybe Part of the Future

Those of you who know me will not be surprised that I don't believe that E books are the future. I'm a Luddite when it comes to books. I love the whole experience, from browsing in musty, dusty bookshops to opening that first page and breathing in the smell of words on paper. For me its a sensual thing. It uses all of my senses, not just my sight. However, I do think that E books and the machines that are needed to read them, have a place. I would never say 'never' and I do feel that the technological developments that have happened over the last say... ten years have probably done more for writers than anything in the last 50 years. But I think there is a place for both, I don't believe that one will replaced the other, just as much as I don't think that there isn't another way. It's just not my way. 

Having said that Writers Abroad will be producing an Anthology of Short Stories in support of National Short Story Week in November. The deadline was last Friday and all members have been busy reading and scoring stories received from all over the world. The Anthology will be made freely available via a PDF, so score one for E book fans, but I can't resist the temptation to hold a copy of WA's First Anthology in my sweaty little hands. It just wouldn't have the same sort of 'sigh' factor for me, that sense of satisfaction from flipping through something I have helped to create. So I'm not going to climb aboard the bandwagon against E books, but I'm not giving up on the paperbacks or hardbacks either.

I think there is room for all of us.

More later...

National Write A Novel in A Month

Friday Report
Well, my report this week is all about a Work in Progress which is just at the beginning. I'm sure many of you are aware that in November, thousands and thousands of writers have their noses to the writing grindstone and collectively churn out millions of words. All in the name of NaNoWriMo - shorthand for National Write a Novel in a Month. 


This will be my third year, the first I didn't register and managed to complete All Will Be Well by completing around 35k words and last year I started  The Promise and wrote 56k word within 30 days. Many writers I speak to gasp in awe at this feat and prior to joining the merry gang, I think I did too. Whilst I would never say it is easy, what I did find out having dipped my toe into the mill pond, was that it provided me with great incentive to get writing. An incentive which far outstrips any other pressure I put on myself throughout the year. 


So why is that I wonder? I'm not sure its probably one of many things.

• Firstly because you literally sign up to it I found that small action sealed my obligation. Like a contract if you like (I wish!) and can daily upload your word count - you see your work growing. 
• Secondly averaging out the word count to meet the overall target of 50k words made it more achievable, its a little over 1600 if you write every day. So not a mammoth task.
• Thirdly I realised that this wasn't the end of the process, it was merely the beginning (something I've learnt post event) so it freed me up to just write what came along and not to worry about the inner editor, so I switched her off. Well onto silent mode anyway.
• Finally it's a group thing, you can sign up with buddies, read posting on forums, even connect with people writing in your genre, to see what obstacles and solutions they are experiencing.

For me it's been one of the most useful ways to spend November, the veggie garden has been put to sleep, the animals are snuggling down in semi-hibernation and dark mornings mean I can linger longer in bed with pen and paper. 
So give it a go, it doesn't matter whether you hit the target or not, what does matter is that you write...


Next week I'll share how I prepare myself for this writing extravaganza.
Best Wishes,

Publication

Is Worth the Wait

I wondered today as I held an anthology with one of my stories in it, if writers continued to get the 'buzz' each time with publication? It really is a special feeling and one that is fairly new to me and I just love it. Maybe I'm self indulgent but the knowledge that someone has chosen your work, paid you for it and invested time and money to reproduce it for others to read is just the greatest accolade I think I've ever had. 

In a previous life, I used to be nurse. Very different reward systems but also very similar. The work was hard but extremely satisfying, the pay was pretty dire but the end result if positive, was always very rewarding. It felt an honour to be part of someone's life and to help them climb over their obstacles. However, it wasn't without its disadvantages and was, for a young adult, very emotionally draining. This experience I think helps guide my writing and helps provide me with the motivation to keep trying. Because the result is always, always worth it.

So the image above is the front cover of the anthology entitled 'Mosaic' printed by Bridge House Publishing. The theme for the anthology was open and so the twenty four stories are all very different and moving for a number of reasons. Fellow Writers Abroad member, Susan Palmquist, is also featured.  Another feather in our cap! Copies are available from the publisher and Amazon... and that's onto another element of writing life. Self Marketing. But enough for now.

Catch up later in the week...

HAPPY ENDINGS?

End of Week Progress Report

I've put All Will Be Well to one side this week. I need to let things settle, the ripples soften out and accept some of the hard decisions I made during the analysis. Well, I say that but I've been thinking about it a lot (which to my mind is part of the writing process, but that's another story). A week on and it still feels like I've made the right decisions so I'm sure that must mean something. I shall now set a plan for the bits I need to rework, those I need to write from fresh and at the same time maybe look at some new markets for submission. 

The biggest dilemma I have at the moment is whether to change the ending. In the draft I have two major characters who I kill off. Now as many members at Writers Abroad know I am good at killing people off. But their feedback has always been spot on and I think most of them who have read the synopsis would really like a hint of a happy ending. I know it doesn't really always reflect real life, but if that's what the readers want, should a writer give them what they want? I've mapped out different endings and I suppose at the end of the day, I have to just make a decision and go with it. Someone once told me I was good at doing 'sad' and I like reading 'sad' but I get a lot of enjoyment out of 'happy endings' too. And I'm hoping that my novel will find its happy ending , hopefully on the shelves of some major book store. Well you have to dream, don't you?

Catch up next week...