“an average or typical man” (or in this case a woman)
I hope that the writing will be a little more than average or typical but the main thing being that Jo will Blog.
I've just finished critiquing a 100,000 word historical novel written by a Canadian writer called Nancy. In return, she has critiqued my first novel All Will Be Well which I am currently seeking an agent for. It has been quite an enlightening process for me. I read Nancy's work not just as a reader but as a fellow writer wanting to provide some constructive feedback. That kind of changes your relationship with the book but on the other hand provides a rich insight into the craft of writing. Now finishing the critique has almost took up three whole days of this week and I've probably spent at least three times that reading and writing comments. I'm a luddite, I have to print and then read and then comment and then type... so it's a bit like a snails pace for me. But the experience has been a positive one and quite an enlightening one, Nancy writes erotica as well as mainstream (the novel I critiqued was for submission to Harlequin/Mills and Boon). Boy can she write the bedroom stuff! Check out her website at E Jamie if you dare...
Three Cheers For.... The Highs and Lows of my Writing Week
Novel critiqued and feedback provided to Nancy! :)
My novel critiqued and positive feedback :) :) :)
Only one submission to Suite 101 this week, due to commitments I've already talked about. This article talks about the importance of Staff Induction :/
About 500 words written for the 5 minute Write Everyday prompt - will get back into sync next week
Three queries submitted but not just that, revised and amended and rewritten even more specifically for target market.
Planning for October completed - and as usual HUGE expectations!!
Three blog posts uploaded - this being the third. I try not to let this one slip
Queries that Bounce As you know, I regularly submit at least three non-fiction queries per week and have been doing so for some time now. They cover a variety of topics related to my hobbies and passions including; writing, history, gardening, health and pets. Now there is one area which I practiced at as a professional (and a fairly well paid professional) for some time before my escape to the good life. Thats the area of Human Resources and Training and Development. These queries are the least successful, indeed I've been published in all of the other categories bar this one? I wonder why that is? Maybe I don't put enough effort into the query or come across as a 'know it all'? I don't know. But the articles in this category which I publish on Suite 101 are probably the most popular? Weird isn't it? Maybe its the medium. So now I'm plotting out an Ebook with all these articles in it. Lets see what happens. The thing is I'd much rather be writing about the stuff you can make up...
Three Cheers for! (or is it Boo Hiss?)
So despite my frustration with non-fiction queries what has gone well (and not so well) in my life as a jobbing writer?
Fourth (maybe fifth) rejection recieved for All Will Be Well as previously noted : Acceptance of non-fiction piece on female aviators On a Wing and A Prayer - Best of British Magazine :)
Two Suite 101 articles published. The first was Grandparenting From A Distance based on a more comprehensive piece published in Overseas Living. The second was Writing Academic Papers based on my experience as Editor for Emerald Publishing
Short Story completed called Love Online submitted to Writing Magazine for their Love Story Competition
Critique completed for Writers Abroad and ongoing critique of novel for critique partner Queries, blogs and admin completed
Outline of first chapter for HQN competition
Research almost completed (well is it ever?) for WIP The Promise
Current Work: Queries, drafting and Writing Group Exercise Listening to: The sounds of the printer - I've been busy! Reading:The Scenes Behind the Museum by Kate Atkinson
Exercising your writing hand
As you know, I've recently set up an online writers group. We're a small crowd at the moment - four in total - but it seems to be working well. Part of the aim of the group is to complete exercises and submit them for feedback. We do this with short stories also which is so very helpful when you know that there is something missing, but not sure what. Anyway the reason for my babbling is that part of this helps you as a writer, to step out of your comfort zone, the world of what we know and what we're comfortable with and enter new horizons. It can be a little unnerving to say the least, but I think that utlimately it has to be a good thing as I might never try some of these things off my own bat. Well, I've reached the deadline for my submission of the latest exercise today and I still don't feel its good enough, but I'm in the same boat as everyone else, so I'll get on with it and forget it until our next meeting which is Monday. But go on, try something new, you might be surprised! I might start posting some of my stuff on here and see how it goes - now how brave is that!! only words at the moment... its the action that counts..
Three Cheers For...
A better week this week
Submission to Country Kitchen Magazine on the Health of the Nation. A piece about the role of the Ministry of Food during WWII
Query accepted on Grandparenting From a Distance for Overseas Living Magazine
Two articles submitted on Suite 101 on the History of Writing and the painter Edgar Degas - also recieved a little payment from them again this month
Submission of a short story 'My Little Warrior' to My Weekly Magazine
Submission of novel 'All Will Be Well' to two agents, one rejected (in a positive way!) so more agent research on the cards
Five queries pitched this afternoon
3000 words completed for 'The Good Life' work in progress
Short Story outline for a magazine competition
Submission of writing exercise for Writers Abroad (I promise this will be done)
Editing of an academic paper written by Swedish authors (not the easiest job)
Phew!...
Post Note, the damn blogger won't let me put in the 'Hooray' graphic so you'll just have to imagine that its there. Grrrr.....
Current Work: Still on catch up... seems endless and PC is playing up! Listening to: The printer churning out something Man Friday has produced Reading: The Broker by John Grisham
Writing In the Summer Months I always feel more inspired in the summer to get writing, make lots of plans to write and have the same opportunities to write. But somehow at the same time I find it more difficult to write. Having visitors is a welcome interruption to my routine and I have plenty of time to get things done - I even bragged last week about it making me more focused! It does to a certain degree, but the outputs never seem to materialise. I'm a bit plagued as I'm writing this as the PC has been on meltdown most of the day - it seems to get slower and slower and despite my cleaning it up and trying to run it on very little it just plays up. Which gets me mad and when I'm mad I can't write. The heat is also a little distracting and my writing brain seems to turn to mush around the middle of the day, but plenty of writers have the same dilemma, so there must be a way of getting around this. So what is all this preamble about? As you can see, this is the only entry this week, so I'm combining it all into one. Lack of sleep and visits to the beach and airport and cooking for two young men who have the appetites of an elephant (do elephants have large appetites?) has scuppered my plans this week.
Book Worm Echo Burning by Lee Child
Genre: Its a thriller, crime sort of thing Characters:Jack Reacher (of course) he's an ex military man with a habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He's big, clever and not afraid of anything it would seem. He's a great protagonist and I really have a clear view of him sort of Hugh Jackman type of thing... oooerr that's got me all of a spin. Then there's Carmen, a Mexican woman he meets and her daughter and a host of other not so nice people. Oh yes, there's a lesbian lawyer called Alice (I think) who sounds pretty cool. Plot: Well, as in all Jack Reacher novels there are good guys and bad guys and Jack is a good guy who sorts out the bad guys. Sometimes there's a bit of romance, sometimes the love interest just doesn't work out and you end up feeling sorry for poor Jack. But essentially he's a one man operative and I don't think anyone could tie him down. Quick Summary: I've only just got into these novels, my Man Friday and his two youngest sons love them. They have a typical format and very stylised, but as I said you get to know and love Jack Reacher and want to know where he's going to end up next. This had an interesting addition of a small kid which isn't very common in these stories. Recommendation:Definitely a yes, even if you don't think you like the genre - try it.
Confucius Says...Comments on the Life of a Writer
Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.
- Helen Keller
Three Cheers For... (well there has to be something? Doesn't there?)
Submitted five queries - yes that's 5, one was rejected last week and so I just winged it straight off somewhere else, and another was a follow up I just decided to submit somewhere else because of time constraints
One article submitted to Suite 101 on the principles of Lunar Gardening - it was really interesting researching this article as I sort of operate a kind of moon practice here at Casa Grotta - seems to do OK.
Spent a considerable time editing an academic paper written by Swedish authors, always quite a difficult process as you don't want to alter their style or message - still very satisfying
I hope to get the rest of the All Will Be Well manuscript uploaded on the writing software I have so I'm putting this in as a potential
Have done lots of research about submitting manuscripts to Mills and Boon following a discussion at Writers Abroad with my writing pals!
Current Work: Planning for July Listening to: Nothing, the silence is pleasing Reading: Echo Burning by Lee Child
A New Month Approaches I've spent the morning reviewing this month (less said the better) and planning the next month (it will get better). The trouble is with this writing business is that it can be so up and down, but when I stop to think about it - its no different to any other job. Though I'm not sure I could call this a job, the hours are as flexible as contortionists limbs, the pay is infrequent and the conditions, well that's down to me and the best part of the job. Anyway, I've brushed myself down and given myself a good talking too and am now back on track. I've writing three A4 pages of actions and have renewed energy for the next writing saga. So the novel will be submitted to a second agent. The second novel The Promise will start to take shape and the third novel The Good Life will hopefully be well on its way to a completed first draft. I have also started to research a novella, based in Saxon times for the Historical Undone Series and have planned to submit two short stories. Phew!! That's without all the non-fiction stuff with Suite 101 and twelve queries a week. So there is plenty for me to wield my inky pen with. We have relatives staying but that's OK, sometimes having these kind of distractions helps me to focus a little quicker and a little smarter. So onwards and upwards - things can only get better as the song tells us!
Book Worm Sorry, haven't finished the book yet, though had a good slug of reading time on Sunday. Will have finished by next week, promise
Confucius Says... Quotes on Writing "For a long time now I have tried simply to write the best I can. Sometimes I have good luck and write better than I can."
Current Work: Queries, Admin and Research Listening to: A Classic FM CD - very pleasant too! Reading: Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates (hard going)
Writers Block I don't tend to go with the Writers Block theory. I think that sometimes we don't know what to say but believe we can always write soemthing even if it's just a load of drivel. A little like this blog I suppose. I have sat here at my laptop with my fingers poised for action and nothing to say. So I thought that I would write that I have nothing to say but of course I have, I've just written, wait a minute...107 words since I started to type. So whilst I believe that sometimes I struggle to find the right words, there are always some words to write. If you know what I mean. Anyway, I try to just write myself out of the block which doesn't always produce the words or end product I had in mind, but at least I'm writing.
Three Cheers For... It's been a tough week for my editing contract this week as we were short of an article. However with a concerted team effort, which included an author, we managed to ensure we had enough copy. But it has taken priority. As it should, I get paid for it.
Writing Group introductions have all been made and we're all feeling very positive about it.
Suite 101 article submitted Soldiers without Guns about the non-combatant role of women in the Secoond World War. Approximately 500 words.
Copy submitted to Diabetes Health about Diabetes and Travelling Abroad approximately 1500 words - another paid piece!
Copy submitted for approval to Dogs Monthly, approximately 1500 words
Query accepted for Writing Forum on the lessons learnt as a First Time Novelist!!
Short Story outline completed for competition deadline 22nd May (yes I know I like living near the edge)
Four queries prepared for submission by email
It's a really good feeling writing down what I've achieved over the week. I never feel as though I've done enough but when I look at the list, well I'm impressed. And thats not everything I do, research, emails, administration and looking after My Man Friday (yep, he needs looking after) and the 'estate'! Phew, makes me feel quite tired - think I'll go and lie down.
Current Work: Query submissions, admin and follow ups
Listening to: Donna Summer Love to Love You Baby
Reading: Bad Luck and Trouble (Lee Child) You Can Write a Novel (James Smith Jnr)
First Thought for the Day:
Knowing what / Thou knowest not / Is in a sense / Omniscience. -Piet Hein, poet and scientist (1905-1996)
Friday 13th
Well, lots of people get in lather when this particular date lands on a Friday. I don’t but it did get me thinking about superstitions when I got my journal out this morning. So I did a bit of free writing and have just submitted a query based on those ideas. My maternal grandmother was very superstitious and I can remember as I child thinking that I would be banished to hell if I ever made the mistake of doing something I shouldn’t. Hmm… I suppose they are like any other story, if they are told often enough they become more believable.
Writers Tools
I’ve written about my procrastination many times on this blog and it’s a cross I know I have to bear. On Wednesday I mentioned a piece of software that claims to help organise your novel. Well I have started to play around with it and after a couple of glitches (see the technobabe entry for a bit of background on my IT skills) it seems fairly straightforward and I can see why it might be helpful. I need to use it a little more before I mention here though. But the reason I mention procrastination is because on the website where I found this particular item, there are many tools and toys to play with and guess what? Yup, I wasted probably at least an hour playing about with them. They are not something I would use on a PC – one was a brainstorming tool- but it gave me an excuse not to do something else.
Something for the Weekend?
Well, for me it looks like it is going to be a very snowy one. We’ve already had two storms and although the sun is shining brightly the temperature is low and the weather man says ‘neve, neve’. So no gardening then, maybe some rugby and definitely some reading then. And if the whim takes me, I may do a bit more outlining of a new idea I have for another novel – I did a bit of research this week and it has me hooked and… I need to make up an hours worth of procrastination.
And Finally, the Last Word of the Day:
canard
PRONUNCIATION:
(kuh-NAHRD)
MEANING:
noun:
1. A deliberately misleading story; hoax.
2. An airplane with small forward wings mounted in front of the main wings; also such a wing.
ETYMOLOGY:
From French, literally a duck. The term is said to have come from the French expression vendre un canard à moitié (to half-sell a duck, or to take in or swindle).
USAGE:
"Lyndon Johnson's half-truths about the Gulf of Tonkin, supported by subservient media, embroiled the United States in a nasty war that took the lives of millions of souls. Ultimately, the Vietnam War's distortions and canards prevented him from running for a second term."
Mansour El-Kikhia; Realists Conquer Politics With Lies; San Antonio Express-News; Nov 28, 2003.
Listening to: Italian radio to improve my understanding
Reading: Fleshmarket Close (Ian Rankin), old diaries
First Thought for the Day:
A time will come when a politician who has wilfully made war and promoted international dissension will be as sure of the dock and much surer of the noose than a private homicide. It is not reasonable that those who gamble with men's lives should not stake their own. -H.G. Wells, writer (1866-1946)
Friday Fumbling
It’s been a strange day, they very often are here! I and my Man Friday are still trying to get to grips with the Italian Health System. Today we were up at a sparrow’s song, in the dark as MF had to have an eye examination. The poor chap suffers from Type 2 Diabetes and this is one of the regular checks he has to have, the service is very good and very similar to the UK, just with a few (or should I say many) misunderstandings. We reached the hospital at 7.30 am (no 9-5 here) and the waiting room was full of octogenarians smiling a toothless grin at the stranieri (foreigners). Anyway it turned out that he should have other tests before this one and now we have had to rearrange it for next month.
You may well be asking what all this has got to do with writing? Well, I for one believe in making everything an opportunity for writing and this will be no different. I managed to scribble a few character sketches, add more to a piece I’m putting together on our experience which will also fuel the novel in progress. So never look a gift horse in the mouth – OK enough of the cliché’s they get a bit boring but sometimes they just tumble out.
Weekly Assessment
Not bad, I’d say 8/10. Not bad for the Queen of Procrastination? I have lots of red ticks in my diary against actions (it’s a lovely feeling – sad aren’t I?). I’ve started editing my draft novel which feels strange but its lovely to get together with it again and the characters feel as fresh as when I was writing about them.
Today is my query and admin day, though with the trip this morning I’m running a little late and we have to go out again in about 10 minutes.
Plans for the Weekend
I like weekends. Sunday particularly as I try as much as I can to keep it sacred (to me and my other half, not for any other reason). If we’ve had a Red Cross parcel from my dad, I’ll demolish the reading material or catch up on the novel on my bedside table. I’ve just finished a biography about Rosalind Franklin, the silent but considerable contributing scientist to the discovery of DNA which led to a Nobel Prize. Not for poor Rosalind though, it’s a fascinating read, not only because of how women were viewed at the time but also because she was the great Aunt of my brother in law! And he’s brainy too!
Dogs are also on the weekend agenda. Bertie’s sister is coming to stay for another week and we’ve been bracing ourselves! Lots of exercise thought to balance the overindulgence with the vino rosso!
Until later….
And Finally, the Last Word of the Day:
nubilous
PRONUNCIATION:
(NOO-buh-luhs, NYOO-)
MEANING:
adjective: 1. Cloudy, misty, or foggy. 2. Vague or obscure.
ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin nubilosus (cloudy), from nubes (cloud).
USAGE:
Antonioni is probably best known for Blow-Up, a nubilous 1966 drama set in swinging London about a fashion photographer who comes to believe that a photograph he took of two lovers in a public park also shows, hidden in the background, evidence of a murder."
Rick Lyman; Michelangelo Antonioni, Subversive Filmmaker; International Herald Tribune (Paris, France); August 1, 2007.
"All of which nubilous musing serves little purpose, except to show that cloud-gazing, as a way of passing time, has appealed to all humanity since the earliest of times."
Andy Drought; We Really Don't Know Clouds At All; The Herald (Glasgow, UK); Oct 27, 2001.
Current Work: Non-Fiction article, Fiction editing, job application
Listening to: The dog chewing on a bone
Reading: Rosalind Franklin, Fleshmarket Close (Ian Rankin)
First Thought for the Day The souls of emperors and cobblers are cast in the same mold. The same reason that makes us wrangle with a neighbor creates a war betwixt princes. -Michel de Montaigne, essayist (1533-1592)
Wednesday Wobbles? Well, not wobbles really. The week seems to be going quite well. The other half is working in the freezing office downstairs, and I’m up in the warmer place with a snoring dog at my feet. Not a bad deal is it?
I have uploaded my weekly article to Suite 101 on Health Facts from World War II. I find it quite fascinating that during such hard times, with a lot of personal loss and life happening out with your control, that people were probably healthier then than before (and probably even now). And, they sort of got on with things, supporting one another and refusing to have their spirits broken. Perhaps we all have something to learn, not just health wise but to stay positive whilst all around you there is chaos. Well, that’s my soapbox bit. It’s good to get it off my chest.
Up For Sale I’ve been updating my CV this week (or is it called a resume?). I never know what to call the damn thing…). There is an opportunity for another editing job at a publishing house where I already have a couple of small contracts. I haven’t done a CV or sold myself in this very formal way for some time. But that got me thinking. I’m continually trying to sell myself (well my work, my skills that is) on a regular basis, putting out queries, submitting manuscripts and plodding the virtual footpaths to find an agent. It takes time and some careful editing to get your message across succinctly and clearly. What really amazes me is the amount of ‘stuff’ I’ve actually done. It’s a sort of wow moment when I read it again to make sure I haven’t made anything up. Many of us, put ourselves down and concentrate on the rejections and failures rather than congratulating ourselves for our successes.
Wild Animals Apart from my all-encompassing passion for writing, I do enjoy other activities, which I think is important for writers, otherwise we can become a bit dull at the edges. One of them is taking the Bertie the Beast (our puppy - 3 months old and huge!) out for his daily walks. We take it in turns in the morning, he’s fully house trained but by 6.30 -7am, he has had enough. This morning it was my turn and looking out of the window, I groaned inwardly. It was misty, with a very light drizzle. The grey, gloomy light did not look inviting. Anyway, after Bertie has gobbled up his breakfast – this takes approximately five seconds – I don wellies and anorak and off we go into the nearby field. Bertie heard them first, his tail straight out behind him like a fishing rod and his small ears pinned back. Then I heard the snorts and scourging of the wild pigs, which are common here. I wouldn’t know what to do if one of them came out, I think I might faint, but then again I need to protect Bertie. Anyway I made a lot noise handclapping and calling to the puppy. The rustling got louder as did my heartbeat and then nothing. The pigs had scurried off the other way. With a sigh of relief and a welcome lick from Bertie, we did our rounds and returned to our warm and safe casa.
Finally, the Last Word of the Day:
newel
PRONUNCIATION:
(NOO-uhl, NYOO-)
MEANING:
noun: 1. A centre column that supports the steps of a spiral staircase. 2. A post supporting the handrail of a staircase.
ETYMOLOGY:
From Middle English nowel, from Middle French nouel (kernel), from Late Latin nucalis (nutlike), from Latin nuc-, nux (nut).
USAGE:
"Midway through the stair project he appeared with a solid pine stair newel, stripped and sanded."
Mary Meier, A Millworker's House Remade, The Boston Globe, Feb 24, 2000.
Publication at Last! Well, I'm just 'chuffed' to pieces (it's a northern term I was told by a guy from Sheffield). As well as the piece I talked about last week, I have had a feature written and accepted within a week of my first query. That's going some by any standard I'd say. Last Friday (after I'd written my blog) I whizzed of a query to a publication I'd read about in Writing Magazine. On Monday the Editor accepted my pitch and asked for copy asap as (luckily for me) my query complimented a feature they were already working on. I submitted the feature last night and the purchase order arrived in the post today! Wow, now that's fast work. I can't take all the pomp and glory though, as I must acknowledge the input from my Man Friday as this was a first person piece about a personal experience of ours. Writing features first person was harder than I thought, especially when I have been writing very factual, tight pieces for e-publication. It has been a very refreshing and thoroughly enlightening experience. I realise that this might not be the general experience of many writers but I feel like making myself one of those name badges with ' I'm a Writer' written on it!
The second feature I talked about has been submitted, but now there are a few issues with images (not my strong point I must admit, but I'm learning fast!) Anyway it seems to be ticking along...
Finally we have more relatives arriving (for the majority of October in total) so I've been trying to plan out some targets for the next month. I've written almost 36,0000 words towards my novel and at the moment the characters are living with me day and night. I've never quite had this 'invasion' and it feels really good and just like how I've heard other writers talk about the writing process. I have some way to go though, to get achieve my deadline for November and whilst I had planned for the beginning, I'm now thinking that the end (of November) is more realistic. Anyway the way my characters are behaving - they won't leave me in peace until I tell it how it is!
Finally on the Bedside Table I finished The Road Home - absolutely fabulous read and a fairly happy ending (I like happy endings...) but it had some real 'aha' moments for me, especially about some of the hardships immigrants can face. I am now reading The Chimney Sweepers Boy by Barbara Vine and it has me hooked. Its about a writer and his family and secrets and it really is a classic page turner. I've never read any of hers before but I shall definitely be looking forward to other titles.
