WRITING SYSTEMS

Organising Writing Projects
When I first started writing I didn't think I needed a system. Going out to work every day seemed systematic enough and I wanted to just write. Which is fine. But if you are like me you may suddenly remember something you wrote aeons ago but have an idea about how you can develop it, or you need to find that particular bit of information that is critical to a particular place in your novel, or you have a deadline approaching (last minute of course) and can't remember where you 'filed' your ideas - it all becomes a bit stressful. 
After I had completed my first novel (an achievement in itself) I wrote an article which was published in Writers Forum about the 7 (and a half) things I would do differently. Organising my information, sources, ideas, notes, thoughts, links and  anything else that related to the story, was one of those things. Having finished my second novel (well the first draft) I have put some of that into practice through a simple system of manual filing in one place. It still took me time to sift through the info to find what I wanted, so now I have made sections for particular pieces of information so I can access it quickly. It speeds the process up but better than that, it reminds me of things that I'd forgotten to include and prompts me to ask if they were important. For example, I made pages of notes about Red Cross parcels when researching prisoner of war camps. There is a significant part in the story which highlights the importance of these deliveries for my main character but I have skipped through it. But now I have the information at my fingertips (more or less) I can re-write that section and improve that particular scene for the reader - well that's the theory. 
I know , like the best time for writing, that there isn't a 'right' answer. We writers have to test out what works for us. That might be an index card system, or a dedicated journal or a box of paper napkins with scribbles on (it would have been a fag packet not so long ago) but whatever your preference, however loose it may be, I'm willing to bet that it works for you.


Don't Think Just Write


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FRESH START

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."

~ Ernest Hemingway

PIC 'N MIX?

Current Work: Editing (priority), non-fiction (light relief), blog (gossip)
Listening to: The news on Radio 4 - another shooting, depressing
Reading: The Fastest Way to Write Your Book by Dave Haslett

Midweek Assessment:
I'm plodding on with the first edit of my novel and regularly adding to printed scenes in an A4 folder. My Man Friday is very bravely reading them through and making very encouraging remarks. I really do value his input. (I know, I'm a soppy old thing, but it's true. He would and will be critical, I know.) W

We, and that is Louise and Charles of this relationship, are working hard on the flit lit draft. Its great fun as it is based loosely on our experiences. Its been great to revisit memories and places and then give them a bit of a literary twist to make it funnier, sadder, (though I remember it being funny and sad enough!). My Man Friday reads me out little snippets which have us rolling about in laughter and we talk about consistencies, character development and plot. It really is great writing with someone else. I must admit I was a little worried at first but its really working well. Famous Last Words? Maybe, but there you go.

I've also managed to submit my latest edition to Suite 101 about Captain Joshua Slocum, an American/Canadian writer and adventurer who sailed around world solo and disappeared at sea.

My main theme of this blog is that variety is good. Whilst I'm doing one thing, I'm mulching or developing something else in my mind. It refreshes my mind and also relieves the tedium sometimes involved in editing - searching for that word, deciding on punctuation and checking facts. I must admit I do like all parts of the writing process though. It means that no one day is ever the same as the next. It suits my nature. What about you?

The book I'm reading at the moment is a piece of inspiration I must say. And I've only read the introduction...

TIME IS TICKING BY

Current Work: Queries, novel editing and admin

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.

WAR AND WILDLIFE

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.

THE STORY SO FAR

Thought of the Week

“Like stones, words are laborious and unforgiving,

and the fitting of them together, like the

fitting of stones, demands great patience

and strength of purpose and particular skill." ~ Edmund Morrison - Author

The Good and the Bad

Number of words in Journal : 5750

May not all be usable but… words all the same

Number of short stories: 1

Submitted to The Peoples Friend – following a rejection letter I received from them earlier in the month. At least they replied.

Number of queries and pitches: 1

Submitted proposal for HR on Elance though have not been successful with any bids to date

Number of articles : 1 (Suite 101)

follow the link if you are interested in Galileo

Number of rejections : 2

I think, for magazine articles. On the positive side it looks like the pitches have been read and there seems to be a genuine interest, however, wrong time, wrong place

Time-wasting activity level : 5/10

I spent a couple of hours looking at websites that looked interesting and then are not but followed links to even less interesting sites. Went through my ‘How to’ File and realised that I should consult it before sending off short stories.

I’m not going to share with you the number of glasses of wine consumed or banned foodstuffs ingested but I love a ‘rosso’ and Bounty bars (hard to come by in Italia).

May the Force be with you…

Having finally sorted out a pile of photographs on the PC and catalogued them into some sort of meaningful manner, I have quite a few images, which may have some potential. So, I duly spent an hour plus, looking at relevant markets and gathering my pitching skills for attack. However, I nearly had a major tantrum when all the images, which I had ‘burned’ to CD, with the help of my ‘Man Friday’, all disappeared! And I had emptied the recycle bin. I tried very hard to contain my despair, but not all was lost, so to speak, as my wonderful Man Friday saved the day and rediscovered them. Needless to say they are all now back safely on the hard drive and on the spare lap top and under the settee. Technology – it drives me bonkers but seems to be the driving force.

Novel Beginnings

Well as you can see from my weekly word count, things are progressing. I can’t at this stage vouch for the quality of the writing - that is if I can read what I’ve written. I’ve taken to writing my journal in bed, first thing in the morning as it has been so hot here in my adopted home, its messed up my sleep patterns. Trouble is my lovely Man Friday, not yet accustomed to my presence and requirement for uninterrupted silence, often starts to make conversation just as I am in mid flow. I should imagine it is rather like other premature interruptions, where the satisfaction level is never quite recovered. However, with regular beatings and the odd hard look, I’m sure he will learn very quickly.

Joking apart, I am actually quite pleased with the progress and have never felt quite so in touch with my star character. I have also completed quite a bit of research, which has been ambling along for an eternity, and I’m sure that has helped.

In terms of short stories, I have made a pact to start writing/editing at least one a week and to have a target of submitting one per week and that includes resubmissions of previous stories. As you may know, my tendency for procrastination may mean this will take a while to get going but at least I’ve set a target! The one I am working on now is called Chasing Rainbows, and once I’ve plucked up the courage I may even post a few.

To Be or not to Be

I’ve worked quite hard at generating ideas for articles and the non-fiction writing I am trying to get going. I like this style of writing because it’s factual and I’m quite interested in things and people. Having to date written 15 four hundred-word articles for Suite 101 I was thinking maybe, I could use these as a basis for longer articles. I’m also going to concentrate on three or four markets rather than spread my wings too far (or my butter too thinly). I know there are advantages and disadvantages but I think a bit of focus would suit me better. So as a recovering procrastinator (see earlier comment), I’m going to put this in black and white here in my blog and then report progress. Sorry if this gets boring, I will try and make it as entertaining as I can (eventually).

So for starters and in the spirit of ‘write what you know’:

• History – This of course includes biographies, anniversaries and special events, family genealogy and everything old!
• Health – well, with by background I couldn’t miss this one out but would like to include ‘body and soul’ kind of health here too
• Market No three – I haven’t decided on the title of this one yet but it would include business type things to do with human resources, organisational development and all those things I prattled on about in a previous life

On My Bedside Table (no, not strange pieces of boudoir equipment)

In this section, I will talk about and maybe review the current book I’m reading. As a young girl, I remember hiding under my duvet with a torch to finish the book I was reading- at that time anything from the Famous Five to The Valley of the Dolls (without the knowledge of my parents I hasten to add). This activity probably preceded my current need for reading glasses but well worth the sacrifice. Now it takes me much longer to read a book as I start analysing almost at the beginning – style, characters, plot, structure etc. and it can take a while for me to just get on and read. That is, after I have located my glasses by which time I’m ready to douse the light.

The book I am reading now is ‘Star of the Sea’ by Joseph Connor. I’m only a few pages in and it has a strange style but I’m persevering. Watch this space…