I've finished revising the first three chapters of Night of the Empty Moon, which were previously the first 2-and-a-scene chapters. I've added just over 4,000 words in total, out of 13,300 so I'm hoping this will have slowed the pacing somewhat!
I'm printing the re-done pages out now, to foist upon the long-suffering boyfriend. I'm planning to go into Peckham library tomorrow, grab a copy of the 2008 Writers' and Artists' yearbook, and pick the next round of lucky agents/publishers...
But for now, in celebration, I am going to drink some Madagascan rum. :-)
Saturday, 29 September 2007
Shifting Sands
Writers' News have now published my 2nd prize winning short story on their website:
http://www.writersnews.co.uk/showcase/hale/default.asp
I also got sent an unexpected £10 cheque from Woman's Weekly Fiction Special, for a poem I wrote a few months ago -- I'm expecting to see it in the next issue (coming out on Friday 5th).
Now I just need them to write and accept one of my short stories...
http://www.writersnews.co.uk/showcase/hale/default.asp
I also got sent an unexpected £10 cheque from Woman's Weekly Fiction Special, for a poem I wrote a few months ago -- I'm expecting to see it in the next issue (coming out on Friday 5th).
Now I just need them to write and accept one of my short stories...
Thursday, 27 September 2007
More 6am writing
I managed to get up at 6am on Tues/Weds/today too, and have just about been keeping up the notebook habit of 10 minutes twice a day. I'd run out of things to scribble in it this morning -- I'm mostly working on Draft Five of NotEM at the moment, so there's not a huge need for new ideas, just pounding away on the edits.
Yesterday evening I was very tired and didn't get much writing done (some notes and editing on a printout), but managed to considerably extend one of Rayst's scenes this morning before work, and have just done some editing and extending on Abela's chapel scene. I've rejigged the chapter breaks -- basically, the first three chapters have now been redivided into the first four chapters, then all the subsequent chapters are n+1 -- and I'm hoping that I can have the new first three chapters sorted out by the end of the weekend.
Then it'll be submitting time again...
In other news, I made a huge batch of mars bar crunchies (6 mars bars, a tube of smarties, two packets of malteasers and lots of butter and cornflakes) last night. Christ Church is having a coffee morning tomorrow, as part of a nationwide fund-raising event for MacMillan nurses. I sadly don't have enough leave left this year to want to take a Friday morning off at random but I thought I could at least contribute some cake!
Yesterday evening I was very tired and didn't get much writing done (some notes and editing on a printout), but managed to considerably extend one of Rayst's scenes this morning before work, and have just done some editing and extending on Abela's chapel scene. I've rejigged the chapter breaks -- basically, the first three chapters have now been redivided into the first four chapters, then all the subsequent chapters are n+1 -- and I'm hoping that I can have the new first three chapters sorted out by the end of the weekend.
Then it'll be submitting time again...
In other news, I made a huge batch of mars bar crunchies (6 mars bars, a tube of smarties, two packets of malteasers and lots of butter and cornflakes) last night. Christ Church is having a coffee morning tomorrow, as part of a nationwide fund-raising event for MacMillan nurses. I sadly don't have enough leave left this year to want to take a Friday morning off at random but I thought I could at least contribute some cake!
Monday, 24 September 2007
A looooong Monday
It feels like it should be Wednesday by now...
I got up at 6 (well, 6.05. At 6 I rolled over, groped for the alarm, and huddled back under the duvet). Managed to do 10 minutes writing in my notebook, and then about half an hour -- 5oo+ words -- to finish off the very hasty draft of the Boy Meets Girl short story. Thanks to the some musing during the day, I've figured out how I want to restructure and redraft it.
Ended up working late at the Day Job, which is in fairness very rare, so didn't leave until almost an hour later than usual. However, I was still on a writing high from having gotton up before it was light, so came home and sat down and edited Abela's first scene in Night of the Empty Moon to add in a second character, and a bit of background info, and lengthen it somewhat.
Didn't do much writing over the weekend; started Boy Meets Girl, did a 500-word exercise, that sort of thing.
Little Miss Sunshine on Friday was great. Very civilised, being able to take in a drink to a film, and the upstairs of the Nun's Head is a nice venue. It was a very funny, life-affirming movie, with wonderful larger-than-life characters.
We failed to get tickets for Merchant of Venice at the globe on Sat, so had a good long stroll around the Thames and the City instead.
On Sunday we were helping with Cafe Church. I can never quite believe how much washing up is produced at Church events...! The Boyfriend's dad joined us at church then took us for lunch at the Plough which was very nice (both the lunch and seeing Boyfriend's dad). Definitely a pub to frequent ... I think we've never been before as it is directly across the road from Church, and possibly rolling straight out of the service into the pub would spoil our good reputation with the lovely folk there. ;-)
I got up at 6 (well, 6.05. At 6 I rolled over, groped for the alarm, and huddled back under the duvet). Managed to do 10 minutes writing in my notebook, and then about half an hour -- 5oo+ words -- to finish off the very hasty draft of the Boy Meets Girl short story. Thanks to the some musing during the day, I've figured out how I want to restructure and redraft it.
Ended up working late at the Day Job, which is in fairness very rare, so didn't leave until almost an hour later than usual. However, I was still on a writing high from having gotton up before it was light, so came home and sat down and edited Abela's first scene in Night of the Empty Moon to add in a second character, and a bit of background info, and lengthen it somewhat.
Didn't do much writing over the weekend; started Boy Meets Girl, did a 500-word exercise, that sort of thing.
Little Miss Sunshine on Friday was great. Very civilised, being able to take in a drink to a film, and the upstairs of the Nun's Head is a nice venue. It was a very funny, life-affirming movie, with wonderful larger-than-life characters.
We failed to get tickets for Merchant of Venice at the globe on Sat, so had a good long stroll around the Thames and the City instead.
On Sunday we were helping with Cafe Church. I can never quite believe how much washing up is produced at Church events...! The Boyfriend's dad joined us at church then took us for lunch at the Plough which was very nice (both the lunch and seeing Boyfriend's dad). Definitely a pub to frequent ... I think we've never been before as it is directly across the road from Church, and possibly rolling straight out of the service into the pub would spoil our good reputation with the lovely folk there. ;-)
Friday, 21 September 2007
A very quick draft
I managed to draft a short story this evening, for Write Space's Forbidden Friends competition. The deadline's not until the end of October, but I've had the idea buzzing around my head for a while.
It's not come out onto the screen as I wanted it -- as usual when I write fast, I changed my mind quite a bit along the way -- and it's currently 200 words over the limit. Still, I'm pleased I managed to get it done; the last thing I feel like doing on a Friday evening is coming straight home to write! And 1,200 words in 45 minutes is pretty fast, so I'm not fussed that it needs lots of work yet.
We're going to see Little Miss Sunshine at our favourite local haunt, the Nun's Head, tonight -- it's a film I've been meaning to watch ever since it came out, as it had great reviews.
In other news, the boyfriend enrolled as a student at London Metropolitan today, marking the start of three years as a Law & Politics undergraduate. I bought him a very large mug to celebrate -- students can never have too many mugs...
It's not come out onto the screen as I wanted it -- as usual when I write fast, I changed my mind quite a bit along the way -- and it's currently 200 words over the limit. Still, I'm pleased I managed to get it done; the last thing I feel like doing on a Friday evening is coming straight home to write! And 1,200 words in 45 minutes is pretty fast, so I'm not fussed that it needs lots of work yet.
We're going to see Little Miss Sunshine at our favourite local haunt, the Nun's Head, tonight -- it's a film I've been meaning to watch ever since it came out, as it had great reviews.
In other news, the boyfriend enrolled as a student at London Metropolitan today, marking the start of three years as a Law & Politics undergraduate. I bought him a very large mug to celebrate -- students can never have too many mugs...
Thursday, 20 September 2007
Scene finished
I think that the new material needed for Chapter 1 is now done. I've managed to tie the preceding and following scenes together slightly more, and slow down the opening to the novel in general. I know traditional advice is start in the middle of things, which is what I tried to do, but the story jumped in so suddenly that it was liable to leave readers blinking in confusion...
Also did a 10-minute write, and scribbled some edits onto a print out of the as-yet-untitled entry for the Times's Ghost Story competition.
I finished reading Jasper Fforde's The Well of Lost Plots this evening; an excellent, hilarious, read, just like The Eyre Affair and Lost in a Good Book. He creates a very convincing world -- I don't think I will ever look at characters, plot devices and storytelling in quite the same way again... A lot of his books are half-price on Amazon at present if, like me, you want to stock up.
Also did a 10-minute write, and scribbled some edits onto a print out of the as-yet-untitled entry for the Times's Ghost Story competition.
I finished reading Jasper Fforde's The Well of Lost Plots this evening; an excellent, hilarious, read, just like The Eyre Affair and Lost in a Good Book. He creates a very convincing world -- I don't think I will ever look at characters, plot devices and storytelling in quite the same way again... A lot of his books are half-price on Amazon at present if, like me, you want to stock up.
Wednesday, 19 September 2007
655 words
Managed to write what I thought was a whole scene for Chapter One, Draft Five but now doesn't tie neatly into the scene after it ... drat. More words needed.
I want this novel to be finished.
I also want:
- No more random mood swings (have been close to tears -- for no reason -- far too much today)
- No day-job
- No rent to pay
Pah. It's been that sort of day. Skipped out on Nick and Boyfriend's pub trip this evening -- well, I went along and had a frugal diet coke, then I came home to eat soup and bread and crisps and dip and crackers and brie and a mini-milk and a malteasers ice-cream bar. (Not all at the same time, I assure you. And in fairly small quantities. And I went to the gym at lunch. But enough with the excuses...)
And I didn't get any extra writing done, though did read some more of Jasper Fforde's excellent The Well of Lost Plots.
Anyway, at least I didn't spend money in the pub. Rent is due in four days, and is looming over me...
I want this novel to be finished.
I also want:
- No more random mood swings (have been close to tears -- for no reason -- far too much today)
- No day-job
- No rent to pay
Pah. It's been that sort of day. Skipped out on Nick and Boyfriend's pub trip this evening -- well, I went along and had a frugal diet coke, then I came home to eat soup and bread and crisps and dip and crackers and brie and a mini-milk and a malteasers ice-cream bar. (Not all at the same time, I assure you. And in fairly small quantities. And I went to the gym at lunch. But enough with the excuses...)
And I didn't get any extra writing done, though did read some more of Jasper Fforde's excellent The Well of Lost Plots.
Anyway, at least I didn't spend money in the pub. Rent is due in four days, and is looming over me...
Tuesday, 18 September 2007
Night of the Empty Moon: Draft Five
After the long-suffering boyfriend read the whole of Night of the Empty Moon, we both agreed that the first 5 or 6 chapters are badly paced. The first two chapters, in particular, read as though they've had a few scenes lopped out and the remaining ones rushed...
I'm now trying to slow down the pacing of the first couple of chapters, which is hard going. I hoped I could add in and tweak some scenes from an earlier draft, but that draft doesn't exist anywhere in London. (It may be on a floppy disk somewhere in Oxford, or possibly printed out and in the bottom of an unlabelled box file. Oh, how I wish I'd kept better records!)
So this evening I was heavily reworking a scene which only existed in handwritten form on torn-out notebook pages. Luckily my handwriting is pretty legible. The first page was dated 11.02.03; four and a half years ago...
There's still a good way to go, but I have A Plan and hope to get it done with in the next fortnight. Especially now the boyfriend is free from Evil Phones4U and can shop/cook again. I had chucked Night of the Empty Moon firmly onto the "finished" pile after Draft Four, so it's hard getting back into it. But it needs doing. The first three chapters are the ones I keep hawking round agents, and I want them to be as good as possible.
I'm now trying to slow down the pacing of the first couple of chapters, which is hard going. I hoped I could add in and tweak some scenes from an earlier draft, but that draft doesn't exist anywhere in London. (It may be on a floppy disk somewhere in Oxford, or possibly printed out and in the bottom of an unlabelled box file. Oh, how I wish I'd kept better records!)
So this evening I was heavily reworking a scene which only existed in handwritten form on torn-out notebook pages. Luckily my handwriting is pretty legible. The first page was dated 11.02.03; four and a half years ago...
There's still a good way to go, but I have A Plan and hope to get it done with in the next fortnight. Especially now the boyfriend is free from Evil Phones4U and can shop/cook again. I had chucked Night of the Empty Moon firmly onto the "finished" pile after Draft Four, so it's hard getting back into it. But it needs doing. The first three chapters are the ones I keep hawking round agents, and I want them to be as good as possible.
Wednesday, 12 September 2007
Cheque from Writers' News
Hurrah! My cheque for the 2nd prize in Writers' News's "Sands of Time" competition arrived today. I'll post a link to the story once it's actually on their site.
I photocopied the cheque for posterity . . . yes, it will probably seem laughable one day, but it means a lot to me right now.
In other writing news, I:
- Did a 10-minute writing burst at 7am this morning (urgh)
- Redrafted the Ghost short story I'm doing for the Times' competition, and emailed it to a couple of kindly souls who will hopefully provide some comments
- Sent off my application to the arts council -- I'm trying to get a grant to write a new novel -- unlikely to hear anything before the end of October.
The Boyfriend has finally finished with Phones4U, as of today, to much rejoicing from both of us. :-)
I photocopied the cheque for posterity . . . yes, it will probably seem laughable one day, but it means a lot to me right now.
In other writing news, I:
- Did a 10-minute writing burst at 7am this morning (urgh)
- Redrafted the Ghost short story I'm doing for the Times' competition, and emailed it to a couple of kindly souls who will hopefully provide some comments
- Sent off my application to the arts council -- I'm trying to get a grant to write a new novel -- unlikely to hear anything before the end of October.
The Boyfriend has finally finished with Phones4U, as of today, to much rejoicing from both of us. :-)
Tuesday, 11 September 2007
Things I Saw Today (that might become stories eventually)
1. (Lunchtime, 1pm, Max Roach park) A huge flock of pigeons pecking at the ground round a tree. Very nearby, a young woman sitting on a rug eating lunch and flicking through magazines, seeming completely unperturbed.
2. (Hometime, 4.40pm, cycling down Brixton High Street) A 4x4 with a woman driving and her daughter in the front passenger seat, blocking an ambulance (sirens and blue lights on) by staying in the middle of the road. The ambulance was blaring its horn repeatedly. The woman didn't appear to notice.
3. (Somerfields, 5.15pm, at the checkout) The man in front of me had: 6 jars of honey, 8 kitchen rolls, a box of oat biscuits and a bag of oats. That's all.
2. (Hometime, 4.40pm, cycling down Brixton High Street) A 4x4 with a woman driving and her daughter in the front passenger seat, blocking an ambulance (sirens and blue lights on) by staying in the middle of the road. The ambulance was blaring its horn repeatedly. The woman didn't appear to notice.
3. (Somerfields, 5.15pm, at the checkout) The man in front of me had: 6 jars of honey, 8 kitchen rolls, a box of oat biscuits and a bag of oats. That's all.
Sunday, 9 September 2007
Writing Bursts
I've been enjoying the "Writing Burst" activities that I've been doing over the past few days. They only take ten minutes (timed), and they've sparked off some interesting little snippets -- I plan to review them all at some point to see if any could be the basis for a short story, or just for a character or plot situation.
It's been surprising to find out how much I can write in ten minutes; I've been averaging about 500 words. I also expected to struggle to get going, but I've leapt into them straight from the prompt without worrying who my characters are or what the setting is. It's a liberating exercise for me: I don't plan to show them to anyone, and they're only a ten-minute investment of my time, so I forget about any idea of quality and just write!
If you want to have a go, these were my favourite prompts so far:
- She doesn't live here any more
- "£1.55"
- I don't know when I last saw the sun#
Grab a blank sheet of paper/new document on the screen, set a timer for ten minutes, and GO!
It's been surprising to find out how much I can write in ten minutes; I've been averaging about 500 words. I also expected to struggle to get going, but I've leapt into them straight from the prompt without worrying who my characters are or what the setting is. It's a liberating exercise for me: I don't plan to show them to anyone, and they're only a ten-minute investment of my time, so I forget about any idea of quality and just write!
If you want to have a go, these were my favourite prompts so far:
- She doesn't live here any more
- "£1.55"
- I don't know when I last saw the sun#
Grab a blank sheet of paper/new document on the screen, set a timer for ten minutes, and GO!
Thursday, 6 September 2007
Editing Outside
I escaped from the office at lunch time to the Max Roach park at the end of Brixton high street, collared a picnic table, and spent a good half-hour editing hard copies of a couple of short stories. I typed up the changes this evening, and am pretty happy -- though one still needs 200 words cutting if it's going to be eligible for the competition I wrote it for...
I hadn't realised how much I enjoy writing out-of-doors; I think I might take my notebook to a shady spot in Nunhead Cemetery on Saturday, and do a bit of brainstorming. I tried taking my laptop up to Telegraph Hill park once, but the laptop battery is knackered and only lasts five minutes.
As well as the editing, I did one of the "writing burst" exercises from How to Write Fiction, and was quite pleased with it (I wrote a lot in 10 minutes, and whilst it was very rough, it's the kernel of a story which might work for My Weekly or Woman's Weekly.) Might have a go at a few more!
I hadn't realised how much I enjoy writing out-of-doors; I think I might take my notebook to a shady spot in Nunhead Cemetery on Saturday, and do a bit of brainstorming. I tried taking my laptop up to Telegraph Hill park once, but the laptop battery is knackered and only lasts five minutes.
As well as the editing, I did one of the "writing burst" exercises from How to Write Fiction, and was quite pleased with it (I wrote a lot in 10 minutes, and whilst it was very rough, it's the kernel of a story which might work for My Weekly or Woman's Weekly.) Might have a go at a few more!
Wednesday, 5 September 2007
Ghost short story drafted
Drafted my entry for the Ghost short story this evening (slightly over 2000 words, needs a bit cutting). I enjoyed writing it -- it's going to need quite a lot of revision, as I wrote it in about an hour and a half, but I like the concept and characters.
My copy of Palgrave's How to Write Fiction (and Think About It) arrived from an Amazon seller today, have only flicked through the introduction and first chapter so far, but it's a nice, academic book, one I'd looked at a few times in bookshops -- but it was about half the price via the Amazon seller. I'm planning to work through it slowly, trying out the exercises as I go along -- and I want to go back over Iain Pattinson's Cracking the Short Story Market in the same way.
My copy of Palgrave's How to Write Fiction (and Think About It) arrived from an Amazon seller today, have only flicked through the introduction and first chapter so far, but it's a nice, academic book, one I'd looked at a few times in bookshops -- but it was about half the price via the Amazon seller. I'm planning to work through it slowly, trying out the exercises as I go along -- and I want to go back over Iain Pattinson's Cracking the Short Story Market in the same way.
Tuesday, 4 September 2007
Back into the routine
I had a good time last week seeing family and helping out at the Holiday Club -- sadly didn't get as much writing done as I'd hoped, but it was a nice break at least!
I'm back at work now, and managed to do some writing yesterday and this evening:
- Profile of an "average reader" of Take a Break, and a plan for a short story based on that character's hopes and fears
- Complete redraft of a short story for Writers' News' "Shadows" competition (still needs some considerable work)
- Characters and plan for a "Ghost Story" competition run by the Times
The Boyfriend has a day off tomorrow and will be cooking dinner (hurrah!) so I'm planning to write the first draft of the ghost story tomorrow evening.
I'm back at work now, and managed to do some writing yesterday and this evening:
- Profile of an "average reader" of Take a Break, and a plan for a short story based on that character's hopes and fears
- Complete redraft of a short story for Writers' News' "Shadows" competition (still needs some considerable work)
- Characters and plan for a "Ghost Story" competition run by the Times
The Boyfriend has a day off tomorrow and will be cooking dinner (hurrah!) so I'm planning to write the first draft of the ghost story tomorrow evening.
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