I felt worse today than yesterday, so phoned in sick (the first day I've taken off ever ...) Staying warm and dosed up on paracetamol and lemsip seems to have helped, though.
Writers' News & Magazine arrived today -- I'm sure they're getting earlier every month! -- and I was delighted to find that my "No smoke without fire" short story competition entry had made the shortlist. It underwent a fair amount of criticism and revision, so nice to know that it paid off.
That's a running total of two short listings, one third prize and one second prize in the past year. :-)
Wednesday, 30 January 2008
Monday, 28 January 2008
Casino trip
I and the Boyfriend went to a casino on Saturday (this one, in fact), for a good friend's birthday party. It was a great weekend -- catching up with old friends, meeting some new ones, learning how to play blackjack, free champagne & birthday cake.
And I won a whole £3 :-) (I'm not really the gambling type. Or rather, I am and I know myself well enough not to go chucking down £100 on the poker table.) The Boyfriend and I hung around the casino floor, mooched free soft drinks, and sat in the bar area and chatted.
I also have lots of notes I made the following day towards short stories -- I'd like to write something about a casino; it's a setting with all the perfect elements of glamour, hope, despair, chance, luck, relationships...
And I won a whole £3 :-) (I'm not really the gambling type. Or rather, I am and I know myself well enough not to go chucking down £100 on the poker table.) The Boyfriend and I hung around the casino floor, mooched free soft drinks, and sat in the bar area and chatted.
I also have lots of notes I made the following day towards short stories -- I'd like to write something about a casino; it's a setting with all the perfect elements of glamour, hope, despair, chance, luck, relationships...
Saturday, 26 January 2008
Twist-in-the-tale story done and ready to post
I finished the twist-in-the-tale short story ("Restaurant Review", which I dislike as a title, but I've noticed Take a Break don't tend to use especially unusual story titles.) Got it to the right word length, wrote the cover letter & title sheet, and popped in an envelope last night.
I'm pretty happy with this one. It's a story I can easily envisage flipping over the page in Take a Break's Fiction Feast and reading ... so I feel I'm getting a better handle on the market. It'll be interesting to see if they do take it, or if they offer any feedback if not.
The other fiction piece I've been working on is a competition entry, which again I enjoyed writing (strong characters) but the conflict revolves around a secondary character rather than the main one. To me, it feels as though the story works, but I feel I'm going against the advice of my short story course and my how-to books! I'm keen to workshop this one, as I think it could need a bit of unpicking and reworking if it's to be a decent competition entry.
I'm pretty happy with this one. It's a story I can easily envisage flipping over the page in Take a Break's Fiction Feast and reading ... so I feel I'm getting a better handle on the market. It'll be interesting to see if they do take it, or if they offer any feedback if not.
The other fiction piece I've been working on is a competition entry, which again I enjoyed writing (strong characters) but the conflict revolves around a secondary character rather than the main one. To me, it feels as though the story works, but I feel I'm going against the advice of my short story course and my how-to books! I'm keen to workshop this one, as I think it could need a bit of unpicking and reworking if it's to be a decent competition entry.
Sunday, 20 January 2008
Writer Meme
I was tagged by WomagWriter -- thanks! :-)
What's the last thing you wrote?
Draft of a short story for a competition on the theme "Autograph Hunter" (this morning, before Church.)
Was it any good?
Pretty happy with it for a first draft. It needs quite a bit of polishing, though!
What's the first thing you ever wrote that you still have?
Err. Maybe a mini-book about a mouse when I was six, or a story about myself, my friends and a giant beanstalk when I was seven. Either may still exist in my parents' loft. In terms of serious writing, probably a short story version of the ballad of Semmerwater I wrote when I was 12 -- I copied it out (in my best handwriting!) into a hardbacked exercise book.
The thing I definitely KNOW I have (because I reread it fairly recently and it was cringingly bad) was a teenage sci-fi novel I wrote when I was 14/15.
Write poetry?
Occasionally. Had one published as a "reader's poem" in Woman's Weekly Fiction Special. Got £10.
Angsty poetry?
Nope.
Favourite genre of writing?
I'd have said sci-fi/fantasy straight away a year and a half ago, but I'm now writing contemporary short stories too.
Most fun character you ever wrote?
Probably Tamsin, who I roleplayed as for several years on a MUD (I played other characters too). Little female psychotic Pit Fighter, a great laugh.
Most annoying character you ever wrote?
"Insipid Woman with Irredemably Boring Life" crops up in the occasional failed short story. I always think she's going to be someone more interesting when I'm planning, but once I'm two sentences into the story, she's already starting to grate on me.
Best plot you ever wrote?
I quite like the twist-in-the-tale story I was working on last week. Usually, though, my plotting is my weak point.
Coolest plot twist you ever wrote?
Whatever it was, but it probably didn't work. ;-)
How often do you get Writers block?
Never had it.
Write fan fiction?
Nope (okay, I wrote some really bad Chicken Run fanfic when I was 15. Please can I disown that for ever?) I used to read a lot of fan fiction, before I got into MUDding and then into a full-time job.
Do you type or write by hand?
Type.
Do you save everything you write?
Yep, usually keeping various drafts/versions. I keep abandoned starts of stories and writing exercises, too.
Do you ever go back to an old idea long after you've abandoned it?
Haven't done so yet.
What's your favourite thing you've written?
Unpublished fantasy novel, Night of the Empty Moon. I love the characters and the story and the themes it explores.
What's everyone else's favourite thing you've written?
Dunno -- not enough people have seen enough of my work. The one I've had most positive comments on is my short story "Shifting Sands" (http://www.writersnews.co.uk/showcase/hale/default.asp) but probably just because people saw that one!
Do you even show people your work?
Yep. Writing friends (including boyfriend and mum), who provide great criticism. I also submit stuff to competitions, agents and so on.
Did you ever write a novel?
Yep. Night of the Empty Moon (100,000 words, fantasy) whilst at Uni. An untitled sci-fi one during Year 9-11 in school. And 60,000 words of a chick lit one for NaNoWriMo last November.
Ever written romance or teen angsty drama?
Not intentionally.
How many writing projects are you working on right now?
Twice as many as I can actually cope with:
Do you want to write for a living?
I'd like to write for a vocation. I'm less bothered about making a living doing it, so long as I can make a living somehow and still have plenty of free time to write.
Have you ever won an award for your writing?
Nope. (A couple of competition prizes, that's all.)
Ever written something in script or play format?
No.
Do you ever write based on yourself?
All my characters have aspects of me in them.
What character that you've written most resembles yourself?
Katie from my chick-lit novel. Female student at a "hill college" in Cambridge, on a Springboard course, trying to find her place in the world.
Where do you get ideas for your other characters?
People-watching. Friends. Other fiction (books, TV, films, myths).
Do you ever write based on your dreams?
Tried to, once, but it didn't really work.
Do you favour happy endings, sad endings or a cliff hanger?
Happy, "earned" endings.
Have you ever written based on an artwork you've seen?
Only writing exercises, never a whole story.
Are you concerned with spelling or grammar as you write?
Yep. My mother's an English teacher and I did English at Uni, so my spelling and grammar is okay. I don't worry too much in first drafts.
Ever write something entirely in chatspeak? (How r u?)
Nope, though I wrote a story in the form of a blog once, ie. blog entries by one character and comments by others.
Entirely in L337?
Nope. The blog short story did use the word "w00t!"
Was that question completely appalling and un-writer like?
No! I've got a strong interest in digital fiction and innovative ways of telling stories. I've been meaning to do a short story structured as Facebook feed updates for ages.
Does music help you write?
Rarely.
Quote something you've written. The first thing to pop into your mind.
"[He had] a face that managed to find the perfect spot between thuggish rugby player and gay."
And now I tag... Sam!
What's the last thing you wrote?
Draft of a short story for a competition on the theme "Autograph Hunter" (this morning, before Church.)
Was it any good?
Pretty happy with it for a first draft. It needs quite a bit of polishing, though!
What's the first thing you ever wrote that you still have?
Err. Maybe a mini-book about a mouse when I was six, or a story about myself, my friends and a giant beanstalk when I was seven. Either may still exist in my parents' loft. In terms of serious writing, probably a short story version of the ballad of Semmerwater I wrote when I was 12 -- I copied it out (in my best handwriting!) into a hardbacked exercise book.
The thing I definitely KNOW I have (because I reread it fairly recently and it was cringingly bad) was a teenage sci-fi novel I wrote when I was 14/15.
Write poetry?
Occasionally. Had one published as a "reader's poem" in Woman's Weekly Fiction Special. Got £10.
Angsty poetry?
Nope.
Favourite genre of writing?
I'd have said sci-fi/fantasy straight away a year and a half ago, but I'm now writing contemporary short stories too.
Most fun character you ever wrote?
Probably Tamsin, who I roleplayed as for several years on a MUD (I played other characters too). Little female psychotic Pit Fighter, a great laugh.
Most annoying character you ever wrote?
"Insipid Woman with Irredemably Boring Life" crops up in the occasional failed short story. I always think she's going to be someone more interesting when I'm planning, but once I'm two sentences into the story, she's already starting to grate on me.
Best plot you ever wrote?
I quite like the twist-in-the-tale story I was working on last week. Usually, though, my plotting is my weak point.
Coolest plot twist you ever wrote?
Whatever it was, but it probably didn't work. ;-)
How often do you get Writers block?
Never had it.
Write fan fiction?
Nope (okay, I wrote some really bad Chicken Run fanfic when I was 15. Please can I disown that for ever?) I used to read a lot of fan fiction, before I got into MUDding and then into a full-time job.
Do you type or write by hand?
Type.
Do you save everything you write?
Yep, usually keeping various drafts/versions. I keep abandoned starts of stories and writing exercises, too.
Do you ever go back to an old idea long after you've abandoned it?
Haven't done so yet.
What's your favourite thing you've written?
Unpublished fantasy novel, Night of the Empty Moon. I love the characters and the story and the themes it explores.
What's everyone else's favourite thing you've written?
Dunno -- not enough people have seen enough of my work. The one I've had most positive comments on is my short story "Shifting Sands" (http://www.writersnews.co.uk/showcase/hale/default.asp) but probably just because people saw that one!
Do you even show people your work?
Yep. Writing friends (including boyfriend and mum), who provide great criticism. I also submit stuff to competitions, agents and so on.
Did you ever write a novel?
Yep. Night of the Empty Moon (100,000 words, fantasy) whilst at Uni. An untitled sci-fi one during Year 9-11 in school. And 60,000 words of a chick lit one for NaNoWriMo last November.
Ever written romance or teen angsty drama?
Not intentionally.
How many writing projects are you working on right now?
Twice as many as I can actually cope with:
- Editing of Night of the Empty Moon (needs a decent fantasy background and some polishing)
- Finishing drafting the chick-lit novel
- A website/blog on healthy eating for office workers (www.theofficediet.com)
- A twist-in-the-tale short story
- A short story on the theme "Autograph Hunter"
- A huge writing-type online thing project which is in the very early stages
Do you want to write for a living?
I'd like to write for a vocation. I'm less bothered about making a living doing it, so long as I can make a living somehow and still have plenty of free time to write.
Have you ever won an award for your writing?
Nope. (A couple of competition prizes, that's all.)
Ever written something in script or play format?
No.
Do you ever write based on yourself?
All my characters have aspects of me in them.
What character that you've written most resembles yourself?
Katie from my chick-lit novel. Female student at a "hill college" in Cambridge, on a Springboard course, trying to find her place in the world.
Where do you get ideas for your other characters?
People-watching. Friends. Other fiction (books, TV, films, myths).
Do you ever write based on your dreams?
Tried to, once, but it didn't really work.
Do you favour happy endings, sad endings or a cliff hanger?
Happy, "earned" endings.
Have you ever written based on an artwork you've seen?
Only writing exercises, never a whole story.
Are you concerned with spelling or grammar as you write?
Yep. My mother's an English teacher and I did English at Uni, so my spelling and grammar is okay. I don't worry too much in first drafts.
Ever write something entirely in chatspeak? (How r u?)
Nope, though I wrote a story in the form of a blog once, ie. blog entries by one character and comments by others.
Entirely in L337?
Nope. The blog short story did use the word "w00t!"
Was that question completely appalling and un-writer like?
No! I've got a strong interest in digital fiction and innovative ways of telling stories. I've been meaning to do a short story structured as Facebook feed updates for ages.
Does music help you write?
Rarely.
Quote something you've written. The first thing to pop into your mind.
"[He had] a face that managed to find the perfect spot between thuggish rugby player and gay."
And now I tag... Sam!
Saturday, 19 January 2008
NaNoWriMo revisited - the read-through
I went through the entire NaNoWriMo print out (145 pages single-spaced), and created a spreadsheet summarising each scene -- characters in it, location, time, what happens. The first 80 ish pages flow fine, but after that the plot got very rushed so that I could reach "the end" within the month.
Some parts are better than I thought, others aren't -- the sheer amount of nostalgia for student days is rather self-indulgent. Indeed, the whole thing reads rather more autobiographically than I'd intended. My main character, Katie, also strikes me as a little dull (the other characters in the novel face bigger challenges, Jan in particular, or are just generally more unusual people.) I may need to shake things up a bit more for Katie in the rewrite.
There's several sub-plots which I abandoned part-way, and the timeline is rather screwed up, so I need to add in quite a few scenes in the second part. This is all now noted on the spreadsheet and a succession of yellow post-it notes.
Anyway, it's good to have finally gone back to it. I need to decide now whether it's got enough potential for me to go through the slog of finishing it, and redrafting it, and submitting it...
Some parts are better than I thought, others aren't -- the sheer amount of nostalgia for student days is rather self-indulgent. Indeed, the whole thing reads rather more autobiographically than I'd intended. My main character, Katie, also strikes me as a little dull (the other characters in the novel face bigger challenges, Jan in particular, or are just generally more unusual people.) I may need to shake things up a bit more for Katie in the rewrite.
There's several sub-plots which I abandoned part-way, and the timeline is rather screwed up, so I need to add in quite a few scenes in the second part. This is all now noted on the spreadsheet and a succession of yellow post-it notes.
Anyway, it's good to have finally gone back to it. I need to decide now whether it's got enough potential for me to go through the slog of finishing it, and redrafting it, and submitting it...
Friday, 18 January 2008
Guest post on Diet Blog
My guest post went up on Diet Blog yesterday morning, and I've spent the past two days eagerly checking the number of comments -- it's up to 17 now, which is good going! I got 50 hits yesterday on The Office Diet, which suggest an extra 20 or so people checking it out, presumably as a result of the Diet Blog post.
If you're interested, here's the link. Note that Jim retitled it (it was "ways to be healthier" originally) -- the American usage "eat healthier" is not mine! ;-) http://www.diet-blog.com/archives/2008/01/16/6_quick_ways_to_eat_healthier_at_work.php
Asides from that, I've been working on a 1000 word (currently at 1400 in second draft) "twist-in-the-tale" short story aimed at Take a Break. I'm quite enjoying this one; it came out of a 10-minute writing exercise I did a while back and found whilst digging through folders of writing snippets. Planning to polish it up a bit tomorrow, then ship it around for some feedback from writing friends.
If you're interested, here's the link. Note that Jim retitled it (it was "ways to be healthier" originally) -- the American usage "eat healthier" is not mine! ;-) http://www.diet-blog.com/archives/2008/01/16/6_quick_ways_to_eat_healthier_at_work.php
Asides from that, I've been working on a 1000 word (currently at 1400 in second draft) "twist-in-the-tale" short story aimed at Take a Break. I'm quite enjoying this one; it came out of a 10-minute writing exercise I did a while back and found whilst digging through folders of writing snippets. Planning to polish it up a bit tomorrow, then ship it around for some feedback from writing friends.
Wednesday, 16 January 2008
Police raid
Rather excitingly, there was a police raid on one of the flats above us in the pre-dawn hours of this morning. I woke up some time around 5am, and muttered to myself about noisy neighbours -- then when the noise continued up and down the stairs in our block, eventually staggered groggily out of bed and glanced out of the window.
There were two big police vans outside, just driving off.
At about 6.30, several of the internal buzzers blared -- including ours. I stuck my head out of the window, called "Hello" to the two police men standing outside (a car this time, no van), and let them in. They marched on upstairs and proceeded to yell threats about "kicking down the door."
All rather more excitement than I usually expect before breakfast.
When they left at 7.30, it was sadly with only a 32inch TV (at least, that's what the box they were carrying said) and not with any of our bongo-playing-loud-cackling neighbours...
There were two big police vans outside, just driving off.
At about 6.30, several of the internal buzzers blared -- including ours. I stuck my head out of the window, called "Hello" to the two police men standing outside (a car this time, no van), and let them in. They marched on upstairs and proceeded to yell threats about "kicking down the door."
All rather more excitement than I usually expect before breakfast.
When they left at 7.30, it was sadly with only a 32inch TV (at least, that's what the box they were carrying said) and not with any of our bongo-playing-loud-cackling neighbours...
Tuesday, 15 January 2008
Rainy Tuesday
It's been raining for most of the day, making me very glad I had the day off! It's been a good, productive day -- lots of writing bits and pieces ticked off, a short story sent out, a few admin things attended to, some much-needed tidying (caused by the reorganisation of desks in our flat) done.
Somehow, I never manage to be this efficient at work...
It's also been quite a relaxing day in many ways: a lie-in until 6.30 (!) and a leisurely breakfast with the Boyfriend: I made porridge, which I love but don't have time to faff around with most weekday mornings. And a joint trip to the greengrocers, during a brief respite in the rain; we're both making a real effort on the "five-a-day" front, boosted by my fruit salads and the Boyfriend's vegetable soups.
And, after a good day of wholesome living and productive writing, we're off to the Nun's Head for Tuesday 2-for-1 burgers. :-)
Somehow, I never manage to be this efficient at work...
It's also been quite a relaxing day in many ways: a lie-in until 6.30 (!) and a leisurely breakfast with the Boyfriend: I made porridge, which I love but don't have time to faff around with most weekday mornings. And a joint trip to the greengrocers, during a brief respite in the rain; we're both making a real effort on the "five-a-day" front, boosted by my fruit salads and the Boyfriend's vegetable soups.
And, after a good day of wholesome living and productive writing, we're off to the Nun's Head for Tuesday 2-for-1 burgers. :-)
Saturday, 12 January 2008
Another good rejection
I got a rejection from My Weekly a couple of days ago; a really helpful email explaining why the story wasn't quite right.
The reasons were:
- The twist was predictable. (I did think this when I was working on it, but it's hard to tell how it would come across to a reader. Useful to know, anyway!)
- The story was quite downbeat, until near the end. I hadn't considered this, but reflecting on it, I realise that My Weekly do publish fairly cheerful, upbeat stories.
- The main female character wasn't sympathetic enough (though her husband was). Again, I should have realised this would be a problem: almost all the women's magazine stories have at least one sympathetic female lead!
So, it was very useful advice, and they also said they'd like to see more of my work. With the good rejection from Woman's Weekly, that makes two magazines which at least seem to think I write decently. :-)
The reasons were:
- The twist was predictable. (I did think this when I was working on it, but it's hard to tell how it would come across to a reader. Useful to know, anyway!)
- The story was quite downbeat, until near the end. I hadn't considered this, but reflecting on it, I realise that My Weekly do publish fairly cheerful, upbeat stories.
- The main female character wasn't sympathetic enough (though her husband was). Again, I should have realised this would be a problem: almost all the women's magazine stories have at least one sympathetic female lead!
So, it was very useful advice, and they also said they'd like to see more of my work. With the good rejection from Woman's Weekly, that makes two magazines which at least seem to think I write decently. :-)
Monday, 7 January 2008
Tuesdays off
I've negotiated with the Line Manager and the Boss that I can take Tuesdays off as unpaid leave "for the foreseeable future". They don't want to change my contract in case we get tons of work in (IT tends to be unpredictable like that), and this suits me anyway as it means I can easily go back to five days/week if finances demand it.
For the moment, though, I'm very happy! :-) I'd already booked off all the Tuesdays in January as holiday, but this means I can continue on through the rest of the year. I've noticed the difference already: I didn't spend Sunday evening feeling mildly grouchy about Monday, and today I positively bounced into the office, eager to get cracking.
I've also got a new desk at home! I spent some Christmas money on it, and it's much more comfortable to write/type on than my cramped little old desk. Tomorrow, I plan to get up at six as usual and do a bit of writing first thing, then the Boyfriend and I are heading to Dulwich Library for some exam practice essays (him) and short-story-unit-one-assignment completion (me).
For the moment, though, I'm very happy! :-) I'd already booked off all the Tuesdays in January as holiday, but this means I can continue on through the rest of the year. I've noticed the difference already: I didn't spend Sunday evening feeling mildly grouchy about Monday, and today I positively bounced into the office, eager to get cracking.
I've also got a new desk at home! I spent some Christmas money on it, and it's much more comfortable to write/type on than my cramped little old desk. Tomorrow, I plan to get up at six as usual and do a bit of writing first thing, then the Boyfriend and I are heading to Dulwich Library for some exam practice essays (him) and short-story-unit-one-assignment completion (me).
Thursday, 3 January 2008
30-day trial
I've nicked the idea of a 30-day trial from Steve Pavlina, whose blog is a unique source of entertainment, enlightement and occasional bemusement.
I'm doing a couple of 30-day trials for things I want to do every day:
I'm doing a couple of 30-day trials for things I want to do every day:
- Bible reading/prayer
- 10 minutes writing in my notebook
At the end of January, I'll see whether these have made a difference, and whether they've become habits that'll be easy to keep up. Both are activities I've managed sporadically on a daily basis, but I tend to slip back into occasional efforts at best.
I'm also updating The Office Diet every weekday, but I'm planning on doing that all year (!) rather than just as a monthly trial. It's going well so far, and I've been surprised how much I've enjoyed writing non-fiction for a change. Getting to grips with all the technical bits of setting up the site was time-consuming but I know I've learned a lot from it, which is a good feeling. Initial feedback from a couple of friends has been good: constructive and critical where necessary!
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