Halloween Treat Coming Soon

I am a Halloween baby and on Saturday will be celebrating 52 years of life. I want to thank you all for following me, for your encouragement and support.

I cannot buy you a drink or a meal, I cannot shake your hand. I kept wondering what I could give you. Then I thought about it, I have held back my book from you, I have not shared much about it. When you read the post following this in a few days you will realise why I have been secretive.

Yes I will share the Title and a little of the opening chapter, that will be my gift. Does that seem a little selfish? I hope not, it takes me a lot of courage to share and I take a chance on you leaving constructive criticism.

Manuscript Muddle & Genre Niche

Good morning mind. Morning? Yes it is and I am ready to work.

I am getting ready to layout my manuscript. Good for you. Thanks.

Easy job? Not if you have never done it before.

Searched the Internet? Yes and there is so much information that differs, I am mind boggled.

Read up about it? Yes and again I give the same answer as before.

Need Help? Yes please, how do you do yours please? Me? I don't write, you do remember?

You must know something that will help me!

Well, err...Look in your comments box later, you will bound to find some answers there.

Okay, thanks. I wonder what Genre my book fits?

Sorry? Pardon? I thought you were writing an Historical Romance.

Yes, I am but it has a mystery twist to it, so I am not sure where to put it.

I suggest you put it ...Oh just look in the comments box. I just know someone will answer you.

Overextended Moi?

I thought you might appreciate the humour in the poem I wrote yesterday. I usually put my poetry on A Poet's Word, but this little ditty was turned out for a challenge by Robert Lee Brewer over at Poetic Asides.
For this week's prompt, I want you to write an overextended poem. That is, I want you to write a poem about someone or something that is being stretched too thin. For instance, a co-worker with too much work to do, or a balloon that is being filled with air to the point it is about to pop.

Overextended Moi?

Six pens and a biro,
notepads galore,
A worn out laptop computer,
I cannot write much more.

My arms and eyes are weary,
my coffee cup is dry,
I'm on a novel deadline,
reaching it, I try.

No housework has been done,
not a stitch I have to wear,
Here I am frantically writing,
with a body, naked, bare.

Dear hubby threatens to leave,
he is neglected and under fed,
he's just received a tongue whipping,
for something trivial he has said.

If one more person mentions stress,
or keep calm it's only a book,
they will suffer greatly,
from an over the glasses look.

I know it will all be worth it,
and I am convinced so will you,
the greatest thing will be for all,
when I start writing novel two!

Rejection the Word of My Future

The word rejection is one that a writer hides away from. We don't like the word and the meaning behind it.
Rejection of a manuscript is like insulting someone you love, but it is something we have to cope with. I am not ready for that stage in my life yet, but I am sure I will get used to it when the time comes.

To make you feel a little better after a rejection note/email, pop into Inkygirl's blog and read who had rejections and how many, it will make you feel a little better I am sure.

Over on Jack King's site there are rejection letters for you to browse through.

Agents are employed by the writer- An interesting article about the subject can be found on Drunk Writer Talk it left me with a smile on my face. A great way to look at the agent search we all go through.

TweetDeck,Time and Trying

Picture credit

Time is not always our friend, even for someone as lucky as me. I have all the time in the world to myself. I do not work, (I made sacrifices of material goods in order to achieve this). DH does his bit, he does 99% of the cooking. That leaves me the majority of the day to write. Lucky? I think so.
The only problem is, I seem to have no time left in the day when I need it.
I write at my best in the morning, but I have housework commitments to see to. So by the time I was ready to write, I would wandering around the Internet instead, time wasting. This frustrated me, but I still did it.
Sometimes it was beneficial and for research, but other times it was not. I knew I must try managing my time better. Several of you know I once tried a time list to follow, well that now houses a chapter of the novel on the back of it.

So what have I done about my time wasting?

Well I added TweetDeck to my computer, this way I get all the ongoing tweets from my Twitter writer contacts, pop up and fade away. This way I know there is something to read at a time when I am ready. I can quickly reply or add a link to a post or article. I still feel in touch with others during my writing time. I am quiet and alone, but not...if you see what I mean.

I was invited to join a writing community, I did so. I can now link with other writers and get the information I need, when I need it. As you know I don't have a writer's group to join, so this is my version of it.

I have kept my blogs updated in between writing chapters; Blog update, Blog visit during coffee break, write, blog update, blog visit during lunch break, write, community visit, write, blog visit during afternoon tea break, write and research, blog visit, quick browse and unplug.
I now get to sit with DH when he watches TV, (I read or note scribble), but I am unplugged.

Gaining control over my time is helping me with my writing, I suppose I was of the opinion that I had all the time in the world to finish, but the day disappeared before my very eyes, so I spent the evening and late night struggling to write. Now I write when I am at my best and relax with a contented DH, he never says much and supports me 100%, but I think he was missing the body in the chair next to his.
When I am browsing the Internet, I am now spending my time wisely and building my platform that is so often spoken about. My findings are useful and valuable so I do not consider I am time wasting.
I found a new blog today and want to share it with you. HISTORICAL BOYS is the home of C.W. Gortner, the author of THE LAST QUEEN and THE SECRET LION. His post of Sevilla brought back memories of when I was sweet 16, his description was a treat to read. I think you will agree, when you visit his blog, I did not waste valuable time here, it was a positive stop over.

Research: Where Do You Do Yours?

I have recently visited a blog, the writers all share where they do their research and get their information from for their novels various.
One went to Egypt as she was writing about the time period of Cleopatra and wanted to 'feel' the country.
Another went to Greenland, brrr so she could capture the feeling of 'cold'. One writer spent a week working in with a magazine editor and publisher, as this was in keeping with her WIP.

Me? I really cannot go back in time, (as much as I would love to), my novel is set in late Victorian London. The ambiance, sounds and smells are no longer there, not the ones I want to portray. The sounds of horses no longer exist, it is all cars and fumes of a different kind. I am having to take my imagination to the limits and beyond. I cannot go anywhere to research, I cannot afford it for a start.

I use books I find here in Cyprus, rare finds like A Victorian Village and Life in the Victorian Age. These two books got me singing with joy, I was like a child with a HUGE bag of sweets(candy).

Have you ever travelled for research? Where do you do yours?

PS: Chalet Publishers is giving away free e-copies of their new novel COMING TOGETHER - A story of love and intrigue in Rio! If you want a copy pop over to Nadine Laman's blog, she has the details there.

A Little Help is Always Appreciated

This is worth watching until the end, Andrea Rain Waggener offers a website address for you to collect a few free tips. Her claim that novel writing is easy is a little debatable in my mind at the moment. I am sure that one day I will...strike that...I hope one day I will be able to think like that.


Stephen King gives good advice, he made me smile.

How Far Do We Go With Descriptions?

When describing our characters, how far should we go? What I mean is, do we need to go into minute details? When editing and the words hit the cutting room floor, do we lose out by removing descriptive words, or is a simple sentence enough to get the message across. When we need to remove words to achieve a set word count will we portray our characters exactly how we want them to come across?

For Example: You have to get a word count of 18 and you have written 36, how do you get your message across without losing the description?

• He looked into her eyes, radiant and alive, they twinkled with the background light. Her lashes were long, dark and framed her topaz pools perfectly. She had wrinkle free skin, it was peach soft and smooth. (36)

• He looked into her blue, sparkling eyes, framed by long eyelashes. Her skin was so smooth and perfect. (18)

In both sentences we know she has blue eyes,long eyelashes and perfect skin. With the last one the reader gets the point, the story flows the same, and the important bit... word count is adhered to.

I was recently told that too many 'flowery' descriptions can be off putting, and that runs with my thoughts about a previous post I have on here about Laurence Durrell and his use of descriptions.




Recently I read a self published book by an author from the UK. I felt the writer was showing off and had written words not used in everyday language. For me as the reader, I wanted to get stuck into the flow of the book, I didn't want to rush to the nearest dictionary or thesaurus. I didn't want to ignore the words, but some nagged at me all the way through. I felt and heard pompousness (is that really a word? It is hard on the tongue), I felt the writer was belittling me, to me that's an awful thing to do to a reader, to make them feel small and unworthy.

What a Great Week!

What a great last week I had. Talk about rocking and rolling...yes that is me in the photo above.
My previous post speaks of my writing THE END, that has really pushed me on I can tell you.

Then I got two emails last night, both saying the same thing, you can see why I am happy on A Poet's Word.

I finished my books by Nadine Laman, curled up and cosy in peace and quiet. I had a big bag of freshly picked grapes and a glass of wine. You know the sort of reading time, that is a rare, serene moment, well I had one of those moments.

I walked for miles in the vineyards, waving and chatting to the grape pickers, a cool breeze and bird song week.

I found two free downloads, author books with great tips and advice.
The Newbie's Guide to Publishing by J. A. Konrath

The Marshall plan Fiction Makeover ~52 Ways to Instantly Improve Your Novel.
I picked up a few tips and ideas from both that helped me change a few things in a chapter, it has improved it.

I have been asked to write a poem for South African friends who are getting married, they want it as part of their ceremony, it is such an honour to be asked.

Well I look forward to this week, I have started Monday with coffee with Cypriot friends so will not need to eat for a month, that will save me time for writing!

Let's hope my power plug arrives by donkey and I will be comfy with my laptop again.

The End is Nigh

I wrote the ending to my novel today. I wrote THE END but the confusing thing is, I have not finished the middle!
The end is clear and precise, it is edited and polished. I love it, I love the the way it finalises my novel, you know the one, yes that's it...the one without a completed middle.
I have a few more chapters to write, then the work begins, I must edit, jiggle, add and subtract. Then I must cry, rewrite (probably the ending), before I am satisfied with it.

The one thing I am certain of though, is that when I do have my laptop up and running again, I will be unplugging every now and then and not browsing as often. I notice that a few writer friends are doing the same, they are removing the distractions. My recent disaster with my laptop has pushed me to write more. I know I will have a lot of typing to do later on, but it has been worth the effort. My imagination ran riot and I wrote THE END.
Okay thanks for reminding me...I am off to write the middle now.

~~~~~

I used the word jangled, in a sentence today; his nerves were jangled. Not sure whether I will keep it in the book or not, but I am loving the sound of it at the moment, jangled.

Another Source of Inspiration

I don't enter writing competitions, my time is taken up with writing the novel, blogs and writing exercises. I came across a Competition Special 2010 while I was in the UK, it was a supplement magazine. There was a competition for a short story using Vanessa and Kevin who meet in a supermarket car park. It triggered off me writing the piece below as a writing exercise. There are quite a few titles and openers in the magazine, I am going to use them as word triggers for practice.
The story below would be no good for the competition as my mind wandered through the doors of the supermarket, and then back to the car park, I never follow rules.

~

His hand reached out and touched hers, quickly she pulled back her arm.
"Sorry... ... you first", Vanessa smiled at the man who had the same taste in yoghurt's as she did. She stepped backwards, allowing him room to move in towards the shelves.
" Any preference in flavour?", his voice was slightly muffled as he turned his head to speak to her.
"Oh, I only like the strawberry ones, a pack of those will be lovely, thanks", Vanessa reached out her hand and took the yoghurt's from him. Placing them in the corner of her trolley, she noted the contents of his. Aside from the masculine shaving items, both trolleys were the same.
Kevin noticed the girl had the same brand of biscuits in her trolley as he did, he smiled.
"I can never resist those", he pointed to the packet, "best dunkers I've come across", he felt his face flush, whatever possessed him to say that?
Here he was, faced with the prettiest girl he'd seen for ages and all he could do was talk about dunking Oatybisks.
Smiling politely, Vanessa moved her trolley away and continued shopping, she sensed she was being watched.
Kevin watched as the girl walked away, she moved from shelf to shelf. It was refreshing to see a girl with a bit of meat on her and not stick thin. Her shopping indicated she enjoyed the nice things in life, but was a healthy eater.
They met again at the checkout, Kevin stood back, watching her pack, load and pay. Then he did the same.
Moving across the car park, he heard his mobile phone ring in his pocket, stopping he answered it. He did not recognise the number, but knew what the call would be about. After a few moments he had all the details he needed and headed towards the car.
When he got closer he recognised the girl from the store, she had loaded her shopping and was closing the boot.
"We even have the same taste in cars", Kevin declared looking at the two blue saloon cars side by side.
"So we have", Vanessa giggled, then her face clouded over, "the only difference is this", she pointed to a dented wing and broken light.
"Fortunately the person was honest enough and left me a note, telling me what he had done and his 'phone number, we have just exchanged information".
Kevin looked at the floor, then raised his face to meet hers.
"Errr, about that number"...