There has been a lot written about procrastination on the Internet. I can do it well and will probably get an honours degree in it, from the University of life.
I decided that a good way to use my procrastination time, was to read about it. I spent a lot of time researching about the topic and was thrilled to learn, I am an expert. At last, there is something I can do 100% .
I found this video and it made me giggle.
I then realised that I am addicted to procrastination and found help here.
This is a very handy handout for procrastinators, I stopped what I was doing to read it. I owed it to myself to learn about this topic.
I do know that you are reading this blog out of interest, you are not wasting time or avoiding your Wip. You are not procrastinating...ARE YOU?
Meet The Important Ones!
Writing From A Different Angle
˙˙˙ ʇnq ʎɐʍ sıɥʇ sısdouʎs ɹo ɹǝʇʇǝl ʎɹǝnb ʎɯ ǝʇıɹʍ oʇ ɐǝpı pooƃ ɐ ǝq llıʍ ʇı ǝɹns ʇou ɯɐ ı ˙ǝlƃuɐ ʇuǝɹǝɟɟıp ɐ ƃuısn lǝʌou ʎɯ ǝʇıɹʍ oʇ ƃuıʎɹʇ ɯɐ ı
OK, I will prevent you from breaking your necks and turn my computer the right way around.
Writing from a different angle can be a challenge.
C Patrick Schulze, (Author of Born to Be Brothers), wrote an interesting post and it made me look at my ms again. I followed his exercise challenge and was very pleased with the results. Take a look at “Thou Shalt Remove All Forms of the word, ‘To be.’ Tell him I sent you :)
I have never been a vampire fan, nor watch much TV, but have recently sat with DH and watched a few of the modern films produced. I then read a book or two, including Twilight and from then on ideas have been forming in my head. I keep thinking of ways I could write a vampire fantasy novel.
I have no desire to write one, but the ideas just keep coming. This is the first time I have experienced a change of genre thinking.
My imagination has obviously been alerted to something new and my mind wants me to write something from a different angle. I really wish it would leave me alone to finish the first thing it suggested!
OK, I will prevent you from breaking your necks and turn my computer the right way around.
Writing from a different angle can be a challenge.
C Patrick Schulze, (Author of Born to Be Brothers), wrote an interesting post and it made me look at my ms again. I followed his exercise challenge and was very pleased with the results. Take a look at “Thou Shalt Remove All Forms of the word, ‘To be.’ Tell him I sent you :)
I have never been a vampire fan, nor watch much TV, but have recently sat with DH and watched a few of the modern films produced. I then read a book or two, including Twilight and from then on ideas have been forming in my head. I keep thinking of ways I could write a vampire fantasy novel.
I have no desire to write one, but the ideas just keep coming. This is the first time I have experienced a change of genre thinking.
My imagination has obviously been alerted to something new and my mind wants me to write something from a different angle. I really wish it would leave me alone to finish the first thing it suggested!
Goodbye Mommy by Lora Lee Boynton
Someone sent me a tweet and asked me to share this video. I have watched it time and again, I count my blessings. I am more than happy to promote this book. I am ordering my copy and it just proves that video marketing your book, works.
To buy a copy of the book visit Goodbye Mommy Website.
To buy a copy of the book visit Goodbye Mommy Website.
Triond Number One
I use Triond writers site as a place to share my article writing and other items. It is the first place I shared my work and the support I gained was wonderful. One of the things the writers tend to strive for is the number one slot on the Hot Content. I gave up striving for the spot last year and just plodded along.
This morning I wrote this article and it was published within five minutes. Within half an hour, yes you guessed it, I made the number one spot. It was a lovely feeling and a confidence boost.
The Story Spinner on yesterday's post gave me the inspiration to write ...
Five Online Aids for the Serious Writer.
Pen, paper and computer are not the only writing aids that are useful for the serious writer. Five online useful aids will help strengthen article and novel writing. You will build up your flow of blog/website traffic and gain regular followers, therefore building a writing platform for the future. Writing an article or book can be an impulsive act or a well laid out plan. Planning can take as long to prepare as writing the actual item in question. Research is a vital part of laying out a strong background for an interesting read. There are many websites, libraries and bookstores where writers can find resources that will help. Five online writing aids is a useful list for the serious writer. Bookmark the sites for reference and study, take your writing seriously and reap the rewards. Get noticed for being a competent article writer, write that best seller or set up a blog/ website, and get recognition for interesting work...
Read More.
Celebrating Post -One Hundred
This is my one hundreth post on the blog. So I decided to have a little fun to celebrate.
I found a great gadget to play with, it is Story Spinner. You have to click on the Story Spinner and you will get a starting phrase, a setting and four words that you must include in a story. Set a timer for 10-minutes... and then write!
Mine were:
Setting for your story:
Wimbledon
Starting phrase for your story:
The night settled in around
Four words you must include in your story:
Jolly
Knead
Ultraviolet
Jingle
The night settled in around the common. Wimbledon Common was quiet, not a soul was about. Jack Knead had walked the path many times before, but had never really thought about his surroundings. He had had a bad day and his spirits were low. He walked quickly and was looking forward to getting home. He had set the slow cooker before he left home that morning, the casserole smell would be a welcome perfume. One thing he did notice tonight was the silence, the lack of noise that he is used to hearing when he walked the common. There was one person walking a dog and another riding a bike in the opposite direction, but they were silent in their tasks. There were no lovers out tonight, it was too cold to sit on the benches beneath the street lamps. The lamps had been changed recently, they had to conform with the new European rulings. Gone were the warm, almost ultraviolet rays that the old style used to scatter across the tree lined walk. Harsh yellow stains were formed now and the soft mellow lights were a thing of the past. Hunching his shoulders and pushing his hands deeper into his pockets, he felt the small coins that were lying in the corner of the right one. He was suddenly reminded of how he had won them, a silly bet, one that had cost him his wife.
He had bet a colleague that he could get any woman to sleep with him. They were in a bar one evening and had had a few too many beers. Jack remembered it was The Jolly Pirate in the High Street. The colleague accepted the bet and a few coins changed hands. The man then seduced Jack's wife and she left home, Jack was in shock. Reminded of the dreadful time in his life, he also knew he needed to move on. The divorce had been finalised and today he was a single man. He pulled the coins from his pocket, and threw them into the air, one by one they landed. The only noise of the night was the jingle as each coin landed. Jack continued his walk home, life moved forward and so must he.
I had fun writing this, it was a great exercise and fun to do. I was surprised at the outcome and what I had writing within ten minutes.
Listen Said My WIP
I have had writer's slump (my own terminology), I ran away from my wip. I needn't have worried, it found me and told me to face up to it, not to fear it. I must write it and finish, it is my promise to myself and I will let ME down if I don't.
I listened to my wip, twitter away, I baked pies, cleaned the house and still it twittered on the table in its blue tray. I scrubbed the yard, walked the dogs, made Christmas cards and generally avoided writing. Relentlessly my wip argued with me, I was wrong and it was right. It is worth writing, it is a gift to myself, it is alive and kicking. I have no right to bring it to life, tell the world it is going to become something and then to neglect it. I have a duty to my creation, blah, blah, blah it went on, I still ignored it. I had nothing to offer it, no new characters were needed, the storyline was complete and the ending had been written before the book had been started. There was nothing more to give, the thing was dying and I was allowing it to happen.
Monday morning I finished my daily chores and decided to dust the blue tray. Page by page I read the ms, slowly the air circulated around the pages and new life breathed back into it. A weak character had been the problem, he had a strong background but a weak write up. Pen in hand I recreated him, gave him a different job and BINGO, my wip approved. It brushed itself down, patted me on the back and accepted my apology of neglecting it for so long.
Never being one to sulk, it accepted the apology and move forward. Dancing from scene to scene it reformed the new character, jiggled a sentence or two and fell in love with me again. It didn't want to leave my side, it still doesn't, we are happy again, our relationship is still as strong and I am hoping it will remain so for a lifetime. I have promised to find a dust jacket for wip one day, so I will have to fulfill that promise.
Come Back
Come back! Yes this is the home of Glynis, she's just washed the curtains.
Come back, yes my characters have made a come back, they are part of my life again.
I am not sure if the baking of pies or the new fresh colours on the blog were the kick I needed, but I am happily writing again. Baby steps but it is happening and that is all that matters.
During the dark moments of doubt, I had a new idea for one of my characters. The knock on effect from this is that he becomes a stronger character and uplifts another.
I think another thing that helped me pick up the pen again, is the fact that I am reading more about agents looking for new unpublished authors. Reading positive blogs about this made me feel there is hope. I have listed a couple I came across.
Literary Agents Actively Seeking Authors.
Writers Literary Agency
I wrote a list of titles that came to me in the early hours of the morning. I wonder if they were blocking the flow and rhythm of my wip. Who knows? Who cares? What is important is I have started to write again.
Back On Track
After yesterday I am flagging. I baked pies after the disaster of losing my blog content. I took my temper out on pastry, meat and apples. DH came into the kitchen and nearly fainted, he knew there was something wrong; I told him I had lost my blog content and life was a disaster. He reminded me I backed up my blog template after the last time. Sure enough, there on a disc was the basics waiting to be uploaded.
So I am back on track. Unfortunately the writing is not happening but I am sure it will come alive again.
Talking of being alive, this is a post I added to my New Scribbles blog. I will get back to this one soon. So take a few minutes to look at I'm Alive, I am sure you will benefit in some way.
Take care and I am off out for Sunday lunch with DH, he deserves a decent meal and not one of my pies!
Disaster Strikes!!
As you can see, my blog has nearly disappeared. No rhyme nor reason as to why, so please watch this space while I eat chocolate, scream, cry and try and sort it out!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PS:
A whole day spent on sorting this out, fortunately I learned my lesson before and had saved a copy of my template html. It all looks rather loud and large to me at the moment, but it will have to do.
PPS: Still eating chocolate!
PPS: This is it, the finished blog. This is the second time I have woken up to blank. I wrote about my last experience on this blog. I did remember to keep a copy on file and fortunately, the more recent posts were still on the blog memory as they appeared when I played around and added a new template.
PPPS: Still not writing and the chocolate has gone!
Strange -Mystified-Puzzled
What a funny mood I have been in. It started when I got all the positive comments about my wip. It was like an euphoric slump, nothing major happened, just a low point in my writing week. One minute I was on a high and the next, I was avoiding my desk. After all the positive feedback, I expected to be bashing at the keys and filling notepads by the score. The opposite happened,
I didn't want to blog here anymore, I couldn't face logging on, it was very strange.
I discussed it with DH, he wondered if it was because I had a task to finish. As I had shown some of you my work and all comments and emails were positive, he wondered if it was fear of rising to the expectations of others. I had given you all hope that I was going to produce something worth reading.
I laughed but thought, maybe he is right. Maybe I have given myself a hurdle so high with spectators watching, that I am nervous of jumping and landing on the other side.
My work sits untouched, I have done everything I can to avoid it. Hours wasted on Twitter, pretending I am connecting with authors and building a platform, my imaginary agent and publisher want me to build.
I wrote poems, made cards, tinkered with things around the house and made silly videos (I uploaded one here related to my breakdown ten years ago. I did read several books, so that was a plus, but all the time my eye was on the blue tray that houses my ms. Guilt oozed from every pore, I was letting myself down and Kitty is waiting for the world to meet her.
How seriously am I taking myself as a writer? Who am I kidding? Am I just playing with words or am I really ready to commit myself properly?
I have come too far for me to give up, I know that. I want to write the book, I want to be published (who doesn't?), but more importantly, I want to finish the book. So why, if I want to do something so badly, can I not commit this week?
- Am I tired of the story? No-I enjoy writing and reading it.
- Have I got a blocked brain? No-My ideas are still flowing.
- Are my characters boring? For me -no, they are alive and kicking, with different challenges to share.
Maybe my characters just wanted a holiday...who knows. I will keep you informed of my progress as soon as I think there is any.
Removed -Plagiarism Saftey
I had an email that made me stop and think. The author advised me to remove my novel snippets and wait until I have a firm published book before I share anymore.
Plagiarism is their reason for concern and I feel that is a good reason. So many people suffer at the hands of plagiarists and I think I should take heed and not learn the hard way.I do want to share the comments with you as so many took the time to leave one.
Plagiarism Checker.
28 Comments:
Well without you pushing me I would not have written it, thanks Louie.
Glynis this really good! You caught my attention in the first paragraph! Now,you say this is the second chapter,I would love to read the 1st paragraph of the 1st chapter. That is often how I choose books I buy.:)
Sorry Carol, I missed a few words. It is the first chapter and a snippet of the second!
Thanks for your encouragement.
Well done Glynis. Keep up the motivation and good work. Hope you had a nice birthday by the way. Take care xx
This is great news! Best wishes for your success.
Stephen Tremp
Holy macaroni, Glynis! What a macabre and wonderful setting. I send best wishes from California.
Happy Birthday! And thank you for sharing these exciting parts of your book. Sounds wonderful. Gripping right from the first paragraph. Keep it up.
Sounds exciting. I will have to come back and read the chapters because I do not have the time this morning.
This is a sound story. It's gripping and the characters are very interesting people.
I'll send you some other thoughts privately.
Wonderful begining! The characters are real and I feel as though I know them all! The quick snippet of "Jack's" background creates a believable back story to one of history's most notorious criminals. Keep up the good work and I look forward to reading more!
Hope your birthday was a great one :)
Thank you all for your kind words and support. I really appreciate the time you have taken to read it.
This is realy good! Your characters have depth and feel alive. I can really see them living in that time and place. The opening grabs my attention and draws me in. I think it's interesting how you introduce all of the characters with the brief segments from their point of view. This will be an outstanding novel once it's complete!
Well done, Glynis. You're off to a brilliant start. Keep up the excellent work! xx
First off, Happy Birthday. You have a good beginning here.
I. Love. This. I read every word, and can't wait to read more. I'm a true crime freak, and have always been intrigued by the story of Jack the Ripper. Did you read Patricia Cornwell's book?
You are one talented writer, my friend. I wish you nothing but success along your writing path. ;-)
Thank you all so much for your comments!
Yes Debra, I am a fan of hers and I am humbled by your comment, thanks.
GREAT premise! Have fun writing it.
Like the characters; love the setting. Keep going!
Great start Glynis- you made me want to read more, and that is always the acid test. You could tighten it up a little... the third paragraph would be a much more gripping opening than the first one - just a suggestion.
K, Anne and Joan many thanks for the comments.
Joan, I will play with it and see what I come up with. Thanks for your advice and input. I do confess to like the opening, but I am not the reader *grin*.
Interesting, Glynis. It grabs the reader and makes us want to read more. There seemed to be a lot of characters introduced quickly. I think the characters would be easier to get to know if the chapter flowed smoothly from one character to the next, rather than breaking it into small vignettes.
I like the idea of learning Jack's background.
Helen
Straight From Hel
Oh! need to come back to read - but I am so very glad you are writing - and excited about the writing - and feel good about it ...this is good, very good to feel this way *smiling!*
I wanted to wish you a Happy Birthday.......
Thank you Kat, I try to learn something new each day. Folk such as yourself supporting and encouraging me means a lot.
Helen, thank you for your advice. I have been struggling with the character intro piece and will play around with it to see what I can do.
I have had nothing but good constructive advice, emails and comments. It has made me more determined to reach the finishing line.
That sounds like a brilliant idea for a novel Glynis, keep going with it, I look forward to more snippets.
Great start, Glynis. You paint the scene and the characters so they come alive for me.
You might want to start with Kitty, having that feeling she describes to Sarah, of being watched, rather than letting us know for sure that she hasn't been targeted this time. It might up the tension.
Keep going...I know how hard that is!
Kate thank you so much.
Kathy,that's a good idea, thanks. I will play around with it. Thank you for the positive input, I do appreciate it.
wow...big stuff. Mystery? Awesome.
Words Are All I Have
I was asked by a friend about my wip recently and I told her I was sharing a snippet on my blog. She popped in and read it, then she asked for a copy of the MS for browsing and I turned her down.
Why?
I know she will read it through carefully, she will critique it well and will be honest. The ideal person to read it-right?
This is the reason I turned her down for the moment...
I explained to her that during this week, the responses from my sharing Ripper My Love with my friends here made me realise, that although I say I have a novel, words are all I have.
I have thousands of them, they were in order as my mind saw them. Chapter this, that and the other. I shared them, received emails full of positive feedback and tidbits of how to tweek it. You can see the comments that were left on the post, they were so supportive and valuable to me. Each email and comment opened my eyes, using the words I have I can rearrange the work. I can mix the chapters about and I can improve so many things even by not writing. I can move paragraphs and chapters to tighten up scenes, my writing skills have been challenged and I love it.
The value of your input is more than you will ever know and I thank you all.
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Sounds exciting. I look forward to reading some more.