Beginning a New Story
This week I’m embarking on a new novel, and I’m going back to my roots. Yes, it’s a crime novel. I’ve had a few people ask me how I actually get started with a book. The simple answer is, I don’t know. The ideas begin when I have a basic concept occur to. Sometimes that … Continue reading
The Project
There are some years that start well, others that don’t start so well. This one’s not been good. We always knew that would start badly, though. I lost a very dear friend, Andy Setchell. What with that and my daughter going through the horrors of her mock GCSE exams, YouTube and my blogging activities have … Continue reading
Thank You, Public Lending Right!
It’s at this time of year that authors all sit back and stare in horror at their bank accounts. Christmas is past. Long past. The summer is a long way away. The heating has to be funded, food bought, children’s dance lessons, hockey lessons, rugby lessons all have to be paid for, as well as … Continue reading
Weekly Update
A short update this week. I’m in the middle of rewriting the end of my latest modern crime story, but it’s not an easy one and it’s taking rather longer than I’d expected. However, with luck I’ll finish it today or tomorrow before sending it to Canada to my favourite copy editing expert (you know … Continue reading
Another Week, Another Edit
Last week I was glad to finish one edit – this week I have another. It’s one of the more accurate observations, the fact that all writing is rewriting. I estimated that my first novel was the result of reading and rereading my manuscript somewhere in the region of thirty five times. By the end … Continue reading
NaNoWriMo and more…
There are plenty of people who’ve been trying desperately hard to write in the last few weeks since the start of NaNoWriMo ’15. I can all too easily empathise with their frustrations. One thing that many people don’t realise, when they set out to write something, is that there are very few jobs quite so … Continue reading
Writing Discipline
As a follow-up to yesterday’s Top Ten Tips on NaNoWriMo, I thought I ought to add a response to two of the comments I’ve received. The two points that were raised both relate to discipline more than anything else. First, another writer was a little concerned at my point 7. She pointed out, quite rightly, that she was an … Continue reading
NaNoWriMo – My Top Ten Tips!
So here it is, another year, and already another NaNoWriMo. You’ve never heard of it? It’s the National Novel Writing Month, and it involves a vast number of aspiring authors getting together with professional writers, making a statement about their objective of writing a book in the month of November, and cracking on with it. … Continue reading
Last Week!
Last week was one of those exciting times when I was allowed out for a couple of days. It’s not easy when you’re let off the leash. I was going to Swanwick Writers’ School, which was a first for me, to give two one-hour workshops to aspiring and existing writers, but all the time while … Continue reading
What a month June was!
I have been suffering recently from a series of disasters. Early this year I had the horror of a computer failure. Before anyone says (again) that I ought to back up the damn thing, I do. I routinely back up to a local second disk, and to remote disks, and to the cloud. However, once in … Continue reading
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