Monthly Archives: August 2012

I’m Off Again…..

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This time, to Swanwick 🙂

As you read this I’ll be on my way up the motorway in the direction of Derby.

So the blogging schedule will be out the window for another week lol. Of course, I’ll be doing daily updates, but, yet again, I’ll be a bit behind with your blogs 😦

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So what am I looking forward to?

Keeping Up Appearances with Steve Hartley How to keep your characters in character.

Short Story Success with Linda Lewis The main course I’m enrolled on.

Show Not Tell with Roz Southey

Getting an Agent with Meg Davis

Twitter or Facebook with Peter Jones & Della Galton

How to Write Romance with Sharon Kendrick

Historical Sagas with Tricia Kitchin

Writing Erotica with Della Galton

The evening speaker every night, walking round the lake at 6am in the morning, chatting to the other smokers in the smoking tent, the performances from the scriptwriters, the buskers night and catching up with people I haven’t seen for a year.

Last year, when I got home I had to go straight to bed, I was exhausted! So looking at this years programme I’m sure I’ll have to do the same again lol

Now where did I put that insect repellent?

Writing Workshop With Sue Moorcroft

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I recently attended a Short Story Writing Workshop with Sue Moorcroft

What a great day 🙂 Sue is an excellent teacher!

As per usual, you know me, I made lots of notes 🙂

Sue had lots of interesting tips for writing short stories for magazines, so if that is something you’d like to explore, I can highly recommend Sue’s book. But it’s not just for short stories. Sue has published several full length novels too 🙂

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One of the tips she gave us that I thought was really helpful was the 10 Words/Phrases This really helps with writing description, and if you incorporate those actual words into your story, hopefully, the reader will be more able to picture what you’re describing. Personally, I think it is great for getting to know my characters. I can split it up into 10 personality traits, or 10 physical features. It’s really helping me focus on what my characters look like 🙂

Think of 10 words or phrases that relate to your character or your setting. So, for example, when I picture my heroine, Kate, these are the words that immediately come to mind:

Pale skinned
Plain
Clumsy
Chestnut hair
Single
Smartly dressed (suit)
Stubborn
Dog owner
Believes in romance
Friendly

Sue is teaching a writing course in Italy next year, and I’m so tempted to go, no, more than tempted, I really want to go 🙂 Arte Umbria are doing Creative Writing courses next year, the setting, a country house set in 220 acres of the Umbrian Hills near Tuscany *wistful sigh* 🙂

So, dear reader, should I go to Italy? lol 😉 and anyone fancy joining me? 😉

Introducing The Heroine

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As most of you know (those who have been following me for a while now) I have a thing about characters lol. I do a lot of character sketches. It goes back to my childhood, playing with dolls and dolls houses. I just love making up life stories for people 🙂

Sooooo, back in June I embarked on a Pocket Novel course, and my first step was to come up with a heroine. Please let me introduce you to Kate, the heroine of our story……

Kate has just turned 30. She has shoulder length chestnut brown hair and hazel eyes. A size 12/14 but constantly battling with her weight, she has a mole on her cheek and pale skin that easily burns. Most at home in jeans which she wears with pumps, she can be “girly” when required and enjoys dressing up for nights out with her girlfriend.

Single, she is still looking for Mr Right, but finds it hard to trust men after being hurt badly by an ex (who cheated on her). She works as a secretary in a large office in town (which bores her rigid) and at the weekends enjoys long walks with her dog. She lives with her dog Buster in a large Victorian house that has been converted into flats. Whilst she’s at work, the lady below, Mrs Peel has Buster.

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Kind and thoughtful, she loves animals and has volunteered at the local Shelter. She bites her nails and suffers from confidence issues. An only child to divorced parents she has a good relationship with her mum. She rarely sees her dad, especially now he has a new girlfriend who is her age. She has a best friend Francesca, who she’s known since school, they work in the same company.

During her parents bitter divorce she spent a lot of time with her grandparents. Sadly her grandfather is now dead but she visits her grandmother every week without fail, in the sheltered housing accommodation she now lives in. Her hobbies are reading (mainly romance) and dancing. She likes to go to the local clubs on a Saturday night and goes to Salsa dancing classes when she can be bothered. Her gym membership is rarely used.

Often described as stubborn, she can be reluctant to change her mind after she’s made a decision about something, or assumption about someone. She dreams of one day having a husband who dotes on her and 2 children. She loves children and is beginning to worry that this may never happen.

So that’s Kate. I need her to be likeable, sooooo dear reader Do you like her? and is there anything else you’d like to know about her?

I’m It Again lol

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I’ve been tagged in a game of Blog Tag by the lovely Sandra over at Another 12 Novels in 12 Months 🙂

The rules are:
I must post the rules
I must answer the questions the tagger listed for me
I must create (or reuse) 11 questions for those I tag
I must tag 11 people
I must let them know they’ve been tagged

Sandra’s questions are:

1. If you could re-live a moment in your life when would you choose and why?
Ooooo, ummmmm, there are lots….because I know that if I’d made different decisions about certain things I may have prevented some not so nice things happening, if you know what I mean 😉 if I could relive one moment, just for the pleasure of it (not to change it) it would be my wedding day….I was so happy….I’d love to feel like that again…so many hopes and dreams 🙂

2. What is your first happiest memory?
Bloody hell these questions are deep lol….probably the Christmas I got my first dolls house.

3. If you could have dinner with 3 dead historical figures who would you choose?
Oscar Wilde, Queen Victoria and Winston Churchill…. Now wouldn’t that be a party lol.

4. After a long, difficult day, what is your favourite way to unwind?
A cup of tea and a film 🙂

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5. What is your favourite singer/band to listen to while writing?
I don’t listen to music when I’m writing, in fact, I only tend to listen to music in my car…my faves are Oasis, Lostprophets and Linkin Park, in that order.

6. If you sold your novel for 100,000 (dollar/Euro/Pound/etc.) what would you do with your advance? I would use half to pay off some of my mortgage and the rest I’d use to do the house up.

7. What did you want to be when you were little?
An architect LMAO!

8. What is one thing that you need with you when you write (on your desk, on your body, etc.)? a good selection of pens and my notebook beside me 🙂

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9. Would you rather write using a computer, typewriter or pen and paper and why? Pen and paper definitely. Not sure why, there’s just something magical about having a pen in your hand 🙂

10. What are 3 things that invariably make you smile?
My pets, love letters/notes and a new notebook.

11. What does your favourite colour remind you of?
My fave colours are red and purple. Red reminds me of passion and love and purple kind of feels comforting 🙂

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So as I’m a rule breaker I’m just gunna say that I tag EVERYONE who follows me! I love getting to know you guys, so if you haven’t already taken part, please do 🙂

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On The Pull

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Nooooo, not me, I’m a married women…..but then so is she 😉

This is the piece I wrote that was inspired by the “powder room” photo on Saturday 🙂 In first draft, I’m still experimenting with first person POV.

“Quick, hold the door and keep watch.”

“But Sara, I can’t physically stop people coming in?”

“Yes you can, go on, stand in front of the door.”

I rested my weight against the door and tried to focus my attention on the flock wallpaper rather than my friend, stripping down to her bra and knickers.

“I don’t know why we have to go through this every time. You looked fine.” I muttered under my breath.

Sara laughed as she pulled up the scarlet Lycra mini dress.

“Oh please, you know if Dave saw me going out like this he’d kill me!”

I had to admit she was right. Sara’s husband was possessive. She was only allowed to see me once a month and as far as he was concerned you didn’t need to dress up for Bingo. But then, he didn’t know that we never actually went.

Sara folded her jeans and T shirt and placed them in her bag. She was already wearing high heels, Dave loved her in stilettos.

“Right, all done, just the makeup.” She twirled “How do I look?”

I wanted to say like a whore, but I bit my tongue. It wouldn’t have worried her anyway, that was the look she wanted.

“Great, very sexy.” Well, it was partly true.

She quickly applied some more makeup and pouted her blood red lips.

“Now, just a little something to get me in the mood.” She winked and laid a small mirror on the shelf above the sink. I bowed my head and listened to her snorting.

“Do you have to do that in a place like this?”

“Oh, stop being such an old woman Chlo. Right, let’s go get em.” She shrieked with laughter and as she leaned over my shoulder to the door handle, she paused. “and don’t forget, if I pull, I’ve stayed at yours tonight.”

I smiled, I knew the drill.

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Hmmmmm, not too sure where that one is going. Perhaps tonight, Chloe will tell Dave the truth?

I’m open to suggestions?

The To Do List 6th to 12th August

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Firstly, thank you so much, to everyone who commented, sympathised and generally encouraged on my post last Wednesday for the IWSG Day. I really appreciate it, and it’s given me much to think about over the last few days 🙂

And secondly, my feet are back to normal!!!!! YAY! So no Drs for me today *beams*

Sooooo, how did I do?

1. Sort out the piles of stuff on my table. It’s an absolute mess now that I’ve spread out all the stuff I brought back from Caerleon lol DONE!

2. Go through my Caerleon notes. I made lots of notes in Kate Walkers class, so I need to go through them, see if they actually make sense and follow up on some of the authors she recommended. DONE!

3. Read for at least 1 hour every day. I really need to stick to this. Oh, umm, well I would say I kind of failed, I missed one day! 😉

4. Catch up with my prompts. I’m a couple of days behind, mainly because I’m not feeling too great (the whole feet thing is getting me down). DONE! All up to date 🙂

5. Sort out a short story to send to Linda Lewis and send it. Linda is doing a critique for me at Swanwick next month. DONE!

6. Catch up with Blogs. I’ve fallen a bit behind DONE! But something tells me this is going to be a regular occurrence lol

7. Write my door piece. lol DONE!

Well that wasn’t too bad was it 🙂

A couple of weeks ago I bought I diary. I was using those “things to do lists” but I kept losing them in my piles lol. So now, it’s all in one little book 🙂

As I’m off to Swanwick on Saturday, the to do list will be rather small this week…..

1. Write my “Powder Room” prompt.

2. Finish current read (Kate Walker) and start something else.

3. Start seriously thinking about which ‘novel’ idea I’ll be doing for Nano and make some notes.

4. Sort out all my writing stuff to take to Swanwick. Should I start a new notebook? Keep it all in one place?

5. Catch up with my journal.

Will be doing my prompts every day, naturally, don’t want to end up behind, which I’m sure will happen next week lol and still try to read for an hour every day 🙂

There, that shouldn’t be too taxing!

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What are your plans for this week?

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Six Sentence Sunday 5th August

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This weeks offering…..

“Dad, can we go to the park today Dad?”

“Tommy, please, just let me finish this work, we’ll go later.”

I watched my son as he pouted and stomped out of the room, slamming his feet down on the polished oak floor as heavy as he could.

Don’t listen to anyone who says working from home is better than being stuck in a depressing, grey office. Give me fabric covered partitions and queuing at the coffee machine any day, especially during school holidays.

I pick up my pen and continue writing my report.

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Ahhhh, poor Tommy. Something tells me he’s not gunna get to the park today 😉 I don’t envy parents who work from home when the school holidays come round. It must be a nightmare!

The Powder Room

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Today’s picture was taken in The Grand Hotel, Brighton.

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Hmmmmm, not quite sure yet where this one will go 🙂

what are you thinking?

My Love/Hate Relationship With 50 Shades

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I finally finished 50 Shades of Grey *slumps exhausted into a heap* 😉 Actually, it’s the quickest I’ve read a book in a long while lol.

I’m not going to do a review, I read it as a “writer” because I was intrigued about this whole phenomenon. Why were some people dissing it? I like to make my own mind up 🙂

So, I’ve decided to do a Love list and a Hate list….perhaps then I can decide how many stars to give it on Goodreads 😉

What I Loved About 50 Shades
Christian Grey: Wow, what a great character! Yes, I bonded lol. I guess I’m just drawn to dark, mysterious men. Who is it that’s been cast in the film role? To me, when I picture him I’m thinking Christian Bale, sorry, can’t help it lol. I could see the connection to Edward (Twilight) but to me it wasn’t glaringly obvious.

I Liked Her Style: Yes, I did, it was easy reading. As I’ve said a lot of times on this blog, who cares about verbs, adverbs, show and tell (yes, I know the publishers do lol). If its a good story, engages the reader, then so what. I don’t consider my own writing to be “literary” and I don’t want it to be. If that really is crap writing then I may as well give up now! Lol. Seriously, i don’t believe my writing is any better. I don’t feel that I’m in a position to judge, people in glass houses en all that. It actually gave me hope that you don’t have to be the best writer in the world to be successful.

What I Hated About 50 Shades
The Repitition: Ok, I was warned about this before I started. The first thing that bugged me was the word “Equilibrium” which seems to crop up in every few chapters and IMO, stands out like the proverbial thumb. But the really annoying thing was the biting of the bottom lip. Towards the end I got to screaming point lol

The Sex: Ha ha ha, I’m sorry, but I got a bit bored. As a man, if you read this book, prepare to feel inferior lol. Hell, as a woman reading this book you could be convinced there’s something wrong with you! Lol.

Ana: Oh, what a wishey washey heroine, IMO. I just didn’t particularly like her. I had no sympathy for her to be honest. I know she was suppose to be a young naive girl, but I found that quite annoying. If she’s that naive and innocent, surely, she would have run a mile lol.

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E L James is making a fortune (check out this article). So I for one would LOVE to be known as a crap writer if it meant I could buy a swanky London pad with an indoor swimming pool lol 😉

Also check out this article which seems to echo my view that this book has something And this one which I think gives the best argument I’ve seen to date 🙂

I’m getting a little bored with all the “it’s badly written” comments. The same was said of Stephanie Myers and JK Rowling, and look where they all are now. Is it time, as writers, we wake up and realise that these books are what the public want? Isn’t a book that gets people reading who don’t usually read a good thing?

Kate Walker said at Caerleon that, in her opinion, the reason 50 Shades is so successful is not because of the sex. It’s basically a love story, centred around the emotional conflict of the two main characters. The “will they won’t they” element is what people keep coming back for.

what do you think…..Have you read it? Will you be reading it? And how does it make you feel about your own work?

Inspiring? Moi?

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I’ve been nominated for the Inspiring Blog Award by Amber Dane and by Wendy Steele so I’m feeling pretty smug this morning 🙂

Thank you soooo much Amber and Wendy 🙂 I don’t actually see myself as inspiring (lack of self confidence, self esteem issues lol) but its lovely to hear that someone actually does lol 🙂

As I’ve already received this award, I’m going to break the rules and just highlight a few blog posts I’ve read recently which I’ve found inspiring 🙂

Erica at Write by Waples has written a post entitled Writing Tip #3 which is something I wholeheartedly agree with. Sometimes, I just wish there was someone nagging me lol

Dory’s World is full of everyday observations. I would soooo LOVE to use that photo of the elderly couple on the bus as a prompt 🙂

Dan Bracewell is contemplating the fact that he’s bitten off more than he can chew. Oh yes, I think we all know that feeling. I’m already thinking that about my Louisa Gould story and I haven’t even started it *snigger*

Clearskies Bluewater is talking about the fears and concerns that I think we all have about our capabilities as a writer. It definitely resonated with me.

JeanNicole Rivers post about writing myths was/is interesting, because of point number two. Remember my post about what I’d learnt from the agent? Yes, concept concept concept!!!! And that’s exactly how you get it 🙂

Kimberly at Unnecessary Poetry posted a great post giving so many useful links that it just made me realise that I’m not the only one who spends hours online every day. Me thinks I’ll have to set aside a whole day to benefit from this post 🙂

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Please do go and visit these blogs, yeah yeah, I know you’re busy and you already follow 389 blogs as it is, but, you never know, you might just find something inspiring 🙂

What’s inspired you recently?