Time Off From The Must Do’s

Posted on by

There is no To Do list this week, for 2 reasons:

1. I deserve time off!

And

2. I thought you’d all want to hear about my reading at the Faber Event last Friday 😉

I was still editing my piece on the train journey up to London!

When i arrived we were offered the chance to have a practice reading with Richard Reeves (who tutored SJ Watson). So after watching a few of my fellow students go up to the podium, read, be timed, and then given tips on how to improve their readings I gave it a go. I was nervous, but it was only to be in front of a dozen students.

20130615-182746.jpg
My reading came in at 1.50 seconds (our time slots were for 2 minutes) and Richard said my volume was fine (he could hear me perfectly at the back). He said that I could probably afford to pause for slightly longer in a few places, but other than that it was clear and understandable. When I made my way back to my seat my hands were shaking lol.

By 1.30 the room was packed and we took our seats. The readings were in alphabetical order, so of course, I was 21st out of 23 lol….if I’d had known that I would have changed my name! I managed to take this pic before everyone arrived lol.

20130615-182914.jpg
I didnt hear a word the guy before me read, all i could hear was my heart pounding and then when they were clapping i knew i had to get up. I was terrified but, everyone else had done so well overcoming their nerves that i was determined to do it. I went up to the podium and said “Hello, my name is Vikki Thompson and this is the opening scene of my novel Still.” It was the only time I looked around the room until I’d finished reading lol. I wasn’t shaking when I finished, but I felt the practice run had been better lol.

After everyone was thanked for coming we got up and seriously, some of the agents made a bee line for certain students, who’d obviously impressed them. They just had to get in first!

We all congregated in another room for drinks and it was then that agents had the full opportunity to approach the students whose work they were interested in. Five people from my class were approached, two of them by two agents.

My tutor Tim came up to me and said I’d done really well, and at that moment I could have burst into tears, the relief, the build up of 6 months was just so overwhelming. He must have seen my face because he asked if I was ok and all I could do was nod lol

I don’t know exactly which agents were there, although I did see one of my class approached by a lady from Curtis Brown.

I wasn’t disappointed that no one approached me and that i didnt get the opportunity to do my “pitch”. I wasn’t expecting anyone to. My fellow students work was so much better, seriously. The ones who went away Friday with requests to submit truly deserved it….I didn’t, and I accept that.

We were given 2 copies of the Anthology. One, I got all my fellow class mates to sign (so that when they’re famous I can flog it for thousands! Just kidding, I’ll treasure it) and the other I signed and wrote a small thank you note to The Hubster, who, has been very supportive with the course and as a taxi service (Thank You!).

20130615-183022.jpg
The Anthology will be available on Kindle soon, so I’ll give you the link to that when I have it….just in case you’d like to download it and see my submission. My reading isn’t in there though….I may share that with you at some stage, when I’ve recovered lol

20130615-183056.jpg
So now what? I guess I’ll just plod on, keep learning, keep writing….it wasn’t my time, maybe it never will be (and noooo, this isn’t a self pity post, really, I’m fine about it, I’m not even upset, just proud of myself and relieved its over lol). I learnt a lot, had some great experiences, met some fantastic people and can now put on my CV Faber Graduate 🙂

But now, i deserve a rest, don’t you agree? 😉

60 thoughts on “Time Off From The Must Do’s”

  4. My voice still shakes when I read or present in public, I don’t know why since I present every term in class. The point is you did it, it was good experience and you will feel better about presenting in time (thanks for the comment BTW) yeah the nervousness really hits after! Good for you!! Yep you deserve a rest!

    Like

    Reply

  8. You did it! Yes, you certainly do deserve a rest. And while you’re resting everything you learned from the Faber course will be settling down in your brain until you to pick up your pen and notebook again. In the meantime, put your feet up and chill with a good book. Not a self help book, but a well written novel. Enjoy your days and when your mind is ready, you’ll be writing again. Well done Vikki. Proud of you. x

    Like

    Reply

      • That’s great. The Lake District is beautiful. Give the writing muscles and imagination a rest. You’ll feel much better for it. Hope you and the Hubster have a lovely time. xx PS I hope you’re taking him, lol.

        Like

      • Thanks Maddie 🙂

        Yes, i am taking him lol…although, now you’ve said that, a few days on my own is VERY appealing lol….only kidding honey if you’re reading this 😉

        Xx

        Like

  9. Well done Vikki! I found my answer to my last question in this post, and I must say you’ve done a great job! Don’t worry about not getting to pitch (yet), you’ll get your chance soon I’m sure! Did I remember correctly that you’ve now dedicated your time off from a regular job and gotten all into writing? That’s already cool in my opinion! Keep trying, don’t give up, and I look forward to your next to-dos because they never fail to inspire me! Reminds me to keep my life on track too! 🙂

    Like

    Reply

  12. Wow, I am so proud of you! You are so brave – I’d have been terrified too, but I don’t think I’d have done it. It means nothing that no agents came to talk to you after, only that the right agent for you wasn’t in the room at the time! Are you still submitting? Anyway, like you said, having Faber Graduate on your writing CV looks pretty amazing, and you should be really proud of yourself. x

    Like

    Reply

    • Thanks Jo 🙂

      I AM really proud of myself, which is why, no matter what, i HAD to do it lol…and i guess that’s why I’m not too bothered about the agents….because the sense of achievement more than made up for it 🙂

      Submitting? Well, I’ve got to send off an MS to the RNA but other than that, no teal plans for anything at the moment.

      Xx

      Like

      Reply

  13. Bravo Vikki! Well done, what an awesome accomplishment. I’m very happy for you.

    I struggle to keep the tremble out of my voice when reading in front of a dozen classmates, I can’t even fathom the nerve it took!

    Like

    Reply

  15. Thanks for sharing that, Vikki. Reading our work aloud is a massive but worthwhile step in the learning and writing process. Without practice, I few writers read aloud with cool assurance. Well done! I felt that. My heart quickened as you described it. Plus you say you went in without expectations; that attitude helps me, too. Acceptance comes more easily. Now, enjoy your time off! xx 😉

    Like

    Reply

    • Thanks Tessa 🙂

      Oh, definitely! If id gone in there with the attitude that i really wanted an agent to pick me up i would have been a complete wreck, and upset afterwards. Im sure there were people who were.

      Xx

      Like

      Reply

      • Maybe. But I must say well done for going through the course and the reading aloud! It shows what you can achieve and is all grist to the writing mill. As Cat said, do be kind to yourself – it’s all part of the process. No need to reply to this. 😉 xx

        Like

  16. What an amazing experience to have had and well done for using it positively! Now you can get back to enjoying writing without pressure and hone your skills – and enjoy the Writers’ Bureau course too!

    Like

    Reply

  17. Vikki, I haven’t been here for a while, so I didn’t notice that you were gone. Okay … you worked for a long tme with Faber. You reported to us every week, even gave us pictures of your treats. WHAT I HEARD in today’s post is the sound of ho-hum. Don’t you dare second-guess your work. Only you can make this happen and only when you start to believe in yourself. What’s that nonsense about “maybe never?” Did you do all this work to cave in? Did you expect that you could take one giant leap to success without the attending heart-aches?

    You are as good as you think you are. Now let us all read your piece and get back to work. This will happen because you’ll develop a hard skin and make it happen 🙂

    Like

    Reply

    • I just had to reply to this because I totally agree with ‘ramblingsfromtheleft’. You’ve achieved a massive success here and you certainly deserve the break that you are allowing yourself. But, what you also deserve is the huge amount of credit for getting through the course, for learning, for taking that step up to the podium….for all the work that went into it before those 2minutes!

      You are an inspiration to many Vikki (and I have to say that because I copied your to-do lists so proof in point that you inspire me!). You WILL get there and though it make take time, I have the confidence in you that perhaps you lack for yourself.

      There is no ‘plodding’ on – because you don’t plod. You’re striding forward. There are loads of people who haven’t even attempted half of what you have, and the focus and determination you bring to writing is amazing. Plod is not the correct verb.

      Enjoy your well-deserved rest and come back with renewed enthusiasm and skill. I, for one, and looking forward to seeing where your writing journey takes you next – and coming along for the ride. 😉

      Take Care & *hugs*
      Cat x

      Like

      Reply

  20. Congrats on the reading! I’m sure your novel is better than you think. Definitely time to take a well-deserved break and bask in your accomplishments. Can’t wait to see what’s next for you though 🙂

    Like

    Reply

  23. Yes, I think you definitely deserve a rest. Job well done! You were super brave to get up and stand in front of a group to read. I don’t think I would’ve heard the person before me either. Groups make me nervous…the only thing that used to even help in nursing school for presentations was I was able to give them barefooted and none of my teachers objected fortunately. May sound odd, but my theory is it just helps me feel grounded somehow, so less nervous.

    Like

    Reply

  24. Wow, that sounds like a huge learning curve. I bet it was great to hear other people’s stories too. Well done doing the course and presenting your work like that. You definitely deserve a rest.

    Like

    Reply

  25. Pingback: Do you have the patience to plod along? | The struggle to be a writer that writes

  26. Brilliant blog, Vikki, was wondering what it would be like to pitch my novel. Sounds pretty scarey, don’t think I could do it. I say this because I nearly got on Deal or No Deal, all I had to do was talk continuously for one minute in front of the camera – and I couldn’t!

    Like

    Reply

Leave a reply to Vikki Thompson Cancel reply