The To Do List 6th to 12th August

Posted on August 6, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

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!

What are your plans for this week?

The To Do List 30th July to 5th August (the-view-outside.com)

Six Sentence Sunday 5th August

Posted on August 5, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

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.

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

Posted on August 4, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

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

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

what are you thinking?

My Love/Hate Relationship With 50 Shades

Posted on August 3, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

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.

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?

Posted on August 2, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

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 🙂

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?

Insecure Writers Support Day August

Posted on August 1, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

It’s that time of the month again 😉 Nooooo, not that time of the month, this time……

I can safely say that I am fully over deciding to bin the WIP, well, it’s the previous WIP now isn’t it? Lol 😉

So what am I feeling insecure about this month? Everything……

My regular readers will know I was trying to write a pocket novel recently, and it’s because of that that I decided to attend Kate Walkers Introduction to Romance course at Caerleon.

Well, what an eye opener! I don’t really know what I thought a Mills & Boon novel was but, I now know its right up my street 🙂

I love doing characters and I love emotional conflict. And that’s basically what a Mills & Boon Modern romance is. So guess what the plan is? Yep, that’s right, I want to try my hand at writing a Mills & Boon Romance! 😉

Kate was very inspiring. She’s written 60 books and made me feel that yes, I can do it, well, that’s how I felt at the end of every session….that is, until I got home lol.

Now I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed, a bit, I dunno, useless? Ha ha ha 🙂 Seriously, I’m doubting that I have even the tiniest ounce of writing talent. At this current moment I’m thinking there’s no way I could ever match Kate Walkers writing abilities.

Caerleon was excellent, being surrounded by all those writers. But, sometimes, when I’m at those events I feel alienated, and that I haven’t got a hope in hell of being published *deep sigh*

So am I just kidding myself? Will I ever have the stamina, determination, and talent to match Kate Walker? This is a major self pity post, I know lol. I’m not looking for sympathy, and I know I’m not alone in feeling like this…..but sometimes, it’s just good to wallow 😉

So what are you feeling insecure about today?

Insecure Writers Day – July (the-view-outside.com)

22 Hague Avenue

Posted on July 31, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

This is what I wrote in response to Saturdays photo prompt (first draft)…..

Helen watched the happy scene through the window as she stood outside number 22 Hague Avenue. Christmas Eve and bitterly cold, the desire to ring the doorbell was overwhelming. But, she remained rooted to the icy pavement beneath her feet.

Had she made the right choice 2 years ago? It was one of those forced situations in life where the decision had been unbearable.

She watched, transfixed, as the man lifted the small boy into the air. “Bobby” she mouthed as her eyes filled with tears. The boy laughed and giggled. He had changed so much, but that was inevitable, she hadn’t seen him since he was 6 months old. It took all her willpower to keep her arms by her side. A mothers natural urge to reach out and hold her baby. Helen slumped to the ground and silently wept.

She knew John would be a good father. Had been confident that Bobby would have a great life. But she couldn’t help wondering if Johns heart was still broken. Did he still love her and yearn for her as much as she did for him? The thought of him getting on with his life, finding someone else, was tortuous. What would he tell Bobby about her death? Would he tell him about the tragic accident where her body had been so badly mutilated she was unidentifiable by anything other than her dental records.

Pulling herself up she stood silently at the gate. Blowing a kiss towards the window, she turned, and tiptoed down the street to the waiting car.

“Are you ok?” The Agent asked, as Helen got into the passenger seat beside him.

Not really sure where this is going, I guess I could go back in time to explain how she got to that point? Or just carry it on with her new life? Fast forward to the future? Any thoughts? 🙂

The To Do List 30th July to 5th August

Posted on July 30, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

It was really weird not having a “To Do List” last week, but, being at Caerleon meant that I had other things to think about 😉

So this weeks list is:

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

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.

3. Read for at least 1 hour every day. I really need to stick to this.

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).

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.

6. Catch up with Blogs. Ummmm, I’ve fallen a bit behind 😦

7. Write my door piece. lol 😉

Hmmmmm….there’s quite a few bits there, but all achievable I think 🙂 Nothing too strenuous, as I’m off to the quacks this morning to see what he can do about my poor ~~little~~ big feet and ankles. I’ve been putting my feet up as much as possible over the weekend but it’s not made any difference 😦

What are your plans for the week?

Six Sentence Sunday 29th July

Posted on July 29, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

I missed Six Sentence last week because I was in Caerleon, sooooo, here is this weeks offering 🙂

Sam ran his fingertip across Ruby’s shoulder. Her skin tingled, the goosebumps spreading down her arm.

He leaned forwards and Ruby closed her eyes, expecting to feel his soft lips press against her own. Instead, she felt his hot breath on her cheek and his hand rest on her knee.

“Stay with me tonight?” He whispered.

Ruby’s heart fluttered as Sam’s hand moved up to her thigh.

I’m trying my hand at romance, so blame Kate Walker 😉

Behind The Door

Posted on July 28, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

Back to the normal schedule today folks 🙂

I took this picture in Caerleon, it’s actually the door to the flat I shared with 4 other lovely ladies (they know who they are) and I just love the colour 🙂