Swanwick Day 2 – #swanwick65

Posted on August 11, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

Firstly, I must apologise for being so behind in replying to your comments. I’ve got a couple of free hours on Tuesday so will catch up then.

I was up early, as ever this morning, so I sat on a bench with my cup of tea and did some writing 🙂

My first session this morning was with James Moran (can you tell I’ve got the iPad working now lol) and was a session on Screenwriting. So many people have said to me I should consider writing scripts, but I’m scared shitless! 😉 James makes it sound so easy. His class was very informative, and he’s a man after my own heart, believing that, when you’re writing don’t look back over what you’ve written, get to the end before you start editing!

After a short break for tea it was off to a class in Literary Fiction with Alexa Radcliffe-Hart where we did a fantastic exercise that stemmed from a prompt we were given. I ended up creating a character who was paralysed in a hospital.

Lunch (roast beef of course!) and then more Screenwriting followed by a workshop with the lovely Marion Hough entitled Promoting Your Work. Ok, so I’m not published, but I still found it interesting! I didn’t realise Waterstones (here in the UK) will take your self published books but take 40% of the sale price as a fee. Worth it or not I wonder?

A FaceBook party on the lawn was the highlight of the day…putting faces to names was wonderful 🙂

Fish and chips for dinner and then a talk by Syd Moore who was absolutely fascinating as she explained her inspiration for her books and gave us background info on her research. I love the idea of taking a real life event and fictionalising it.

Right, I’m off to the Buskers night in a sec….it goes on until 12.30, but I’m not too sure I’ll make it to the end 😉

Swanwick Day 5 – #Swanwick65 (the-view-outside.com)
Swanwick Day 2 – #swanwick65 (the-view-outside.com)
Swanwick Day 6 – #Swanwick65 (the-view-outside.com)
Swanwick Day 3 – #swanwick65 (the-view-outside.com)
Swanwick Day 4 – #swanwick65 (the-view-outside.com)
Swanwick Day 1 #swanwick65 (the-view-outside.com)

Swanwick Day 1 #swanwick65

Posted on August 10, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

Road trip went well and we arrived at The Hayes Conference center in brilliant sunshine, so had lunch on a bench by the lake (who knew that ducks don’t like Tuna Melt?).

Got my room key, unpacked and spent the rest of the afternoon doing my stewarding bit on reception.

Then it was off to the White Badge reception. The thing i love (or one of the many) about Swanwick is how special they make newbies feel. Managed to put faces to a couple of names id seen on FaceBook then it was off to the welcome speech, then dinner, then the guest speaker.

I was really looking forward to hearing James Moran speak, as im a bit of a Dr Who fan, and he really didn’t disappoint! 🙂

He was really informative and funny. I made loads of notes. But the one thing he said that really hit home was….Stop Making Excuses! If you say you don’t have time to write, don’t, give up then and let somebody else have a go. Harsh? Yeah, but when you consider he was working full time, 9-5 and he was still able to write, well, you either make time, or you don’t….your choice! If you want to write, you’ll find the time….simple!

I think thats a very good point…i will never moan again 🙂

Back in my room now chilling, as it all kicks off tomorrow good and proper 😉

I seem to have a problem with my iPad, it wont connect to the internet *sobs* So thank goodness for my phone! 🙂

Swanwick Day 6 – #Swanwick65 (the-view-outside.com)
Swanwick Day 4 – #swanwick65 (the-view-outside.com)
Swanwick Day 2 – #swanwick65 (the-view-outside.com)
Swanwick Day 5 – #Swanwick65 (the-view-outside.com)
I’m Off To Swanwick! (the-view-outside.com)

Writing Blogger Challenge Day 9

Posted on July 28, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

Today’s prompt is:

Post either a setting or character profile from your latest fiction project, a chapter summary of your non-fiction book, or a discussion of the theme or object inspiring a poem, article, or other writing project.

Hmmmmmm *thinks* Well, I’ve shared the character profiles of my first novel (Still) but I’m afraid the characters in Tangled and Sorrento Sunrise are somewhere, within the pages of my 41 notebooks (and at this stage I’m thinking I really should have some kind of indexing system!). So rather than try to trawl through all my notebooks I’ll give you a new one 🙂

Last night I wrote the beginnings of yet another story (prompted by something in Natalie Goldberg’s Wild Mind). Ms Goldberg suggested making a list…

A Colour Blue (the sky over London on a September morning)
A City London
A Street Charlotte Street (where I meet the Faber gang and the location of my story)
A Fruit Mango (what my character finds in his lunch box lol)
A Month September
A Job Newsagent (newspaper seller)

And then to write a piece containing all of them…. So this character profile is from the story I came up with last night.

Bill Taylor is 62 years old. Born and bred in East London he is proud of his roots and his first job at 14 was on a market stall in Petticoat Lane, selling “bits and bobs” to local housewives.

Short and stocky, he is now balding, what little hair he has left is white but he still has the cheeky blue eyes and dimpled chin that made him so popular in the 1960’s.

Married to Marjorie since the 1970’s they have 2 sons who both live overseas, and 2 grand daughters they rarely see. On his left arm he has Marjorie’s name tattooed and on his right arm, the names of his sons.

Bill runs a newsagents in London selling to the commuters as they make their way to the tube station. Business has taken a dip these past couple of years due to the digital age (everyone getting the news on their phones) so Marjorie is trying to persuade him to retire and buy a little flat by the sea. Bill couldn’t think of anything worse! Since his heart attack last year, Marjorie has been filling his lunch box with what he terms as “rabbit food” and insists that he stick to the diet recommended by the doctor.

A very proud man, he is a traditionalist with high morals and strong views of what is right and wrong. A Royalist, his proudest moment was meeting Princess Diana when she stopped at his shop to buy a bottle of water and a pack of sweets for Wills and Harry.

In his spare time (what little there is as he has to be at the shop for 4.30 every morning) he enjoys football (but sadly doesn’t go to the matches anymore…he used to take his sons) and likes to keep up to date with current affairs. He often says “what’s the point of selling newspapers if you don’t know what’s going on in the world” and can often be found reading the papers behind his counter when the shop is empty.

He drives a small old white van that’s constantly breaking down and although he owns his shop (he inherited it from an uncle back in the 1980’s) which is prime London real estate, he has no intention of selling and is adamant that they will have to “cart him out in a box” which causes tension and arguments with Marjorie.

I think that’s it 🙂 I don’t know what’s going to happen to old Bill, I haven’t got that far in the story yet lol, but, you know me, Bill will probably end up getting his wish of being carted out in a box 😉

if you try Ms Goldberg’s list idea, do let me know, I’d be interested to hear what you come up with.

Writing Blogger Challenge Day 4 (the-view-outside.com)
Writing Blogger Challenge – Day 1 (the-view-outside.com)

Writing Blogger Challenge – Day 1

Posted on July 20, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

I must admit, I’ve been thinking my blog is/was a little stale recently. So this morning when I was reading blogs and having a major catch up I noticed that one of my favourite bloggers, Hunter Emkay is hosting a Writing Blogger Challenge which will run for 10 days. Ok, well that sounds interesting.

So I’ve signed up 🙂 (you know me, I like to be stretched lol).

So today is Day 1 of the challenge and the prompt is…

Introduce your latest writing project with an elevator pitch or maximum 250 words.

Now you all know everything about two of my novels (Still & Tangled) but I have a 3rd one lol. During Nano last year I decided to write, or rather, try to write a Mills and Boon novel *sniggers* I managed it, but, in just under 22,000 words, which is well short of the 50,000 that is required. So it will need some major editing, I need to add more angst, and add two sex scenes *blush*

So here is my 250 word pitch for Sorrento Sunrise

Kate works for a travel magazine and when her boss asks her to visit a hotel in Sorrento to interview the owner, little does she know that the sexy, dark Italian will become more than just another assignment.

After a hellish journey and mistaking him for a bellboy, Damiano initially thinks that Kate is a typical arrogant journalist, but he soon changes his mind as they get to know each other intimately on the hotels private beach and over the course of her stay.

Damiano asks Kate to meet him in the bar on her last night where he is planning to ask her to stay on, but when Kate arrives she see’s him with another woman and flees back to England.

Damiano tries to contact Kate but she refuses to speak to him or respond to his e mails, having now researched him online and discovering the string of Italian models he’s been photographed with over the last few years. Already having arrangements to visit London Damiano goes to Kates house with a huge bouquet of roses but as he gets out of the taxi he see’s her hugging a man who is holding a toddler.

Angry, and thinking he has been lied to he continues with his business in London, the purchase of a new hotel and decides to get on with his life, trying to forget about Kate.

Several months pass and Kate is given an assignment to attend a new London hotel opening. She is shocked and embarrassed when the owner gets up on a podium to make a speech and it is Damiano. Their eyes meet and Damiano realises that he can’t get on with his life unless Kate explains herself. Having traditional family values he is shocked that she could have been the way she was in Sorrento knowing her husband and child were waiting at home.

After a small “scene” at the party Damiano finally manages to drag Kate to his office and demands an explanation. Kate is shocked and after explaining that the child is hers but she is a widow and that the man was her brother Damiano feels an idiot. But Kate doesn’t let him off the hook easily. She demands to know who the woman was that she saw him draped all over in the bar. Damiano explains that she was his cousin.

Ha ha ha….that’s 394 words and I haven’t even told you how it ends! But it is a Mills and Boon, so I’m sure you know lol

Oh well, I think I’m gunna need to work on that.

Any guesses as to how it ends? 😉

Tangled – The Synopsis

Posted on July 17, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

Well, its gone off in the post to The Romantic Novelists Association *bites finger nails* So i thought I’d share the synopsis.

It’s not exactly a synopsis, more like a blurb lol

Tangled is a novel about love, loyalty and the consequences of betrayal.

Anna Scott is a middle aged housewife who is bored with her life. Marriage and the pressures of bringing up children have left her overweight and tired. What happened to the fun loving girl she used to be?

Her husband Tim, several years older and recently retired, is content to potter around his garden and spend the rest of his days relaxing. Anna feels that life is slipping her by and whilst on a girls night out with her best friend she meets Harry, who she once knew as a twelve year old boy when she was involved in his case in her professional capacity, as a social worker.

Against her friends advice she agrees to meet him for a coffee, just to catch up with how his life has changed. But Harry makes it obvious that he wants more than just a mutual friendship. Flattered, Anna soon finds herself involved in a passionate affair with a man 12 years her junior.

Harry tries to persuade her to leave Tim and after she stalls he visits Tim and tells him of the affair. Unbeknown to Harry, Anna has recently aborted his child and Tim takes great pleasure in telling Harry so..

Anna decides to stay with Tim but Harry starts to stalk her. He becomes aggressive and even sets fire to Tim’s car. As Anna and Tim start to rebuild their marriage Tim is found dead on the living room floor, stabbed by a knife that is missing from Anna’s expensive knife block. But who are the suspects? Harry seems the obvious choice, but did Anna really want the boring housewife life after experiencing the excitement of Harry? Or could Tim’s first wife Fay (the one he left to be with Anna) hold the key to Tim’s final hours?

Yeah, ok, it’s definitely more like a blurb isn’t it lol 😉 But that might have something to do with the fact that I haven’t really decided who did kill Tim lol. I have a theory, I know who I’d like to see as the killer, and I know how I want the book to end. It’s completely finished, so at the moment the reader is kind of left wondering who the murderer is.

Photo courtesy of Master isolated images at Freedigitalphotos

What do you think? Who killed Tim? 😉

My Faber Reading

Posted on July 5, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

A HUGE thank you to everyone who commented on my IWSG post a couple of days ago. I will continue to write, but I’m not going to make it the entire focus of my life anymore. I need to step back, chill about it, and if I don’t write for a week not stress about it.

Ok, I’m gunna share with you the piece I read out at the Faber event. Be gentle with me, I know it’s not brilliant lol. In the anthology there is a synopsis and a 1500 extract from Laura’s journal, the one that arrives in this scene…

Ruby knew the handwriting, but didn’t recognise the post mark. As she tore open the large manilla envelope her hands shook. Inside were a black Moleskin notebook and a folded piece of pink paper, a similar shade to the fluffy slippers she was wearing. Her chest tightened as she unfolded the letter.

Dear Ruby,

I know this has probably come as a huge shock, did you secretly hope that you’d never hear from me again? I pray that’s not the case. We are so alike, you and I, stubborn to the bone and we have wasted so much time. Regardless of what you think of me, I love you, and not a day has gone by that I haven’t thought about you, worried where you were.

You’ll be pleased to know I finally summoned the courage to do what you’d been telling me to do for years. I’ve left Daniel. I walked out with a small holdall, my passport and our joint savings. I managed to find a room in a house share, which is where I’ve been for the last ten months.

I know you said when you left that you felt I had chosen him over you. That is something I’ve had to live with these past years. At first I was angry with you for saying that, but now, I think you were probably right, and it breaks my heart to admit it. How could I have chosen my husband over my daughter? I’ve been an awful mother. I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but please accept this notebook. I’ve been writing in it these last few weeks. There is so much I want to tell you.

I don’t expect your sympathy, I’m not asking you to come and see me, pretend nothing’s happened and pick up where we left off. I know it’s too late for that. But always remember that regardless of what you think of me I have always loved you and I’m so sorry for all the hurt I’ve caused. It will haunt me for the rest of my life.

I hope you are happy and having the wonderful life that you deserve.

Love, always.

Mum x

Ruby closed her eyes and slid down the hallway wall to the cold ceramic tiles, her head spinning, her breathing erratic. And that was where Sam found her, twenty minutes later, clutching her knees to her chest, the notebook on the glossy floor at her feet.

I really don’t know how I managed to read it with all the crossing outs lol

The general consensus from my writing group was that it was a bit too “tell” which is fair enough. But how do you stop a letter being all tell, because that’s what a letter is isn’t it? Any ideas on another way I could have done it would be much appreciated 🙂

The Power Of Knowledge

Posted on June 12, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

When I finished my Faber course back in April one of the last things our tutor said was, don’t enrol on anymore writing classes, just get on with it now, and WRITE!

Initially I thought, yeah, great advice….like Nike says “Just Do It!

But then a couple of weeks ago I heard an interview on the radio with Tracy Chevalier (who wrote Girl With A Pearl Earring) where the interviewer asked her why she had decided to go down the Creative Writing MA route rather than just write. She responded by saying that she felt she needed the structure and instruction that a course like that gave her.

I was already thinking what the hell was I was going to do after Faber and Tracy’s words really struck home. I think I’m quite a lazy writer, no, perhaps not lazy, oh what’s the word? I’m the type of writer who needs a push. When it comes to a choice between the carrot and the stick I probably respond better to the stick, that’s for sure. I suffer from huge motivation issues.

Sooooo, after hearing what Tracy said I went straight online and looked up writing courses. I still have so much to learn (I feel) and as I’m a member of 2 writing groups I don’t feel that I’m lacking in contact with fellow writers, so I was looking for something I could do at my own pace, at home.

I’d seen adverts for The Writers Bureau in all the writing magazines. I know people who have done the course, and I even know a couple of writers who tutor for them. So I signed up for the Comprehensive Writing Course and my pack arrived last week 🙂

I’m a big believer in learning as much as I can about writing, but I know at some stage my Faber tutor is right, but I don’t feel I’m ready to let go of learning, just yet….So when will I know I am?

Confidence, Creative Writing, and Careers: A Conversation with Adam Baron – Part 1 (kingstonwriters.wordpress.com)

ReadWave And The Debate On Freebies

Posted on June 7, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

A couple of months ago I went to the “launch” of a new web site… ReadWave which has been set up in association with Circalit

It’s a place to upload your short stories, extracts from novels etc, and is read by agents and publishers. ReadWave are very proud of the fact that they have had examples of contributors being contacted by industry professionals because of work placed on the site.

I joined up the day after the launch party, but it was only a couple of days ago (prompted by a comment one if my friends made on FaceBook and the fact that there isn’t much of my stuff online) that I decided to upload a story. It’s one I’ve had knocking about for a while so I’ll be interested to see the feedback I receive…..which has been very positive so far 🙂

Here’s my story “Eating Out” on their page:

And if you want to go have a read you’ll find it HERE 🙂 Please leave a comment if you liked it.

This does beg that age old question…should a writer make their work available for free? Personally, I think the odd short story or extract is fine, because it’s promotion and many writers have found that its led to a publishing deal. But what do you think? Do you make any of your work available free online? Or are you anti freebies?

Elements of a Short Story (keendomainsandhosting.com)
The Future of Short Fiction is Looking Good: Pixel Hall Press Announces PHP Shorts & Invites Queries from Short Story Authors (prweb.com)
So what am I going to write? Short stories, novels, or what? (unstableshapeshifter.wordpress.com)
Tea on Tuesday (10): ReadWave (booksowlsandtea.wordpress.com)
Embedding Literature Online: The ReadWave Widget (theliteraryplatform.com)

Insecure Writers Support Group – June 2013

Posted on June 5, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

Apologies in advance that this post is quite long and isn’t really my normal whiney type of post for IWSG.

I remember the day that I wanted to write. My friend Jayne had been writing for a while, but needed some direction. I persuaded her to go to a class at our local adult education centre, and to offer support, I said I’d go with her. I didn’t have a clue what to expect, thought I could possibly bluff my way through the class. I didn’t even consider that we might get set homework which would mean I would actually have to write some fiction lol.

That very first class was a complete turning point in my life. The tutor started by recommending that we keep a “writers notebook” to jot down ideas for stories, observations we’d made, snippets of overheard conversations blah blah blah. I’d been journaling for a few years. Filling notebook after notebook (most of which I still have) with snippets of my life, descriptions of events and daily musings, so that recommendation sounded like fun!

When I got home I went to my stash (I didn’t need to buy one, come on!) and started to scribble down ideas, collect info, take photos and write down the thoughts that had been fluttering around my head for years.

It was like a lightbulb moment! And within a couple of weeks I’d half filled that book (I still have it…it’s notebook No1…I’m on notebook No39 now lol) and had written 2 short stories. Sitting here now, I remember the excitement I had. I remember how eager I was to learn, to soak up every single piece of information I could, to help me become a “writer” 🙂

Unfortunately I didn’t finish the course (it was on a Tuesday afternoon, and both me and Jayne found it more and more difficult to get there). So Philip Kane if you’re reading this…THANK YOU!

So here I am, 2 years and 7 months later and I’ve finally realised…it’s not a race. I’ve been putting too much pressure on myself. Those of you reading this who know me in real life will know that I throw myself into things 110% if I’m passionate about it. I’m like a sports car (I don’t look as good, obviously) trying to go 0-60 in 0.4 seconds. I need to slow down, get that excitement back, and I’m forming strategies to help me with that (like the 2 week break I’ve just had which worked really well and I won’t hesitate to do again when I’m feeling worn/burnt out).

This month I will be focussing on “fun” writing and trying to recapture the innocence I had back in 2010 before I knew all about publishing, agents, Kindle and the shit prospects I face as an aspiring “author” with a very slim chance of ever publishing a novel.

So I guess I’m not insecure as such this month, but I’m definitely re-evaluating. In the writing community I am a mere toddler, and you know what they say about your childhood? They’re supposed to be the best days of your life 🙂

Incidentally: The first piece of homework I had to submit for the writing class? Mr Kane liked it and actually asked if he could put it on a web site 🙂

I think I’ll always feel insecure about my writing, it comes with the territory, but, I think the key is not to stress. To take a moment to breath and just concentrate on being the best writer that you can. The rest will just fall into place at some stage and if it doesn’t, does that really matter? If my dream is to be published and then I achieve that, I’ll just have to come up with a new dream 😉

So what are you feeling insecure about today?

#IWSG: Time Suck (writingreadingandlife.com)
Blogging and Writer’s Insecurity (createdbyrcw.wordpress.com)
Spotlight On: Alex J. Cavanaugh and the IWSG (mlswift.me)

Inspiring Objects

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

I’m a huge fan of writing prompts (as you probably know) and one of my favourites is using photos (which ive been using a lot recently). But, Ive stumbled across 2 websites that made me think, actually, objects are pretty damn good to inspire stories.

The first one is The Museum of Broken Relationships which I found on Sally Jenkins Blog a while back. Do click on the picture of the axe under exhibits. What a brilliant story! 😉

Then I came across 26 Treasures which was a project run by museums in Wales, Scotland and Ireland. They invited writers to use 26 objects from the museums collections to inspire a piece of writing. Over 100 writers took part and a book was produced.

So here are some inspiring objects I’ve come across recently that I intend to use for prompts: