Faber Session 26 – Agent & Editor Q&A

Posted on March 19, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

I had such a mare of a journey getting to class yesterday, you would not believe it even if I could be bothered to go into the ins and outs. But let’s just say, everything that could go wrong….did! So I ended up being trapped in St Pancras station for a while. Still, it wasn’t all bad…I managed to have my cake fix in Peynton & Byrne 😉

An orange and plum cake that was very nice! Just a shame it didn’t come with a dollop of Mascapone on the side, but anyway, back to class.

I finally made it, having to walk about 2 miles and with drenched feet *sighs* but it was worth the struggle. Today’s guests were Mary Morris, Fiction Editor at Faber & Faber and Claire Conville from Literary Agency Conville & Walsh.

Now, you know me, I took 10 pages of notes, so I’ll just try to give you the gist of it:

Agents have become more proactive in recent years especially with editing.

At Conville & Walsh they have 1 guy who manages the slush pile and goes through all the submissions.

If a MS has a strong voice, everything else about the novel can be fixed.

It’s not unknown for Claire to work with an author for up to 10 drafts of an MS to get it right before submitting to a publisher.

The Agent will come up with the “one sell line” for the publisher. A Tagline for the book that helps with Marketing.

Claire will read 3 chapters only. If she likes it she’ll continue, if she doesn’t, she won’t read on.

When searching for an agent, look in the acknowledgements section of books you think may be a similar genre to your own.

If a writer hasn’t got it by the 4th edit, they probably never will. Agent edit suggestions are meant to inspire and trigger ideas to make the book better.

What works? How do I bag that agent? …..A wonderful MS! A strong title helps.

Have your work professionally edited, and mention that in the cover letter….it shows you’re serious about your novel.

And finally, something that I’d never heard of…..
Mary mentioned “Literary Scouts” so I couldn’t wait to get home and Google it and i found THIS! Literary Scouts let publishers know the gossip on interesting MS’s that are doing the rounds.

Do they have Literary Scouts everywhere, or is it just a London thing?

A very interesting session 🙂

Must Do’s 18th to 24th March

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

Firstly, thanks to everyone for their comments on Janes Saturday post….personally, I still can’t make my mind up 😉

It’s been a good week, the highlight being meeting up with Pauline Conolly (who was visiting from Australia) and Madalyn Morgan for lunch at The British Museum followed by cake at The Cordon Bleu Cafe 🙂

So here’s what I managed to achieve last week:
1. Faber homework. There wasn’t any lol. Tonight’s session is with an agent.
2. Add/do 1000 words on Still. Well, I didn’t do 1000 words, but it was about 500.
3. Do the 250 word synopsis. I now have 95 words lol
4. Catch up with blogs and emails. This is such an ongoing thing that I’m not going to add it in future. Just be aware that I am always behind 😦
5. Have a play with Scrivener. Well, I did open it, did start reading the guide, all 539 pages of it! *gulp*
6. Finish my book. Epic fail 😦 But only because I’ve done quite a bit of writing this week. I’ve gone back to basics and been handwriting every day. It’s worked with getting me inspired again. I’ve been using the prompts to write scenes for the novel 🙂

Must Do’s for this week are:

I really must make a start on the research for the A-Z challenge!

What are your writing plans for the week?

Faber Session 25 – Editing

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

Now come on, you know the drill, lets get cake porn out of the way first…

Yesterday I had Lemon Cheesecake…mmmmmm 🙂

And in my search for a sweet kick I just happened to stumble into The Book Warehouse, where I picked up this large hardback for the bargain price of £4.99 🙂

So I was well chuffed, if not incredibly cold! It had been snowing here most of yesterday, and I decided to risk going to class*

So last night we talked about editing. Now, do you remember all my guests that talked about editing back in December and January? No? Well, click the tab above to check some of the great posts out. Basically, a lot of what we covered last night I already knew, but it doesn’t hurt to have a recap. If only I could actually do it lol.

Some of my notes:

Which part is the fun part? The first draft or the editing? My tutor prefers the editing (mad man! Lol)

Its hard to be both writer and editor, so don’t! Seek help.

All writers have a tick. A phrase or word we overuse. Be aware of yours. Mine is “in fact” lol

Wait until you’ve finished the first draft before revising or editing.

Keep telling yourself it’s a masterpiece! Ha ha ha!

Dont edit the charm and sparkle out of a piece.

Every book is imperfect and the author will always want to change it if he/she had the chance 5 years later.

So what am I missing? Why don’t I find editing/revising fun? Help me out guys? How do I put the “fun” into editing?

*did manage to make it home through the snow, thanks to The Hubster who spent most of his evening battling through snow, traffic, and stuck cars to pick me up. The drive home was pretty scary! Thanks honey 🙂

Best Sites for Editing Tips Online (english.answers.com)

Insecure Writers Support Day – March

Posted on March 6, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

It’s the first Wednesday of the month, and you know what that means don’t you 😉

Many thanks, again, to the wonderful Alex J Cavanagh who created and hosts the blog hop 🙂

Ok, so last month I was in a real state, suffering from Writers Block, big time! And, although I was able to establish why I was struggling (because it just wasn’t working), I couldn’t see a way out of it. Thank you so much for all your kind words of advice and support. It really helped me make the decision to start rewriting the WIP again (scrubbing the 25,000 words of rewrite number 2 and starting rewrite number 3) and it was the rewritten first 5000 words that I submitted for critique to my fellow students at Faber last Monday night.

At this point I’d just like to add that my class are 11 fellow students (plus my tutor) who are all, in my opinion, very talented writers. They come from different backgrounds (and countries in 3 cases), are different ages, different sexes, and write different genres. I value their opinions so much and respect their judgements. It’s probably one of the best parts of the course (although it doesn’t feel like it when you’re being critiqued lol), a pure emotional roller coaster, and possibly one of the bravest things I’ve ever done!

Anyway, back to my critique and how I’m feeling today… I had some very positive responses to my piece, but also lots of comments on the structure. When I started rewrite number 2 I decided that, as it was really Ruby and Laura’s story, I had to find a way to have Laura’s story from the past, running along side Ruby’s story from the present. I thought about doing part one then part two…..nah, boring. Then i thought about just having different chapters in a different time frame…..nah, that can be annoying lol. So i decided to go for the idea of having Laura’s journal. Cliched? Probably, but, I like reading novels that include letters and diary entries.

But there are a few problems in doing that.
1. Making sure that the two voices of Ruby and Laura are different (the journal is a younger Laura and then an older Laura appears later on, which complicates things even further).
2. Making the journal entries believable and not just sound like the narration of another story.
3. Deciding on how reliable Laura’s version of events really is.

So, yep, you guessed it….I failed on numbers 1 and 2 and hadn’t even considered number 3! Lol…back to the drawing board.

So now I have a page full of notes and ideas from class and 7,000 words that need sorting out (again) lol. But I’m ok about that. Everything they said made sense, and I can see a way forward now. I’ve just got to decide exactly how to structure it, and iron out the problems with voice (which I think is going to be the hardest! Haven’t I always said that I think all my characters sound like me lol). Lots to think about, decisions to be made, a new Synopsis to be written and then…..back to page one! (Which also needs to start somewhere else) Lol

Not good when I have so many deadlines looming 😦

So I guess today I’m feeling stressed…Stressed, but optimistic, panicked but positive. I beleive in this story. I believe in these characters. Perhaps I’m just not a good enough writer to give it the justice it deserves? My insecurities are what they’ve always been, am I good enough? Can I really do this?

And the hardest part is trying to kick those self doubts in to touch (you’ve all been there I know) and actually start writing again. Knuckle down and actually get on with it!

One day I’ll look back at all this and laugh….hopefully 🙂

Are you feeling insecure about your writing today? Please share so that I know I’m not alone lol 😉

Faber Session 24 – Writing From Life

Posted on March 5, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

Ok, lets get the cake porn out of the way first lol. Those of you on Facebook will have already seen this, but I’m sure you’ll cope with a second dose of Maple & Pecan Pie with Creme Fraiche 😉

Ok, so it wasn’t strictly cake, but I needed something hard core to cope with the evening ahead lol

Tonight’s class was all about Memoir. Not one of my fellow 11 students are writing a real memoir, but we discovered that a few of us are writing about themes and other stuff that is part of our own lives.

Some of my notes:

Is writing about your own life (fictionalising it) cheating?

There is a part of us that can relate to everything. All the characters we create are a part of us as they come from inside our heads.

Should writers have therapy to understand themselves better?

Investigate things that intrigue you, be curious, observe, have new experiences.

No ones life is dull. We all have experiences we can draw on.

Take the time to talk to people, ask them about their lives.

Every writer leaves parts of themselves in each of their novels.

Then it was time for my critique….shall I keep you in suspense? Ok, what I will say is that it was very positive, but there are some problems….but more about that on Wednesday for my IWSG post 🙂

So do you feel that you leave parts of yourself inside every novel you write? I know I do 😉

Must Do’s 4th to 10th March

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

Well, after 2 separate illnesses in the last 7 days I will be going to my Faber class tonight even if I’m dying…because tonight they’re critiquing the first 5000 words of Still ARGHHHHH!

In light of what happened last time, as you can imagine, I’m bloody nervous lol. But lets not dwell on that at the moment 😉

Last weeks list was…not a complete wash out surprisingly enough. I was shocked that between a nasty cold and a stomach bug, I did actually manage to get something done!

1. Faber homework, inc working on the 250 word synopsis. Nope 😦
2. Add at least 5000 words to Still. I added 2000, which is better than nothing. I’m finding that around 600 words each day I’ve added to it, seems to be comfortable for some reason.
3. Catch up with e mails & blogs. Yep, but this is ongoing every day of every week. Doing it every other day or 3rd day seems to be working better though.
4. Do some work on my goals etc for Happy Club. Done!
5. Do some studying. I managed to finished the James Wood book (How Fiction Works) and I’m just about to start Bestseller by Celia Brayfield.

So this coming week looks like this:

But not much is going to get done tomorrow I can tell you, my stomachs churning already! 😉

Wish me luck! I think I’m gunna need it!

What are your writing plans for the week?

Must Do’s 25th Feb to 3rd March

Posted on February 25, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

Apologies to those of you who have already seen this post. They’ve changed the way the WordPress App works on my iPad, so when I asked this post to be scheduled, oh no, WordPress decided to post it instead 😦

After my mini melt down, last week was a bit more productive 🙂

1. Catch up with 100K. Sort of lol…I’m still ahead of schedule, but have missed a few days. I’m really missing my daily prompts that’s for sure 😉
2. Faber homework. Yep! lots of reading for the critiques and editing my submission. I sent that over yesterday afternoon.
3. Catch up with Blogs and e mails etc. I did, lol, but it’s so easy to get behind again 😦 What I’ve decided to do is allocate two half days a week. I think that might work lol
4. Tidy desk. Done!
5. Finish book. Done and I’ve started a new one.
6. Do some studying. I did, but I need to get into a regular routine. I still have so much to learn 😉

So what am I up to this week?

I’ve also got to send my payment off to the RNA Conference and sort out my application for Swanwick. Hubby is out at a chess match all day Saturday so I’m planning a Mini Retreat 🙂

What are your writing plans for the week?

Faber Session 22 – Linda Grant

Posted on February 23, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

Good evening 🙂

Wow, this is weird posting at 7.30 at night lol

Today’s class was with author Linda Grant who’s work has won the Booker prize and been nominated several times.

Linda had some great words of advice, so here are a few of my notes:

Reading is your apprenticeship to becoming a writer. Read indiscriminately, a wide variety of different books.

The thing about writing a book is that you’ve just got to get on with it!

Sometimes, the plot has to be dumped. If the characters are good then just put them somewhere else.

The first novel she wrote was just for fun. the more novels she’s written, the more like pulling teeth it’s become.

Most writers would die before they let anyone see their first draft.

Edit, revise, rewrite, until you are completely sick of it.

If a novel you’re writing just isn’t working, and you’re boring yourself, just abandon it!

She loses faith in a WIP if she has a break from it, so tends to work on one project at a time.

The book is finished when you have exhausted every possibility to make it better.

When asked what motivates her to write, she replied “A determination to write a better novel than the last one.”

This made me think about my own motivation, why do I write? I guess it’s because I love it, and to improve my skills.

Oh, and of course, there was cake involved 😉 Two mini cupcakes to be precise!

So what motivates you?

My hero: Jean Rhys by Linda Grant (guardian.co.uk)

Faber Session 21 – Voice

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

Ok, so lets get the cake porn out of the way first 😉

This is Orange & Almond cake with Creme Fraiche at The London Review Cakeshop. It had a tiny hint of ginger….mmmmm 😉

Ok, tonight’s session was about Voice….some snippets from my notebook:

Voice is the personality of the narrator, how the narrator (authorial voice) sounds.

The ‘voice’ of a character is different to the ‘voice’ of the author.

New writers worry too much about their voice. If you write with passion, believe what you’re writing and it comes from the heart, your voice will shine through.

Don’t try to imitate other writers, be yourself.

Think about what you’re saying and why you’re saying it.

Voice is difficult to define….but think Roth, Amis and Anne Tyler.

Your voice echoes through everything you write.

Voice is fairly easy to recognise in others work….it’s when you pick up a book and think this is different to anything I’ve ever read.

A very good example of a distinct voice in a new writer is The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz. I’ve only read the first page of the piece we were given but immediately I was struck by the unique voice used. Check out the free Kindle sample if you’ve not read it and you’ll see what I mean.

I’m not sure that I’ve developed my voice yet. I can see that most of my 1st person characters all sound like me though lol 😉 Do you feel that you have developed your voice?

Homework for next week: *gulp*
What is the theme of my book?
What is it really about?
What am I trying to say?

Live Chat with Junot Díaz (billmoyers.com)

No Faber, But Cake & A Sneak Preview Of The WIP

Posted on February 12, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

Well, I didn’t make it up to my Faber class last night 😦 A combination between snow, freezing temperatures and my tutor being called away to Wales on a family emergency. We were offered the opp to sit in with the other class, but I decided not to go.

But hey, it wasn’t all bad…there was cake!

So instead, today’s post is some character work. I’ve been working on the new version of the WIP, Still and because I’m trying to edit the first 5000 words for submission for my critique I’ve decided not to write any more until the editing is done. So I’ve been working on the characters instead, which is one of my favourite parts of writing to be honest.

Here is Laura’s (Still has 2 main characters, mother and daughter) story with dates so I can keep track 😉

Laura was born in May 1954 in Blackheath, South East London to parents William & Rose Morgan. William was a Black Cab driver and Rose ran a small café/tea shop in the village. The family lived above the café in a flat.

Laura was a loner as a teenager with no real friends and worked in the café when she left school at 15. She liked listening to music but wasn’t fashion conscious. A plump girl (she had a healthy appetite) with perfect pale skin, her eyes are the colour of a copper coin, her hair, muddy brown. She was shy, quiet, and spent her evenings reading. Bullied at school she bites her nails and has a tendency to allow people to walk all over her.

At 16 (1970) she met Ronnie Quinn, her first boyfriend and became pregnant. But Ronnie became involved in drugs and they split up. Laura’s parents were supportive and she decided to keep her baby. After her daughter Ruby was born (1972) she married Daniel Hopwood, a friend of Ronnie’s and they moved into a rented flat.

Initially, things were great, and Laura discovered herself pregnant again. Unfortunately, Daniel had become increasingly verbally abusive and during a fight he pushed Laura down the stairs, which resulted in a miscarriage and Laura unable to have more children.

Life with Daniel was emotionally exhausting and after her father’s death (1974) Laura sank further and further into herself, neglecting her daughter Ruby who spent a lot of time with her grandmother. Daniel manipulated her quiet gentle nature and lack of self-esteem to the point where she felt that there was nothing in life that she was good or successful at. She lost all will to even get out of bed.

As an adult, Laura still bites her fingernails, chain smokes and has developed deep wrinkles around her eyes. Her hair remains shoulder length with a fringe (she cuts it herself) and she rarely eats. Preferring to live on tea. She loves animals but Daniel won’t hear of having a pet. She feeds the stray cat who hangs around the garages without her husband knowing.

At the age of 32 (1986), with a teenage daughter to cope with, no money of her own, no job, not even her own bank account and constant threats of violence from her husband she had a break down and became hospitalised. She recovered but her daughter Ruby had gone to live with her mother.

When her mother died (1990) Laura summoned the courage (with Ruby’s help) to leave Daniel and move into a small flat with Ruby. Unfortunately Daniel persuaded her that he loved her, needed her, and that he would change. She goes back to him but Ruby refuses to live under the same roof as her stepfather and after a huge argument the mother and daughter fall out (1994).

Laura left Daniel again after she discovered he was having an affair and tried to rebuild her life with the encouragement and support of a friend (neighbour) she’d made. She tried searching for Ruby several times.

Diagnosed with breast cancer (1997) and the prognosis looking grim she asks her friend to help her find Ruby so that she can try to sort things out. The friend manages to track Ruby down and Laura sends her a letter, along with a notebook she has been writing in, recording events of her life since before Ruby was born.

Ruby receives the package while Laura is having chemotherapy, the double mastectomy having been a success and the two women are reconciled.

Awwwww, that all seems really sad doesn’t it lol, ive really put her through it 😉 But….that’s not the end of Laura’s story….if you want to find out exactly what happens you’ll have to buy the book lol 😉

Next week…Ruby’s story 😉