Where The Ideas Are And How To Get Them

Posted on November 21, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

No actual post today people, but I’m really excited!!!! My article went live on the Faber Website last night *grins* 🙂

So if you’d like to have a read (please do!) check out my article which they’ve entitled Get Inspired. Stop Waiting Around which is all about where i find my ideas.

Photo courtesy of winnond at freedigitalphotos

Read it here>>>>> Get Inspired. Stop Waiting Around.

Pop back and tell me what you thought 🙂

How Can I Turn My Mess of Ideas Into Something Organized and Useful? (lifehacker.com)

Faber Session 7 – POV

Posted on November 20, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

Before I talk about class, lets get down to the important bit… cake 🙂

Today I divulged in Lemon, Rosemary & Olive Oil cake, but I was so busy enjoying it, I forgot to take a picture! Lol

So here’s a pic of my purchases in the book shop after cake 😉

So today’s class was about Point of View.

It made me realise how utterly unwell read I am (when Tim kept giving us examples and although I’d heard of most of the books, I hadn’t read them!). It made me realise that I don’t think about POV when I read a book. Jeez! I’m a bad reviewer and a bad critiquer 😦 I really need to work on that don’t I.

Anyway, POV….. Where does the authors voice end and the characters voice start? A good question, and one, I can’t really answer….can you?

We talked about 1st Person, 3rd Person, Omniscient, Free Indirect Style, and whether the first two should be singular or multiple. How, over the years, many authors have experimented, bent the rules and played with perspective. A really interesting session, I learnt a lot 🙂

Then we did a writing exercise which, hopefully, I’ll share with you later on this week 🙂

So, dear reader, what POV do you tend to write in and could you explain WHY? I admitted in class that the reason I write in 3rd Person is because all my 1st Person pieces sound like the same character lol 😉

My fellow class mates took home my submission this evening *gulps and bites finger nails* I’m going to be a nervous wreck next Monday! 😉

He Said, She Said: The Double Perspective and Its Perks (addictivestory.wordpress.com)
The Art of Narrative, Part One: Introduction and POV (evarieder.com)

The To Do List 19th to 25th November

Posted on November 19, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

I’m exhausted! Lol…..what with Nano, Write In’s and Faber, it’s all beginning to take its toll….I’m constantly yawning! 😉

So how did I do last week?

1. Edit, the piece for Faber & hand in *gulp* Done! It will be handed out to my fellow students tonight!

2. Keep up with Nano word count – try to get ahead a bit more. Done! Not too bad. As of last night I’m at 40,019 so aiming for another 2000 today. Need to finish by Friday as I’ve got a heavy weekend coming up.

3. Finish current read – Don Delillo Done! gave it 2 stars.

4. Finish Richard Skinners book. Not done, will continue with it this week.

5. Print out and read Faber Guest Tutor stuff – FOR MONDAY! Done!

6. Clear inbox – which means catching up with all your blog posts from the weekend. Kind of done! Got it down to about 20, so if I owe you an e mail I WILL get to it over the next couple of days 🙂

So what’s on my list for this week?

1. Finish Nano by Friday (23rd)

2. upload words to Nano.

3. Print off Sorrento Sunrise and start padding lol.

4. Start new book….an eBook.

5. Continue reading Richard Skinners book.

6. Print off But Not Forgotten and READ IT!

That shouldn’t be too bad should it? 😉

So what are you up to this week?

Which Comes First? The Story or The Character?

Posted on November 17, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

A recent session at Faber, Kidnapping A Character, brought up a very interesting question.

Most writers have their own way of working. They either start with a story idea, then make up characters to fit it. Or they start with a character and then make up a story that fits.

Personally, I’ve done it both ways, and I can’t really say which one I prefer.

But I’ve never tried the method where you come up with 2 totally unrelated characters and write a scene where they meet. It was amazing to hear the interesting stories that had started to develop from 2 complete strangers having a chance meeting (during a 20 minute writing session). It’s definitely a technique I will be trying out again in the future.

courtesy of jscreations/freedigitalphotos

Like most things in writing there is no right or wrong way to do things, but out of curiosity which do you start with?

I’m a pantser. (smpauthors.wordpress.com)
Where to Get Story Ideas (shelleywidhalm.wordpress.com)
Facing your character(s)… (diedreblake.wordpress.com)
Know Your Character (thewearywriter.com)
Writing Character: Challenge of the Character Most Like Yourself – Part 1 (elissafield.wordpress.com)

Faber Session 6 Guest Tutor Susie Steiner

Posted on November 13, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

I love Monday’s, seriously. People say about Monday Morning Blues, but nope, Mondays are my best day if the week. Not only do I get to go to Faber (please note: I won’t be saying that when It’s my turn to have my work critiqued lol) but I get CAKE! Yep, Mondays are cake day, so this week I had pistachio & rose to go with my latte and book 🙂

Ok, now we’ve got that out of the way, back to my lesson…..

Susie Steiner has been a journalist for The Guardian and is just about to publish her first book, which, she says has taken her 10 years (on and off) to write. But it wasn’t until she gave up journalism that she found the time to do it properly. The main subject of her talk was about research.

So how much research should you actually do for your novel? And when should you do it?

A few things i picked out were:

Remember you’re not writing a manual.

If you set a novel in a real place you have to get it right. If you fictionalise a place you can do what you want.

Don’t let facts get in the way of a good story.

Don’t get hung up on research, your imagination plays a large part.

Bend the truth if your story needs it.

Truth is stranger than fiction. Fiction needs to be believable, it needs to make sense. Sometimes real facts don’t.

As regards to when you should do research. Doing the research first can inspire and get your imagination up and running, but, doing it at the end can mean that you can just slot pieces in and be more focused on exactly which areas of your novel need the most work.

So what do you think? When do you do your research?

The To Do List 12th to 18th November

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

What a fabulous end to the week, a writing retreat! I can’t really say much more lol. Great place, great food, great people…..I can’t wait to go back! 🙂

So how did I get on with last weeks list?

1. Faber homework (inc reading fellow students work). I haven’t had chance to read the handouts, and as I’m going today I think I better lol

2. Keep up with daily Nano word count. Done! And I’m actually ahead 😉

3. Catch up with prompts…..3 days behind *groan* Done, but on,y because I’m using them for Nano, don’t ask, see previous moaning lol

4. Write article for Faber *EXCITING* Done, and they liked it! 🙂

5. Print out and read But Not Forgotten extract (Faber sub) and take to West Dean for editing/fiddling.Done!

So now, for this weeks lists…..ooooo, it’s a busy one!

1. Edit, the piece for Faber & hand in *gulp*

2. Keep up with Nano word count – try to get ahead a bit more.

3. Finish current read – Don Delillo

4. Finish Richard Skinners book.

5. Print out and read Faber Guest Tutor stuff – FOR MONDAY!

6. Clear inbox – which means catching up with all your blog posts from the weekend. I’m so sorry I’m so behind 😦

I think that’s it 😉

What are your writing plans for the week?

Faber Session 5 – Starting A Story….And Ending It

Posted on November 6, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

Went up to Bloomsbury a little bit earlier today as I wanted to buy a present. So it was nice to be able to walk through Bloomsbury Square in the day light! 🙂

A quick stop off in the BM to make my purchase and spotted this…..

There’s a Shakespeare exhibition on at the moment and this display of cut out houses is on the floor in the main court of the museum.

Anyway, back to class 🙂

Tonight’s session was about beginnings and endings. We talked about starting being the hardest part and one of the other students mentioned the “toxic 10” for runners. If you’re into running you’ll know exactly what this means. It’s that first 10 minutes where you’re cussing and cursing and wondering what the hell you’re doing….once you get past that it gets easier. It’s exactly the same for writers, and knowing where to start in your story can be tricky. I don’t think I’m that bad at starting, I just kind of jump in lol. Tim suggested that we play on our writing strengths in the first chapter, whatever aspect of writing we’re good at, make sure we include a lot of it 🙂

But endings….woah! That’s a whole different ball game for me. Endings should be emotionally satisfying, regardless of whether there’s a happy ending or not. Yeah, I’d agree with that! I’m forever moaning about the Anne Tyler book I read earlier this year, where a down trodden woman who’s husband, quite frankly, is a git, walks away, builds a new happy life. But at the end of the book she goes back to her boring mundane life with the husband who treats her like a skivvy….WTF?

I don’t want my book to be the type of book the reader throws across the room at the end. I want them to feel satisfied. So I guess I’ve really got my work cut out. The last chapter is my chance to tie up the loose ends. To have a resolution to the story. My biggest decision is whether to have that ending a happy one, or just a satisfying one. Should the villain turn over a new leaf? Or does the heroine walk off into the sunset, alone, but happy? Decisions decisions *bites finger nails*

Do you prefer a happy ending or don’t you mind as long as its satisfying?

Faber Session 4 – The Psychology of Writing

Posted on October 30, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

Just got back from a cold, wet and dark Bloomsbury.

I took shelter in the BM but eventually had to resort to getting the brolley out lol. Standing at the entrance watching the rain pour down I looked up….

What a fabulous building The British Museum is….but I wonder how many people actually notice as they rush in and out, intent on seeing the Mummies or the Rosetta Stone 😉

Anyway, where was I? Ahhhh, yes, tonight’s class 🙂

Ok, tonight’s session was taken up with Psychology. Interesting stuff about our writing coming from the unconscious mind. We talked about motivation, guilt, support, endurance, confidence, fear and patience.

I guess the two that struck a cord with me most were “guilt” and “support” really, as they kind of go hand in hand IMO.

Support: I feel incredibly lucky that I have the support of my other half with my writing. Now, that maybe because he wants me to hurry up and write a best seller so he can give up work, but we won’t dwell on that 😉 Seriously, does he have a choice? I guess so, he could sulk, make life difficult, moan at me….But perhaps he just knows that for a peaceful life he has to accept my writing time? I’m not the sort of girlie who will stop doing something I love because hubby don’t like it. But then again, he ain’t the kind of guy to stop me doing something I love. Give and take? Definitely! Mutual respect? Oh gawd yes! Our tutor was saying that most writers lack support. That’s sad 😦 And if that’s you…. (((((hugs))))) but, he then went on to say, that if that is you……BE TOUGH! DEFEND YOUR TERRITORY! 🙂

Guilt: Ok, so I have support…..so why do i still feel guilty? Guilt if the washing piles up, guilt if I’ve not been shopping and not cooked dinner, guilt if the house is a mess (and beleive me, the house is a total mess at the moment)….But the major guilt for me is the fact that i don’t work, don’t bring any income into the house 😦 Our tutor talked about writing feeling “indulgent” and I knew exactly what he meant. I can kind of justify my writing time, but what I can’t justify is sitting and reading. How can I do that when I know we’re down to our last toilet roll and that hubby will be home soon hungry and tired? I hate it, I really do, and that’s why I don’t read other than when I go to bed and I’m exhausted, and then I don’t benefit from it anyway *deep sigh* 😦

I don’t know what the answer is. Tim (our tutor) says its one of those parts of writing that we have to get use to, deal with. And I’m trying, I really am….. Perhaps I’ll feel better when my writing actually brings in an income? 😉

How’s support & guilt for you? Is it more relevant to female writers? Especially those with children? Would love to hear your views.

The To Do List 29th October to 4th November

Posted on October 29, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

I’m not too sure how these “to do lists” will work during November, so I guess we’ll just have to see.

How did I do with last weeks list?

1. Continue with Faber homework. Done! Although I didn’t do the 5000 words, but more on that later.

2. Do synopsis for writing group. Ummmmm, pass…..I’m not sure you can do one if you don’t know how the story will end lol.

3. Change Faber piece from 1st person to 3rd person. Done! Still don’t like it! Lol

4. Finish current read. Nope, not read much fiction this week 😦

5. Make some decisions. Done! And feeling much calmer lol

So this week see’s the start of Nano *gulp* and I’m not exactly practising what I preach 😉 I’m still not 100% sure which WIP I’ll be working on lol. I don’t want to end up one of those writers who has a drawer (metaphorically) full of unfinished manuscripts, if you know what I mean lol.

So the options are:
A rewrite of But Not Forgotten
Continue with The View Outside
Start Sorrento Sunrise

I’ll probably decide the night before *snigger*

So on to this weeks list…..

1. Faber homework etc Always takes priority!

2. Look at But Not Forgotten and decide which 5,000 words to submit.

3. Start Christmas shopping. Yes, I know it’s not writing related, but the quicker I get it done the better 😉

4. Stock freezer for bad weather. Apparently, we’re due some major snow this year in the UK….great 😦 Let’s hope it doesn’t affect my retreat or my write ins!

Good luck to all my fellow Wrimo’s. I’m afraid, those of you not taking part might find this months blog a bit boring (lots of Nano talk). So I apologise in advance 🙂 I might get a bit behind with commenting on your blogs too….perhaps I can just give up sleeping 😉

Off to Faber tonight!

So what are your plans for the week?

6 NaNoWriMo Tips + #ROW80 and a NEW Twitter Handle (jennyhansenauthor.wordpress.com)

Faber Session 3 – Kidnapping A Character (or permission to stalk)

Posted on October 27, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

I never thought when I arrived at class this morning that I’d be asked to do some stalking lol

The ground floor Faber hallway.

But that’s exactly what Tim asked us to do today. We had an hour and a half this morning to go out, find a character (somebody we found interesting), and follow them. We had to make notes on their clothing, the way they walked, talked (which meant if we had to resort to asking them directions so be it!), what they looked like…. Everything we could possibly observe about them, to build up a picture.

I found a guy in the British Museum who walked in a very distinctive way. I followed him and his family around the museum, out to a book shop, and then through the streets until he got into a taxi. I learnt his name, who the other members of the family were, plus got most of the physical details Tim was looking for.

When we got back to Faber everyone admitted they had initially been apprehensive about the task, but most of us had loved it. It was really good fun! One girl even got on a tube to follow her character! There’s dedication!

Tims advice had been “try not to get busted” ha ha ha! And there was me wearing a bight red coat! Lol. I’m sure my guy was thinking “why is that woman in the red coat everywhere I go?” 😉

My classroom