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?

Bedtime For Bonzo?

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

I bet that title has confused you *snigger* 😉

The third (and probably my favourite) character from “Still” let me introduce you to Ronnie, but I guess he could have been a Ronald 😉 Please excuse any errors, this is taken from my note book.

Ronnie was born in February 1953 to an Irish father and English mother who were never actually married. His parents lived on a Council Estate in Lee, South East London. The youngest son of 4 boys he was a tear away (so his mother Liz said) from the moment he could walk.

Curly auburn hair when he was a toddler (which, as an adult only begins to curl when he needs a haircut) and deep blue eyes like his fathers, his ruddy complexion meant that he always looked like he’d been dashing around, but then, most of the time he had. He always had an abundance of energy that continued into adulthood.

Not doing well in school he preferred to play truant and found himself in detention frequently. His mother despaired, but he was her favourite. When he was 12 his father Patrick left the family and went back to Ireland because he couldn’t find work, leaving his mother to bring up the four boys on her own. At secondary school he met Daniel and they became best friends. Although from very different backgrounds the boys shared a love of fishing. It was the only thing he could really remember doing with his father.

At 15 he left school and got himself an apprenticeship with a local builder. He enjoyed being outside, the manual work and the banter with the other workers. But with two of his older brothers involved in petty crime it wasn’t long before he found himself with a police caution.

At 17 he met Laura, a girl who served him in a local café where he and Daniel often met. He asked her out and within weeks they become “a couple” spending a lot of time at the local pub and having a weekend away at his aunts caravan. They were inseparable for a year.

Ronnie started to get friendly with a group who knew his brothers and they introduced him to drugs. His relationship with Laura suffered, and Ronnie moved out of home and into a squat. He and Laura split up and his is mother Liz contacted his father because she was worried.

His father Patrick returned to London in 1972 and with their parents back together the whole family moved back to Ireland, his mother agreeing as she wanted to get Ronnie away from the drug culture he had become embroiled in.

Ronnies father was a struggling builder, but with the help of his sons they made a success of the business and it thrived. He often thought about Laura and Daniel, wondered what happened to them, but as the years went by he put them to the back of his mind.

With a huge zest for life he likes to play practical jokes and to be the center of attention. In his early 20’s he married an Irish girl, but they divorced after only 3 years with no children. Ronnie threw himself into work and with 7 nieces and nephews he was content to stay single and still play the field.

He still walks with the arrogant swagger he had as a teenager, but at 45 he is lonely, realising that he can no longer chat up women like he used to. One of his brothers has suggested he use a dating agency, but he is too embarrassed. Loyal, attractive for his age (although grey and balding) and with a successful business, he is still hot headed. He plays golf with his brothers.

He receives a letter from a young woman in Kent called Ruby, who thinks she may be his daughter and they speak on the telephone. The old memories of Laura and Daniel come flooding back and he immediately makes plans to travel to Kent. He is excited at the prospect of being a father, but even more so about seeing Laura. He regrets the way he treated her and wants to make amends.

So what has my character Ronnie got to do with Bedtime for Bonzo? I’m kinda thinking that Ronnie’s mum had a bit of a thing for Ronald Reagan 😉

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 😉

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?

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)

Goodbye Ruby Tuesday

Posted on February 22, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

Or rather hello Ruby Morgan 😉

I’ve always loved the name Ruby, so it was a no brainer that one of the main characters in my novel would end up with that name 😉 And as The Stones released Ruby Tuesday in 1967 it fits perfectly 🙂

Ruby was born in 1972 to single mum Laura who still lived at home with her parents above a café in Blackheath, South East London. A happy pretty child with chestnut curls and deep brown eyes she was adored by her grandfather until his death when she was two years old.

When she is a little over one her mother marries her stepfather and all 3 move into a flat a stones throw from her grandparents. She is registered with her mother’s maiden name as her own surname.

Ruby doesn’t remember much of her early childhood, apart from the arguments between her mother and stepfather Daniel. Her stepfather virtually ignored her unless she was naughty, then he would take off his belt. Her mother came between them and always saved Ruby from receiving a beating.

A bubbly talkative child she was made to spend her time in her bedroom when Daniel was about. She had an imaginary friend at home and although popular at school, she was never allowed friends round for dinner. She becomes a rebellious teenager, staying out all hours and getting drunk.

She spends lots of time with her grandmother, preferring to go there after school than to her own home. As a small child she didn’t really notice that she hadn’t got a father like the other children at school and when she asked her grandmother she was told, “Ask your mother”. When she was 14 her mother had a nervous break down and ended up in hospital. Ruby goes to live with her grandmother and refuses to go back home when her mother is well again. She realised that her mother was in no fit state to be asked about her father.

When she is 18 her grandmother dies and she managed to persuade her mother to leave her stepfather. The two move in together but her stepfather convinces her mother to go back to him. Ruby refuses to go back to her stepfather’s house and her relationship with her mother deteriorates. They have a huge argument and Ruby walks away from her mother, travelling to Kent where she makes a new life for herself. With the money her grandmother left her she is able to rent a flat and gets a job at a local restaurant as a waitress. Whilst working one evening she meets Sam Townsend and they start dating.

As an adult Ruby has turned into a beautiful young woman with a clear English Rose complexion. Full of energy and always smiling, deep down she is insecure and finds it hard to accept love. She gave Sam a hard time for the first year of their relationship. But now, once shes accepted Sam does actually love her, what she wants more than anything, is to get a nice little house and have a family. Determined that her child will have a loving upbringing.

When they are engaged and organising the wedding Sam can’t understand why Ruby wants to go away and get married abroad on their own. She tells him about her mother and stepfather but Sam thinks she should get in touch with her mother. Ruby can’t stand the thought of going through the hurt and disappointment again. She realises that she has no one to give her away at the altar, but knows, to contact her father, whoever he may be, will mean having to speak to her mother. Who, she is convinced, doesn’t care about her.

Out of the blue she receives a large Jiffy bag. Inside is a letter from her mother and a notebook. She reads through the notebook, which tells her all about her father. After much soul searching and with Sam’s support she contacts her mother and visits her in hospital.

She decides to find her father and after much searching finally tracks him down. He denies knowing of her existence but is thrilled. They arrange to meet and get on well. Her father would like to arrange a meeting with her mother, but her mother refuses.

Ruby plots to bring her parents together.

Next time I’ll tell you about Ronnie 🙂

Tomorrows post will be a bit later than usual, as I’m off to Faber. Tell you all about it tomorrow evening 🙂

Must Do’s 18th to 24th Feb

Posted on February 18, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

I’ve had a pretty bad week 😦 Not much writing, feeling a bit uninspired to be honest, or am I just tired? Focusing seems to be an issue.

So last weeks Must Do’s were a bit if a disaster 😦

1. Faber homework. No class = no homework.
2. Edit first 5000 words of Still. I did some of it, but my critique has now been put back until March so I’ve been very lazy and left it 😦
3. Submit to Faber. See above!
4. Keep up with 1000 words a day. A complete wash out! *sighs*
5. Catch up with other blogs. I was up to date but I’ve fallen behind again.
6. Tidy desk (again!). Nope and now it’s worse lol

Well, I haven’t had a week that bad in ages! I’m even behind replying to your comments on my blog! I’ve really gotta pull myself together, somebody kick me up the arse 😉

This weeks list looks like this:

But I’ve got a really busy week…..

Keep your fingers crossed for me that I can pull myself out of the mood I’ve found myself in.

What are your writing plans for the week?

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 😉

Must Do’s 11th to 17th Feb

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

Well, last week was a complete mare as you probably know. Much angst about the WIP which is now in it’s 3rd metamorphosis. I think it’s going to work well with the new structure so I’m relieved lol 😉

Last week, the To Do List looked something like this:

1. Go through TLWC and make notes – where I need to add stuff. Well, I did start to do that and it was as I was reading through it, yawning, I realised that there was something missing 😉
2. Keep up with 1000 words a day. Yep, I did 🙂
3. Do some studying. Nope, too stressed lol
4. Read more. Read more this last week than I have for a while, but still not enough really 😦
5. Finish Draft Blog posts. Done!
6. Sort out and finalise guest blog posts. Nearly done, just got to add a couple of links to one of them 🙂

So it didn’t really go according to plan, but I did have a lot on my mind he he he!

This weeks list looks like this:

I’m going out Saturday night, The Hubster is taking me out for a Valentines Day meal. Can you beleive he’s deserting me on Valentines Day and playing chess? Lol…Don’t worry, I’ll make sure he makes it up to me at the weekend 😉

I’ll also be trying to do some character sketches so I’ll post one of those every week 🙂

Have a good week guys….What are your writing plans this week?

Introducing….. Still

Posted on February 9, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

Thank you to everyone who offered words of support and wisdom to my post on Wednesday for the IWSG Day. It really helped me make a decision. I’ve started again lol. Yep, I’m now on rewrite version 2 which means this is the 3rd form of the novel, and definitely the last! I’ve just got to pull my finger out now and get the 5000 words written for my Faber critique!

I’ve been tagged by Elizabeth at Scribbling In The Storage Room in the Next Big Thing Blog Hop. I did this a few months ago, but now, as things have changed good and proppa it’s a good opportunity to introduce to you the new story 🙂

What is your working title of your book (or story)? Still

Where did the idea come from for the book? Watching an episode of the Jeremy Kyle show and adding the “What if?” question, plus other influences 😉

What genre does your book fall under? I think it’s Women’s Contemporary Romance

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? Hmmmm, that’s a hard one because I have 2 different time frames, so the parts would have to be played by relatively unknown teenagers and then the more modern bits by older actors. So the older Ronnie would be Christian Bale and Daniel, Daniel Craig. Laura would be Kate Winslet and Ruby, Emma Watson 🙂

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? A story about love, the competition between two friends and the consequences of past decisions.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? I would love to go down the traditional route of publication, but, we all now how difficult that can be. I’m not against self publishing.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? The original first draft, one month….Nano 2010. I started rewriting it in January, then again in February. So I’ve just started the 3rd rewrite.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? Oooo, difficult! I’d love to be compared to Anne Tyler, Maeve Binchy or Fay Weldon, but I’m probably kidding myself lol

Who or what inspired you to write this book? The Hubster told me years ago I should write a book lol, and when I was about 13 I did start one. I think I wrote one chapter lol…. But it was my friend Jayne who really pushed me to do it.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? Its basically the story of two women, mother and daughter. The first part of the book is the mothers story which is written in a notebook then mailed to her daughter. The second part is the daughters response to the scribblings in the notebook, and the two women’s journey there after.

So yes, we have a title change, a structure change, and a POV change. So I guess you can say I found a way round my brick wall 😉 It’s just a shame it took me nearly 30,000 words to realise that the rewrite i was doing was the wrong rewrite lol. Ewan Morrisons words have been echoing in my ears so I can either thank him or blame him lol 😉 But either way I’m in a much better place than I was at the beginning of the week….feeling enthusiastic and passionate again, which is a good place to be right?