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?

Jane Ayres Asks What if?

Posted on March 16, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

Food for thought from my fellow blogging friend Jane Ayres which I found very interesting considering my WIP is all about the consequences of choices 😉

What if? What then? Problem solving for writers.

Writers are constantly asking “What if?” And after we have answered this question, it then follows, “What then?” This got me thinking about the choices we make, as human beings and as writers. One aspect of writing fiction that I love is that of problem solving. We create a situation for our characters (or vice versa) and as the narrative unfolds, we have to work out how to develop and resolve subsequent events. There will be questions to pose and answer and obstacles to navigate before a satisfactory conclusion is reached. We create a series of problems which we then have to solve.

I’ve been reading a wonderful collection of essays by journalist and screenwriter Nora Ephron (who sadly passed away last year) called I Feel Bad About My Neck and Other Thoughts on Being a Woman and one of the essays, The Story of my Life in 3500 Words or Less, relates a story told by film director Mike Nichols, which he uses to make a point about a conversation they have.
I’m going to do my own version of the story (there will be many versions), but with the same outcome as the original. At the end is a question.

My version of the story:
A couple live in a remote location. The husband goes off to work and his wife takes a bus journey to the nearest town to see her secret lover. (Her husband has the car). After her illicit assignation, it’s late and she misses the last bus home. Desperate to get back before her husband discovers her gone, she pleads with a taxi driver to take her home. Exploiting the situation he demands triple the normal fare, which she doesn’t have. So she starts to walk home and is attacked and killed by a stranger.

The question is, whose fault is it? Who is responsible for her death? The woman, her husband, her lover, the taxi driver or the killer? All of these? None of these?
It’s not a trick question and there is no right or wrong answer. Everyone will respond differently. When I first saw this, my answer was immediate, my judgement instant. Then I began to think about the way choices lead to consequences. How much more information, if any, do we need to consider our response? The process of answering these questions (and the reasons we give for our answers) is both a valuable springboard for our own creative narratives, and offers an insight into how and why we engage with characters in fiction.

If you get stuck writing your short story or novel, go back and see what would have happened if your character/s had made different choices. Which in turn might change another aspect of the story. Why are they motivated to behave the way they do? What would you do if you were them? If the story then ends differently, would it have started at a different place or point in time?
Is that why we write? Because we can’t help asking questions? What if we stopped exercising our imaginations? What then?

Footnote: I’m curious – who do you think was to blame for the woman’s untimely end? Would the response change if the characters and situations of the husband and wife had been reversed?

Jane’s recent e-book, Coming Home, is available from Amazon.co.uk and .com with all author royalties going to the charity Cats Protection.

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 😉

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)

Must Do’s 11th to 17th March

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

Last Mondays critique at Faber threw me into a bit of confusion, as my To Do List was compiled the day before…you’ll see what I mean when you read on.

So last weeks list was a bit hit and miss 😉

1. Faber homework. Done!
2. Sort out notes from Faber critique. Hmmmm, well, I did, kind of, but I’ve been toying with what to do all week. I’m still unsure of what way to go, but, I need to make a decision. I think I know what I want to do, whether it will work or not is another matter 😉
3. Work on Faber Synopsis. Nope…how can I write a synopsis when I don’t know how it’s going to be structured? Lol
4. Add 2000 words to Still. Nope 😦
5. Catch up with E Mails and Blogs. Done, but I’m constantly behind!
6. Do some studying. Yep, I’m enjoying Celia Brayfields Bestseller

So this week is looking like this…

Lets hope I’m more productive this week! Lol

What are your writing plans this week?

How Do You See Yourself in Relation To Your Readers?

Posted on March 9, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

I’m not a published author ( yet lol) so I’d never really thought about my readers. No, sorry, that’s wrong. I have kind of thought about the type of person who would read my books, but I’d never thought about how I want to be seen by them.

Do I want them to see me as a teacher? Sharing my knowledge.

As an entertainer? Delighting them with a captivating story.

So here is…..A Letter To My Reader (from my journal)

Dear Reader,

You now hold in your hand a copy of my book. This is the future by the way 😉

It is NOT autobiographical, although, I will admit that there are several themes within it that I have had some experience of. As a writer, that is inevitable. The character of Laura is NOT me, but we do share traits and opinions. Good grief, I was a much more rebellious teen and owned enough makeup to open my own shop!

The book was written because of my fascination with people. I find everyone interesting. I like to know what makes people do the things they do and I’m a big believer in the fact that we are all responsible for our own actions, regardless of what influences we have had in our childhood. Our childhood is what makes us who we are, but we’re all capable of change, if we want it badly enough.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that my motivation to write comes from a need to understand people. I don’t consider my work will tell you anything you don’t already know, but I hope it makes you think. I hope it makes you question your own decisions and that you will ask yourself “What would I do?” if you were in that same position. Perhaps you will think about your own past decisions and those that I’m sure you’ll make in the future. Next time you’re faced with making a choice, think long and hard, and remember, this is it, you only get to live life once!

Hmmmmmm…..so perhaps I am a teacher of sorts? Or somewhere in between?

What about you? How do you see yourself in relation to your readers?

Guest Post – Devon Ellington

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

Today’s blog guest is the wonderful Devon Ellington who’s blog, Ink in My Coffee I’ve been reading for a while now 🙂

A full time writer who publishes under half a dozen names in fiction and non fiction her plays are performed all over the world. Devon’s work has appeared in numerous anthologies and she has had hundreds of articles published over the years. She also works as a fiction reviewer, freelance business writer and teaches online, with students across the globe.

Devon’s most recent publication, Old Fashioned Detective Work was released on March 4, 2013 by Solstice Publishing. A follow up to Hex Breaker it sees Jain Lazurus continuing her adventure.

Detective Wyatt East finds himself the primary suspect when hex breaker Jain Lazarus disappears after their romantic weekend in Vermont. In spite of the suspicions, Jain’s boss, Maitland Stiles, hires Wyatt to track her down, forcing him to face aspects of his own painful past and revealing more about hers.
Saddled with two rebellious runaway paranormal teens, he’s embroiled in a shapeshifter pack disagreement, and must learn to work with both a caustic dragon and a cantankerous mermaid to not only find Jain, but help her help an old friend who’s in over his head. Wyatt learns he is not without psychic abilities of his own, although he prefers old-fashioned detective work.

Visit the Jain Lazurus site

Visit Billy Roots blog

Jain Lazarus Adventures on Facebook

I got the opportunity to ask Devon a few questions….

Vikki:YOU PUBLISH IN SEVERAL DIFFERENT GENRES, WHICH DO YOU ENJOY WRITING THE MOST?

Devon:I like writing in all of them, which is why I keep shifting! 😉 I think the story and characters have a lot to do with what genre I choose at a particular moment. If the characters and story are served best by mystery, then it’s mystery; by fantasy, then fantasy, and so forth. I think you can tell emotional truths clearly in fiction — in non-fiction, it often comes across as being on a soap-box, while in fiction, you’re demonstrating the cause-and-effect of choices.

Vikki:WHAT OR WHO, WAS THE INSPIRATION BEHIND JAIN LAZARUS?

Devon:The scene where she defends Nick and Billy from the zombie and the scene where they’re chased at night all came to me driving back from my own work on set (two different projects, two different nights). The scenes came fully formed, but I wasn’t sure about the context. Slowly, Jain kind of emerged from the mists, so to speak — here’s someone who’s good at her paranormal job, but she still works union wardrobe jobs to keep her health insurance! Working in theatre and film is all about creating magic and illusion anyway, so it was fun to lay paranormal/urban fantasy experiences over the practicality of creating illusion on set.

Vikki:DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER BOOKS PLANNED FOR THE SERIES?

Devon:There will be seven books in the series. I’m almost finished with CRAVE THE HUNT, the third book in the series. It alternates from Jain’s POV and Billy Root’s POV. It’s really Billy’s coming-of-age book, where he finds himself and his path. He got a truly loyal fan following from HEX BREAKER, and I think they’ll be thrilled with how he evolves. Book three is a turning point for him, and although he’s a supporting character again in future books, I think his fans will continue to enjoy his growth. Book 4, LOVE AND FURY, is where everything Jain and Wyatt haven’t directly dealt with in their relationship comes back to bite them in the butt. I haven’t titled books 5-7 yet, but they’re in rough outline. There’s also room for some other characters to explore their stories, especially some of the supporting characters in CRAVE THE HUNT, should they capture readers’ imaginations.

I’m also juggling a bunch of other projects, so it’s a case of what is contracted when and the deadlines. My new play, MURDER “SEALS” THE DEAL, will be performed as a benefit for the National Marine Life Center on April 7 in Buzzards Bay (www.nmlc.org) and another play of mine, SEVEN OF SWORDS, will be read at Tilden Arts Center on March 1. So I’m in rewrites and rehearsals, and I’m juggling a couple of other novels and working with my agent on some interesting non-fiction proposals, too.

Vikki:WHO ARE YOUR FAVOURITE AUTHORS AND WHAT ARE YOU READING RIGHT NOW?

Devon:I have many favorite authors. Harriet Beecher Stowe, Louisa May Alcott, and Shakespeare continue to be top influences, always. I’ve been gorging myself on Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache series lately — she’s the only contemporary writer I can think of who successfully uses third person omniscient without making the reader motion-sick. I enjoy Yasmine Galenorn, Juliet Blackwell, Donna Leon, John Dunning, Marc Fitten, Kevin Hearne, Nicole Peeler, Carol Shields, Thomas Mallon –the list goes on and on. I’m about to dive back into Emerson’s journals for a good long time.

Vikki:WHAT METHODS OF PUBLISHING HAVE YOU USED AND WHICH DO YOU PREFER?

Devon:I’ve mostly gone traditional publishing routes (although both print and digital), and I’ve got some of my shorter and more cross-genre work out independently. Both have their positives and negatives. I like the outside eyes that working with a traditional publisher provides, the editor (I’ve had some wonderful editors, I’m blessed), but they need to partner more in the marketing instead of dumping 90% on the author — we can’t sell it if we don’t have the breathing room to write it. I think that’s why so many authors are going independent — if the bulk of the work is on our shoulders anyway, why not? But if one is going to go independent, there still needs to be a schedule and the time and space to do good work and get outside eyes on it before it releases. That’s often next to impossible, for both financial and scheduling reasons.

Writers have the RIGHT to earn a living with their skills. We have bills to pay, and our skills are unique and viable, as much as any doctor or plumber. So this attitude that we should always do everything for free, that we don’t deserve to be paid for our WORK, has to change. No matter how much we love it, writing is still skilled work. We shouldn’t be punished because we love our jobs.

Vikki:ANY ADVICE FOR ASPIRING AUTHORS?

Devon:There’s no such thing as “not time to write.” Writing is a choice. Not writing is a choice. If you “don’t have time” to write, you don’t want it badly enough. Books don’t write themselves. If you want to write, put your butt in the chair every day and WRITE. No excuses.

Devon was kind enough to send me a couple of excerpts from the books and I have to say they’ve definitely pricked my interest 🙂

Thanks again Devon, good luck with the new book and i will definitely be following your advice! 🙂 So what excuses do you come up with for not putting your butt in the chair? If you’re anything like me (the Queen of procrastination) just look what we’re missing out on! 😉

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 😉