Critiquing With Confidence

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

I’m part of an all female writing group, called The Mermaids. But, from what I now know about writing groups this is in fact, a critique group. We submit our work via e mail and then meet up once a month to give critiques. This months meeting is on the 14th and I have a whole folder of stuff I have to read and use the red pen on lol

I read a post a couple of weeks ago over at 4am Writer entitled The Power of a Critique which has prompted this post 🙂

I use to hate critiquing…..all I ever use to write on my fellow writers work was “really liked this well done” lol. Probably because (a) I didn’t want to upset them, put them off writing or come across as, oh, what’s the word? Superior? Especially when (IMO) my writing was probably worse. And (b) because really, I didn’t know how to critique.

That all changed when I started attending classes at The Write Place where Elaine gave us slips of paper to use when we critique. The slips contained a list of questions to apply to the work we were critiquing and now, I use this set of questions all the time. I hope they’re helpful to any of you who struggle (as I did) when asked to critique a fellow writers work 🙂

(1) Did the title grab you?
(2) How about the opening paragraphs?
(3) Characters: Were they believable?
(4) Was there a strong plot?
(5) How about the ending, was it satisfying?
(6) Does it suit the market that the writer is aiming for?

I’d also like to add my own one that’s not on Elaine’s list……
(7) Did the dialogue work?

We use these questions in class to critique short stories, so I’m not sure how they would relate to a novel, or one chapter of a novel.

How do you feel about critiquing? Love it? Hate it? Muddle through? 😉

As a side note…..yesterday I read on Clarbojahn’s Blog about the OREO method of critiquing. Some good advice *nods in agreement* 🙂

Notebooks – Finding What Works For You

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

Firstly, thank you so much, everyone, for your suggestions yesterday on how to get myself motivated, I really appreciate it 🙂 One thing I realised (along with many others!) is that I need to be more organised lol…..so I’m hoping this will help 🙂

I usually skim read The Writers Forum magazine when it thuds onto the doormat…..stick it in my pile of TBR magazines and then forget about it for 3 months. But this month, an article by Simon Whaley caught my eye so I just had to read it 🙂

In Notebook Know How, Simon explains how he has different notebooks for different things. Now, I’ve always been the one notebook for everything kinda gal. But reading Simons article made me realise that yep, he’s right, I can never find anything lol. I’m now on my 13th notebook, and though I can mostly remember what was in a previous book, I haven’t got a clue what was in say, book 4 lol

So as from the beginning of May I started working with 7 notebooks, all at the same time. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking, 7 is a bit excessive, but, I can’t seem to cut it down to any less than that (Simon himself says that he has 6). Here are the books I’ll be working with:

Ideas Book – Where I’ll put ideas for stories, titles, articles I’m interested in, name ideas for characters, blog ideas and useful web site addys.
Prompts Book – Where I do my daily prompts.
Characters Book – As you know, I do a lot of characters, so a notebook dedicated to them will make it a lot easier when I’m trying to find one.
Goals/To Do List Book – I’ve decided to start each week with a set of goals, so a notebook dedicated to them would make sense.
Novel Notebook – A notebook dedicated to my current WIP novel, anything and everything that relates to it.
Dumping Book – The book that I take to my writing class and take out and about with me for free writing sessions.
Nano 2012- I’ve prepared a notebook for my A-Z characters, so I can add stuff that I come across which might be useful.

Simon says (i lovethat!) he uses his dumping book and then at the end of every day transfers the information into the categorised books. He says the transfer process also gives him an opportunity to develop the ideas further. Yeah, I can see that, extra work yes, but good to go over stuff I think.

How many notebooks do you work with and why?

I’ll let you know whether it was a good idea or a bad one in a couple of months LMAO 🙂

Insecure Writers Day, Or Help, Somebody Kick Me

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

Today is Insecure Writers day (see the tab at the top for more info). A day where members spill their guts on their writing fears, concerns, worries, and hopefully receive sympathy from the other members.

So how am I feeling about my writing at the moment? Pretty shit to be honest lol. I’m really struggling with motivation and I don’t know why lol. I need a boost 😉

My out there’s have dropped considerably (down to about 10 now) and although I was Long Listed in the Flash500 Competition (my entry was titled “Ashes”) it wasn’t really enough to give me that kick up the arse I seem to need right now. So what will it take?

I need to be more organised, I know that, and I’m fed up writing at my dining room table. The room is so cluttered now, I can’t get to my books, can’t easily access my notebooks and have to keep moving my piles when we have dinner *deep sigh* I know, logically, there’s nothing I can do about it, but I feel pretty sulky and low about the whole situation *pouts*

I’m not suffering from writers block, far from it! I have ideas coming out of my ears, what I don’t have is the motivation to sit down and write….I potter, tidy up, sort the washing, shop for food, cook (occasionally lol), blog, check e mails and FaceBook and then watch a film lol.

I know I am so lucky to have the time to write, that I don’t really have any commitments, and that my husband is very supportive, so what’s my problem right?

Am I in a writing slump? anyone have any suggestions on how to fire me up? 😉

Blog Schedule

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

Now that the April A-Z Challenge is finished (which I’m so chuffed at completing by the way lol, but you already knew that didn’t you lol) it’s about time I became a bit more organised lol.

I didn’t realise how much people would enjoy my characters, and although I will kinda miss creating so many, I’ll still get my fix, because I do them in my notebook on a regular basis. So from now on, I’ll share one, once a week 🙂

I’ve been trying to find my feet since I started this blog, so now I’m ready to work to a routine, so I’ve been thinking about all the things I want to include…..

A Characterisation – Along the lines of what I did for the challenge.
WIP – I don’t often talk about my work(s) in progress, but I’m ready to share 😉
A Film Review – From a writers perspective of course lol. You can learn so much from films IMO, and I watch loads.
Silent Day – That’s gunna be hard, as I can chat for England! But I need a day off. Sooooo, as I’m doing a 365 photo project, I’ll post a pic that i think may give you a story idea.
A Book Review – Again, from a writers perspective. There will be a lot of talk about Writing Books, as I’m an addict! 😉
Free Writing Day – I really enjoyed my “Place” experiment last month. So I intend to do a Freewriting session every week from now on.
Ideas & Notes – I’m always coming across ideas, stuff to improve my writing and most of it gets scribbled down in my Note Book….so I’ll share stuff I think we could all do with knowing, or being reminded about 😉 Will probably include links to other blogs that I think are useful.
Weekly Goals List – I spend most of my week procrastinating, and not really achieving much. Perhaps, if I write my goals down each week I’ll have more chance of actually getting something done lol
Prompt Talk – I do a prompt a day, but I don’t go into much detail about them do I lol

Ok, so perhaps a pattern will emerge, a set day for each type of post? I’ve noticed a lot of bloggers do that. so what do you think? I want my blog to have purpose, at the moment (pre A-Z Challenge) it just seems to amble along without any form of direction lol. I need to focus on a single topic with each post, not ramble away like I normally do lol.

So pull up a chair, grab a coffee and I’ll begin…..

I Am A Writer

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

I’ve been following Jeff Goins excellent blog for a few months now. So when I received an e mail update asking for people to review his new book I jumped at the chance 🙂

I received the eBook a few days ago, and I read the whole thing that same day! WOW! I guess being a fan of Jeffs blog means that it was inevitable that I would love the book. So am I biased? Probably lol 😉 No, seriously, it’s thoroughly enjoyable, with some great advice to us “aspiring” writers. Lots of info on Platform Building, connecting with other writers and what to do before you even get published.

But it was the first part of the book that hit me straight in the face, because it talks about the one thing that plagues me….. The whole idea of calling myself a writer. I’ve talked before on my blog about not being able to bring myself to say that. I feel a fraud, like, if I say, “Hi, my names Vikki and I’m a writer.” someone will jump up and say “No you’re not, you haven’t had anything published.” I even had a brief discussion about it recently with Chris on Write To Perfect (see the comments for an excellent article Chris recommends).

Jeff’s book wagged its finger at me lol….. He asked Steven Pressfield what he meant by “turning pro in your head before you can do it on paper.” (from Pressfield’s book The War of Art). He asked Mr Pressfield “When do you really become a writer? Is it when you get an agent? When you sign your first book contract? When you sell 10,000 copies?”

The response from Mr Pressfield was…… “When you say you are.”

So Jeff started making public declarations of his identity as a writer, and actually started believing it. And because he believed it, he started acting like one. Jeff learnt that before others will believe you’re a writer, you have to believe it yourself 🙂

So is it time for me to submit, surrender to something I’ve been resisting as Jeff says? Ok, I’m going to give this a go…..ready……

Oh, that felt good, uncomfortable, but good lol 🙂

Jeff suggests that I write I Am A Writer everyday….”affirming something deep inside of you that you’ve been resisting.” And hell, have I been resisting!!!!!!

There’s a web site You Are A Writer to accompany the book so I hope you check it out.

So thanks Jeff, for the opportunity to read your book, and the pep talk 😉 I’m going to give it a go….I’ll start with my FaceBook profile *gulp* 🙂

Do you struggle telling people you’re a “writer”?

Adele Parks Envy

Posted on April 22, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

Sorry, no characterisation for the A-Z Challenge today, I have a day off lol

I went to a talk given by Adele Parks recently and I am now, officially suffering “Adele Parks Envy” lol. Yep, she’s tall, slim, attractive, finds it easy to engage an audience, funny and has written 11 books, all of which have been best sellers! What’s not to envy? Lol *pouts* 😉

Seriously, I thoroughly enjoyed her talk 🙂

Someone in the audience asked her if she plans her novels. She replied by saying yes, but that she knew plenty of successful writers who don’t. She went on to say that when she is reading a novel she can actually tell if it’s been planned or not, because the middle tends to lose its way a bit. Things happen that often don’t fit in with the rest of the story.

Hmmmmm, I’m not sure that’s entirely true, but, I see her point.

Talking about her working day, she said that she looks on being a writer like any other job. Every morning, she goes to her office, sits at her desk, and works. Even if she’s not in the mood. If the words don’t come for the novel she’ll do some characterisation, or catch up with work related e mails. But no matter how she feels, she’ll still show up to that desk. (Ohhhh, if only I had a desk, let alone an office!).

She talked a lot about characterisation (at this stage my ears pricked up) and about how much work she will do on the characters. Their star signs, their background, their likes and dislikes, tiny little details that will never make it into the book, but allow her to know her characters inside and out. Yep, I know that one, and it’s what I try to do with all my characters (I found myself nodding lol).

The one piece of advice I will definitely be taking away with me is that she said when she starts to “plan” the next novel she comes up with the characters first, then she comes up with a dilemma, then she comes up with the ending, how it’s all going to pan out…..only then will she start writing the story.

This is where I completely fall down *slump*……endings *shudders* and is why my novel (65,000 words done in November 2010 for Nano) is still unfinished.

I guess we all have something we don’t feel confident about, something that we don’t think we’re good at or dread doing when it comes to writing. Mine is definitely endings. I love dialogue (and have been told I’m good at it) and I love characterisation (you can all be the judge as to whether I’m any good at that) but endings and tying it all up so that it’s satisfactory? 😦

So what do you struggle with? What do you feel you fall down on? Or are you confident with all aspects of your writing? 🙂

So what did I learn?
(A) I need a desk and an office lol.
(B) I need to plan a bit more, especially my endings.
and
(C) I will never be Adele Parks…..but there’s no harm in dreaming 😉

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

A feature on my writing tutor, sorry for 2 posts today, but it just had to be done….. 🙂

the long and the short of it

If someone had told me that one day I’d be writing for a living and running a very successful writing school I’d have laughed in their face. It had taken redundancy and then the death of my father for me to realise I had to do something about my dream of being a writer. Up until then I had scribbled short stories for my own enjoyment and written copy for my breed club magazine. I wasn’t even sure I had it in me to be a published writer and was frightened that my dream would fail. It was a very nervous me that ventured into an adult education class in 1998 after first checking that I wouldn’t have to stand up and read my work out loud. Within one term I was eager to learn more, I was devouring writing magazines, sending off submissions and entering competitions. I even started…

View original post 1,006 more words

M is for…..

Posted on April 14, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

Megan, who has been removed because I want to use her for my Nano 2012 novel.

Sorry you missed it 😦

A-Z Challenge

Oh dear, poor Megan really needs some help. Should her aunt step in? Or her mum come back? Perhaps her father should finally get a grip and actually actively help her, or am I being too preachy? You can’t save someone unless they want to be saved…..

I’m sorry if the last couple of characters have been a bit depressing, unfortunately that’s real life 😦 But I promise they’ll be a happier one tomorrow 🙂

I didn’t manage to get the sorrow prompt done yesterday. I’ve been in a funny mood, just wanted to chill, so I’ll catch up today when I do write about “a history of whispers” (after Paul Simon).

L is for…..

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

Liam, who has been removed because I want to use him for my Nano 2012 novel.

Sorry you missed it 😦

A-Z Challenge

I think Liam’s story is so sad, and probably true of so many of the homeless in London.So where do we go from here? Do I give him a happy ending? I’d like to think that his girlfriend and parents are looking for him. He wasn’t speeding, it was a horrible accident and in his absence he has been exonerated of all charges. A witness came forward to say there was nothing he could have done. But even knowing that, would the guilt still be too much to live with?

I had a writing session this morning with Elizabeth Haynes which resulted in the completion of a 2600 word short story and I got the last 2 prompts done that I’d got behind with. Todays prompt is write about a passing sorrow so that’s more doom and gloom lol

K is for…..

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

Kimberley, who has been removed because I want to use her for my Nano 2012 novel.

Sorry you missed it 😦

A-Z Challenge

Awwwww, I just want to give Kimberly a huge hug 🙂 any ideas on where Kimberley could be going in life? Perhaps she wins the Turner Prize? Or ends up having panic attacks? And will the boyfriend ever get a blooming job!!!!!

I didn’t manage yesterday’s prompt and I apologise if there are any spelling mistakes in this post, the last 24 hours have been manic! Lol Today’s prompt is “After the final no…..” after Wallace Stevens who I’d never heard of til today 😦