Tag Archives: Writers Resources

Must Do’s 22nd to 27th July

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Ok, well i for one am fed up with the hot weather lol. I’m not a sun lover for starters. pale and pasty that’s me 😉

So last week I felt a bit meh and I think that’s related in the To Do list. Last week I was supposed to:

1. Post Tangled. YAY, it’s gone!

2. Do Artists Way stuff. Yep!

3. Start decluttering cupboard under stairs. Couldn’t face it.

4. Finish packing kitchen & dining room. *shakes head*

5. Sort out drawing class and enrol. Well, I found one, but, bloody hell soooo expensive! 😦 I need to find out if I can pay in instalments before I commit.

This week is gunna be hectic (and another hot one) so the diary looks like this:

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I’ll definitely need my Boxing Day come Sunday 😉

So what are your plans for the week?

Writing Blogger Challenge Day 2

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The prompt for Day 2 is:

Make 10 writing related confessions.

1. I still get confused between nouns, verbs, adverbs & adjectives. it’s just not sinking in 😦

2. I’m comma happy. I use far too many lol

3. I have approximately 450 unfinished short stories. Whoops!

4. I have a huge problem with Tautology in my writing. A really bad habit that I must get under control.

5. I prefer to Handwrite than type. I’m actually considering doing the next novels first draft all by hand.

6. I feel that my vocabulary is lacking. And that goes back to my education levels.

7. In real life I swear like a trooper. But my characters don’t tend to lol.

8. I am the Queen of Cliche. See number 7 *giggles*

9. I hate writing in first person. They always sound like me lol

10. I still haven’t sent off my first Writers Bureau assignment! EEEK! (Should really do that lol).

Well, that was pretty cathartic lol…. Go on, give me a writing confession, so I don’t feel such a loser 😉

Writing Blogger Challenge – Day 1

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I must admit, I’ve been thinking my blog is/was a little stale recently. So this morning when I was reading blogs and having a major catch up I noticed that one of my favourite bloggers, Hunter Emkay is hosting a Writing Blogger Challenge which will run for 10 days. Ok, well that sounds interesting.

So I’ve signed up 🙂 (you know me, I like to be stretched lol).

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So today is Day 1 of the challenge and the prompt is…

Introduce your latest writing project with an elevator pitch or maximum 250 words.

Now you all know everything about two of my novels (Still & Tangled) but I have a 3rd one lol. During Nano last year I decided to write, or rather, try to write a Mills and Boon novel *sniggers* I managed it, but, in just under 22,000 words, which is well short of the 50,000 that is required. So it will need some major editing, I need to add more angst, and add two sex scenes *blush*

So here is my 250 word pitch for Sorrento Sunrise

Kate works for a travel magazine and when her boss asks her to visit a hotel in Sorrento to interview the owner, little does she know that the sexy, dark Italian will become more than just another assignment.

After a hellish journey and mistaking him for a bellboy, Damiano initially thinks that Kate is a typical arrogant journalist, but he soon changes his mind as they get to know each other intimately on the hotels private beach and over the course of her stay.

Damiano asks Kate to meet him in the bar on her last night where he is planning to ask her to stay on, but when Kate arrives she see’s him with another woman and flees back to England.

Damiano tries to contact Kate but she refuses to speak to him or respond to his e mails, having now researched him online and discovering the string of Italian models he’s been photographed with over the last few years. Already having arrangements to visit London Damiano goes to Kates house with a huge bouquet of roses but as he gets out of the taxi he see’s her hugging a man who is holding a toddler.

Angry, and thinking he has been lied to he continues with his business in London, the purchase of a new hotel and decides to get on with his life, trying to forget about Kate.

Several months pass and Kate is given an assignment to attend a new London hotel opening. She is shocked and embarrassed when the owner gets up on a podium to make a speech and it is Damiano. Their eyes meet and Damiano realises that he can’t get on with his life unless Kate explains herself. Having traditional family values he is shocked that she could have been the way she was in Sorrento knowing her husband and child were waiting at home.

After a small “scene” at the party Damiano finally manages to drag Kate to his office and demands an explanation. Kate is shocked and after explaining that the child is hers but she is a widow and that the man was her brother Damiano feels an idiot. But Kate doesn’t let him off the hook easily. She demands to know who the woman was that she saw him draped all over in the bar. Damiano explains that she was his cousin.

Ha ha ha….that’s 394 words and I haven’t even told you how it ends! But it is a Mills and Boon, so I’m sure you know lol

Oh well, I think I’m gunna need to work on that.

Any guesses as to how it ends? 😉

Tangled – The Synopsis

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Well, its gone off in the post to The Romantic Novelists Association *bites finger nails* So i thought I’d share the synopsis.

It’s not exactly a synopsis, more like a blurb lol

Tangled is a novel about love, loyalty and the consequences of betrayal.

Anna Scott is a middle aged housewife who is bored with her life. Marriage and the pressures of bringing up children have left her overweight and tired. What happened to the fun loving girl she used to be?

Her husband Tim, several years older and recently retired, is content to potter around his garden and spend the rest of his days relaxing. Anna feels that life is slipping her by and whilst on a girls night out with her best friend she meets Harry, who she once knew as a twelve year old boy when she was involved in his case in her professional capacity, as a social worker.

Against her friends advice she agrees to meet him for a coffee, just to catch up with how his life has changed. But Harry makes it obvious that he wants more than just a mutual friendship. Flattered, Anna soon finds herself involved in a passionate affair with a man 12 years her junior.

Harry tries to persuade her to leave Tim and after she stalls he visits Tim and tells him of the affair. Unbeknown to Harry, Anna has recently aborted his child and Tim takes great pleasure in telling Harry so..

Anna decides to stay with Tim but Harry starts to stalk her. He becomes aggressive and even sets fire to Tim’s car. As Anna and Tim start to rebuild their marriage Tim is found dead on the living room floor, stabbed by a knife that is missing from Anna’s expensive knife block. But who are the suspects? Harry seems the obvious choice, but did Anna really want the boring housewife life after experiencing the excitement of Harry? Or could Tim’s first wife Fay (the one he left to be with Anna) hold the key to Tim’s final hours?

Yeah, ok, it’s definitely more like a blurb isn’t it lol 😉 But that might have something to do with the fact that I haven’t really decided who did kill Tim lol. I have a theory, I know who I’d like to see as the killer, and I know how I want the book to end. It’s completely finished, so at the moment the reader is kind of left wondering who the murderer is.

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Photo courtesy of Master isolated images at Freedigitalphotos

What do you think? Who killed Tim? 😉

Must Do’s 15th to 21st July

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Well here in the UK summer has finally arrived, and as we’re all sweating our nuts off, being typical Brits it won’t be long until we’re all moaning about it *snigger* 😉

Sticking to my To Do List this week has been difficult…who wants to follow a stupid old list of stuff to do when you can sit in the garden and read? Plus, Albie’s arrival has kinda turned my world upside down and I smell of “dog” 😉

So last week this is what I was supposed to do…

1. Finish reading/critiquing Faber work for meet. Did that and had a lovely evening catching up 🙂
2. Decluttering/sort out hallway. Done, I had to, for Albie.
3. Take Tangled to the post office. *sighs* It’s still sitting in its envelope at the bottom of my bed…but…I’m going TODAY!
4. Clear up desk and writing stuff. Nooooo, fraid not, it was too nice outside to sit at my desk in the corner of my stuffy bedroom 😉

I started doing The Artists Way at the weekend. Spent all day Saturday having a major catch up session so I can take part in the FaceBook group I’ve been invited to join. This will be my 3rd time of doing it now and I’ve gone back to Morning Pages. Just gotta make sure it’s not a 3 page rant every morning lol 😉

So this weeks list looks like this, but I also have some Artist Way stuff to do…

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What are your writing plans for the week?

Wordsworths Summer House

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During our trip to the Lake District we visited Rydal Mount which was the home of William Wordsworth from 1813 until his death in 1850. It was while living at Rydal that Wordsworth penned his most loved and well known poems. So I was rather excited to find that his summer house, where he would sit and compose his poetry (whilst staring out at the beautiful gardens) was still intact and available to view.

So after a tour of the house including his attic study (sorry, no pics, you’re not allowed to) I was desperate to get out into the garden and see where the great man did most of his writing. The summer house was well hidden up a steep bank (lots of tiny twisting paths) and when we finally stumbled across it I was shocked. I’m not too sure what I was expecting to be honest, but it wasn’t this:

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Of course we sat in there and looked out at the view. You can just about see Lake Windermere in the distance, but in Wordsworths time the view probably would have been slightly better, due to less/smaller trees.

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The Wordsworth’s daughter Dora loved her fathers Daffodil poem, so when she died Mr & Mrs Wordsworth (both in their late 70’s) personally planted a whole field adjacent to Rydal with hundreds and hundreds of Daffodil bulbs. It’s now known as Dora’s Field and must look incredible during Spring.

The Daffodils

I WANDERED lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed–and gazed–but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

Published at Rydal Mount, 1815.

Did I feel inspired? No, not really. It’s definitely a gorgeous place, but I’m often shocked at the meagre surroundings of some of the great writers. The following day we went to Beatrix Potters house and saw her desk/bureau where she wrote and drew her characters. It was tiny and not what I expected at all. And then take Rudyard Kipling…I’ve been to his house several times and his office was pretty unimpressive too lol. Do well known/successful modern writers prefer their writing spaces to be simplistic do you think? I will need to Google this and see what James Pattersons office looks like, or Stephen Kings lol.

If money was no object would you have an impressive office (huge desk, opulent surroundings) or do you think there is a lot to be said for keeping it simple?

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Must Do’s 8th to 14th July

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Well, last week was a wash out 😦 I think I left the house, what, twice, between Monday morning and Friday afternoon lol….so annoying!

So nothing from last weeks list got done lol, although “Tangled” is now in it’s envelope lol.

It will be going off Wednesday morning (it’s the earliest I can fit in going to the post office) and I have spent the weekend decluttering. So the plans for this week are:

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It’s gunna be a good week, a few nice “writerly” type events to look forward to, especially after such a poxy week of illness.

What are your writing plans for the week?

My Faber Reading

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A HUGE thank you to everyone who commented on my IWSG post a couple of days ago. I will continue to write, but I’m not going to make it the entire focus of my life anymore. I need to step back, chill about it, and if I don’t write for a week not stress about it.

Ok, I’m gunna share with you the piece I read out at the Faber event. Be gentle with me, I know it’s not brilliant lol. In the anthology there is a synopsis and a 1500 extract from Laura’s journal, the one that arrives in this scene…

Ruby knew the handwriting, but didn’t recognise the post mark. As she tore open the large manilla envelope her hands shook. Inside were a black Moleskin notebook and a folded piece of pink paper, a similar shade to the fluffy slippers she was wearing. Her chest tightened as she unfolded the letter.

Dear Ruby,

I know this has probably come as a huge shock, did you secretly hope that you’d never hear from me again? I pray that’s not the case. We are so alike, you and I, stubborn to the bone and we have wasted so much time. Regardless of what you think of me, I love you, and not a day has gone by that I haven’t thought about you, worried where you were.

You’ll be pleased to know I finally summoned the courage to do what you’d been telling me to do for years. I’ve left Daniel. I walked out with a small holdall, my passport and our joint savings. I managed to find a room in a house share, which is where I’ve been for the last ten months.

I know you said when you left that you felt I had chosen him over you. That is something I’ve had to live with these past years. At first I was angry with you for saying that, but now, I think you were probably right, and it breaks my heart to admit it. How could I have chosen my husband over my daughter? I’ve been an awful mother. I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but please accept this notebook. I’ve been writing in it these last few weeks. There is so much I want to tell you.

I don’t expect your sympathy, I’m not asking you to come and see me, pretend nothing’s happened and pick up where we left off. I know it’s too late for that. But always remember that regardless of what you think of me I have always loved you and I’m so sorry for all the hurt I’ve caused. It will haunt me for the rest of my life.

I hope you are happy and having the wonderful life that you deserve.

Love, always.

Mum x

Ruby closed her eyes and slid down the hallway wall to the cold ceramic tiles, her head spinning, her breathing erratic. And that was where Sam found her, twenty minutes later, clutching her knees to her chest, the notebook on the glossy floor at her feet.

I really don’t know how I managed to read it with all the crossing outs lol

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The general consensus from my writing group was that it was a bit too “tell” which is fair enough. But how do you stop a letter being all tell, because that’s what a letter is isn’t it? Any ideas on another way I could have done it would be much appreciated 🙂

Insecure Writers Support Group – July 2013

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Well, that’s another month gone lol 😉

Today is Insecure Writers Support Group Day where participants get the opportunity to moan and whinge and get a sympathetic virtual shoulder to cry on. Many thanks to Alex Cavanaugh for hosting this wonderful group and please check out the other participants by clicking the ‘insecure writers’ link above 🙂

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Ok, so where do I begin?

I’ve virtually written nothing this year. I’ve done the odd prompt, tinkered with my novel for Faber, thought about jacking it all in and argued with myself about my motives for being a “writer” and more importantly being published.

And then last week I read this post by the lovely Jo Phillips and if you don’t follow Jo’s blog, 1. Why not? And 2. You really should! 😉 Anyway, I could relate so much to what Jo was saying (seriously, go read the post!) but what particularly struck me, hit a nerve, was when she mentioned wanting to do other stuff, other projects. Yes, so do I!!!!! I want to create some art, I want to learn how to draw, I want to make my own clothes and stuff for around my home. I want to bake, I mean really bake (not just the odd cake) and I want to go back into volunteering…or even *shock horror gasp* get a job! (part time of course!).

I’m bored….. Ok, there, I said it! I’ve been at home now for 2 years concentrating on my writing. The Hubster’s suggestion which I totally agreed with at the time, and thank him for (hes always encouraged me to do whatever i want to do). Ooooo, yes, 8 hours a day to concentrate on my writing! But it hasn’t worked out that way. I procrastinate, I faff about, and probably only write for a couple of hours a day anyway, well, ive not even done that this year 😦

I talked last month about losing the fun from writing, and reading Jo’s post made me realise that I really need to get a grip. It’s the story of my life really (the Hubster will be shaking his head at this point and saying “here we go again” lol). I’ve spent the best part of 25 years asking myself “what do I want to do when I grow up?” And I thought I’d finally found something I could devote my life to. But perhaps being a published author isn’t it? But what else do I have? There’s nothing I’m good at, and that’s the problem 😦

Perhaps I’ll never know, never find it….but in the meantime, there’s no such thing as failure. If you never try, you’ll never know, and it’s all part of the journey, right? I know some if you have been writing since you were children, I haven’t. I caught the bug late in life, so writing was never something I’d really considered as a career choice, until 2010 lol. But perhaps it really is the wrong choice?

I have a book, somewhere in a box that is about finding your life’s calling. I never actually got around to reading it….perhaps I should dig it out lol 😉

Did you know what you wanted to be when you grew up? Do you know what your life calling is now?

Don’t get me wrong, I love writing, but do I really want it as a career?

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Must Do’s 1st to 7th July

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Pinch punch! 😉 Can you believe it’s July already? Wow, before we know it it’ll be Christmas lol

Ok, well there was only one thing on my “To Do List” last week…

Get Tangled sent off to the RNA!

I didn’t exactly do it *snigger* But only because it’s a pretty complicated processs and I didn’t realise I had to have 2 copies of a Synopsis. A synopsis that didn’t even exist! Lol

So I threw something together (which actually sounds more like a blurb lol), have printed it all off, bought the Jiffy bag, filled out the forms, and now, all that’s left to do is take it to the post office, weigh it, put some stamps inside (and an SAE) and say goodbye to it as I hand it over 🙂

And here it is, just to prove its all ready to go 🙂

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I haven’t done any writing this week (apart from blogging and in my journal) so I spent an hour yesterday doing a schedule. I’m so unorganised at the moment. I’ve got a lot going on (more news on that at a later date) and although it’s exciting, it’s clouding my head lol

So here is this weeks “To Do List” which is nothing stressful, the main thing I want to do is actually write 🙂

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What are your writing plans for the week?