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

The afternoon was spent doing work on our characters, including pairing up and creating scenes where our characters met for the first time.

So I had a good day, which included Sushi from Wasabi mmmmmmmm 🙂

Back home relaxing now….I’m shattered 🙂

I just can’t wait to go stalking again 🙂

Would you do it?

Want To Be A Productive Writer?

Posted on October 26, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

Would you consider yourself a productive writer?

I know I’m not! 😦

A productive writer has to tip the scales towards being selfish. OUCH! That hurts doesn’t it. Selfish? Moi? No way! Yep, I’m afraid its the only way you’re gunna up your word count. You need to discover all those things that prevent you from writing and try to figure out how you can turn your writing enemies into your writing allies 🙂

Courtesy of kittisak/freedigitalphotos

In the first session of my Faber class we were asked to write down two lists. A list of our writing enemies (those things that stop us writing) and a list of our writing allies (those things that help us write). Here’s my list…

It was all going well until my pen hovered over the paper when I thought about my blog. I still can’t make up my mind what side of the list it should go on lol 😉

So now I have to figure out exactly how I get all those things removed from my enemies list and the only thing I can think of is to move into a hotel with no WiFi connection. Not really a practical solution is it? 😉

I guess identifying the problem areas is a start. Knowledge is power right?

But the question remains….what side does my blog go on? Who are your allies and enemies?

ps…..tomorrows blog post will be a little later than usual as I’ll be at Faber 🙂

What Sacrifices Do Writers Have To Make To Succeed?

Super Sweet Blogger!

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

Yep, that’s me, or so says the lovely Patsy Collins whos nominated me for the Super Sweet Blogging Award! Thank you so much Patsy 🙂

I get to answer some nice questions (my mouth is watering) and then pass it on, so here goes:

1. Cookies or cake? Cake, definitely!

2. Chocolate or vanilla? Vanilla

3. What is your favourite sweet treat? Ooooo, Curly Wurly’s or chocolate coated peanuts lol

4. When do you crave sweet things most? In the evening after dinner 😉

5. If you had a sweet nickname what would it be? That’s a hard one….It has to be “Plum” because I use to have my hair that colour and I love Christmas Pudding. Of course, there is the Victoria Plum connection too 😉

So now I’m going to tag 5 sweet bloggers 🙂

LouAnn at On The Homefront
Sabrina at Creativity or Crazy
Bridget Straub
Ava at Journey of Jordanna East
Sara Flower

Super Sweet Blogging Award ! (andlifesmile.wordpress.com)
Nominated For The Super Sweet Blogging Award !!! (ravenswitch.wordpress.com)
The Super Sweet Blogging Award! (homedesirable.wordpress.com)

The Secret to Generating New Ideas is Streetcombing

Posted on October 24, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

An e mail recently from Daring to Live Fully had me jumping up and down! Ok, not literally but you get the gist 😉

The post talks about “Streetcombing” a system created/developed by Richard Stomp which is based on beach combing. Remember beach combing? You must have done that when you were a kid, hell, I still do it now! 😉

Anyway, it’s aimed at the business world, but in my opinion, it works very well for us writers. But I’m afraid you will need to actually go out. That’s right, leave your desk! Yeah, I see ya, looking out of the window and shivering (well, thats you and me both here in the UK!). I wish I’d stumbled across this in the summer, sorry about that, but, if I’m game, I hope you are 🙂

So once you’ve put your jumper on, got your brolley, get your camera and we’ll begin 🙂

1. Go for a walk. Find an interesting street, preferably one with shops on.

2. Watch for anything that catches your eye. Have the mind of a child, be curious in everything.

3. Take photos of things you find interesting. Take lots of photos. Don’t ask yourself why you’re attracted to taking the photo of that old milk crate, not yet.

4. Go home, have a nice warm drink and upload your photos to your PC.

5. Look through the photos and ask yourself the following questions of each one:
What is the concept behind this photo?
Why did I take it?
What makes it interesting?

6. Take the concept you found and use it to start generating ideas, orrrrr for us writers, use the photo itself to generate a story/character idea.

If you’re not too sure what Mr Stomp means about concept, watch this video. It’s only 7 minutes long. I found the sound to be very quiet so you might have to max your volume.

Mr Stomp suggests you do this once a week, but I’m thinking once a month would be better for me 🙂

Right at the end Mr Stomp says that the idea could be adapted into “Museumcombing” or “Supermarketcombing” etc. I’m just loving those ideas, the possibilities are endless!

So I will be Streetcombing at some stage when this rain stops (and after Nano lol) How about you? Fancy it?

Faber – Session 2 Creating Ideas/Planning

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

I arrived in Bloomsbury with plenty of time to go to the London Review Bookshop. I discovered last week that they have a cafe (oooooo), but as I started the diet (again) today, it was just a Latte and a writing session. The cakes looked amazing though, I have to say *pouts*

A quick butchers around the shop (oh dear, how did that Philip Roth find its way into my bag?) and it was off to class 🙂

Really enjoyed last nights session/class 🙂 We talked about planning, our concerns (mine was/is endings lol) and we were sent away with the first piece of work (by a fellow student) that needs critiquing 🙂 Ive got a date for mine now…. 26th November, which means I have to actually submit it the week before *gulp*

We talked about different methods people use to plan their novels. Tim is in favour of index cards, but also gave us some tips on what files he uses on his computer.

We did a couple of writing exercises (a quick synopsis and a descriptive piece) and some free writing. I was shocked that some of my fellow class members had never done free writing before.

So in the way of homework this week i have to read and critique my fellow class mates work, read the 2 handouts, and do a bit of research on some of the books that came up in the discussions (fiction and writing guides).

Ok, but I bet what you really wanna know is what exactly I’ll be submitting?

Well, I spoke to a fellow student in the break who gave me a bit of advice (on whether to use a new novel or one I’ve got further on with) and then I collared Tim as we were packing up. And the news is….. Tim advised me to compromise lol (actually I had to twist his arm up his back because initially, he refused to comment saying that he couldn’t make that decision for me….but i persisted lol). The plan is to submit 5000 words, 1000 of those being a synopsis, of……But Not Forgotten, and let my class mates give me an opinion, on whether they think I should continue with it…scary huh? If they think its a no goer, as my second piece, submit The View Outside. I told him that But Not Forgotten is a mess, not finished and that I’ve lost heart. He said that all that can be sorted, and that after the critique, I’ll have a much better idea of where I’m going.

So I guess I’m feeling relieved 🙂 But, still a little anxious. I’m going to change The View Outside into 3rd person, see how that feels and then quietly work on the synopsis for But Not Forgotten.

The question is…. Do I write the synopsis using the exact same messy plot that it has now? Orrrrrr come up with a new one?

I dunno, I don’t make things easy for myself do I? Lol

The To Do List 22nd to 28th October

Posted on October 22, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

Last week was a stressful week. Have I ever said writing is easy? I hope not, because, trust me, it isn’t lol. I’m always as honest and open with my readers, so can I just say that this week sucked! lol.

I needed to start writing my piece for the Faber course, I asked everyone’s advice, made a start, got to 2321 words then had a major melt down 😦 I’ve written it in 1st person and I’m just not gelling with it. Perhaps I’m a 3rd person kind of girl? Perhaps it’s the wrong thing to write? Perhaps I’m over thinking? Lol. I dunno….but what I do know is that this writing malarkey is hard work! 🙂

So, how did I get on with last weeks list?

1. Faber homework. Well, I’ve made a start, but, it’s not going well 😦 I read all the handouts and made some notes. I’m beginning to wonder if starting a new novel from scratch was a big mistake.

2. Finish reading current book. Nope, in fact I haven’t done much reading at all this week 😦

3. Get out winter clothes and boots. Done! But I’ve not put the summer stuff away lol

This weeks list…

1. Continue with Faber homework. We’ll probably get more handouts tonight.

2. Do synopsis for writing group. For which novel? I seem to have 4 now lol

3. Change Faber piece from 1st person to 3rd person.

4. Finish current read.

5. Make some decisions. Yeah, my brain aches. I seem to have two WIPS, Nano looming, and it seems my tutor liked the piece I submitted to Faber in the first place.

Going tonight, so might have a chat to him, see what he thinks 🙂

What are your writing plans for the week?

Six Sentence Sunday 21st October

Posted on October 21, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

This weeks 6 sentences are from a piece I wrote as an exercise in the Faber class 🙂 We were asked to write 100 words on our name. I went blank, but after a bit of brainstorming came up with the idea of fictionalising the origin…..

We had agonised for days over what to call her.

“I want something classy Mike, you know, not Sharon or Tracey.”

Mike was very excited when he arrived at the hospital the following day and told me he’d found the perfect name for her, on a bus.

“I don’t think Waterloo is really suitable for a girl darling.”

But i was relieved to discover that he was referring to the number 36 going to Victoria Station.

Is it any wonder that she grew up loving the colour red!

This version has been edited down for the 6 sentences and yes, I really did get my name from a number 36 London bus 😉

If you want to see a actual number 36 bus the same as my dad would have seen you’ll have to click here.

Is there a story in how you got your name?

Six Sentence Sunday (October 2012) (rhyllbiest.com)

What I Learnt From My First (and Second) Nanowrimo

Posted on October 20, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

No post here today guys, sorry, but I’m over at Bridget Whelan’s talking about Nano 🙂

Pop on over, where you’ll find me rambling, and, as an extra treat…. A video of Natalie Goldberg 🙂

Bridget says….
I am very grateful that Vikki has come across from her own blog at The View Outside to give newcomers like me a taste of what Nanowrimo – the international writing event – means. It’s clear she was made for this kind of challenge. By my calculations she was writing over 4,500 words a day (yes, A DAY) when she began, but slowed down for the second year because she was worried about the quality/quantity issue.

I’m open mouthed at her work rate, her ability to just get down and do it and her generosity in sharing….Over to Vikki…

CLICK TO CONTINUE READING

Bridget teaches Creative Writing and has one novel under her belt (so far eh Bridget?) 😉

At the beginning of December Bridget will be stopping by here to give all you Wrimo’s some tips on editing. If you’re anything like me you’ll be asking yourself on the 1st of December…. where do I start?

And thanks Bridget, for letting me take over your blog 🙂

My 10 Not So Secret Secrets to Winning NaNoWriMo (the-view-outside.com)
NANOWRIMO – an insight for first timers (bridgetwhelan.com)
Nanowrimo Spotlight #2: Vikki from The View Outside (the-view-outside.com)

My 10 Not So Secret Secrets to Winning NaNoWriMo

Posted on October 19, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

Everyone’s talking about Nano. Well, I guess they would be, the count down to the 1st November started on the 1st October 😉

Most of you know that this is my 3rd year of Nano and that the previous 2 years I was, in fact, a winner. Nano 2010 changed my life. If it wasn’t for Chris Baty then I probably wouldn’t be writing now, but anyway, I digress. People keep asking me, “how do you do it?” Win at Nano that is. So I thought I’d give you my top tips. I hope they help 🙂

1. Come up with your novel idea in advance. Yeah yeah, all the pansters are booing at me, but seriously….I’m not saying you have to outline. I’m not saying you have to have this great plan of all the scenes, but, trust me, having a rough idea, a beginning, middle and end in your head, will really help. My Nano 2010 still remains unfinished because I didn’t have a clue where it was going, whereas Nano 2011 may only be 52,000 words, but is at least complete. Soooo much more satisfying 🙂

2. Aim for daily word count goals. To win at Nano you have to do 50,000 words right? Ok, so that equates to approx 1666 words a day. But what if aunt Alice comes to visit? Or little Billy gets sent home from school with head lice? Or, heavens forbid….hubby gets man flu!!!! You can quite easily lose a day. So, do a bit extra each day. Aim for 2,000 words or even 2,500. You might just need to be ahead at some stage 🙂

3. Forget about the quality. It’s quantity we want here. Not every single word has to be Booker Award Quality. No one ever has to see this novel. Chris Baty refers to this Nano written draft as “draft zero” ie, the pre first draft….remember that!

4. Have a comfortable environment. Here in the UK, I won’t care where I write as long as its warm lol. My preferred place is my desk, but, I’ll also be attending write ins and going on a retreat. So as long as I’m warm and comfy I’ll be fine 🙂 If you like to write to music, make sure you have your favourite tracks on hand, and if you like silence (like I do) plan your writing sessions around times you know you’ll be on your own.

5. DON’T edit. Now this one is really important!!!!!! Seriously, if you try to edit while you’re writing you will work yourself up into a state of panic, crash, and burn 😦 I know it’s hard, you just want to go back and correct passages, spelling mistakes etc. But don’t as you’ll lose momentum, and you’ll be doubling the amount of time it takes you to write one chapter. Forget about it….until the 1st of December 😉

6. Try to eat healthily. Yeah, ummmmm, this is my advice, but I don’t normally take it lol. I tend to snack a lot during Nano. The family live on take out, and I hate to imagine how much chocolate and Pepsi I consume during November. Sooooo, my advice is, have whatever you need/want to keep you going, but, do yourself a favour, have at least 1 piece of fruit a day yeah?

7. Get support. The Nano forums are brilliant!!! You can get advice if you’re struggling with your plot, receive sympathy if you’re flagging, and feel like you’re part of a lovely big family. Join your local region and attend at least one Write In for your area. Your lovely ML’s who organise them are on hand to give you any advice and support over a latte 🙂

8. Tell the family! Or room mate. Basically, whoever you live with. In my house they know that 1. They probably won’t get words of more than 1syllable out of me during November, 2. They will run out of clean underwear unless someone is assigned to the laundry and 3. That there won’t be much cooking going on (not that there normally is anyway I hear my daughter cry!). So best to warn your nearest and dearest I think.

9. Don’t give up if its not working. Ok, so you’ve written 15,000 words of a novel you suddenly realise you hate. It’s utter rubbish and deserves to be thrown in the bin. I’ve known people to give up completely at that stage…. NOOOO! DON’T DO IT! just carry on with another novel, another idea at word 15,001 or write some short stories, or your memoirs, anything, and just add it on! 🙂 Whoever said it had to be a complete novel? It can be short stories, your memoirs, or even a journal, observations of your day. *whispers* there are even some rebels out there who use it to rewrite novels and to finish existing ones 🙂

10. Have fun and don’t panic! Ok, look, we know its about getting to the finish line, the 50,000 words that let’s you claim your winners certificate, but, lets not have a melt down. Officially, this entry shouldn’t be on the list because I’m supposed to be telling how to win, but, its my list so i can add what i want 😉 Winning, is in the eye of the beholder. So you only did 7,000 words? The car broke down, the schools pipes froze and all the kids were sent home for a week. These things happen (usually to me on a regular basis lol). But, if that 7,000 words is more than you’d usually write in November, well, you’re a winner in my book 🙂

My Netbook, where all the Nano action takes place 🙂