* Notebook to Novel *

Getting from notebook to novel - #6

2012-02-17T22:44:00.002Z

#6 - It's editing time. Get acquainted with your Inner Critic - and make sure she's a real b*tch!

So you've finished the book! The hours and hours hunched over the computer have finally paid off. Your story rocks, especially that neat little twist / devilish villain / saucy lurve scene (delete as appropriate). All you have to do now is have a quick read through, check for any outageous spolling mistaks (heh heh) and start sending it off to agents / editors / publishers.

Except you don't. This is the point where you will simultaneously become your own best friend and your own worst enemy. This is the point where you get out your manuscript, red pen and a notebook and begin the editing process.

As ever I learned a lot from my writing Bible, Stephen King's On Writing. He suggests printing out the complete manuscript double-spaced and doing a read through with a notebook by your side. Changing words or phrases is easy - just write them straight in, making the most of your double spacing. When you notice something which needs more thought or which is causing conflict, King suggests making a squiggle in the margin and then writing a corresponding page-referenced memo into your notebook. For example, some of my notes for the new book included "p216 Check paddock location" and "p89 Check Chloe's age." They're not always deal breakers but the fine details which make your world believable and consistent - especially important in fantasy.

It would be possible to write an entire book on editing, never mind a blog post - but one of the best pieces of advice I came across was to read your book as if it's your worst enemy reading it. Trust me, you'll soon spot the overuse of certain words (with Watchers it was a love affair with the word grimace, with the new book... I'm not sure yet...). On the other hand try not to lose the faith. Every writer has that experience of loving page 52, then reading it the next day with hatred in their heart. That's part of the process. The love will return - unless it genuinely does suck.

Anyway, I'm off to practise what I preach - wish me luck!

Wondrous gadgets for writers #2 - The 'Freedom' Programme!

2012-01-22T21:45:00.003Z

Source

Ever noticed how the more you have to do, the easier it is to get distracted? This is especially true for writers, who spend so much working time on the computer. And of course the computer means only one thing... THE INTERNET!!!

I'm not the first person (nor will I be the last) to find that the internet is a double-edged sword. For the current book it has been incredibly useful, especially for research (everything from suicide bombing to west African time zones, in case you're interested...). On the flip side, things like Twitter and Facebook can sap precious writing time. It is with some shame that I must confess to a love-hate relationship with a certain FB game...

Thankfully I'm not the only one - and here comes Freedom to the rescue! It's a programme designed for the weak-willed (i.e. the human race), whereby you voluntarily lock yourself off the internet for a set time period of your own choosing. I've found a two hour minimum helpful. To get on to the web in this time isn't impossible but it does mean restarting your computer - which is generally enough to dissuade the average bear.

If you're feeling bad about needing this - don't! The link above takes you to the testimonials page and you'll find you're in good company - everyone from Nick Hornby to Zadie Smith to Naomi Klein confesses to finding it a life-saver, especially when on a deadline. What's more, it's available for PC and Mac AND you can try it for free first. If you want to download the programme permanently it's only ten US Dollars. Just think how much more you'll earn when you get your first book advance*...

*(You'll be at least fifty pence better off, easily...)

Wondrous gadgets for writers #1 - The Echo Pen!

2012-01-08T17:59:00.000Z

As you've read previously I have been afflicted on occasion with computeritus, the bane of all writers at one time another. By computeritus I mean the various agonies caused by excessive typing - neck pain, shoulder pain, back pain, finger pain, wrist pain etc etc...

In this post I described one attempt to get round it which is working fairly well - writing by hand, then dictating the text using voice recognition software. However today I got the chance to use something I had only previously read about - the Echo Pen.

Essentially it writes like a normal pen but on special paper which means your notes can be uploaded directly to the computer by USB cable. Apparently there is also some way of converting your handwritten notes to text in Word - every writer's dream! That said, I'm not exactly famous for my copperplate handwriting...

If anyone has used one of these (or a rival brand) I'd love to hear your experiences! Is it genuinely useful - or just a gimmick?

A writer's resolution...

2011-12-31T22:39:00.002Z

Buy this here

Another year has come and gone - and it's that time when you take stock of what you've done in the last 12 months...

I'm pretty happy with what I achieved in 2011. I do wish I had finished the new book but the end is definitely in sight - a couple of chapters away and of course the re-drafts.

So with that in mind this t-shirt slogan will be my mantra for the next 12 months. If you're stuck, feel free to make it yours too. Hell, you can even buy the t-shirt!

Happy New Year and good luck with your own writing. I have a good feeling about 2012...

I can't wait for... The Hunger Games

2011-12-21T20:46:00.001Z

Is it just me...

2011-12-16T23:05:00.000Z

Buy this here

...or is this top really cool? It's from the brilliant Deviant Art website, where artists from all over the world can showcase their work. Some of the pieces can be bought as prints or downloads but a few can be bought as gifts, including this top - for all the writers!

If this was a hoodie I would totally be buying it...

How much is too much???

2011-12-15T23:34:00.003Z

Source

Work on the new book is coming along nicely and the end is definitely within sight! But as I reach the final chapters I'm confronted again with the question: how much is *too* much for a book aimed at 11-14 year olds?

I work with tweens and teens so I'm under no illusions about the kinds of things they're involved in. Life just keeps getting more and more complicated in a world where change seems to happen overnight.

My last chapters involve some fairly drastic twists and turns - a night out which ends with a spiked drink, serious humiliation and the inevitable mobile phone video. Bad as this seems, it pales beside the finale - an act of terrorism with devastating consequences.

In the middle of all this is my hero, a teenage boy called Adam from a rather unusual family. He's smart and funny and a little bit geeky. He's confronted daily with all sorts of life and death issues when all he really wants is a normal life.

Tween and teen fiction can be a mixed bag - either trying to protect young people or going to the other extreme; in-yer-face 'issues' or gore. I'm constantly amazed and humbled by the challenges life throws at some teenagers and the grace with which so many acquit themselves. In the end most teenagers, like Adam, are simply trying to find their place in the world and a way of making sense of the madness.

So maybe the writer's job is to be honest and unflinching - as long as it's not all doom and gloom. A little bit of humour and escapism goes a long way towards easing the pain - in books as in life!

Back to the Old School!

2011-11-26T00:02:00.000Z

Picture source

Ok, you'll be pleased to see that I'm still alive. I'm conscious that the blog had vanished off the face of the earth for a while, for all sorts of reasons - work, getting the house we were looking for, a death in the family. Now I'm finally getting back into my groove and writing is once again making it on to my 'To do' list.

Recently I've re-discovered the joys of writing by hand. I did a lot of this when I was writing The Watchers, mostly after a long walk on the beach. I would sit in the car and scribble, then scoot home to type it all up.

The trouble was I was doubling my workload - or so it felt like. I can type pretty fast, certainly much faster than I write and typing directly meant that I could achieve huge word counts. Unfortunately it also meant that I was wrecking my neck and back spending hours hunched over a keyboard.

Clearly a solution was needed - so I've found a happy medium. Recently I've been writing a lot by hand, then dictating the text using voice recognition software (Dragon Naturally Speaking if anyone is interested). It's not a perfect system - no VRS is smart enough to completely understand how any normal human thinks and speaks, never mind some crazy writer. It has difficulty with certain words - the Northern Irish ("Norn Irish") pronunciation of words like 'how' and 'now' still sends the computer into an occasional meltdown.

I have noticed several happy side effects. Firstly, I can dictate a thousand words then spring out of the chair with no aches and twinges. Secondly a notebook can be whipped out and put to use anywhere - from lunch break to sitting in a waiting room. And thirdly there is something unfettered about writing by hand. I find it frees me to stop editing as I write and just puke it onto the page. Then I can tweak it while I dictate.

If anyone else has any brilliant ideas for how to get the words down I'd be delighted to hear them!

Back from the Baltic Sea!

2011-08-19T14:48:00.000+01:00

You may have noticed the blog has been somewhat quiet recently... That's because the Murph and I were away for a couple of weeks on a fantastic holiday around the Baltic Sea!

In just a fortnight we did a whistle-stop tour and visited Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Russia, Estonia and even northern Germany! We had a brilliant time and I'll share a few highlights when I finally get unpacked...

I didn't get much time for writing but I did see some brilliant scenes and meet some fantastic people - who no doubt will inspire even more new ideas.

Still, the holiday is over - so time to knuckle back down to work!

Just finished... The Hunger Games

2011-08-02T15:29:00.001+01:00

Just finished this book and it was a great read if you enjoy post-apocalyptic YA fiction.

Katniss lives in District 12 in a post-apocalyptic America. When the 13 Districts rebelled against Capitol one is destroyed completely and the other 12 are forced to send a boy and a girl every year to compete in the Hunger Games. Twenty-four players begin the games and only one can survive.

The book begins when Katniss becomes one of two 'Tributes' who have to represent her District. Will she survive?

Katniss is a great character and her environment and survival skills are convincing. I liked the premise - a bit like Running Man / The Long Walk with a female teen heroine. Enjoy!

Loving... Jericho

2011-07-20T15:08:00.000+01:00

Still on holidays here - and what better time to discover Jericho. This series got past me completely when it was on TV but I've loved every second of it on DVD!

If, like me, you're a newbie it's set in a small, farming town in America. It's a normal day for the people who live there - until they see a mushroom cloud on the horizon. What caused the explosion? Is it local, national - or global? And how does the community get on with life when no one can contact the world beyond their town?

Jericho is about the struggle to survive when the world as you know it has changed, maybe forever. It strikes the right balance between relationships / warmth / humour and the real problems of survival - lack of resources and the inevitable violence that comes from this. If you like books like Stephen King's The Stand you'll probably like Jericho.

So, if you enjoy experiencing the end of the world vicariously - from the comfort of your own sofa, with popcorn - then this is the show for you!

Currently reading...

2011-06-28T21:35:00.003+01:00

One of the pleasures of my job is having long summer holidays. This not only allows me time to write but just as importantly gives me a chance to work my way through the great pile of books beside my bed.

I've just started reading this book and I'm already a bit in love with it. I won't say any more at this stage, other than quoting this long and beautiful paragraph from the third page. If this is a typical sample of the writing then I'm in for a treat…

"Stories were different, though: they came alive in the telling. Without a human voice to read them aloud, or a pair of wide eyes following them by torchlight beneath a blanket, they had no real existence in our world. They were like seeds in the beak of a bird, waiting to fall to earth, or the notes of a song laid out on a sheet, yearning for an instrument to bring their music into being. They lay dormant, hoping for the chance to emerge. Once someone started to read them, they could begin to change. They could take root in the imagination and transform the reader. Stories wanted to be read… They needed it. It was the reason they forced themselves from their world into ours. They wanted us to give them life."

I'll be reading this again for inspiration the next time I'm sitting at the keyboard, struggling to write a particular paragraph or page or chapter!

Healthy Breakfast Treat!

2011-06-13T19:43:00.007+01:00

"A couple of years ago, I became fascinated by my own liver." No, this is not the start of some bizarre, French novel. Let me explain...

A couple of years ago I got glandular fever (that's 'mono' to our American friends and Epstein Barr for the pedants and medics). It's a common virus and the vast majority of people who get it shrug it off after a few weeks.

Unfortunately I wasn't one of them. I was one of the unlucky souls who found their liver under severe attack from the nasty virus particles. It left me with really odd post-viral symptoms which took several months to clear. Thankfully it went away but it was very unpleasant at the time.

I'd never really thought about my liver before. It's the unsung hero of the body - not as sexy as lungs or hearts or brains but just as vital. Think of it as a kind of battery and filter combined. When your liver gets clogged you can start to feel pretty tired and rotten.

So, when I saw this book on Amazon recently I got curious. I bought a second hand copy and found it full of cool recipes, mostly very low in saturated fat and high in fruit, veg, nuts etc. It's that time of the year in work where everyone is shattered. I'm finding myself eating whatever rubbish is to hand because I'm too tired to cook. This isn't good so tonight I decided to make one of the recipes for breakfast muffins - and they are surprisingly tasty. I say surprisingly because they are amazingly low in fat and sugar but don't taste like they are.

Anyway, if you feel adventurous here's the recipe. There are lots more in the book. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS (For metric - check conversion websites)

1.5 cups wholemeal self-raising flour (or plain plus 2 level tsp baking powder)

0.5 tsp mixed spice

0.5 tsp cinnamon

0.5 cup sultanas

2 egg whites, beaten

2 tblsp plus 2 tsp cold pressed almond oil (I used walnut oil and it was fine)

1 cup cooked, chopped apple (roughly 2 Pink Lady apples - all I had!)

1 tblsp plus 1 tsp honey or concentrated apple juice.

0.5 cup soy milk - I used ordinary milk.

Heat oven to 176deg C (350 Fah)

Mix the wholemeal self-raising flour, cinnamon, mixed spice and sultanas. Keep separate.

Peel and finely slice 2 apples and cook in a little water until soft. Mix the apple with the beaten egg whites, oil, honey and (soy) milk.

Blend wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Cook in an oiled muffin tin (I used paper cases instead) for roughly 17 mins.

Go me!

2011-06-09T21:01:00.004+01:00

This is a shameless example of me being my own cheerleader (I could have posted a cheerleader pic but it might have attracted the wrong sort of reader...).

Tonight I passed the 40,000 word mark. I'm half-way through chapter twelve and I reckon there are between fifteen and twenty thousand words to go (it's a much shorter book than The Watchers). I hit the wall just after 30,000 but I seem to be back in the game now. So, hanging in there and keeping on going.

The last chapter is mostly written and I reckon there are three or four chapters in between (I could of course be wrong...). I can't claim to know everything that happens between now and the end but there *is* a scene where my hero Adam goes to a nightclub and things don't go exactly to plan... Should be fun to write.

So, back to the grindstone!

How much is that doggie in the window...?

2011-06-08T18:06:00.007+01:00

The world likes to crudely label people as dog lovers *or* cat lovers. However I happen to love both. I already have two cats with seven legs between them (leg number eight took on a fast moving vehicle and lost). But just recently I've been wondering whether it's time to take the plunge and get a lovable mutt.

First of all I should point out that the Irish wolfhound in the picture is just the fantasy dog. They're beautiful animals but they're basically the size of a pony and the cats would make a tasty mid-morning snack for a typical wolfhound. Also, they are apparently nicknamed "the heartbreak hound" which has nothing to do with Elvis songs and everything to do with their short-ish lifespan (7-9 years).

But even a small dog seems to bring awesome responsibilities. Cats are independent - the perfect singleton's pet. They spend their days sleeping, eating, sleeping, grooming, sleeping, getting stuck on the roof etc etc. They can be left overnight without wrecking the place. Sometimes they seem almost sorry to see you come home, just as they've got used to that comfy bit on the sofa...

A dog on the other hand is demanding. It craves attention! It needs walked and let out in the garden to ... 'do its business'. It might well develop a penchant for chasing small furry animals e.g. three-legged cats. Kennels fill up fast in peak holiday season. You get the jist.

So why is it that in spite of this I am desperate to get a dog? Is it a married thing? I don't think so. I had a dog once when I was single, for three whole days - on an agreed trial basis I should add! A guy I worked with was trying to re-home a lovely dog which had unfortunately grown from a cute puppy into a full-size animal, much to its owner's displeasure. Said owner then pretty much kept the dog locked up for six months before eventually conceding defeat.

This meant that the (totally untrained) dog went almost crazy with excitement every time she saw a human being. She enjoyed mad, lunging walks, dragging me in her wake. She scrabbled out of my supposedly escape-proof garden so she could play with / eat / terrorise the dog / children next door.

I realised with a sinking heart that this dog didn't just need a single mum and a suburban garden. She needed a large, boisterous family, preferably with teenage boys who could run the legs off her. She needed a dog whisperer who could teach her to walk on a lead, not trail her hapless owner along the edge of the harbour. With a mixture of sadness and relief I gave her back to the re-homer, who happily found her a farm to live on.

But years have passed since then and now I think it's time. I'm having to work on the Murph (who isn't a natural pet man) and a wolfhound is out of the question. But I'm pretty sure I'm ready to handle a Jack Russell...

Just finished... Gone

2011-06-05T17:15:00.004+01:00

It's another wet weekend in Northern Ireland (they're not exactly an infrequent occurrence). Luckily while there are still books in the world I won't have any bother entertaining myself...

I read Gone last weekend and really enjoyed it. When you're reading it you will definitely recognise elements from other books - it reminded me of Stephen King's Under the Dome crossed with Heroes / X-Men. It starts really well - Sam and his friends are sitting in school when their teacher simply disappears. It soon becomes clear that the small town they live in has been completely cut off from the outside world and everyone aged 15+ has disappeared. This on its own would have been an interesting situation (very much like Under the Dome) but to spice things up we then learn that Sam and some of the other kids have been developing supernatural abilities, probably linked to the nuclear power plant on the edge of town.

In some ways the story is predictable - a new order has to be established. Not all the kids who become town leaders or develop powers are the good guys and gals. BUT this book has lots of nice twists, including a very King-esque 'monster' in the desert, scary animals, some vicious baddies and a reluctant, likeable hero in Sam. It's a good, pacy thriller.

I should add that I bought the sequel today Hunger (there are two further sequels so far - Lies and Plague) and with a sinking heart I'm realising this one is possibly going to be less psychological and more monster-y. I'll let you know if it lives up to the first book...

Why Writing is like 'The Long Walk'

2011-06-02T17:53:00.010+01:00

One of Stephen King's most intriguing novellas is 'The Long Walk', written as King's alter ego Richard Bachmann. In this story 100 teenage boys gather at the starting line of a life or death marathon. Their task is simple: walk at a steady pace of 4 mph without ceasing. The catch: if they stop they will die. Their aim is to be the last man walking. If they can manage that they will be given everything they've ever dreamt of.

At the start of the 'race' their spirits are high. Some of the walkers work together, encouraging each other. Others become loners and retreat into their own shell. As the walk progresses boys begin to fall away – or rather are shot dead. In the end the last man standing is the only one to survive and win the prize.

Okay, so I'm exaggerating a little. Writing a book is hardly life or death... BUT it does take a certain single-minded madness to see it through, to be the 'last man standing'.

Anyone who has written a book from beginning to end will know there are definite stages along the road. At the beginning the idea is a bright light. It fills your mind with glee and your heart with hope. This will be the one! This one is different! This idea is going all the way! You start writing, and every moment is a joy. You love the characters, the places, the cleverness as the plot twists and turns. You can't wait to sit down at the computer every evening.

The end is pretty satisfactory too. You know you're nearly there! It's like climbing a mountain and seeing one last ridge between you and victory. Somehow you get a second wind. I remember writing the last four or five chapters of The Watchers with a mixture of love, hate and steely determination. You keep going because you're so nearly there.

In The Long Walk the middle section is where most of the walkers fall away - or lie down and die. The middle is where the fun is over and reality is dawning – there's still so far to go! You don't know if you have the reserves to get you to the end. Other people are out in front! Sometimes those people are people who have become your friends. You're not sure if you're going to make it!

In the end, after years of painfully throwing aside half finished manuscripts, I've realised that real writers are the ones who write through the pain. The writers who find agents and advances and publishing deals aren't 'magical'. They don't know the right people. They're the ones who just kept writing, whether they loved it or hated it.

As you can probably guess I'm about half-way through the new book and the pain is raw and fresh... It's a long road - but I'm going to keep walking!

Just finished... Blood Red Road

2011-05-31T17:26:00.005+01:00

Well, it was a bank holiday weekend - which meant Northern Ireland was pretty much doomed to torrential rain. Luckily I bought a few fab YA books and this was the first one I read.

I was really looking forward to Blood Red Road - not least because my agent Gillie also represents Moira Young! Gillie had talked about the book when I met her back in February - and now I can see why she was so excited about it.

It tells the story of Saba who lives in a post-apocalyptic desert with her pa, younger sister and twin brother Lugh. Lugh is Saba's great love - until he is taken by men in black cloaks who ride out of a storm searching for him. The book is about Saba's struggle to find him and the dangers she has to overcome on the way. It reminded me of The Stand and The Road but with a totally believable, kick-ass 18 year old heroine.

Saba is a fantastic character. She's properly hard-as-nails, not because she's a psycho but because she lives in a world where if she weakens for a second she's dead. Throw in some feisty female warriors called the Free Hawks and a very hot love interest (Jack) and you have the perfect ingredients for a scary, sexy YA thriller.

I totally recommend this book - if you like dystopian novels and strong female characters you'll love it!

Word count climbing...

2011-05-26T19:24:00.004+01:00

The word count is steadily rising on the new book! I'm still being very secretive about the title and plot but for now I'm just going to call it The Adam Story.

I sent the first chapters off to Gillie and Bernie to read and got a really positive response, so very pleased about that! It's always hard when you start a new project and you think it's good – but you're not quite sure if the rest of the world will think so…

I haven't been great on the blogging front recently, mostly because I'm concentrating on writing the book! I've noticed a number of tweets and blog posts where writers have admitted that they find social media a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the internet is full of fantastic resources for writers. It still amazes me that with a few clicks on my keyboard I can find what time the sun sets in West Africa in January…!

Of course we've all been in that situation where we really meant to do some writing and somehow ended up frittering away two hours looking at shoes and holidays. I'm as great a sinner as anyone else but I've recently hit 30,000 words and I feel like I'm going strong.

So, no more distractions. I'm hoping to have most of the first draft complete by the end of June. It will be a tall order but it's also a shorter book than The Watchers. Any words of encouragement gratefully received!

Hope your own writing is going well!

Friday night treat!

2011-05-13T19:32:00.003+01:00

So... the other night, for the first time in AGES I watched Dirty Dancing. I had totally forgotten how unbelievably sexy Patrick Swayze was in this film. The Murph was sent out of the living room so me, the cats and a box of chocolates could salivate over 'Johnny Castle' at our leisure.

I couldn't find an embeddable version of this scene (or at least one that hadn't been badly dubbed in French / German / Russian) so if you'd like to admire the scrumptiousness of every girl's favourite dance instructor you can find it here.

Enjoy!

Getting from notebook to novel - #4

2011-05-10T20:14:00.003+01:00

4. No man, woman or writer is an island - you can't do it alone. Find people who understand.

As this absolutely amazing picture suggests writing can sometimes feel like a lonely business. Writing is like giving yourself a gift - the gift of that book you always wanted to read. But at times you can feel like you're lost at sea and desperately in need of an anchor.

That's why it's so important to find people who understand what you're trying to do. Family and friends are good if they're sympathetic and don't just think you're wasting your time or shirking the housework. I've had the good fortune to marry the angel Murph who always manages to say the right thing, just as I'm poised over the computer with a sledgehammer ...

But for people who *really* understand there's nobody better than other writers. I can't stress strongly enough what a difference it can make joining a writing group. Some of my writing heroes like Stephen King are dubious about the merits of creative writing groups. I can imagine how some can become cliquey or narrow-minded or downright poisonous.

I was lucky enough to find a group with an amazing tutor and a genuinely warm-hearted crew of aspiring writers. We're all at different places and writing different things but everyone there is kind and encouraging. It's the first place I ever shared anything I had written - only a year and a half ago - but that simple, decisive action of reading my work aloud is the springboard from which The Watchers, my agent and the new book have all flowed.

If you don't fancy a group, you MUST know someone who wants to write. I'm constantly amazed by how many people have that small and secret desire burning inside. Become a group of two or three people. Agree to encourage each other, praise what's good, offer constructive criticism and celebrate every success. Believe that you can get your story out there into the world.

Stephen King said that writing a book can feel like trying to cross the Atlantic in a bathtub. That's a long way to row but if you have a back up team offering tea, biscuits and words of encouragement that journey is going to feel a whole lot less bumpy. Find people who understand the beautiful madness of trying to write a book. You won't look back.

Very superstitious...

2011-05-06T19:52:00.003+01:00

Okay... I'm basically a rational person but I will admit to the occasional bout of superstition and never more so than when writing.

Last night I was at my writing group and was trying to read bits of the new book. I think it is like *the greatest idea*!!!!!!!!! (Don't we all when we start something new...) Certainly I'm enjoying writing it - and I'm dying to read the first chapter to the group. It seems (to me) quite fresh and original and all that exciting stuff.

The problem is I have this bizarre, superstitious feeling about it. Don't ask me why. I will admit to wearing 'lucky socks' on a plane when I was a student. I occasionally spit at lone magpies. I have even been known to fling salt over my shoulder. Those are all for good reasons - landing safely, avoiding sorrow and keeping my optician in business.

Why will I not read my first chapter? Is it like when I read it the writing magic will somehow wear off? I don't know. But I've finally completed the first five chapters and going to send it to my two trusted readers - Bernie McGill and Gillie (my agent). Both will tell me if it's any good and will tell me if there are mental bits that aren't good at all. Maybe then the weird spell will wear off and I can stop reading random, disjointed extracts to the Flowerfield bunch. I can read them the first chapter and it will suddenly make sense!

I've gotta send it, for their sakes...

The joy of juicing!

2011-05-04T21:50:00.009+01:00

Well, you'll be pleased to hear there was some writing done today. But... as well as writing... there was JUICING!!!

I'm something of a late convert to the whole juicing thing. It's fair to say that here in Ireland we're not exactly famous for healthy living... Think Father Jack in Father Ted or Dylan Moran in Black Books... But recently I read an interesting book about keeping the liver healthy and how important this is for good health. The author raved about fresh juice so I used the last wedding gift voucher to get a super-duper juicer which devours whole apples in seconds.

And really... wow. Just wow! I've bought 'freshly squeezed' juice before in a carton in the supermarket but juicing things at home is an actual revelation. When I juiced my first apple and took a hesitant sip of the (slightly murky) pink liquid - it was a mouthful of the essence of appley-ness. I moved on to red grapes. Unbelievable. Liquid grapeness. Fabuloso!

Anyway the juicer came with a free recipe book (Juice Master one) and I decided to branch out. So tonight I made something called Popeye Juice - 1 apple, 1 handful of spinach leaves, a quarter of a pineapple and an inch slice of lemon. It was so nice I made another glass for the Murph. He was recording an interview at the time so no doubt tomorrow radio listeners all over Ireland will pause and frown, wondering what the terrible snarling whine in the background is. But it was worth it! It was green juice! Try it and love it!

By the way, I'm not too proud to beg for recipes from experienced juicers...

Cooking vs. Writing

2011-05-03T22:42:00.008+01:00

Tonight I was supposed to be writing - or at least that was the plan. Small child part of me wanted to sit down and tell a story. Grown up sensible me went food shopping and decided we needed a nutritious dinner for when we stagger in the door tomorrow evening.

And so... no story. Instead I am exhausted from chopping and frying and seasoning things but can now smell this wonderful beef and vegetable casserole simmering away in the kitchen. Going to have it tomorrow with mash, broccoli and baby spinach. Yum Yum!

There's still a bit of me wishes I had done some storytelling... but as we all know to our cost there are only so many hours in the day. Maybe tomorrow, once I've polished off the stew, I can start happy-tapping on the keyboard...

Viva Espana!

2011-04-26T21:06:00.002+01:00

Well, as part of my 'virus recovery plan' I am in Spain, soaking up the sun and reading lots of books! We've had one day of rain but since then lots of glorious sunshine - getting a bit of a tan.

I haven't sampled any sangria so far but if you're feeling in the mood the picture came from here - a recipe page. Haven't tested it myself so if you give it a go let me know how it is - or if you have an amazing recipe yourself would love to see it!

Missing in action!

2011-04-18T17:42:00.004+01:00

Am conscious of having disappeared for a couple of weeks there - mostly because I had some kind of virus that has left me feeling a bit pooped! Still not feeling 100% but only a few days of work left so hanging in there... Roll on Easter! :-)

The writing has also suffered although got a bit done last week. I have an idea I'm developing and am very excited about it. Holding fire on the sequel to The Watchers just at the minute - will update with developments there soon I hope!

Anyone writing / reading anything exciting? I have a lovely stack of books to work my way through once I hit the holidays, hurrah! More on these soon...

Our first wedding anniversary!

2011-04-01T20:16:00.005+01:00

Married a whole year today and what a happy year it was!

Perils of adulthood

2011-03-27T14:38:00.003+01:00

Not much by way of blogging recently... It has been a horribly busy week because of things like work, house hunting, car trouble and toothache (fillings don't last forever and need replaced - who knew?!?!).

In a week like this all you can do is find things to make you smile. At which point I introduce a blog called... *drum roll* ... Hyperbole and a Half. If you haven't read it yet, do yourself a favour and check out this post, on how being an adult is a never-ending and occasionally soul-destroying job (pic from here). I have never read anything so agonisingly truthful. On the upside, you may well laugh until you're sick. I also recommend this one.

Happy Belated St. Pat's!

2011-03-18T10:58:00.006Z

I would have written this yesterday but I was out making the most of my day off! A very pleasant day - spent some time with my dad in the morning, then visited friends in the afternoon and finally out for a lovely meal and some drinks in Portstewart.

There was a bit of a session going in the bar - lots of musicians playing together - and at one stage the band was largely made up of kids! Really talented! They also did some Irish dancing and got a great round of applause from everyone there. Great atmosphere and great crowd.

Anyway it was a lovely St Pat's - all the more lovely because I didn't have to get up for work this morning!

Getting from notebook to novel - #3

2011-03-13T20:40:00.004Z

3. Keep breathing – and sleeping and eating and exercising… Balance is the key!

You are officially writing a book. Well done you. You rock! And now that you’re a writer you’re just too damn busy to eat, sleep or clean the house. You go to bed late, head buzzing, and lie staring at the ceiling while your mind plays with characters and dialogue and plot twists… You become insular and a little bit obsessive. Other people become irritating, unless they are an enthusiastic sounding board for your latest ideas.

For a week or two this degree of narcissism is probably okay, unless you are skipping work or feeding your kids a diet of chips and chocolate. I’m lucky enough to have married an angel who takes it all in his stride (and let’s face it, he has his own periods of working like a lunatic on various projects). But sooner or later writing has to fit around ‘real life’ and that can be the challenging bit.

Last summer was when I broke the back of writing The Watchers. I was off work for weeks. I got up in the mornings and pockled around, did some writing and then headed to the beach for a walk. I got to the stage where I did less walking than sitting in the car with a travel mug and a big notebook, scribbling down ideas and muttering to myself. Then back home for more writing and cackling at my own cleverness.

It was exciting at the time but looking back it wasn’t all plain sailing. I was on that borderline between stress and excitement which can be very inspirational but starts to get unhealthy after a couple of weeks. My stomach was upset and I couldn’t sleep (both unusual). To be honest, I felt possessed. The night before we went on a cruise (yes, a cruise!) I screamed at the Murph that I could finish the book if it wasn’t for this bloody holiday…!

Maybe a first book is always like that – it’s the fear of losing the idea, the tension. For book 2 I would like to do things differently because by December I had a fully revised manuscript and an agent – but I had also eaten tonnes of rubbish, gained a stone in weight and wrecked my neck and shoulders by sitting on the computer for hours at a time.

So, in the end, writing has to be like every other job – you need to pace yourself. One writer I know, an award winning Sci-Fi author writes a steady two pages a day and has completed more than a dozen books while still working full-time. Another took several years to write a fantastic debut novel. Writing fits round life – but life is important too! Balance is the key.

TOP SURVIVAL TIPS
• Eat properly, sleep properly, exercise. Writing intensely can be exhilarating but also exhausting. No one realises this unless they’ve written for several hours a day, day in day out.
• Give yourself breaks, especially if you’re juggling writing with a job and family life.
• Don’t spend too long on the computer / hunched over a notebook. You WILL give yourself problems. Check your workspace is set up properly. I recommend Pilates for improving general posture, strength and flexibility.
• Find people who understand – more on this next post.

Currently reading...

2011-03-12T12:04:00.004Z

Heard some good reviews of this book and it just arrived this morning. Having just read the first couple of chapters I think it's going to be an enjoyable read. It certainly hooks you from the beginning and has elements of a good thriller and literary fiction.

Going to get a pot of tea on and tuck my feet up on the sofa... Today was supposed to be for taking photos at the beach but the bitter cold and driving rain have given me the perfect excuse for a reading morning!

Hachinohe

2011-03-12T10:39:00.003Z

Looking at this picture gave me a shock. This is from Hachinohe in Aomori province, Japan. I lived here back in 99/00 working as an English teacher.

Earthquakes are always a possibility but the Japanese are so used to them that their buildings are designed to cope. The real fear there for coastal dwellers has always been tsunamis. I had never really heard of them before going to Japan but just before leaving I read a pretty terrifying book about them. As soon as I found out I was going to a coastal city I started trying to suss out how close I lived to the sea! Usually I like being near beaches etc. but in Japan it didn't seem like such a good idea.

There were no major earthqukes in my time there, just tremors. The really freaky thing was seeing how panic-stricken the Japanese people were while this one was happening. They are so used to earthquakes and just take them in their stride. They knew this was something different.

I really hope as today wears on we start to hear more encouraging news for the people of Japan - that the casualty list is shorter than feared, the damage less extensive, the grieving fewer in number. The whole world is thinking about them.

Getting from notebook to novel - #2

2011-03-06T15:10:00.007Z

2. Develop your stamina – writing is an endurance sport. It's a marathon, not a sprint!

Some people are lucky enough to be naturally self-disciplined. They are the kind of people who will make the time to sit down and write every single day, regardless of what else is going on in their life. Are you one of those people? Congratulations! If so, you have one of the key characteristics of a real writer, not a talker-writer.

For most of us it can be a struggle at times. On the good days, words pour onto the page in a tidal wave. Enjoy those days but don’t expect them. EVERYONE can write on those days. Writers who get to the end keep writing, even on the days when their brain has turned to jam and they feel like hurling the PC through the window and dancing on its shattered carcass.

A book I really recommend is Stephen King’s On Writing. He really describes the long road to hitting the big time. He wrote for years with modest success and kept his rejection slips on a spike. His attitude is: read a lot and write a lot. Anyone can have a great idea for a book. Only one in a thousand will turn it into something.

Writers don't just talk about writing. They don't say they would love to write but... They put down their book, switch off the TV, stay home instead of hitting the pub yet again, skip their aerobics class once a week and log the hell out of Facebook!

Lots of people say they want to write a book. I said it for years. Here's what I learned - I just didn't want it enough. We all have busy lives with thousands of distractions and interesting things we can do with our time. Writing involves sacrifice. When you want it badly enough you will make the time. It will be painful at times. Accept that.

Write, even when you don’t feel like it. It can help to set a time limit – "I will write for the next 15 mins flat out." Even if all you are writing is “This sucks!” over and over again you are writing. You are training yourself to sit at the keyboard and make words appear, instead of doing one of a hundred different things.

Writers write!

Currently reading...

2011-03-01T23:18:00.005Z

...'Salem's Lot by Stephen King. After all those tame, swoony vampires it's back to the old school with this one! Proper creepy, predatory, vicious vampires - I'm loving it!

Any other good scary vampire books anyone can recommend?

Getting from notebook to novel - #1

2011-02-26T10:27:00.003Z

1. Be creative – start with a character, an image, a place, a ‘what if’. Let’s play!

Sometimes you get lucky with a character. He or she hovers at the back of your mind, clearing their throat from time to time, reminding you that they’re waiting. Other times they’re more forceful than that, barging through, pushing the others out of the way, demanding to be written about. Evie in The Watchers was like that.

When inspiration doesn’t strike it really does help to just sit down and start writing. An idea for a whole book came from one of these writing sessions years ago –a teenage boy and girl sitting by a campfire in the middle of forest with a tired looking man. That’s one book I never finished but I’m determined to go back to.

If you’re struggling to find ideas, take a look at the world around you. Go for a walk and just pay attention. You might see a person, an animal, a place or an incident that makes you curious. Or sometimes the mere act of walking and moving helps get the ideas moving in your brain. Last summer when I was writing The Watchers I got into the habit of writing in the morning and then going for a walk on the beach. While I was walking I would be plotting, sometimes muttering like a mad woman into the voice recorder on my mobile. Action leads to action.

If you’re having a lazy day, flick on the news or check it out online. Pick one issue of the day and just start writing about it. Sit for a while and let the words take you wherever they want to go. Usually something you have written will snag your attention. Is it turning into a situation you could write about? Write for yourself, not for an audience, especially at this stage. Thinking about readers will make you self-conscious and that takes all the fun out of writing. This is just to get you started.

To be honest the ideas have always been the easy bit for me. People have asked me where I got a particular idea from. When I think about it, the idea usually started as an image or a bit of wordplay. Right now I have ideas for at least ten books –for me, the tough bit is sitting down and writing the story from beginning to end. I’ll be writing about that in the next post.

In the meantime if you’re really stuck, spend twenty minutes trying one of these three...

• Two men are talking intently in a bar. One looks sad, the other one angry. What’s going on?
• You’re walking on an empty beach when you see the strangest paw print...
• A group of teenagers go missing from a crowded town centre on a Saturday night. Weeks later they still haven’t been found. What happened to them?

Je love le weekend!

2011-02-25T22:52:00.005Z

Some weeks go by in a blur and this was one of them! Between book stuff and work stuff and social stuff *I* am pretty much stuffed! Like the cat in the picture I am really looking forward to some well earned chill-out time!

Too tired to write anything even remotely helpful or intelligent but I hope you all have a lovely, relaxing weekend.

Late night edits...

2011-02-22T20:37:00.004Z

It would be fair to say that a late night working on edits is bad for the old peepers. I was up until one o'clock this morning trying to finish revisions so I could get the book away to Gillie. It really shouldn’t have taken that long but I found reading it so closely threw up lots of little tweaks I wanted to make. Happily I finally sent it to her and crawled into bed. The alarm this morning went off much too soon.

It’s a strange experience doing edits. On the one hand it’s easy to get defensive when someone else has read your book and suggested a particular paragraph doesn’t really add anything. An outside reader also notices your trademark peculiarities and quirks much more readily than you can do yourself. For example, one of mine is a love affair with the word ‘grimace’...

On the other hand it doesn’t help to become a raging perfectionist. Yes, there will always be little turns of phrase that seemed great at the time and now fall a bit flat. But at a certain point you have to step away from the manuscript and allow it to be prised from your sweaty paws. If you can’t take that leap of faith you’ll become one of those writers with ten unfinished novels lying in a drawer. Been there, got the t-shirt!

Reading a book is such a subjective experience. What I’m realising is that two people can read the same passage and have completely different views. It’s good to listen to some opinions you trust –but in the end you have to go with your gut.

Oh - and top tip: if you click on the picture link it will take you to a helpful page all about how to cover those black circles after a late writing session. When I think of my appearance this morning... It’s enough to make a girl grimace…!

Meeting my agent!

2011-02-20T14:54:00.006Z

I haven’t posted on here since last weekend because I’ve been busy, busy, busy! It was an exciting week for several reasons! I went to London to stay with my friend Sarah and met her lovely baby son Daniel for the first time. But that wasn’t the only meeting I had – while I was there I finally had the chance to shake hands with my agent for the first time!

I sent The Watchers to Aitken Alexander because they represent my writing tutor Bernie McGill. I sent it off with no great hopes, knowing the doom and gloom stories and telling myself sternly that I should prepare for the worst. Luckily Gillie was very enthusiastic about the sample chapters of the book, which encouraged me to finish writing it!

We had spoken on the phone but it’s great to get the chance to meet someone in person, especially when they live far away. Gillie is lovely and made me feel at ease. She could see I found the whole experience a little unreal at first and apparently I’m not the only new writer to feel this way. After all, writing a book is such a solitary experience. It’s just you and the computer screen. It feels strange sending it out into the world and giving it a life of its own!

We had a very pleasant lunch and a good chat. It’s fantastic getting a chance to talk to someone who knows so much about the whole publishing industry. She gave me some advice about a couple of chapters which need ‘trimmed’ so that’s what I’m working on this weekend. They’re small changes but I can already see the difference – how tightening some paragraphs increases the pace and flow of the action.

Alas, I think I have procrastinated enough! Back to the grindstone!

Racing on with revisions...

2011-02-13T11:53:00.001Z

Ha! Love this cartoon! It sums up pretty well how I'm feeling about doing revisions. I was still at work last week and busy on a few evenings so I decided if I could even get through two chapters a day I would be doing well!

And it's amazing how quickly you make progress without realizing it. I'm about to start working on chapter 11. I've made some cuts but I've also made some substitutions, taking out words that read nicely and replacing them with words that read nicely and further the plot and characterisation. There are always more of those first words than you think…

Editing your own work is hard. You have written every word on the page and you're a little bit in love with the whole thing. That's why it's so helpful to find someone you trust to give you good advice and get them to read it. They'll be the person who will help you see more clearly what's hot and what's not.

The target for today is to get to chapter 15. By then I will be well past the halfway mark. Anyone else got any writing plans for today / the rest of the week?

Friday night feeling!

2011-02-11T18:44:00.003Z

Oooooooh, so excited! I borrowed this DVD and planning to watch it tonight or tomorrow. It sounds like a great film - I love films that are a little bit different! I'm probably the last person in the world to see this - so please, no spoilers!

And not just off work this weekend - but all of next week too! I'm going to London on Thursday to finally meet my agent in the flesh. So far we have been bouncing emails backwards and forwards and have chatted on the phone - but sometimes it's good to do things the old-fashioned way...

So before I do any more revisions, I feel I need a Chinese, a beer and a chilled out DVD night. Excellent!

Enjoy your weekend, whatever you have planned!

The red pen is out again!

2011-02-08T17:24:00.001Z

Just as the title suggests the red pen is out again! It’s time for another round of revisions on The Watchers. Things have been manic in work for the last five weeks but hopefully we’re coming back into a more settled period –which means more writing time.

I’ve also been writing something completely different, just to take a break from the world of The Watchers. I’ve enjoyed it and found it relaxing which can’t be a bad thing. It’s hard to get that balance right between staying absorbed in the world you’ve created and not getting totally obsessed with it! I’m hoping all of this comes with experience…!

Stephen King fans?

2011-02-05T18:33:00.005Z

Exciting news! There is possibly going to be a film version of Stephen King's book The Stand! Apparently the great man himself is not convinced by the whole thing but I would love to see it!

If you don't know the story, it's a post-apocalyptic book, after a plague has wiped out 99.9% of the human race. Cheerful stuff, eh? But really it's a book all about how the survivors try to carry on and it becomes something a lot more - a metaphor for the battle between good and evil. There's a strong plot and really believable characters - it's the kind of book you are sad to finish and I still pick it up to re-read it every so often.

They made a mini-series in the eighties or nineties which I've seen. It was actually quite well-cast, apart from the actress who plays Fran the main female character. Anyway if you want more info you can find it here.

Another cool song!

2011-02-02T21:40:00.002Z

And these guys are local! Seven Summits is the name of the band and the song is called Burning Heart. Enjoy!

Great writing song!

2011-01-30T14:31:00.005Z

Great song to write to, especially if your theme is 'frustrated love'! And if you want to have a break from writing and sing into your hairbrush you can find the lyrics here!

Ebay loot!

2011-01-30T13:13:00.004Z

An excellent DVD and a wrap-dress - good for us girls with bosoms and hips! Dress will look great with a black cord or velvet jacket and knee boots. DVD will look great next Friday night when I have staggered in from work and collapsed on the sofa!

The perils of a Sat night at home...

2011-01-30T00:23:00.004Z

... complete with internet access that is! Quiet weekend but very pleasant! Did a bit of shopping in town, met a fellow writer for coffee, had a fish supper for tea and watched a couple of films on TV.

Unfortunately I also had a bit of a browse on ebay - aaaaaagghhhhhh! The psychology of it all is so sneaky - all that 'You won!'... 'You lost!' stuff. Anyway, I'm bidding on a dress and a DVD, having 'lost' some gorgeous boots and a different dress. I had to drag myself away from the computer before I started buying random stuff I didn't need.

Anyone else ever succumbed to ebay frenzy?!

Currently reading...

2011-01-27T16:40:00.004Z

I stumbled upon this book quite by accident at a second hand book stall in Dublin and am really enjoying it. It is set about 6000 years ago and tells the story of Torak and his pet / guide Wolf. Very vivid and great pace and detail! It's apparently the first of what has become a series of books, The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness, one of which won the Guardian Children's book prize last year. May have to check the rest of them out now...!

Anyone else come across a great children's book recently? The best bit of writing is being able to justify reading anything! I'm sure my Amazon shopping list makes me look like a serious weirdo...!

The Help = 5 stars from me!

2011-01-15T17:04:00.004Z

Last weekend I finished reading The Help – and yes, I know I am probably the last person in the world to read it! Have to say I really enjoyed it and I can’t understand why people have criticised the author’s decision to use three different female voices. I read reviews where people complained that one of the characters spoke too ‘Southern’ and it was difficult to understand her. To be honest I didn’t even notice! She just sounded like a real person, as did all the characters. Five stars from me!

I love a book that just sucks you in! Gotta go, coughing and spluttering here :-(

Kindle-tastic!

2011-01-15T14:05:00.005Z

I have been working hard this week and as a surprise the Murph bought me a Kindle! I have been curious about these for a while now but never quite got around to getting one. It is very easy to use and the best bit is that there are loads of free books, mostly older books that have gone out of copyright.

I was delighted to find that one of my favourite childhood books was on the free book list, Swiss Family Robinson. I don’t know why I liked this book so much because reading it now it seems quite preachy but I do love the ingenuity the family shows. I seem to always have liked characters who are very self sufficient. Maybe that is why I like Evie so much in The Watchers.

I have also downloaded Dracula which is another free title. I read it when I was a student so I am looking forward to rediscovering it. Handily enough the Murph also bought a cover for the Kindle which has a built in light... so I can even freak myself out reading it in the dark…!

What do people think about the Kindle and other electronic books? Are you using them or sticking to paper? And what are your favourite classics?

Resolutions 2011!

2011-01-09T21:23:00.007Z

It has been a busy week and I haven’t been near the computer as much as usual... But I am happy to say that the resolution gang met on Friday night and made our new resolutions for 2011. The funniest bit of the evening is always reading through the resolutions from the year before and seeing how successful (or unsuccessful...) we have been!

The resolutions fall under different categories. A random selection of my resolutions for this year are:

- Keep my office tidy.
- Bin all granny pyjamas!
- Do something nice for our first wedding anniversary
- Write the complete sequel to The Watchers.
- Go to Pilates classes.
- Reduce computer time – no more than 2 hours a day.

Because of this last one I am unfortunately going to have to reduce my blogging, at least in the short term. I am trying to finish writing the synopsis of book two. Things are also about to get busy at work. So for now time to knuckle down and get on with things.

Anyone else got any writing resolutions this year?

Revisions, revisions, revisions!

2011-01-04T23:13:00.004Z

Just a quick post tonight as I've been busy doing some revisions, ready to send the MS to Gillie again. Thankfully they are relatively small things - I had to insert more references to a character and cut a few waffly paragraphs of Evie going places. I am going to come back to the changes tomorrow night with a fresh eye, then send it on.

It's hard in some ways because I feel too close to the writing to be objective. On the other hand it's really exciting reading the book again when I haven't read it for a few weeks. I feel like, "My God! I wrote this!!!" It makes up for the days when I've looked at it and thought, "What am I doing?!"

Ha! The rollercoaster ride of writing a book!

New Year, New Name!

2011-01-03T14:12:00.006Z

This rather gorgeous picture struck me as a fresh image for a fresh name change. The blog was previously called 'Start to Finish' but I thought the title was kind of ambiguous.

So, for 2011 I'm changing it to *Notebook to Novel* - because of course this is what I'm hoping to achieve this year! Today I signed the agent's agreement and posted it off - so I am officially represented!

The blog hasn't been as writing-related of late, mostly because everything has gone quiet over Christmas at the publishing end - but I think things wake up again this week.

So, I promise that during 2011 I will keep posting honestly about the highs and lows of the winding road to publication - and any tips I pick up along the way will be passed on pronto!

What are weekends for?

2011-01-02T20:59:00.004Z

Well, short answer to that is hanging out with great people in great places! If you don't recognise the pic it's the Giant's Causeway on the North Coast of Northern Ireland.

Today the Murph and I joined our friends Bill and Fiona for a nice walk along the cliff from Portballintrae to the Giant's Causeway. We stopped off for a bite to eat and had plenty of time to chat. I haven't seen them for a while so they were really excited to hear about the book. Bill especially knew that writing was one of my burning ambitions so they are both keeping their fingers crossed that I get good news in the New Year.

Resolutions 2011 - Part 1 - Take care of my back!

2011-01-01T22:59:00.004Z

Ha! New Year equals a whole new set of resolutions. Have just ordered this book from Amazon, in the hope that it will help me loosen up my tight shoulders (caused by time hunched over the computer).

So first Resolution of 2011 is to do some of these yoga moves to stretch out my back and shoulders, which will hopefully help me to write nice and comfortably. I'll let you know how I get on with them!

Happy New Year all!

Ho Ho...Nooooo!

2010-12-30T16:27:00.003Z

Does the pic look familiar? Yep, Northern Ireland is back in the news for all the wrong reasons. This time it's thankfully nothing to do with bombs but the fact we have no water in places! People are having to queue at standpipes.

We just got back this afternoon to find that we DO have water and we DO have heating (sort of) but there's a crack in the oil filter and it's dripping oil into the grass. At least it was - it's now dripping into the mop bucket.

The weather here was just shockingly ferocious by our standards and it makes you realise how much it affects everything. We weren't really very well-prepared for it.

When the boiler broke just before Christmas it made me think a lot about Evie's situation in The Watchers. Her life is pretty tough and there's never much money for things like heating. It's easy to write about it but actually sitting in the house with no heating has given it a whole new dimension. If I was writing those scenes now they would probably be a lot more miserable...!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-23T12:27:00.004Z

We are hitting the road shortly, back to my home town of Carrickfergus. Not sure if we'll even have heating there, never mind internet so thought I would pass on my Christmas wishes to you and yours now!

The cats will have to be loaded into the car. The picture was taken 2 years ago of our cat Charlie. She's a great wee character but she didn't like the costume much! She absolutely hates the car so as soon as we put her in she will start yowling. She will then yowl every 30 seconds for the hour and a half it takes us to get back. Yeah. Ho ho ho...

Hope you have a fantastic, peaceful, festive season wherever you are!

Good deeds!

2010-12-20T16:42:00.004Z

We have a robin in our garden and today I had the great pleasure of feeding him. This lovely pic came from here. For the video I took today, click HERE!

The latest twist...

2010-12-19T21:39:00.004Z

The rather cool pic comes from a website that seems to offer puzzles. As if I need any more internet distractions...!!!

I got another thousand and something words done today, after skiving a bit the last couple of days. I'm really enjoying writing Book 2 when I actually sit down and get on with it. I feel like I know the characters well and know how they will act as I'm writing them into scenes.

Today I finished chapter 4 and started into chapter 5. I loved finishing chapter 4 as one of my favourite characters came clean with a big revelation. He's absolutely gorgeous and he's one of Evie's best friends. In chapter 5 he's going to have a lot of explaining to do and he's desperately hoping Evie won't walk out the door and never come back! It's a big fork in the book that changes a lot of things - hence the picture.

I feel like I have loads of ideas for books just simmering away in the background. In the past I would stop writing one thing, getting distracted by the new idea. Now I'm being ruthless. I don't mind a bit of subconscious stewing but I've learned now that the book only gets finished if you actually sit down and finish it! So write, Debbie, write!

Lazy winter day

2010-12-18T20:09:00.004Z

This gorgeous pic isn't totally unlike the view nearby today! We are pretty much snowbound - Northern Ireland is at a standstill after heavy falls last night. Thankfully today it stayed sunny and beautiful.

We went for a walk this morning and came home for hot sausage and egg toasties. Very glad we have our Christmas shopping done. The advice is to stay off the roads so aside from one foray to the garage for milk and biscuits we stayed tucked up at home. It was the perfect excuse to spend an afternoon on the sofa watching Christmas films, while the cats snoozed and the Murph read his way through the newspapers.

We were prepared this time and had plenty of food in so I spent this evening cooking roast chicken and parsnips and making chilli for tomorrow night. Also made a big pot of soup. Don't be fooled - I'm no domestic goddess...

I feel a little guilty not writing today but the Murph has told me I need a break and I didn't need much persuasion... So going to heat some mulled wine and watch Bridget Jones's Diary on TV at 9pm. Incidentally, Aitken Alexander (my new agency) represents Helen Fielding who wrote the Bridget Jones books. Was almost more impressed by that than the fact they represent Germaine Greer!

I love it when a plot twist comes together...

2010-12-14T17:55:00.004Z

Okay, I'm misquoting the great man here - and showing my age to boot! The original A-Team was on when I was a kid and boy did I love it! For my eight birthday I asked my parents for an A-Team playset instead of Cindy / Barbie etc. You got the four plastic figures, complete with a tent, grenade launcher and assorted other weaponry. They humoured me...

Anyway, I digress. The reason Hannibal sprung to mind was because a plot twist came together today, a big one, which has not only brought the end of Book 2 into sharper focus but Book 3 too! I was able to write the last few lines of Book 3 at lunchtime and have a vague sense of the last chapter.

It's a tricky balance to get right. On the one hand I don't want to know too much at this stage - I've written before that it starts to feel like a 'join-the-dots' exercise when I do that. On the other hand, you have to lay down ground rules for a trilogy, especially when it's fantasy. It's making me look again at Book 1 because there may be a line here and a line there that needs changed for something to happen later.

Anyway for today, I shall just enjoy the moment... "I love it when a plan comes together!"

Just Dance!

2010-12-13T19:18:00.003Z

Heh heh! Very appropriate picture for this evening. My neck has been acting the maggot recently because of driving and computing so I have been going to the chiropractor. He recommended some fun exercise to strengthen my back and shoulders. He also stuck needles in my neck - but don't worry, he does acupuncture.

So tonight, in my quest for 'fun' exercise, I purchased 'Just Dance 2' for the Wii. Stuck it on when I got home - and it was groovy! I was amazed how quickly I got out of breath messing about on it. Not sure I'm holding the controller right as it sometimes doesn't seem to register my (flailing) arm - obviously it's nothing to do with my dancing...

On a serious note I need to sort out my wretched desk posture. Any tips? Anybody tried yoga / pilates etc?

Writing and the Seasons

2010-12-12T12:52:00.008Z

This picture is so cute. Just looking at it makes me feel like I'm about five years old and full of wonder at everything!

I've been thinking about weather recently and how it affects writing. I've realised that I have a tendency to start books set in Autumn, putting the characters through the trials and tribulations of Winter, finally resolving the story in Spring / Summer. I'm wondering is this a universal thing or something peculiar to me. Obviously Spring and Summer are much more hopeful and optimistic times so it makes sense to end on a high. Maybe I'm just a sadist to my characters - throwing bad weather at them as well as everything else they have to endure!

For example The Watchers has a very short timeline in its current form - the whole book occurs in a ten day period in October. Book Two begins around 6 weeks later, just a few weeks before Christmas, with the threat of the weather changing and the temperature plunging.

This probably wouldn't seem like a big deal to a reader in Canada or Switzerland or anywhere else the entire country doesn't go to hell whenever there's a bit of snowfall. Here though, it's all people are talking about. The snow and ice are bringing real misery to some areas - the novelty has long since worn off. A reader from the UK / Ireland will see a potential menace here. It's interesting that readers from other places might think, "What's the big deal lady? So it's snowing. And...?"

I'm trying to think about books I've read where the weather almost becomes a character in itself. Any ideas?

Music to write to...

2010-12-11T14:59:00.002Z

I love this picture. I've been thinking about music over the last couple of days as sometimes it's really good for getting you into the mood of a scene, especially the angsty type scenes.

When I was writing The Watchers I had two basic playlists I used:

'EMO' - music purists look away now! I wasn't specifically listening to Emo bands but generally anything a bit dark, edgy, angsty or reckless. I found this good for writing the love scenes, especially where love seems to be thwarted and Evie is getting angry and frustrated.

'DANCE' - this is self-explanatory really. I can't say it helped create scenes as much as help focus me and get me in the zone. I've always found dance music helps me concentrate, especially trancey, uplifting stuff. It gives me energy and makes me feel alert and relaxed - the perfect writing state!

My EMO playlist is long but includes: Aqualung, Bjork, The Smiths, Evanescence, The Charlatans, Auf Der Maur, Pearl Jam, Portishead, Massive Attack and Moby.

DANCE list is eclectic but very chartsy and accessible, including: Chicane, Orbital, Moby, Paul Van Dyke, Future Sound of London and Jakatta, as well as just upbeat stuff from The Avalanches, Ne-Yo, Beyonce, Primal Scream and Justin Timberlake 'Sexy Back' - which I love - don't ask me why!!!

Anyone else got a writing soundtrack, or a great 'mood' song suggestion?

Happy disbelief.

2010-12-10T19:33:00.001Z

Ha! This image represents ME!

Today I got an email from my agent, saying how much she is looking forward to working together. I feel like writing 'my agent' again. 'My agent'. Ha! :-D

The point here is that I am still kindof in disbelief. Back in June I started writing a story. I sweated over it during the summer, occasionally doubting my own sanity and shedding tears over my own stubborn stupidity. After all, I could have been lying about chilling, dammit!

Now I am getting emails that use phrases like 'strategy' and 'submissions' and 'visits to publishing houses'. It's like a vindication of my hours as a hermit and the unfailing support of the (angel) Murph and the fabulous Bernie McGill (not to mention her daughter Mary).

The book isn't sold yet - in fact it will be a couple of months before I will even get an inkling in that direction - but the fact is I am Joe Bloggs the writer and for anyone out there who dreams of writing a book I am the living proof that you CAN still get an agent and POSSIBLY even get your story published. Even as a brand new, non-celebrity newbie on the block!

'My Agent'. HA!

I have an agent!

2010-12-09T22:40:00.002Z

Ha ha! I like this pic!

So I can hardly believe I am writing this but I now have a literary agent! I spoke to Gillie Russell (Aitken Alexander, London / New York - might actually pass out writing that!!!) on the phone tonight and she sent a contract (agreement letter) through by email. So now I just have to sign on the dotted line and send it back - and hey presto!

It hasn't really sunk in yet but I do feel really happy. Of course the book now has to be sold but I feel like I'm another step along the long, long road to getting The Watchers published.

Just looked back at some of my first blog posts in the summer and grinned, remembering the days when I really wondered if my head was cut spending my precious holiday writing a book. But, as they say, no pain no gain. There were lots of times when writing the book was great fun but there were other days when it was like having teeth pulled without anaesthetic. I think that's the bit you don't realise when you read books. You assume it was effortless. I now know better...

Where do characters come from?

2010-12-08T20:53:00.000Z

I'm always interested in where characters come from. Sometimes you read a book and a character stays with you for a long time afterwards - from Lyra to Lizzie Bennet, Frodo to the father in The Road.

There's a kind of magic when a character arrives in your head with flesh already clinging to the bones. J.K. Rowling famously said that Harry Potter arrived on a train she was travelling on. She had to rush and write things down before she forgot any details.

Certainly I've had this experience of someone appearing in my head fully-formed. It's like a kind of magic or a gift from a strange little corner of your mind. One of them was Evie in The Watchers. She arrived, complete with troubled background, one night in February and I scribbled some notes in a book. She caught my imagination but I didn't get a chance to write about her until June. There was a sort of urgency about her that helped drive me through writing the book. Interestingly the few people who have read The Watchers in draft have all cared about her and found her likeable and believable. Gillie said that she has a kind of integrity that makes her compelling. Maybe this is because she felt so real when I was writing about her.

I can think of two other characters I've written about in half-finished books who 'arrived' fairly randomly. One appeared in a 'picture' in my head - a man sitting in the woods around a fire, with a teenage boy and girl beside him. The other arrived as a name and a sense of who she was and who her opponents were. They're both characters I want to come back to in time.

Of course the problem, as ever, is time. So no more blogging tonight! Time to do some storytelling!

And if anyone is feeling bored... who is the girl in the picture? What's her story?

Candlelight - The Maccabeats - Hanukkah

2010-12-08T15:11:00.000Z

Cutest video ever - how much do I love this?!

Reading to an audience = scary!

2010-12-02T22:24:00.000Z

First things first. Fab picture came from here. I only found this site when I googled looking for a cool image but actually wish I had read through it earlier!

Tonight the Murph and I risked life and limb driving along the icy roads to Flowerfield Arts Centre for a special evening. "Say the Word" was a gathering of writers from all over the area, including local writing groups. The standard was intimidatingly high.

It's hard to know what to read in public sometimes - something short is usually good! That's easy to say but when you're picking an extract from a full-length novel it can be tricky finding a scene that is complete in itself, especially when it's 'fantasy'. After all, the audience haven't had a chance to read the book - they don't know the 'rules' of the world you've created.

I kept it as simple as I could and read from the Prologue to Book 2. It's a nice scene with Javan as the central character. He plays a much bigger role in this book than in The Watchers so I wanted to start things off with a bang. It got a fairly good reaction as it has a scary twist and got some "Oooooooh's" at the end - always a great sign! Job done and back home in one piece - all is well!

The Plot Thickens...

2010-12-01T20:27:00.001Z

I've reached about 8,500 words of the new book, sequel to The Watchers and it's going pretty well. It's amazing how quickly you can get out of the way of writing when you don't do it every single day!

At the minute I'm plotting a bit and figuring things out as I go - the fun bit! I don't want to get to far ahead of myself though. I have a fairly clear idea of the first 6-7 chapters, the big moment in the middle and the ultimate end point of the book. I don't want to nail it down any more than that just yet, as it starts to feel like homework or joining the dots. Basically I wish I could write faster so *I* can find out what's going to happen next!

Pic came from here.

Nothing strange or startling...

2010-11-29T20:30:00.001Z

Hmmmm, feel like I need to update this but nothing much to report. Great weekend - lazy, snowy and a couple of nice trips out. Did a bit of writing. Tried to rest my neck which was hurting. That's it. So I'm posting this picture of cool shoes in the absence of anything more profound...

An exciting development!

2010-11-25T22:54:00.001Z

Feeling very happy tonight as I got an email from Gillie Russell, the agent in London I had approached. I sent her the full MS of The Watchers about a month ago and have spent the last 4 weeks trying not to:

a) become an email stalker

b) chew my nails away to nothing

Anyhow, my patience *may* be rewarded in time. Gillie emailed this evening to say that she has been swamped but that she is reading the MS and is "really loving it." I was so pleased to get her message as it feels like I sent the MS to her about a decade ago - every day feels so slow...! :-)

So now I need to keep my fingers crossed that she likes the ending etc and that she decides she wants to sell it to somebody, dammit!

The whole process is a total emotional rollercoaster. I thought writing the book was the hard part - but that now seems like a breeze in comparison to this bit...!

More from Oz...

2010-11-23T20:30:00.000Z

Oz fever!

2010-11-23T20:25:00.001Z

Nope, I don't mean Australia Oz. I'm talking about 'The Wizard of Oz' which is on next week in work. Oz fever has gripped us all!!! The picture I found on this rather quirky site.

Currently reading...

2010-11-21T18:27:00.001Z

... this book. Very quirky and it's definitely keeping me guessing! Plan for evening is to light the fire and get settled in to find out what's going to happen next! Writing for young people is the perfect excuse to read brilliant books for young people!

Christmas Lights!

2010-11-18T21:43:00.001Z

A great weekend planned... Christmas lights are being switched on in Carrickfergus (my home town, a little seaside town near Belfast) and of course in Belfast itself.

Even better, the Continental Market opens on Saturday too, complete with quirky gifts, lovely food and a couple of bar tents. It is totally magical!

Sadly, the big wheel in the picture is no longer with us but I'll raise my glass of mulled wine in memory of it!

Sláinte!

Mslexia Diary!

2010-11-17T19:32:00.001Z

Just ordered my Mslexia Writer's Diary 2011 - looking forward to getting it! I haven't had one before but it sounds rather lovely and has places for writing in details of submissions - and of course lots of blank pages for when inspiration strikes!

If you like the look of it, you can get it here.

Guerilla Gardening!

2010-11-16T20:16:00.000Z

Before I go any further, how gorgeous is this picture?! I found it here, along with some other lovely pics.

So guerilla gardening is new to me but I heard about it on a radio programme today (available for 1 week only I'm afraid). The idea is that people randomly plant things on public land that looks a bit neglected - grass verges, wasteland, the grassy bits in the middle of roundabouts etc. It's about bringing a little bit of colour and nature to the urban sprawl.

I really liked the idea of this. I'm lucky to live somewhere with lots of grass and lovely beaches but I used to live in a place that was all concrete and horribleness. In The Watchers Evie walks through a cemetery and finds it grassy and peaceful - because it was the only big, green space for miles. Well, six years ago that was me walking to work every morning, glad to bottle some of the calm before the storm.

It also made me think about where Evie lives. Imagine a Victorian house, with families crammed into flats from the basement to the attic. The path and stairs up to the front door are covered with chipped black and white tiles and there's a square of garden full of dead earth and weeds. Again, this is a house I knew in London. A bit of guerilla gardening in places like that might put a smile on lots of people's faces... and Evie's an artist so I know she would love the colour!

House hunting...

2010-11-14T22:23:00.001Z

The Murph and I are house-hunting. Most people go to look at a house and check out things like the bedrooms or the size of the kitchen or the garden...

Instead we both look around and think, "Oooooh, which room will be the writing room???" Two writers* in one house = fight to the death for best study / office... :-)

Needless to say, I didn't get much writing done. As Stephen King says you can write anywhere because art supports life, not the other way round. If I have to write at the kitchen table, that's where I'll do it!

* One journo, one aspiring novelist...

Cute pic came from here.

This is so sweet!

2010-11-13T22:51:00.001Z

Find it here.

TV Night!

2010-11-12T23:08:00.000Z

Ok, I'll be honest. I'm not much of a TV watcher. Life seems too short - but never too short for reading, writing or watching the cats chase a tie twitched like a snake.

I digress. If there is one night of the week when I abandon all my scruples and throw caution to the winds, it is Friday night. Friday night is the home of The Mentalist on Ch5, followed by The Event on Ch4+1 (God bless Freeview).

Lots of people seem to hate The Event. In fact, I may even steal an Event-hater's joke and post it here because it's funny. For me however, it's perfect Friday night TV. The characters are straight-forwardly good or bad and I can ALWAYS work out the ending. After a long, exhausting week this always makes me feel clever. Also the Sean / Shaun character is easy on the eye.

Sean is desperate to find his girlfriend and won't stop until he does. We all want to believe that the men in our lives will never give up on us. Maybe that's why it was so easy to write The Watchers. After all, Evie trusts that the 'man' in her life will do whatever it takes to save her - even if it means sacrificing himself.

Diversionary tactics

2010-11-11T22:02:00.001Z

Haven't done too much writing today but did plot out the whole third chapter. Feeling very tired - too many late nights - so going to hit the sack early.

Also feeling a little despondent on the publishing front but not really sure why. Hope it's not some spooky sixth sense... Patience is a virtue which I'm sorely lacking!!!

Either way, I needed cheering up - and this picture does the job nicely. Enjoy!

Writing again!

2010-11-10T21:43:00.001Z

Started to get really into the new book today, the sequel to The Watchers. It hasn't even got a working title yet but I have a fairly good idea of where it's going.

I'm starting to think that this is one of the nicest stages of writing. You have characters you like and a (rough) story that you want to tell. You start writing with a few sentences as a guideline. E.g. "Evie goes here and this happens, she's really annoyed and then she meets so-and-so."

What's amazing though is that as I'm writing, Evie starts getting her own ideas and bumping into people she doesn't expect to. In chapter 2 for instance she runs into Annette's younger brother Ben. We haven't met Ben before this point - until now he has just been a name. Now he's a living, breathing character, who's full of grief because his sister is dead. He's quite a forceful little bugger and seems to be shoving himself into a plot twist near the end - none of which I anticipated.

I think this is the bit that Stephen King describes as 'creative play'. Later there will have to be more sophisticated plotting - this will happen in this chapter, followed by that in the next. I found at that stage with The Watchers that it began to feel a little 'join-the-dots' as I wrote it and that it took some of the fun out of the process of writing it, until I reached the last six or seven chapters. On the other hand, it meant that the book was written fairly tightly and needed a lot less work in the revision stage than it might have done otherwise.

Anyway, I just have to enjoy this bit - and hope that The Watchers finds a home... otherwise I will have TWO homeless, urchin books to take care of!

(Cool pic came from here.)

REVISIONS!!!

2010-10-01T17:42:00.001+01:00

I've decided to start writing in black just in case anyone ever starts reading this. All that turquoise will burn the eyes out of your head...

Actually... tonight I'll be writing in red pen. The hour has come... Having finally written a complete first draft I now have to go back through and butcher it. No doubt this will be painful and involve a lot of forehead slapping, Homer Simpson sound effects etc - but c'est la vie, baby! The time has come!

However... as I am not Wonder Woman, first of all I am going to have a nice Indian ready meal from Marksies and catch up with the long-suffering Murph.

"IT IS FINISHED!"

2010-09-21T21:51:00.001+01:00

An amazing evening. The first draft of The Watchers is finished. The queen of half-written novels has finally finished a complete book. A few weeks of revision and out it will go in search of a home.

I am too weary and elated to write any more but I did have a cup of tea and a white chocolate chip cookie to celebrate. Nobody parties like a writer... ;-)

Judgement Day

2010-09-12T23:24:00.002+01:00

I have reached 68,500 words and a feeling of excitement is brewing! I am currently writing chapter 20, where Evie will have to stand before the Authority. It's a big turning point in the book as a whole, as well as the actual writing of the book. Basically I am really seeing the last ridge here!

I've only been writing since June but it feels like I've been going for a long time. I'm hoping that within two weeks I will have the first draft complete. If I work my a** off I might even get it finished by this time next week.

As the self-confessed queen of half-written novels this is an exciting moment! I'm looking forward to being able to email Gillie Russell to say, "It's finished! Just a few revisions and it's all yours!"

Almost there!

Achy neck = occupational hazard?

2010-08-31T17:28:00.000+01:00

So I have pretty poor posture, not helped by the fact that I spend hours every day a) driving and b) sitting at a computer. This is bad enough when I'm at work, but then I come home and try to do some writing... ouch!

Today's post will be short and sweet but I'm hoping this website might prove helpful:

http://ergocise.com/what.html

It has free exercise demonstrations that are supposed to be good for helping to prevent neck pain. Here's hoping...

Sweating at the desk...

2010-08-30T17:23:00.000+01:00

It's a beautiful sunny day outside, one of the first of the summer, which obviously is why I'm sitting at my desk on a Bank Holiday watching other people enjoy it. My friend Clare was up visiting for the last couple of days and it was brilliant seeing her. Now I am making up for my lazy weekend and getting stuck into the writing.

Have just finished chapter fifteen, and I reckon there are about six chapters to go. You would think at this stage it would be easy to get motivated, knowing that the finish line is just over the hill... but no! I am the master of the half-finished novel. I currently have around 200,000 words spread across five unfinished books. I'm determined to get this one finished. Bernie McGill is the person to thank here, as she encouraged me to send the sample chapters out to give myself a sense of deadline - and it's making a big difference.

So just carry on outside there without me sunshine. Another 500 words and I will be joining you in the garden.

ps: All the people who say they want to write a book, but they just haven't got the time... you're the ones lying in a deck chair with a beer at the minute. I'll be right behind you...

Guess who's back? Back again...?

2010-08-27T18:32:00.001+01:00

Okay, so not much writing action going on over the last couple of weeks. The holiday was great and then spent a few days catching up with family and friends. This week was the return to work - noooooooooooooooo!

Don't get me wrong, I actually like my job most of the time - on the good days I LOVE it! But having the summer to write was an amazing luxury. Now my brain is having to re-engage with work there is less space left for the writing. Have only got a couple of thousand words done in the last few days, so will have to go for it this Bank Holiday weekend.

So the revised plan of attack is:
1. Aim to finish the book by September the 30th.
2. Spend October revising and re-drafting.
3. Send the whole lot to agent(who has told me to take my time).
4. Start praying, sacrifice goats, pace about a lot and generally do what any hopeful new writer does when waiting to hear if a book will be taken forward.

I shall keep you posted...

PS: Bernie's book is out now!

2010-08-09T00:50:00.000+01:00

... and it's really good!

Another milestone...

2010-08-09T00:45:00.001+01:00

Well, am delighted to say that last night I finally crossed the 50,000 word mark. Only did a little bit today but I'm sitting on 51,123 words exactly! Just as well as we are about to head off on holiday - on a cruise to be precise.

We are going on the Ocean Village, starting in Palma, stopping off at Tunisia, Naples (going to Pompeii), Florence, Monaco and Corsica - and finishing back at Palma. Would love to say I am thrilled at the idea of it all, but the writerly bit of me wants to stay home and bash out another 10,000 words before I head back to work. Still, once I'm there I will no doubt love it. We are going to have dinner with mum and dad and my brother tomorrow night, then head to bead early as we will be up at 03:30 - yuck! Hardly seems worth going to bed at all to be honest!

So more when I get back...

Just finished...

2010-08-03T21:39:00.000+01:00

Just finished this - some great humour in it. Not my usual thing but very vivid and I loved Katla the nursemaid - very cantankerous and funny. Halli is a great hero - squat and ugly, but easy to like. Wouldn't fancy living with him though...

STUCK!!!

2010-08-03T21:28:00.000+01:00

Hmmm, I say I'm stuck but I'm at 46,000+ words. The last couple of days have seen some amazing self-sabotage, seriously. I've hit about 1200 words a day yesterday and today but it was like pulling teeth. The whole thing is feeling pretty joyless at the minute. I sat and played the Sims for 2 hours last night like a wastrel, when I could have been hammering out another couple of thousand words.

Thank God Bernie McGill sent me through some feedback today, which will give me something productive to do if this dry spell continues. In fact she wrote almost as much in feedback as I managed to write in a WHOLE DAMN DAY!!!

Bernie, the picture is dedicated to you!

How gory is TOO gory?

2010-08-02T12:47:00.000+01:00

So yesterday I ploughed on and hit 43,621 words (tried to post this last night but broadband was down). I’ve come a long way in a week, let’s be honest here. I had to write a pretty tense scene today, involving a dead body. The question arises - how much gory detail should I go into for YA fiction?

My clearest memories of being a teenager are:

Having some really hilarious times, especially with friends.

Feeling different , odd, overwhelmed or lonely at times.

Being quite sensitive to horror / gore – I only got into gory books when I was a bit older.

HATING being patronised.

These last two come into direct conflict while I’m writing. I want it to be vivid and immediate, but I don’t want it to be really disturbing. I also don’t want it to be some cartoonized version of a distressing event, all watered down. I imagine the teen equivalents of me rolling their eyes and making barf noises as they read it.

When you’re a teenager and you’re smart it is hateful when people treat you like you’re dumb. In THE WATCHERS Evie hates feeling out of the loop, or like she isn’t trusted enough to handle certain information. After all, she’s doing pretty well dammit!

It’s said that every writer puts a little bit of themselves into their characters. Maybe this is the side of me that ends up in Evie. I certainly got luckier on the family front!

What I contribute to Javan on the other hand... hmmm, scary stuff! I’ll leave that to the head shrinkers to figure out... ;-)

PS - the worry wart!

2010-07-31T12:45:00.000+01:00

I am by nature something of a worry wart...

Everybody knows getting a first book published is meant to be awesomely difficult.

So far the one author, one agent and one publisher who have read the sample chapters have liked them.

I sense a fall coming...

The problem is when I think about the fall I lose the courage to actually invest myself in the writing.

So, I need to tell myself it will all be okay. They will seize the completed manuscript from my grubby, toner-stained mitts, hand me a (miserly) cheque and publish my story.

I believe it and I don’t believe it. Believing it is essential – but dangerous. Not believing it will coat me in protective cynicism, which will unfortunately set like concrete and stop me moving forward at all.

In this situation, faith is the only way to go.

A milestone is reached...

2010-07-31T12:18:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I hit the 40,000 word mark, which is probably around the halfway mark. I wish there was time to savour the moment - but I don't feel like there is. This whole angel fiction thing is coming to the boil – but whether it actually takes off or not is the big question. Both Gillie (my possible agent) and Paddy (my possible publisher) have said to take my time and not rush, but I feel this urgency to finish it.

I could easily become a hermit when I’m like this. My routine over the last week has been doing roughly 2000 words a day, the first 1400 or so in the morning. After lunch I’ve headed to the beach with my travel mug of coffee and gone for a good long walk, just letting the air blow away all the crazy. As I walk I record any snatches of dialogue or scene ideas on my mobile phone. Once I’m back at the car I park up facing the water and slurp my caffeine down with a notebook on my lap.

When I come back home it takes me a while to get those last 5-600 words down, but it feels good when they are nailed to the page (or rather the screen). I feel tired from the mental energy going into it all, but I’m also relishing this really simple life. I feel like an amoeba – sleep, eat, write, walk. The husband is absorbed in redrafting his PhD and I’m absorbed in writing this first draft.

Last night we went round to dinner with a couple of Colm’s work colleagues. They made delicious food and interesting conversation. It was a lovely evening and I totally enjoyed it – once I was there. Getting me there was like prising a limpet off a rock. I’ve gone into this quiet, internal world where I spend hours on the computer or at the tide line. My uniform is a revolving rail of tracksuit bottoms.

I can see why so many writers are a leetle bit crazeeeee!

The ultimate convenient distraction!

2010-07-30T12:32:00.000+01:00

Okay, so finding it hard to get started this morning, and I'm browsing the net and I find this video ... ENJOY!

Frikkin' dumbass dog owners

2010-07-29T20:50:00.002+01:00

Now don't get me wrong here. I like dogs and I mostly like their owners too, assuming they aren't dumbass dogs or dumbass owners. And let's be honest, you *rarely* get a dumbass dog without a dumbass owner.

My definition of a dumbass owner is someone who lacks the skill, confidence or simply sheer will to control their dog. Typically these are the type of people you see getting dragged along pavements by their four-legged flatmates - or worse still rampaging insanely in public places because their dumbass owner has LET THEM OFF THE LEAD!!!

Today I had my usual beach walk, which has been proving pretty fruitful as book plotting time. I was getting into the zone, figuring out a tricky plot development for one of the later chapters of the Watchers. I had just got it all wrapped up and lifted my phone out of my pocket to start voice recording the scene.

Without warning a four-legged fiend appeared at my side barking and growling. It wasn't playful or friendly barking - it was properly aggressive, territorial barking. Of course I ignored it at first and kept walking. It then made a second run at me, getting itself into a slathering frenzy. At this point I turned to its moronic owner (a bespectacled woman accompanied by four kids) who was standing gormlessly watching the whole thing. I politely asked her could she please control her dog. She did absolutely nothing. Her kids ran about in a frenzy calling the dog, which although well-intentioned served only to whip the dog into even greater aggression. It then made a third run at me and I swear I was tense, feeling it at my heels as I walked, waiting for its teeth to sink into my calf muscle.

The worst thing is the dog in question was a miniature schnauzer, one of my favourite breeds and the dog I hope to get in a year or two. They are yappy at times but they're the kind of dogs who bark frantically and then come and lick your hand. This one was aggressive and untrained by its idiot owner. It's *ALWAYS* the owner's fault.

It surely does focus the mind...

2010-07-29T13:35:00.001+01:00

As hoped, knowing an editor is waiting for your manuscript is a marvellous motivational tool. I've done 7000 words in the last 3 days and aiming for another thousand before I finish today. I've just started chapter 12 and I think when I finish it I'll have crossed the 40,000 word mark and thus be at the tipping point, where I'll be closer to the end than the beginning.

Traditionally I've been great at writing half-novels, but usually I reach the stage where *I* know the ending and think, "What's the point going on?" The thought that other people might get to read it and might want to know how it ends is giving me more focus.

We're heading away for a week on the 10th August, and the following week I'm back to work. If I can be at 50,000+ words by the time I go back to work I'll be happy. I've said I'll aim to submit by mid-September, so that's the goal. Fingers crossed...

I really shouldn't...

2010-07-26T22:09:00.000+01:00

... be blogging that is. I have my back to the wall writing-wise here! Have had a week and half off that I could ill afford, and I'm sitting on 31,500 words.

The totally great news is that Paddy O'Doherty (Puffin Ireland) emailed me today to say that she really liked The Watchers sample I gave her and that she'd love to have the rest of the manuscript.

The bad news is that I don't currently have the rest of the manuscript, and won't have for a few weeks yet. I'm still writing it! However the last few plot tweaks are coming together so it's just a matter of getting the words down on the page. I'm hoping that nothing focuses the mind like having a commisioning editor waiting for your book... :-)

Par-tay!

2010-07-16T22:43:00.001+01:00

I have a theory (not a new one) that people get married when they have run out of steam for the 'out five nights a week' lifestyle. Out last night with the drama crew at karaoke, then back to the house for a few drinks. Got home just after 6am this morning. We have cleaned and bought food all day for our brunch for 12 tomorrow, and now are supposed to be going to a party.

All I really want to do is go to bed... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

* Notebook to Novel *

Getting from notebook to novel - #6

Wondrous gadgets for writers #2 - The 'Freedom' Programme!

Wondrous gadgets for writers #1 - The Echo Pen!

A writer's resolution...

I can't wait for... The Hunger Games

Is it just me...

How much is *too* much???

Back to the Old School!

Back from the Baltic Sea!

Just finished... The Hunger Games

Loving... Jericho

Currently reading...

Healthy Breakfast Treat!

Go me!

How much is that doggie in the window...?

Just finished... Gone

Why Writing is like 'The Long Walk'

Just finished... Blood Red Road

Word count climbing...

Friday night treat!

Getting from notebook to novel - #4

Very superstitious...

The joy of juicing!

Cooking vs. Writing

Viva Espana!

Missing in action!

Our first wedding anniversary!

Perils of adulthood

Happy Belated St. Pat's!

Getting from notebook to novel - #3

Currently reading...

Hachinohe

Getting from notebook to novel - #2

Currently reading...

Getting from notebook to novel - #1

Je love le weekend!

Late night edits...

Meeting my agent!

Racing on with revisions...

Friday night feeling!

The red pen is out again!

Stephen King fans?

Another cool song!

Great writing song!

Ebay loot!

The perils of a Sat night at home...

Currently reading...

The Help = 5 stars from me!

Kindle-tastic!

Resolutions 2011!

Revisions, revisions, revisions!

New Year, New Name!

What are weekends for?

Resolutions 2011 - Part 1 - Take care of my back!

Ho Ho...Nooooo!

Merry Christmas!

Good deeds!

The latest twist...

Lazy winter day

I love it when a plot twist comes together...

Just Dance!

Writing and the Seasons

Music to write to...

Happy disbelief.

I have an agent!

Where do characters come from?

Candlelight - The Maccabeats - Hanukkah

Reading to an audience = scary!

The Plot Thickens...

Nothing strange or startling...

An exciting development!

More from Oz...

Oz fever!

Currently reading...

Christmas Lights!

Mslexia Diary!

Guerilla Gardening!

House hunting...

This is so sweet!

How much is too much???