Monday 29 September 2014

Anything's possible if you've got enough nerve - J K Rowling

Anything's possible if you've got enough nerve - J K Rowling

Well people it has been a while. I have started writing  the second of the Chupplejeep books. This one is called The Body in the Bath. I have just completed my grammar course, and I have signed up to another year at Abingdon Writers. Speaking of which, the other day when I was at the group meeting someone said they had read an article saying the popularity of social media is declining. Now, I haven't read this myself but I could see the point they were making. What goes up must come down etc. recently I wrote a blog post on social media for authors, but I didn't look into whether this phenomenon of tweeting what you had for breakfast and the likes would last. Apparently people are tiring of blogs and the constant stream of updates from authors. I know I, myself, am tiring of Twitter and how many other author blogs do I read?  Even Facebook has had its day so they say. The other day in a meeting someone said the majority of Facebook users are middle aged! Well I suppose that was bound to happen. But all this talk of declining social media makes me wonder, what is next?

I have been extremely lame this year in marketing my novels. And I'll be honest and say that sales have fallen (for Goa Traffic at least). I really need to do something but I'm finding it all rather laborious, especially when I have Chupplejeep on to his next case and with a wedding to plan as well. I must find some motivation soon.

As well as all this pondering, and watching box sets (which is not doing anything for my writing career) I've also been thinking about writing. Which got me thinking - how important is it to spend you time thinking about writing? - Again I think someone mentioned this at my last writing group meeting. Well for me it's terribly important to spend time thinking about writing. When I'm out and about doing something mundane, having conversations in my head between characters (and I hope all writers do this and it's not just me losing the plot) great ideas for new scenes come into my mind. More often than not I fail to write them down, but I visualize them and in doing so they get lodged in my memory only to arrive in my mind later when I am actually writing a scene. I find all this thinking extremely helpful in putting a skeleton of a book together and encourage you to think about writing more.



Friday 5 September 2014

Finding the time to write.

Finding the time to write. 

Recently, a couple of new acquaintances have asked me ‘Where do you find the time to write?’ and I have to admit I’m often stumped for an answer because I don’t know how I manage to find the time to write, but yet I do.  Like many of you writers out there I have a full time job. I’m not a brain surgeon or anything taxing like that but, at times, my job (project management in property development) can be stressful. It’s also largely computer based. So after a day of looking at the computer sometimes I don’t really want to switch a computer on at home. There are days when I get home so tired I don’t have the energy to write and so I don’t. And I don’t write every day either - H wouldn’t be too impressed with that (you have to admit it would be a little unfair). Because of my passion for food I have to force myself to go to the gym a couple of times a week and then there is the business of cooking decent meals every night (again with the food – I don’t like leftovers so I cook every day. I’m also not keen on pasta – so you’re talking a good effort every night, so that we go to bed happy – Nothing puts me in a bad mood like a rubbish dinner does and I quite like cooking.) And finally there is also the business of cleaning. I categorise this chore with the gym. I don’t really want to do it and I’m not good at it either. It’s a slog from start to finish, and although H is pretty good with helping out, it still takes up quite a bit of my post work time.

So when do I write? Well I limit myself to a Wednesday after work when I leave work a little early, and have the house to myself for a couple of hours. I write quickly – I can write 5000 words in an evening (they may not be great words – they need a lot of editing to get up to a readable first draft stage - but they are words). I write when the football is on or when H is out. Basically, I write when I can snatch and hour here or there. I never used to write on weekends because we were always out and about, but now I occasionally do. But unlike the gym or cleaning the house, writing is not a chore. When I sit down to write I get lost in my fictional world. I don’t want music on or the TV. I don’t feel the need to snack or to catch up on The Mindy Project or Scandal (The later has taken at least 22 of my precious writing hours over the last month). When I write I am completely in the zone. All I need is my open manuscript,  a pen, several note books around me, easy access to the internet for that all important research and a glass of water (writing makes me thirsty for some reason). Sometimes I get so caught up in a story that I don’t realise I’ve been in front of the computer for hours without looking up from the screen.  I also try and use my time wisely (I guess working in project management has honed my time management skills). Some lunch hours are for finding good deals on Expedia, but some are used for book research, checking out author blogs, reading about how to improve my writing, doing grammar courses, and blogging.


The crux of it is, and I’m sure most writers will agree with me here, when you are a writer writing is in your blood. You have to do it. You want to do it, and so you find the time to write. Whether it’s waking up early or going to bed late or even taking a day’s holiday to work on that final chapter – when you want to write you find a way.