Thursday 23 February 2012

The best style is the style you dont notice.

The best style is the style you don't notice.  ~Somerset Maugham

So from previous posts you will know that I am trying to sort out my website. One word = Nightmare. The formatting takes so long and is so fiddly - it makes formatting for kindle seem a breeze... well I suppose its a bit iof a lie- its not that hard but it is time consuming - four hours in front of the computer and you have realised you have just about managed the font. I spent yesterday evening having a look at other author websites... I have not really been enamoured by them. I want something striking and different yet simple and easy to use. Getting that combination right is rather difficult but H (thats husband) has come to teh rescue. For the first time along my journey he is really being pro-active on the webiste front. So I have sent him all the pictures I have (although he hates my author profile picture- says I look pretentious) and the wording for the website and I am leaving it with him. I did try and give him a deadline to have it ready by the 29th Feb - Did I mention that I am impatient... anyway will see how it gose.

I have been lame on the reading front too- Not got far with The sixth Lamentation but have been passed a Japanenes thriller that is supposed to be A.Mazing so will let you know how that goes.

In otehr news check out my friends blog---- If you love food try this http://amuseyobouche.wordpress.com/

Saturday 18 February 2012

Fiction is the reproduction...

Fiction is the reproduction of believable emotional experiences.

I hope you have all had the chance to check out http://thelensandthequill.blogspot.com I have to say keep in mind that it's only roughly edited flash fiction. Really happy with the way our blog has come together and currently working on more short stories so keep checking the blog. For updates. I have also taken ten minutes to spruce up (yes it's a granny word I know) this blog. I have only just discovered tabs and stand alone pages - its only taken me a year to find...

I haven't been reading much this week... No patience or time and don't ask me about the editing of the bittersweet. It's all going wrong although I read a chapter out at writing group and got some good feedback and ideas for it... It wasn't as bad as my last critique but I think I am slowly improving.

That's about it... A bit of a boring blog post I know... But have a look at the tabs above and definitely check out the lens and the quill.

Thursday 16 February 2012

The Lens and The Quill

Take a look at my new blog in collaboration with Urmi Kenia- Photos with flash fiction to accompany them.... every picture tells a story...

The link is under the links area on the right or click here

Enjoy!

Monday 13 February 2012

Write What You Wish To Write

Write what you wish to write

So long as you write what you wish to write, that is all that matters; and whether it matters for ages or only for hours, nobody can say. But to sacrifice a hair of the head of your vision, a shade of its color, in deference to some Headmaster with a silver pot in his hand or to some professor with a measuring rod up his sleeve, is the most abject treachery. - Virginia Woolf

I owe todays quote to Advicetowriters on twitter and I read it when I needed it the most. I was having one of those days when I was editing passages from The Bittersweet Vine that were just not working. I wanted to rip up the whole 80,000 words and put it in the bin. I was tired and dejected and nobody around me understood- because nobody I am close to writes. This quote cheered me up and gave me some hope.

Abingdon Writers is my next issue. I need to take something in to read from The Bittersweet Vine. What I have read the group has helped me out loads but I need more critiquing on what I have done so that I can improve it. So I printed some pasages then as I read through them- ugh  they were bad and in isolation even worse. But I am determined to take something in tomorrow.Also I am always in awe of what the otehrs write that I sometimes feel like abit of a doofus- I know this is the wrong attitude to have- I have been saying this again and again on my blog but we all suffer from self doubt dont we.

In otehr news I have been checking out and reading up on body language and OCD all in prepeartion for making my characters better rounded and writing short stories set in the past of my characters as well. I have also answered short questionaires on them so now I know what Penelope would order in a restaurant and if she prefers Opera or Pop. Watch this space maybe I will do a dummies guide to character profiling when I understand it myself.

FYI for any new people following this blog there are two things you should know 1) I dont ever re-read through what I type on this blog- I write it as it forms in my head. I have no time to edit this (That sounds like I dont care- but I do--- there is juts so much to do and so little time).
2) Yes my grammar is bad... bab, bad, beyond compare but that is what an editor is for.... That is another topic I have covered several times over but one I will cover again for sure.

Also Goa Traffic kindle was taking a bit of a dive in the kindle charts (boo hoo) - It has started to climb again.... Big love to all that have bought a copy - and if you have mssg me on Facebook or twitter (links on the right) or put a review on amazon..... that would be much appreciated.

Saturday 11 February 2012

As to the adjective...

As to the adjective, when in doubt, strike it out.  ~Mark Twain, Pudd'nhead Wilson, 1894


My eyes hurt from editing! really they do. But I am nearly there I have edited 151 pages so not many more to go maybe a couple of days worth. I have had to give up today because my eyes and my brain hurts too.

Okay so my musings so far this week: Basically I read a tweet from guardian books or something like this to say some self published book was number one in the amazon charts for three months at the end of last year. In the interview the author said that he didnt set out to have a best seller just thought he would give it a go and see where it took him because he turned 30!

Well I get that because I had a bit of a panic when I hit 30 - but I cant help be a bit annoyed by the article. Now it sounds like I am jealous and of course I am - I mean i am not super annoyed -because I think great there is a possibility for all self pubbed authors out there to have their books read  - juts slightly annoyed I suppose that its not me. I need to get a kindle I think to read some of these self published books. Kindle for PC is a bit stressful for the eyes if you work on a computer all day. Anyway so those were my thoughts on that. But there is potential.

Goa Traffic was climbing the kindle charts too but today has taken a massive nose dive. Whats that about? I was hoping to repeat last months sales figures which doubled those in December- Oh one can dream. If you are feeling particularly cold at the moment - It has been snowing- Goa Traffic will transport you to some warmth (there plug over)

Apart from the The Bittersweet Vine editing as mentioned above is going well. I have to do a bit of a re-shuffle of my chapters after this third edit and then do another ten edits. It needs it...

In other news my new Blog with my friend Urmi Kenia (Who did both front covers for Goa Traffic) - will be out soon. I know I promised this awhile ago- but we are almost there now and then I will post a link. Its looking really good. Pictures and short story- flash fiction- these are not stories that we have sat with for hours. They are - see a picture and explain what you think is going on kind of thing....

Thats about it for now. I am also wondering what to do with  The Bittersweet Vine after its complete- I am definately going to sit on it for a bit whilst i work up the first draft of Under The Coconut tree but the publishing route is yet to be decided.

Anyway if you are new to this blog.... follow me on twitter... find me on facebook and get a copy of Goa Traffic and tell me what you think!

Monday 6 February 2012

So much to say...so little time

Where do I begin? Over the last couple of days I have come across quite a few articles that have piqued my interest. This was perhaps for the first time in ages I had a chance to do nothing on the weekend and so I bought th papers. I know I should have been editing or writing but him indoors gets a bit annoyed with my incessant tapping at the key board and therfore this task is solely kept for when he is out or Wednesday afternoons. Anyway I needed a bit of down time.

The first thing I did, which I rarely do and I should because I am a budding author is that I read The Culture supplement that came with the Times. And I discovered that the Oxford Literary festival is on.... perfect I have booked some tickets for a talk in the genre I am progressing towards. If you love literature and are thinking of taking up writing ..... definately go to a literary festival. It will give you an air for whats about. So now I know what is going on in the world of books and I am not blinkered into just reading about things I am interested in.....

Secondly I came across an article about Wimbledon High school that are holding a festival of Failure- teaching girls that failure is acceptable because you need failure for success. Of course they used JK Rawling who said her failure was paramount to her eventual success.

I thoroughly agree with this. There is such a pressure not to fail these days that we dont often see the benefits of failure. that you pick yourself up and start again. It shows more of the person you are than just cruising through life with success. I say three cheers to Wimbledon High School- I hope other schools follow.

That being said - I have much to do on the edditng front. Can I offer some advice for the 3rd Edit. Keep a notepad by the side of your computer and make notes - like a mini chapter synopsis as you edit. This will enable you to type out a timeline- that you can look back on and make sure you get your dates right with chracters. It will also help you re-shuffle chapters - which I desperately need to do after this third edit.

You see thats another thing to add to my list of things to do before the end of March- finish my Third Edit and re-shuffle chapters. I am not even half way through-I hope this is achievable.

Friday 3 February 2012

Let the readers do some of the work themselves

Let the readers do some of the work themselves - Fyodor Dostoyesky

On Twitter one of the best people I follow is @advicetowriters, like the quote above Jon Winokur comes up with some great quotes and snippets of advice.

My new Blog has been somewhat delayed but will be up soon I promise - In the meantime I have finished Jodi Picoult's The Tenth Circle. I enjoyed it - I really did - Some people kind of roll their eyes when you say you like Jodi Picoult but I do. Well this book at least . I have not read all that many by her but never the less a book that is a page turner is a good one by my estimations.
Give it a go.... Its not as standard as you might think.

I have shelved Elizabeth Grey- Out of sight for now. Now I am starting The Sixth Lamentation by William Brodrick.

Continuing on with editing and writing although more editing and less writing = plodding. If only I had more free time to write and this thing called a day job didnt get in the way... someday hey?!

Wednesday 1 February 2012

Love letters

I have an amazing friend who finds nuggets of gold on the internet and sends me the links. This is one of them:
http://www.lettersofnote.com/2012/01/i-know-what-love-is.html

read not just this letter but thousands of others such as
http://www.lettersofnote.com/2012/02/damn.html

The site makes for an interesting read. I give you these links to sustain you as together with my  friend we put together the final touches to our new blog. The blog which will make you look at photos in a new light. The blog that will open your eyes. If you love reading short stories... if you love art you will love our new blog. So watch this space....