Sometimes the only advice you need is your own

Image by Prateek Katyal (Unsplash)

Websites v Blogs

 I thought I was doing well setting up a website. After Googling various ways to upload photos and using spacers, I was so pleased to get what I wanted. As I was doing so well, I decided to add social media buttons. It all looked straightforward, but could I get the damn things to work? More Googling, checking, putting my URL's in again, but no, they would not work. I read some things I didn't understand and was losing hope. Instead I looked to see how my layout looked to those visiting the site and the photo, which I had spent ages on inserting, was not there! It's in my edit window, but not visible to anyone. The social media logos were missing too.

At this point I thought, do I actually want this website? Writers are advised to have one, though I know several writers who don't have one. I've said all along that I've become attached to my blog which I have written since 2009. It's changed a bit from the early days, but I was beginning to wonder what I'd put on a website. Could I abandon my blog? After what I went through this morning, I've decided it is not worth the hassle. Yes, I've spent money buying a domain, but I can cancel the subscription so I'm not paying for something I'm clearly not going to use.

I cannot afford to pay anyone to build me a website, and no doubt there would be a monthly fee on top, so what this boils down to is a re-vamping of my blog. At present I only post about once a month. I think I need to be a little more active, but also to change the 'pages' around a bit. Although Blogger can be annoying at times, I can usually sort things out. I'm not very technically minded (I quit WordPress for the same reason). Blogger is more user friendly for me....better the devil you know!

So I am going to do some work on the blog which I hope people will enjoy.

Some time ago I spoke about Substack. I signed up a while back to follow a couple of people, and I now have a profile and a photo. That's as far as I've got, but I am considering using it in the future. I just need to figure out where I am going with it. I want to do something different to this blog, but link them. I think Substack could be a good substitute for a website as it has some of the same features.

News and an announcement

This afternoon I have been with my writing group. Just four of us today., I really wanted to be there as I can't make the next prose meeting, and maybe not the next writing session. We had a good chat about self-publishing as well as writing. I took along a sheet with three sections of five random words as prompts in case there weren't any prompts this time (sometimes there aren't). No one used them, but I brought them home and I may use them myself sometime.

I used the time to write my task for the course I am taking at the moment. Live Canon is running a four-week correspondence course in poetry 'Line breaks'. I'm in catch-up mode as I joined a few days late, but I'm really enjoying the first week. Feedback is given not only by the tutor but one can share their work with others on the course. So, today I was writing the piece for feedback. The task only took ten minutes (as per the task instruction), so I tried writing some poetry, but nothing was working. In the end I went back to something I started writing at the writing group before. I have done no plotting and this is the third part! I only write it when I'm there. I really must do some world building and work out what I'm aiming for. It's a sort of cli-fi story. I read out what I had written today and apologised if it didn't make sense, but the overall feedback was good. 

Photo by Samuel Regan-Asante on
 Unsplash

The back end of April had a piece of flash fiction published by Ink Sweat & Tears called The Second Coming. It's funny and I loved writing it. If you read my bio at the end you see that I have stated that my first full length novella is due to be published later this year. So, now seems to be a good time to announce the exciting news that Tinsel Street, my Christmas feel-good short novel is to published by Troubador, hopefully at the end of August. The copy edits have been done and I have a front cover! The printing of the inside is being done now. I have an author page already and there is a link to this blog. I am still working on the content of the author page and will share this too in the future. There's not much on there yet. Oh, and I am going to compile a Tinsel Street playlist on Spotify to go with the book! This was a late thought and I might not get a link in the book, but I will share it here. More news to follow.

Meanwhile, I am still submitting and managed six submissions last month. And that's me for now. Thanks for reading and have a good week folks.

September roundup

Rue is two now, and more settled.
He will allow me to write until about 11am before he says it's my turn now!

 So, here we are at the end of September. Where has the summer gone? The only thing about the months towards the end of the year is that I get writing more. With the rain we have been having, there is no excuse not to go back to those projects that have been left while I've been doing other things.

Several things have happened to make me re-think my writing life. The death of my cousin and the fact that I will be seventy next year have really brought a new focus to my work. If I don't get on with things soon, it might be too late. This has coincided with an 'up' mood and the desire to pull things together.

I currently have four projects on the go. That sounds a lot, but they are all at different stages and most have been lingering while I put off doing anything with them, due to my own lack of confidence. That negative voice always outweighs the positive one. Why is that? One can get lots of wonderful feedback, but that one piece of negativity still eats away inside ones head.

So what am I doing? Well, most of you will know that my Christmas novella is out on submission. Still no takers, but I will review this again next year and find a new direction to take it. I have sent the first 3,000 of my YA novella to Mslexia's competition, and just in case I get asked for the full manuscript, I am currently editing the rest of the manuscript. If it doesn't get asked for, it will not be wasted. My collection of flash fiction (some published and some new stories) is away being proofread, and in November I will be working with an editor on another novella. The last project was a spur of the moment decision and I am excited and terrified at the same time.

Talking about editors, I read this very interesting article on Substack, which really made me think. Do have a read. And speaking of Substack, I took a Zoom workshop recently to learn all about it and whether it would be worth my while using it. I found the workshop really interesting and took copious notes, but there was a download later, so I was able to keep the Powerpoint presentation. There was also a good article in Mslexia about Substack which I have kept. I interact with a couple of writers on there already, so have an account. Perhaps this would work for me, but I need time to learn all about it and how to approach it. Watch this space. Do comment if you use Substack or are considering it.

And while on the subject of the business side of writing, I have signed up for a couple more Zoom workshops in October. These Zoom classes are run by Jane Friedman, or through her website. I learned about formatting Word for Amazon KDP through her website. The classes are very professional and some you have to pay for. All I would say is they are worth it. I don't part with my money easily!

On the submission front, I have had a few rejections, and there is not much out there on submission now, but I did manage to submit two flash/short stories this month.

That's it for now. See you next month. Do leave a comment or question on anything I've spoken about here. It's lovely to hear from people.

Tough times

 The last couple of months have been difficult and writing has really taken a back seat. Apart from the odd submission I have been unable to motivate myself to write. After the joy of my youngest son's wedding blessing in June, I lost my cousin a week later. As she had no other family, I had to step up and arrange her funeral and am now dealing with all the legal stuff. My cousin lived a good few hours away by train from me and I've had to make several trips in the last few weeks. After the funeral I felt quite flat, but I am trying to take things up again. I forced myself to open a writing file a few days ago to do some editing. As I worked on that manuscript, things became a little easier.

Thankfully, previous submissions have borne some fruit. A short story of mine was longlisted by Cranked Anvil, and I have two poems due to be published later this month. More on that when I have a link. I also won The Poetry Kit Easter poetry competition with my poem River Man. My prize is a mentoring course worth £110. I asked if I could defer it for about a month as my head really isn't in the right place to tackle a course. They have been really good and I can take it up when I ready.

Yesterday I sent a novella-in-flash to my proofreader/beta reader friend, and am now trying to put together some stories for self publishing. I think I know which ones I will publish together now, but I could still change my mind. At least it's a start.

So, sorry for being silent for so long. Until next time, happy reading and writing.

The stress of the submission process

Birthday flowers from my eldest son in my writing room and yes, those are tomato plants behind!

 The last few weeks have seen me finally complete the first proper draft of The Island. It now sits marinating on my laptop! It will need a lot of editing, but at least I have a better ending and have added a significant amount of content.

Before I finished the draft, I met with a friend who I'd not seen in ages (she's actually my proofreader) and she asked about all those short stories I wrote and thought a collection would be a good idea. We had a good chat about some of those stories, and in fact, I do have a list of potential stories for a collection. It's just that I've never got round to doing anything about them. I am now reading through some again, editing and getting them proofread. I'm working on the idea of a theme, but the list isn't complete as I sort them and work out which work best together.

The other thorn in my side is Tinsel Street, which I sent out on submission last year and again earlier this year. I have received no replies, so decided to revamp my submission package and have another bash. Now anyone who submits novels knows what a pain it is writing a synopsis and cover letter. I could have written half a novel in the time it's taken to do this (okay, that's a slight exaggeration). There are guidelines online, and right ways to put them together, though some conflict.  It's stressful and never seems completely right. So I sought feedback from friends.

Last Sunday I also I met up with some people from the London Writers' Support Group and gave them my cover letter to look over. They were really helpful, and I came home and put in their suggestions and took things out. I also tweaked the synopsis again! While at the meeting, I also managed to run a 6,000 word story through ProWriting Aid and edit while we each worked on our own project for an hour. I'd been putting it off, as it's so long, so I was pleased with myself. I have to admit this is a good group to be part of. We are all very different and tackling different things, and they are all much younger than me, but we are all writers and support one another.

Researching agents and Indie Publishers, who have windows open/accepting submissions/are the right fit and accept submissions from writers and not just agents, takes hours. But over two days I sent out several submissions, adapting the letter each time. I am not expecting to hear from anyone for a while, though having said that I did hear from one who told me they couldn't offer traditional publishing but might consider a contributing package, meaning I would have to fork out money of up to 75% of the cost. That makes me suspicious. They are asking me to respond, but if I don't want to take their offer, they will delete my manuscript. They say they are part of a larger well-known publishing company, but that company have their own website. I will need to look more into this, but I want to try submitting to others before I consider going with a hybrid publisher, plus do my own research into different ones. It is too soon when I have had no response from anyone else I sent to last week. Responses can take months. But I have started the ball rolling. One needs to be in the right frame of mind to send out submissions on mass, and I have to admit I felt good, even though I know my chances are slim. 

I have sent out a few subs to poetry magazines as well. Now I have a slight lull as I have a busy week coming up away from writing, though I'm sure I can sneak in some time on the laptop!

Until next time, happy reading and writing.

January update

 

Belated Happy New Year. I cannot believe we are already on the 19th day of January. Christmas seems a long time ago. I'm already reading my fourth book of year, and I've had some good news too. After submitting a piece six months ago to Aayo magazine I received an email on New Year's Day to say they were going to publish it. You can read The Tomorrow Box here.

I have also had another piece of work published with Streetcake ezine. This caused me some problems in formatting and is different to my usual work. Issue 88 can be downloaded for free. My piece, Poetry Sudoku can be read near the end of the magazine.

I had a rejection of a short story with TSS, but I received some very helpful feedback and some lovely comments. They are going to be running some feedback and close reading sessions and I have signed up. I'm sure this will prove helpful.

At the end of the month I will starting a nine week online course with Indie Novella, and speaking of novellas, I've discovered a plot hole in the novella I've currently been editing. Hopefully, I can work that out. I have to say I'm a little stuck on my ending which I am changing from the original. There's still a bit of work to do on this.

I hope to send out more submissions this year as I rather missed doing so much of that last year. Meanwhile, I'm still waiting on replies to my novella submissions last year. I wonder how long one should wait before either querying or trying somewhere else?

My new writing diary is getting some use. and I will try to keep that up.

Until next time, happy reading and writing.

The new academic year and writing

 There is something about September that drives me to think about next steps, a bit like returning to school after the summer holidays. I think, too, that as the days shorten and become chilly, we batten down to things that can be done indoors. In the summer I write less. I am a spring/summer person and want to be out when the weather is good, not stuck in stuffy room writing. When I do write in the summer, it's usually earlier in the morning when the sun is rising. I love sunrises and sunsets, and I love early morning when no one much is around.

So, now we have slipped into October, I feel autumn knocking at the door, and while I love those bright sunny days of autumn with all those beautiful russet colours, I sink into myself when the sun doesn't shine and the skies are grey. I'm even worse when it rains! This is the time to plan. I have signed up for an online workshop in November on writing gothic/ghost stories. I've dabbled a bit with them in the past, but it will be good to get some pointers and advice and spread my wings a little.

Book with new notebook

I have also begun working with the book 52: Write a Poem a Week. Start Now. Keep Going  by Jo Bell. And yesterday was my research day. After having no time (holiday and family stuff) in the last month, I can now begin to devote more time to writing. I spent breakfast time yesterday going through the Mslexia Indie Press Guide and highlighting potential places to send my manuscript. Later that morning, I visited the library and looked through the Writers' & Artists' Yearbook, jotting down things of interest (publishers, agents and websites/blogs) that could be of use to me. Now to narrow things down and actually send my manuscript out!

Research!

While I've been concentrating on a longer piece of work, I have missed submitting. Maybe this is the time to rectify that. I know it's silly because I have worked my socks off this year, but I have so little to show for it in terms of submissions/acceptances. This year was always going to be different, but I didn't realise how much it would impact on any new writing and submissions. I feel so out of the loop.

The one place I have submitted to now and then is Visual Verse, and I was rewarded with having my poem Night Away published there last month. Look under my name (Heather Walker) which is in alphabetical order in the archive. They list it by first names! I think Visual Verse have one more month of publication before the site closes. I shall miss the prompts, as often it is my go-to place to kick-start writing.

Now is the time to lean back on my old faithfuls of poetry and short fiction and get back to submitting. It might start with stutter, but I look forward to getting back into the swing of things.

Books

I chose a book to take on holiday with me, and then started it a few days before I left! With only a quarter of it to go, I had to take a second book with me. The original book was Heartbreak Hotel by Deborah Moggach. This was the follow-up to The Ex-Wives Club, which I didn't realise at the time, but had in fact read. It was a fun book, with lots of romantic encounters as Buffy, retired actor, is left a B&B by a lady friend from the past. The people who come to the courses he has arranged (like car maintenance) pair up. The book is funny and has the feel-good factor. A nice easy read.

The Last White Man by Mohsin Hamid was the other book I took away with me because it was small and easy to pack. I've read a couple by this author before. They are always thought provoking, but often the endings leave me a little unsatisfied. I chose this book for the subject matter, and indeed it was an interesting read. The ending also satisfied! Anders wakes to find his skin has turned brown overnight. He hides, and when he goes out he covers up as much as possible. He hardly recognises himself in the mirror. Eventually he tells his girlfriend and at first she doesn't know how to react. But Anders is not the only one to turn brown. It is happening all over. Suddenly they are treated differently. There are riots. While all this happening Anders is looking after his dying father, while his relationship with his girlfriend deepens. This is an interesting subject on how we treat people not like ourselves. We often make judgements based on colour and race. A satisfying read, one I would recommend.

While I was on holiday, and a friend and I slipped into a bookshop (as you do), I bought Holy Island by LJ Ross. This is the first in a long series of crime novels. It was big and bulky, but I left my other two novels at the hotel, having read both by now. (They had a bookcase just waiting!). Set on Holy Island (Lindisfarne), a girl is murdered, and it looks like a ritual killing. The DCI is on a sabbatical on the island after his last case become personal, and decides now is the time to return. Soon there are two more murders. Is it a serial killer or more than one person? Ramping up the tension was good. With an island where the causeway is only accessible at certain times, makes this an ideal location. (I have been here, and longed to walk across the causeway, but we went by bus!). There are suspects, red herrings, tension. I thought I knew who was involved, but was only partly right. If you like your crime gritty, this is pretty good. Thinking about this book afterwards I did wonder if some of it was believable, but hey, I enjoyed it. The love interest was a little predictable, but most are really. A faced paced page turner. What's not to like?

Oh Dear, Maria by Abigale Ted was a very different read. To start with it's set in Regency times. Maria is married off my her father to Sidney Jackson, a man she had met before but known as Mr King. Maria is temperamental and throws tantrums when she doesn't get her own way. Mr Jackson (as she mostly calls him) is patient and thinks he's married someone unhinged. This is a funny story, but also sad. Maria has been manipulated by others all her life and does not seem to know how to make any decision herself, down to what to wear. She can also faint to order. This comes in handy when she is faced with things she doesn't know or want to deal with. But this has tragic consequences later in the story. The story includes some domestic violence, race and other subjects. Marie is not liked by some for her loud and inappropriate speech. She is still such a girl and has a lot of growing up to do, though she does make some good points on love! It took me a while to get into this book as it's so different to what I normally read, but the humour comes through, as do the attitudes of the time.

Finding my mojo

 

Writing can be an up and down business. I don't really believe in writer's block as such. It's more to do with how you feel, and I certainly don't worry about it. If I'm writing and I get stuck, I'll walk away for a while, maybe move to a different form of writing, like poetry if I'm struggling with fiction, or vice versa. Otherwise I might just leave writing for a while and spend more time reading or doing something else. Eventually something will spark me back to writing again.

I've spent the best part of this year so far on my new novella. Work has been intense since having an editor critique for me. Lots of cut and paste, moving timelines and extra scenes followed before two read-throughs - one on the laptop, the other from a printout of my manuscript. Those edits then had to be fed back into my file copy. I was beginning to find myself separating from the work. I'd read it so many times I was falling out of love with it and I could no longer judge my own writing. I pushed myself to get the edits into my file copy earlier this week, and then couldn't resist a tinker to the ending! Finally, I have sent out my manuscript to a couple of friends for feedback. It's a weight off me.

Free of all that work, what was I to do now? I have lots of work on my laptop that needs editing, stuff I've not looked at in years. There's also a work I started last year (or was it the year before), which I'd mislaid somewhere on my laptop and then found again. I could go back to that. Submissions have plummeted to a record low this year, maybe I should see what I had and which submission windows were open.

It is the latter I did. I went into my flash fiction file and took a look at a few stories I'd written. With some editing I improved them (hopefully). I ended up sending out to three publications, which involved two flash fictions and three poems. It felt good. 

Maybe it was the act of spending so much time on one manuscript that was wearing me down. I felt unproductive, as I had nothing to show for it. That isn't true of course, as I was working really hard. I was just conscious that I wasn't really waiting on subs as there was nothing now to wait on, and it was going to take months before the novella made anymore headway.

I was feeling that I'd lost my mojo, especially as I was struggling to keep positive about the novella. It was time to try other things. One of things was attending a crime writing workshop on Saturday morning in Wimbledon Library. It was good to be around writers again, and the workshop was interesting. Run by two local authors crime writers, Joy Kluver and Biba Pearce, there was an introduction of the type of crime novels one could write from procedural to cosy crime and all else in between. We had go at writing a first scene, then split into two groups with a tutor and shared our writing or notes. There were two further exercises about characters and setting and lots of advice. I think there will be follow up workshops in the future. 

While I enjoyed the workshop, I'm still not sure crime writing is for me, though I love reading it. I do have one crime novel written during a frantic NaNoWriMo event some years ago, but I've not been back to it, and I would need expert advice on some police stuff (I mainly Googled it!). Sometimes I write around the edges of crime, but never full-on crime with all the police procedural stuff. However, I love forensics to the point when I see a police forensics van pass by I get all excited, and I've read quite a few books on the subject. However, I never dismiss the idea of writing any genre.

The the other thing that helped me find my writing mojo was reading the latest copy of Mslexia magazine. I enjoyed an article about indie authors and as always I went to the back pages to see which submission windows are open. This was also helped by the email I received from Robin Houghton with a list of poetry publication deadlines for June. Sometimes things just come together. Hence the submissions already mentioned.

I didn't think I'd be submitting anything this month apart from my poem to Visual Verse, so when I found it had been published I took that as a 100% success rate for the month. I'm going to have change those statistics now. My poem Curtain Call is based on a photo on the website of a cat.

What next? I don't know yet, but at least I've found the excitement in writing again and that's what it's all about.

Are you a seasonal writer?

 

The print out of my manuscript

This blog post is only possible because I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep. It's spring. The weather right now is pretty good, and my social calendar is in overdrive. So, when do I have time to write?

The fact is I'm more a bad weather writer. This time of year my work rate drops. Instead, you'll find me out more than in, and when I am in that's in the garden with a book or gardening. This is my favourite time of year. Long days, more light and hopefully sunshine and warmth. I need them. In a former life I think I was a reptile, because as soon as there is a hint of warmth in the sun I'm on my bench by the back door soaking in the rays. 

Bad weather, especially the cold, and especially those grey, blanket-cloud days bring me down. To help, I write. I get far more writing done in the winter or drab autumn days. So unless I get going early in the morning in summer, before it's warm enough to sit outside or go out somewhere, writing is doomed.

So, what is happening with the novella, I hear you ask (or not!). Well, I have finished the next stage of edits, added the tweaks necessary after my location visit to Peterborough last month. Then one morning early (see?) I actually printed out all the pages. I am now too busy to do the print edit! Well, at least for the next couple of weeks. This might not be a bad thing as the story needs to settle. My intention then is to go find a quiet place, somewhere away from the house - maybe a cafe or riverside - and begin reading through it.

Due to working on the novella and my busy social life, submissions are at their lowest. I've just about scraped one a month recently. That's hardly likely to up my success rates. The more you submit the more chances you have of something being accepted. I knew this would be a lean year after the madness of last year, but part of that is just down to me However, this novella has been the main project of the year so far, and I've had to concentrate on that. I have other things waiting in the wings to edit, but I'm guessing they might have to wait until winter!

So, my question is, do you have a season for your writing? Or is it just me? 

A new publication

Well, here we are in October. I have been busy with submiting, including two different novellas. I clocked up six submissions for September. I have had a poem accepted for publication in January. This was a poem unplaced in a competition. I immediately sent it elsewhere and had a reply in record time! Impressive.

I am currently working on two poetry pamphlets for submission later this month, and I am about to sign up for another poetry course with Julia Webb whose feedback is always helpful and insightful.

Meanwhile, I tackled the minefield of Amazon KDP (no tears this time, just frustration and several stepping back times) to publish The Chair. This was the first ever novella I ever wrote. Here is a family secret from the past that compels Tom (main character) to find answers. It touches on the paranormal. I have to admit I loved writing Viola, the girlfriend of Tom's cousin Kyle.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BGX6SMR4

What have I been doing?

Blooming May by the River Thames

Sometimes I really have to think about what I have spent the last few weeks doing. A friend said to me recently that I have such wide interests. That is true, and can mean that my concentration wavers. Trying to fit in all my passions can end up with me not giving enough attention to one thing. In the past I definitely used to get waylaid by any new obsession. Those things that held my attention enough I would eventually come back to. Those things are music, reading and writing. I was also good at starting things and not finishing them. I have tried hard over the years to change this, and to a great extent I have achieved this. But I do have a 'waiting list' of things I want to do, but as yet cannot give enough time to.

One of my more recent obsessions was online courses. I would sign up for free courses on FutureLearn or OpenLearn and realise I had too many on the go at once. When it comes to writing, I have amassed rather a lot of work that needs editing. I try not to have two things on the go at once (I don't count poetry as that is a nice side distraction when I get stuck with other writing, or I just have the need to write it). I find it hard to switch between editing one document whist writing another. Too many characters and storylines to contend with. Do others have this problem?

Recently, I have been reading feedback on a novella I have written. It is out for more feedback now as an issue arose and I need to know it that's one opinion or me! I need more beta readers, that's for sure, and that should be my next priority.

Having started off well with my submitting earlier in the year, I can feel myself flagging. I have reached my goal each month, but I have to push myself. I do think having the right frame of mind helps and I seem to be having a lull in enthusiasm right now. Instead, I have been on a reading frenzy, and getting round to finishing those half read books that have been lingering on my coffee table. These are non-fiction. Last year I began reading a book on Victorian England and abandoned it for fiction. I got back into it a few weeks ago and have really enjoyed it. I bought it for reference purposes really as I have written something set in the Victorian age (it needs editing, of course!) and this book has been helpful. Another book came my way about musical history, and having read that, it sent me back to another book I abandoned on Early Music. Several years ago, I attended a course at Morley College on Early Music,  but the course was cancelled after only two lessons.There were only three of us in class. I was pretty cheesed off (for once it was not me giving up!). I particularly loved learning about how music began and the simple way of writing music. One of my great regrets is that I cannot seem to learn to read music (I have tried several times).

I have finally heard from The People's Friend that they are taking a poem of mine for their Fireside Book 2023. I'd given up on this as I was told I'd hear by March. I think this poem has been with them now for a year. Still, Visual Verse published another of my poems last month. There are 18 pieces of my work on their website, but I know there are more. One year I was published by them every month. I still enjoy the challenge of writing to a picture prompt within the hour.

My writing has taken on a darker and more weird (surrealist?) flavour in recent weeks. I've been writing a lot of flash fiction in this style. The more I write flash fiction, the more I enjoy it. It's a bit like knitting on large needles, you have a finished item quickly!

So, what keeps you motivated to write and what takes you away from it? Here is my lineup. 

Distractions/not want to write:

• Mood
• Sunshine (I don't want to be indoors when the weather is good)
• Trips out (for content for my travel blog!)
• Rejections
• Other interests

What motivates me:

• Mood
• Ideas
• Acceptances
• Writing buddies
• Certain friends
• Workshops/courses
• Trips out

As you can see a couple of things appear in both lists. What never bothers me is writer's block or lack of ideas. Sometimes I get overwhelmed by how much writing I have and how little of it has been published, and how little of it I've just not got round to editing! I love the writing process, but it takes time to edit. What do you struggle with?

To end with, here is a little challenge (no prizes, sorry!). Write a piece of flash fiction or a poem using all the following words (the order doesn't matter, unless you want to make it harder!):

clock

envelope

rhythm

sneering

slide

egg

Good luck! If you want to post your efforts into comments, do, but please be aware that anything published here would not be eligible for submission to magazines or competitions as they would consider it already published.

Slow down March

 After a frantic February, March has been the opposite so far. But of course that kind of activity with  four pieces published doesn't last. But it isn't all about acceptances. My output is still the same. Somehow I am keeping to my goal, though I do admit it seems to get harder each month. 

Since I began using my planner at the start of the year, I have realised two things (a) I put pressure on myself (b) using the book motivates me. There are lots in the planner that I don't use. There are places to enter rewards for getting things done. I don't use these. Rewards are for the tough stuff in my life, and when that happened recently, it had nothing to do with writing! I have always mentally set up rewards for things I know are going to be difficult to get through, anyway. Colour coding different areas of my life seemed like fun in the beginning, but I soon got bored with it. However, there are pages at the end of each month with questions about how the month has gone. I do find those useful. The planner also helps me keep on track of goals set and nudges me into keeping things going.

Finding outlets for work can be time consuming. In my last post I mentioned two sources for finding publications accepting work, and for up and coming competitions. Another source I have found useful is Twitter. At least two publications I have submitted to this month have come from Twitter. The thing is, so many publications close down, other submissions windows aren't open. Often I find their 'wants' obscure, or the genre doesn't fit mine. By the time I have eliminated all the publications that I don't 'fit' (and that can also include age, culture and sexual orientation) all those magazines I'd highlighted are whittled down to just two or three at best. Which is why I find Twitter so good. Often I find magazines I have not seen on any list. You really have to do your work.

My current work in progress is going slowly. With this one there is a certain amount of planning,  but each scene needs thought. My way of working this one is to visualise each scene in my head first. Notes are then made before writing. Because I don't want revels to come too quickly, I need to work out when and how things are revealed. I am sure lots of writers know when they start a piece what length it is going to be. Me? No! I start writing with enthusiasm and see how much it has in it and whether it is just a short story or maybe, my favourite, a novella. In the past, I have changed a poem to a flash or short story and vice versa. A work will often shout out at you about what it wants to be. If unsure, just experiment with other forms.

At present I am laid low with a rotten cold. Reluctantly, I have had to cancel a couple of things, but I am able to write. My imagination is still functioning and I've banged out a few poems, and last night when I was in bed I played out the next scene of my WIP. Not the entire scene because I fell asleep, but enough to get me started. I always say that I know when I'm on the mend because I start to get bored and want to get out and about and do things. I'm not there yet, but at least I can write.

I have heard back from my beta reader. She is half way through the first read of my novella (she says the first read is always for the enjoyment). Her second read through will bring up points she doesn't understand, or don't work for her, as well any grammar and punctuation errors. She has only made one comment so far about one thing that 'sticks out'. Is that good or bad? I will have to wait and see.

One last thing I would mention is that the more submissions you have out there, the less likely you are to ponder over what you have sent. It stops that waiting around for replies with a sinking feeling! Just get on and submit, and if a 'no' comes, look at it again, make any changes that might improve the work and re-submit elsewhere. Good luck. Keep writing.

Finding resources and writing horror

A comfort break from the webinar

Good morning (well, it is while I'm writing this). Here we are in the second week of January and I am getting to grips with my writing goals. Having the 'Legend Planner' is helping me stick to my monthly goals. I have submitted to three publications already (two short stories and two poems), and I have a fourth lined up, but I have to wait for the submission window to open later in the week.

I completed my piece of short fiction before the end of last year, and it is now sitting before I attempt a first edit. Written in small sections and not in order, I might have to tweak how this run. I've not been back to the other piece of fiction I was writing yet as I'd forgotten how long it takes to find a relevant piece and a relevant publication to submit too! I have, however, edited a couple of stories.

When working on my writing I tend to start in the morning and finish at lunchtime or before, depending on what I am doing. My brain works better that way.

How many of you have heard of Reedsy? I came across them last year when I was taking a course on how to self-publish. I subscribed to the email posts, but recently I have been looking at all the things they do, and in today's email I see they have a name generator, book title generator and a plot generator. Now that sounds fun. There is much more, like weekly prompts and a short story contest, and Apps for writing. I think I need to take a closer look at some of these. I note there is a formatting App, but having scanned through quickly, I haven't yet seen the advantage of this. KDP have their own formatting template which I was happy with. Maybe if you publish elsewhere it might me useful. But if you use this App, or others and can shed light on it/them do leave a comment.

Likewise, if you use other resources that you would recommend, please feel free to comment on those too. I am sure there are loads of things out there I don't know about.

On Saturday I took part in a three hour webinar on How to Write Horror, through Writers Online. I signed up out of curiosity and to expand my horizons. I found it very interesting, especially the sub categories. Horror isn't something I have ever considered writing. I have visions of those awful films I won't watch like Saw. I'm not into gore. However, I have written around the edges with ghost and gothic. These seem to be sub genres of horror. The webinar looked at forming characters and we used images of people to answer questionnaires about the protagonist and antagonist. There was an exercise on atmosphere and another picture prompt for an item before trying to write a scene. People shared. I didn't because a) I know so little about horror (and the monster picture prompts did nothing for me!) and b) it took me too long to form any scenes. Others obviously watch and read horror, so I was the oddball. Fair enough, I'm happy with that!

I found it enlightening, and it did help me establish what I would feel comfortable writing, which was a bit more than I expected. My out and out horror writing is slasher and extreme horror, so no gore from me. But if you want frightening, I might just be able to do that.

So, that my friends, is my round-up of the week. Do leave any comments about anything I have said and we will catch up again soon.

Year Review

I didn't think I would bother reviewing my output, sucesses and failures from last year, but sometimes it does help to get things into perspective.

Last year I only submitted to publications that I like/read, or felt I had something that fitted a competition/theme. It was less random. What my list shows is that I submitted far more poetry than anything else. Here is a breakdown:

Poems submitted           31 - Three have been published, one is about to be, and two I am still waiting                                                    on.

Flash submitted              7 - Three were published.

Short stories submitted  5 - One was highly commended and may appear in a future Anthology.

Pamplet submissions     2

Novel in flash                1

The poetry and flash are all (except for one) published by either Visual Verse or Paragraph Planet. I had one other poem published but the acceptance came the year before! The People's Friend work so far in advance that I forget about them once I've had the acceptance, as it can be six months or more before publication. The two waiting poems are at The People's Friend for (hopeful) publication at the end of this year!

Last year I also got three projects completed - my year of poems, and two novellas that I had been struggling to finish. I also wrote my first novel in flash, and took two online poetry courses, and a poetry prompt challenge. 

As for this year, I don't have any plans or projects in the pipeline, apart from learning about self-publishing. Also there is certainly a lot of editing I could do with the novellas. For now I am taking a break as I had a full-on December to get my Christmas based novella finally completed after about three years. Never has so few words taken so long!