Heaven Can Wait

I know it's been ages...life (editing, wedding planning, looking for work) has yet again got in the way of blogging.

But I couldn't let today go by without marking this exciting occasion - Cally Taylor, writer, full-time worker and blogger extraordinaire has had her debut novel Heaven Can Wait published today.

Cally's blog was one of the first writing blogs that I came across. Not only is she a talented and dedicated writer (she wrote Heaven Can Wait while holding down a demanding full-time job and has had tons of short stories published) but she has a great attitude towards life and writing. I've learned a lot from her blog posts about the realities of being a writer and getting published.

Heaven Can Wait is available from Amazon and other bookshops from today. I can guarantee that you won't be disappointed - she is a great writer. She's running a competition on her website where you can win plenty of goodies and a signed copy of her book here.

Congratulations Cally!

Work

Once I sent out my first novel for review I did a lot of work on my second - read some "How to" books, interviewed my characters, played around with a premise - it was all systems go.

But then I heard that my contract at work is more than likely going to end in six weeks. I had heard rumours for a while so the official news wasn't a big shock, but it did make me realise that I had to pull my socks up and apply for some jobs.

Fingers crossed I'll find something soon, but until then the job hunt has trumped writing. And I'm in no hurry to get my editorial review back either!

Writer's Workshop

I sent my manuscript to the Writer's Workshop, mainly because the report is followed up by a phone call with the editor. They also accept manuscripts by email and payment by credit card (handy if you're an overseas client like me). My little book is now with them and I'm feeling a little nervous for it. Good luck book!

I'm re-reading my "How to" books and just enjoying the anticipation.

Out With the Old and In With the New

For the last few days I've been able to lounge on the sofa and watch tv without a nagging guilt weighing down on me. It's a complete relief to have finished my edit!

Thank you for your editorial consultancy suggestions, my shortlist is the Writer's Workshop, Hilary Johnson's Advisory Service and the Literary Consultancy. I've sent out a few query emails so as soon as I hear back I'll submit my ms for an honest appraisal. I'm nervous for my little book that could...

I started work on my second novel yesterday, choosing the characters' names, putting together a rough outline and so on. It never feels like work or effort at this point, it's just pure creativity and it feels wonderful. I downloaded yWriter and I've already fallen in love with its fantastic tracking and chunking facilities - for example you can rate each scene for tension and then see the rise and fall of your novel in a handy graph, or make a note of your deadlines for each stage and keep track of the daily word count needed to meet those deadlines. Even better it's free!

I've given myself a month to work on the characters and outline the novel, which is a little daunting as I only have a few scenes in my mind at the moment but I'm sure as I keep plotting and researching it will all come together.

Finally Finishing and Editorial Consultancies

A lot has happened since my last blog post, all those weeks ago.

First, I got engaged. Yes, The Ours and I have decided to do the grown-up thing and get married. Gulp. Does that mean I have to start listening to classical music and take up golf? But like true kidults we're thinking of getting a lego bride and groom for our cake topper. We're getting married in February on our ten year anniversary, just a small ceremony in a registry office, followed by a slap-up meal in our favourite restaurant and a party in a pub after.

I took advantage of my unexpected euphoria about the whole thing and shelved the novel for three weeks to concentrate on wedding planning. In that time we booked all the venues, asked the bridesmaid and best man, decided on the invites and got the save the date cards printed...and I loved every minute of it. I never imagined I'd be such a willing bride. Let's hope I don't cross the line into Bridezilla-hood.

Second, I started on my editing again. Being a technical edit there was very little creativity involved, just cold-hearted cuts and teacher-like red pen wielding. I'm not ashamed to say that between this painful process, working full-time and wedding/honeymoon planning, I became a little worn out. My social life suffered and people began mistaking me for a zombie.

So amongst other things I decided to stop blogging. For me blogging is a community thing. I feel guilty reading other people's blog posts without commenting, or when other bloggers take the time to visit my blog and I don't return the favour. I need to give it my full attention, maybe just for fifteen minutes a day...but I couldn't spare fifteen minutes. I was desperate to finish this edit, format the entire novel, and start on my second book. I felt it had dragged on too long.

There were several stories that needed more work than anticipated (aren't there always) so it took longer than I hoped. But I hit a lucky streak at the end and finished at 11 o'clock last at night. It felt brilliant to finally get it done. I'm going to take a short break and then start work on my second.

Until then, I'm looking for an editorial consultancy and I was hoping that you could help me. I really want to use someone who comes recommended, as it's a good chunk of money to hand over at one time. Any ideas?

P.S. It's great to be back. I missed you.

Books, Mslexia and Westport

Since my last post I've been keeping very busy. My most recent book splurge arrived a whole two weeks earlier than Amazon's delivery estimate - perhaps these dates are just plucked from the air? But I couldn't complain as I am now the proud owner of the following books:

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Browne & King (which I'm reading and making notes on at the moment, so far it's excellent);

Write Right! by Jan Venolia; and

The Elements of Style by Strunk & White.

I also subscribed to Mslexia magazine which I received last week - and I already can't believe that I survived without it. It is chock full of tips, interviews, case studies and competitions to help even the most budding of writers out of her shell. The Mslexia diary is packed with even more goodies. I am officially a Mslexia evangelist!

The Ours and I took a break from work to celebrate our nine year anniversary. Thursday we had lunch at Chapter One and then watched Slumdog Millionaire, and on Friday we travelled to Westport in Co. Mayo to spend the weekend in a lovely hotel and spa. The weather may have been too changeable to get much sightseeing done but the soft rain made the outdoor heated rockpool even more enjoyable. It was a fantastic weekend.

Getting Ideas

I have roughly two weeks before my grammar books arrive, therefore I've decided to start thinking about my second book. Problem is - I have no idea what it should be about!

If I wait for inspiration to strike it may never be written, so I bought a notepad from Paperchase today (and a ton of differently coloured pens...yay!) and started to make notes. I know I have some ideas bubbling under the surface, I just need to start digging. I've begun by listing the things I've gone through and am familiar with (write what you know) and the themes and issues that I'm interested in (write what you want to know).

The plan is that, once I've come up with a decent list of themes to play with, I'll pick a few and then ask myself - what if? Perhaps I'll be able to link different themes through this question, or ideas will just form from these thoughts alone. Then I'll do some freewriting on each.

Hopefully out of the freewriting some characters, plots and premises will emerge. I'd like to start with short stories to get a feel for the story before committing to an entire novel on one idea.

This may come across as a little cold and calculated for such a creative process, and perhaps it is - but I'm just hoping that it will give my inspiration a little shove in the right direction! And who knows, once I start concentrating my thoughts on book two the ideas might start popping into my head on their own, so I'm making sure to keep my ideas pad with me at all times. I'm willing to write anything and everything down, even if it seems ridiculous...

How do you come up with ideas? Do they just come to you, fully formed, or do you have a process? Do you mainly get your inspiration from themes or characters?

Finito Baybee!

Well I've been off-line again, but for good reason - I finally completed the second draft of my novel today!

The last story was the hardest of all because I had to rewrite it from scratch, then edit the hell out of it, but it was worth the effort because I'm finally happy with it.

I've ordered a few punctuation and grammar books from Amazon for my technical edit - I'll format the entire manuscript into one document, print it out and go through each story several times, checking spelling, grammar, punctuation and any errors like repetitions, name confusion and so on. So I'll need to visit Easons for different coloured pens - cue stationery porn!

Then I'll post it off to an editorial consultancy...eek.

Unblocked

The post about my stickness did the trick - when I sat down with my ms that same evening the block had disappeared and my mind was teeming with ideas. Then yesterday I finished the paper edit.

Now comes the part I'm dreading - I'm planning so many changes that I'll be lucky if I get to use any of what I wrote before. This happened a few times earlier in the edit, but I (stooopidly) thought that my last story would go smoother, because hey, it's the last story right? Damn this writing lark.

Anyway I was going to start The Big Rewrite tonight but instead I'm packing for my weekend to London baybee! I'm going to put the book firmly out of my mind and just enjoy myself.

Have a great one whatever you're doing!

Teaching me a lesson

I'm well and truly stuck on this story. So stuck in fact that I'm posting that I'm stuck, which inevitably unsticks the stuckness.

The main reason I'm stuck is because this story, aka The Last One, is the pits. Here's me thinking editing and rewriting was getting easier, but in actual fact my stories were a little easier to work on. Alright, I had to rewrite 90% of the last three stories, but I had a solid foundation of premise, characters and motivations to build on.

I realised on Friday evening that not only had I made a hash of showing/telling (which came naturally to me when writing the first draft, so no surprises there) but the plot was thin, the characters were two-dimensional and the premise, while something that still grips me, cannot work within the current story.

I've picked it up several times since then but nothing doing. So I am posting this in hope that my muse comes back from her hollibobs or gets better from the flu or whatever is keeping her from my side.

Or perhaps she is staying away to show me that, despite my recent hopes of the opposite, that writing is and will remain hard work so I'd better show it the respect and time it deserves. Which means an hour or two in a quiet room with no television, laptop or music to distract me. More fool me for thinking I could do it any other way.

Today, repeat

After I shoved my naked goals for the year into the limelight for all to see, their bare knees knocking in fright, the gods of fate responded with a big boot up the arse for tempting them so blatantly.

I spent last Monday at work narking about how tired I felt to everyone unlucky to be in earwigging distance. When I wasn't whining to others I was berating myself for not getting enough writing done. At home I felt too tired and sad to do anything but watch television. Oh, how I wished I was back at home full-time again!

The next day I got my wish, albeit temporarily. I spent the next 48 hours being violently sick. The next 48 hours I was too worn out to leave the flat. I had absolutely no work to do, was too bored even to watch day-time tv, but still the words did not appear on the page.

Yesterday I went back to work with almost a spring in my step. I had a laugh with my coworkers and had a stroll in the sunshine at lunch. At home I sat down and got some writing done. Today, repeat.

2009

Happy new year everyone! Thank you for all your comments and support in the last year. Finding you all has been one of the best experiences of writing this novel.

My plans for 2009:

1. Finish the second draft of my novel
2. Brush up on English grammar/syntax/punctuation rules
3. Do a grammar/syntax/punctuation edit on my manuscript
4. Find a good editorial consultancy (preferably an Irish one) and send in my ms
5. Start the first draft of my second novel (better get an idea first!)
6. Accept the criticism from the editor with good grace without having a conniption fit first
7. Rewrite the manuscript of the first novel, taking the editor's comments into account
8. Submit final draft to agents/publishers

Just looking at that list exhausts me...

I'm hoping that these new steps will motivate me to post more, so please don't give up on me. I'll be counting on your help and support while I try to navigate this bewildering, fascinating and terrifying path that will hopefully lead to a published novel!

Amateur Night

So it took me longer to finish than I anticipated but at least the ninth story is done...just one more story to go.

Christmas was great, too great, as I completely overdid it in the food and wine department and have had nasty stomach cramps ever since. This never used to happen when I was in my twenties. I could eat and drink my own body weight, have a sleep in, and then repeat. My body can't keep up but sadly my mind still thinks it can.

I'm feeling better today though, just in time for New Year's Eve. Am I the only one who is left a little cold by it? I think it was Hugh Hefner who said it was amateurs’ night, and by God that man knows a thing or two about having a good time. (Get your mind out of the gutter.) The entrance fee charged by every pub is insult enough, but the scrum of bodies is enough to turn this five-foot-nothing short-arse into a nervous wreck. It's like restaurants on Valentine's day - which come to think of it is amateur night for couples.

When I was in my twenties I wouldn't have thought twice of paying for the privilege of drinking in a furniture-less, sticky-floored, BO-humming pub on New Year's eve, and then limping home for ten miles in my heels in the freezing cold because no taxis could be had. Nope, my friends and I will be safely holed up in a pub ten minutes walk from our flat. Actually fifteen minutes with a stop at the local chippers. Ah, the wisdom of old age.

Merry Christmas

The presents are wrapped and under the tree. The Christmas food and wine is chilling in the fridge. Tomorrow The Ours and I will be packing it all into a suitcase to spend Christmas at poorly Paddington's house, but now we're reclining on the sofa and watching Elf.

Merry Christmas everyone, whatever you're up to!

Mush

I arrived home from work at half past five. I had a committee meeting (yep, I'm a control freak) at seven o'clock. I'll just do a few hundred words, I thought. It's better than nothing.

By a quarter to six I did a word count and was amazed. 1800 words rewritten! I am now only a few hundred words away from finishing my ninth story. (I didn't finish it as I'm still not 100% sure how it should end - a night's sleep should sort that out.) It's just the momentum of finishing a story - there's always a point where it all falls into place.

The meeting finished off my already mushy brain so I'm only good for watching tv. Hope you are all enjoying the festive season.

Relax

I shouted: "Fuck!" as my alarm clock winked 10:00.

The Ours reminded me that it was Saturday. I folded back into bed as the three day hangover hit.

On Wednesday my parents sent me flowers and champagne at work, an early birthday present. At home I arranged the flowers and drained the champagne bottle.

On Thursday The Ours took me to The Cellar restaurant for my birthday. With the delicious dinner came wine...

Last night was at my work Christmas party. I'll just stop there.

I don't think I'm going to finish my novel by the end of the year. I'm a little disappointed, but I had forgotten that December is such a crazy month. I'm happy with the amount of writing I'm doing when I get to it though, usually 800-1000 words a night, but that's not every night. When I was at home all I could think about was writing. Now there are so many things competing for my attention.

I'm writing this as I watch Saturday Kitchen from my bed. The Ours made me a breakfast roll and I'm sipping Barry's tea. It's the first day in ages where I haven't felt like I have a million things to do. I still have them in mind but I don't care. It was a topic of discussion last night; how we all feel guilty for spending a day doing nothing, even though sometimes it's necessary after a long week of work, Christmas shopping and the million other things on the never-ending to do list.

Therefore I wish all of you a day of relaxation and rest. Even if you're frantic, stop for five minutes and have a cup of tea/coffee/wine on me. You deserve it.

Homepages

I'm very chuffed today - a (very!) short story I wrote has been published in Homepages, the proceeds of which are going to a worthy charity. Here's what the organiser, editor, proofreader and all-round Superwoman Catherine Brodigan has to say about it:

Homepages is a unique collection of stories and photographs, the first of its kind in Ireland. The nation's best bloggers hold forth on the theme of "home", covering everything from pets and expat life to parenting and the Kellogg's Variety Pack. By turns hilarious, heartbreaking and thought-provoking, it promises a captivating read and showcases some of Ireland's best undiscovered writing talent. All proceeds from the sale of each book, compiled on an entirely voluntary basis, go directly to Focus Ireland, who provide services and support for people who are homeless across Ireland.

The book is now on sale for €14 via Lulu on a print-on-demand basis. You can order your copy here.

In other news I haven't been blogging because I'm trying to finish my novel by the end of the year - easier said than done, but I'm determined to get it done and dusted as soon as I can.

Wine

Wrote 700 words at lunchtime today, too knackered to do any more after copious amounts of wine was had last night.

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend.

Blogger Lethargy

I'm suffering from both lack of time and blogger lethargy, so just a quick one to say that I finally sent the scarves out today! Expect them very soon ladies.

Also I've finished the paper edit of story number nine. I'm actually getting a lot done during my lunch break which I never thought would happen. The rewrite starts tomorrow!

Range II

Back home with a bump last night, Dublin is freezing! I walked to and from work today and my bones are still frozen solid. My liver isn't feeling the Mae West. The floor is littered with gaping suitcases and unwashed clothes, and I can hardly hear the tv over the washing machine taking off.

But I am determined to get some writing done...

Honest...