Angeline Trevena

Sculpting a Story

2012-01-08T20:53:00.001Z

Yes, I'm behind. I should have hit 8,000 words today, but I've only just passed 4,000. Life kind of got in the way. Still, there's 92 days to go and plenty of time to catch up.

When I started 100k in 100 Days I had every intention of re-writing my NaNoWriMo novel, but ended up being seduced by the idea of writing somethng new. Only thing was, I didn't know what.

My collection of words includes the starting paragraphs of two different stories before hitting on the one I'm actually writing now. I quickly created some characters and just started writing, with absolutely no idea where I was going. Not only was I in the middle of a literary maze without a map, but I was stumbling around in the dark too.

Writing like that doesn't worry me too much. I'm not a planner, I never have been, so I'm quite used to stumbling around that hedge maze. But finally, some ideas are starting to take shape in my head, and my characters seem to be actually heading somewhere rather than just milling around the story waiting for me to tell them what to do. It's quite exciting watching it slowly solidify. I can't wait to see where it goes to.

Insecure Writer's Support Group

2012-01-04T08:00:00.002Z

Anyone who follows this blog will know that I hate editing. I am one of those people who get a rush from creating something brand new; creating characters, dreaming up a world for them, pushing them around the story.

Over the next few months I'm taking part in the 100k in 100 Days challenge. I decided to do this with totally good intentions of re-writing my NaNoWriMo novel from November. I printed it all out, gathered it together in a smart folder, sat down at my computer and then did nothing.

I had no motivation whatsoever for the re-write. Not just a bit of procrastinating or laziness, but a complete, total and utter lack of desire. It's not that I don't like the story, I love it, and I know it could be a great book. But all I wanted to do was write something new. So I did.

The trouble is, I just know that if I write something new, I'll end up with yet another 1st draft that never gets edited. My life is full of 1st drafts, but I still keep chasing the excitement of that new story.

100k in 100 Days

2012-01-01T12:15:00.004Z

Today is the start of Sally Quilford's 100k in 100 days challenge. The event runs from January 1st to April 9th and challenges entrants to write 100,000 words over those 100 days. A mere 1,000 words each day.

You can find out more and sign up on Sally's Blog or the Facebook Event page.

While this challenge is a lower daily target than NaNoWriMo, it's a challenge to really test a writer's stamina. Every single day for 100 days. Right up through to April. When you think about it, it's actually quite a mountain to climb, and right now I'm stood at the very bottom just packing my sandwiches.

You can follow my progress over the next 100 days by checking my little progress bar on the left. Who else is taking part? I think we're going to need each other's support over the next few months!

Change Your Point of View

2011-12-31T16:21:00.001Z

I'm currently writing a gothic horror short story and, although I love reading the genre, I found it really quite difficult to write. For some reason I just kept hitting block after block, sometimes only managing a couple of sentences in an hour. Something was going horribly wrong, and I couldn't figure out what.

Then this morning I was lying in bed and I had a brainwave. I ran upstairs and grabbed all my gothic horror novels and flicked through them. 1st person point of view. Mine; 3rd person.

It's amazing what a change it's made; my fingers are on fire now and I've made fantastic progress. It's fascinating what a difference you can make by just changing your point of view.

I think this is also a poignant thing to think about on New Year's Eve. A lot of people have been writing some fab and inspiring posts about moving into 2012, so I feel I should touch on it too. 2011 has been rather a bad year for me. I have loads to be grateful for, but it's generally been a struggle. I'm looking forward to making a lot of changes in 2012, including changing my point of view.

I really do believe that you only get out of life what you put into it and that you make your own luck. Sometimes it might feel like the world's conspiring against you, but instead of running away, try changing your point of view, turning around, and staring it in the face.

Blog Award

2011-12-29T14:26:00.000Z

Taylor Roseberry, a fellow speculative fiction writer, has given me the Liebster Blog Award (thank you Taylor!) You can check out her blog at www.taylyeerose.com

On receiving this blog award I now need to pass it on to another 5 bloggers. So here are 5 great blogs for you to go and check out:

My very good friend Sally has a craft and cake-making blog, which also has gorgeous pictures of her new puppies too.
Misha is a fantasy writer and blogs about writing. We also did some great NaNoWriMo word wars on Twitter together this year.
My third award goes to another fantasy writer; Nicole. She writes an interesting and varied blog, and as a child used to sneak out of bed to read - just like I did!
Sophie is a writer who has only recently started blogging, so go and give her some support.
And last, but not least, is Miss Cole who writes great posts packed with inspiring photos.

So enjoy checking out these blogs, some that will be new to you and others that may be familiar. I'm off to try and get a story out of me. Weirdly enough, whenever I think about writing this piece I'm full of get-up-and-go, but as soon as my hands touch the keyboard it's like getting blood out of a stone. Whew! I will get it done...I will!

National Short Story Day

2011-12-22T16:10:00.000Z

It wasn't until this year that I had even considered the idea of writing short stories. I've always wanted to be a novelist, but I have a real struggle with keeping hold of my motivation. So short stories seem like the perfect solution.

I certainly was right about one thing. I am a novelist and I had to learn an entire new set of skills to be able to write short stories. When you set out writing a novel, it's hard to keep it under 5,000 words. There's no time to gently introduce your world, or to slowly develop your characters or gradually unwrap the plot. It's more instantaneous: you have to be much more giving to your reader, more open, more honest.

Playing to your reader's expectations is also useful. I'm not saying to write cliches or stereotypes, but being able to quickly establish place, time and mood with just a few instantly recognisable signifiers is a handy trick. Characters need to already know who they are; there's little time for wavering between decisions. Editing is truly brutal. Everything has to go unless it's truly vital. You need to strike up a love affair with that big red editing pen of yours.

You can find out more about National Short Story Day here: www.nationalshortstoryday.co.uk

And you can read mine and many other short stories in the Mirador Fantasmagoria anthology.

Déjà Vu Blogfest

2011-12-16T08:00:00.000Z

Today is the Déjà vu blogfest hosted by Nicole Ducleroir over on her One Significant Moment at a Time blog. The idea of the blogfest is for participants to 're-post their favorite blog offering, or one that never received the exposure it should have.'

And so, here's my resurrected post:

The Characters of Characters (and how they influence their world)

It is actually through my work in theatre where I learned the true importance of character. A theatre practitioner, called Konstantin Stanislavski (1863 - 1938), taught a style of acting known as 'method acting'. Part of this was to know your character inside out. Stanislavski taught that, in order to portray your character truthfully, you must know them as well as you know yourself. Therefore, even if it had no importance in the play, you should know everything - where they grew up, how they voted in the last election, the name of their first love, what they had for breakfast that morning. Everything.

And it is important to remember that people are not 2-dimensional. They have the capability to be anything. People are kind as well as cruel, giving as well as selfish, honest and deceitful, modest and arrogant. A protagonist can be violent, an antagonist can be merciful.

When writing, I always let my characters lead the way. I create the characters through the narrative, pushing them this way and that, leading them through the plot. But as they become more rounded, fuller - more human if you like - they take over; it is their characters that drive the plot, not the plot that drives the characters.

It is then that the real fun begins. When I throw situations and conflicts at my characters, I have no idea how they are going to react, what they will do, how things will resolve. But in our own lives, do we really know how we will react in any given situation? Not usually. Not until we're stood in the middle of it. So why should our characters be any different?

Characters are not only capable of manipulating plot, but they are capable of re-writing it entirely. I have had characters change the entire genre of a piece, fall in love unexpectedly, prove themselves braver than I had anticipated, or more vicious. They have done things I hadn't even imagined, and they have taken me along for the ride every time. That's why I write. And that's why I love doing it.

Bah Humbug! Blahgfest

2011-12-15T08:00:00.001Z

Today is the Bah Humbug! Blahgfest hosted by Grumpy Bulldog. This is a blogfest that lets you embrace your inner Scrooge and list the 12 things you hate most about Christmas. So here's my list:

Crowds. With the snug gloves, roasted chestnuts and Salvation Army Band, Christmas shopping would be lovely if it wasn't for one thing; everyone else.
Songs. Even though no one's written a decent Christmas song in the last 10 years, they still bring out new albums every year with the exact same songlist on it as every year previously.
Stupid decorations that have nothing to do with Christmas. Like shoes to hang on your Christmas tree, or butterflies, or peacocks.
Outdoor lights. Expensive. Distracting to drivers. Generally annoying.
Giant outdoor Christmas statues. 8ft Santa? P*** off!
Musical and moving decorations. And the people that set them off in shops.
Decorations depicting Santa Claus in a train, or a hot air balloon, or an aeroplane. Seriously? When did he ditch the traditional sleigh?
E-cards. Please don't fill up my inbox with pictures of dancing snowmen or skiing penguins. If you can't be bothered to send cards that's fine, but I'd rather have nothing than an e-card.
People who make their own cards. If you have the time to do that, you need to get out more.
People who finish their Christmas shopping really early and are then really, really smug about it.
Mince pies. I don't like mince pies which means I end up going hungry at every single Christmas get-together and event I go to. Why is everyone in the world expected to like mince pies?
People who sign their cards from them and their pets.

Head Vs Heart: Help Me Out Here!

2011-12-10T13:49:00.000Z

I didn't finish my NaNoWriMo novel in November. I hit the 50k, but the story wasn't finished. It still isn't. The trouble was that at around 40k one of my minor characters dropped an unexpected bombshell. A huge bombshell. It's entirely changed the direction of the novel and has a huge impact on what came before it.

So now, the 2nd draft is nagging at me. Everything needs changing; plot, characters, relationships. It's going to become quite a different novel with this bombshell. So my question is this. Can I start on the 2nd draft before finishing the 1st one?

My head tells me it's the sensible thing to do; why continue with a novel which needs so much re-jigging? But my heart says I should finish the 1st draft first, just because, well, just because I should. What do you think?

Hitting the Flaw

2011-12-03T14:13:00.000Z

Nobody's perfect, right? That's not only true in life, but it has to reflect in your writing too. Everyone has a weakness, a fear, a distraction; something that prevents them from accomplishing their goal in chapter one. Whether it's a character flaw, a physical disability, or just not being in posession of all the facts.

Not only is your character's flaw important for making your story last longer than 500 words, but it's also what makes them human. And it's that human element, that vulnerability, that helps your reader to empathise, to care, to fall in love with them. (This still counts for non-human characters; without a sense of humanity, your readers won't be able to relate to them.)

A character's flaw is also the means by which they get away with doing certain things. Your MC can be impulsive and foolish if you've already set them up as being so, they can fail to save someone from a dragon if they're highly flammable, or they can be forgiven for killing an innocent character if they're acting on false information. Letting your characters be less than perfect makes them relateable, puts them in danger, and offers a whole host of plot twists.

Lennie; the main character from my NaNoWriMo novel this year, sets out to take revenge on her cruel Uncle, and ends up causing the deaths of half the city in the process. But in her battle to overcome her difficulties (being only 10 years old, blind and suffering abuse from her Uncle), she manages to keep the empathy of the readers who will forgive her almost everything she does.

Success Comes in Purple

2011-11-25T19:18:00.000Z

And there you have it; 50,000 words on November 25th. I have never finished this early before, and I put it all down to the tireless and constant run of word wars that were hosted in our region's NaNoWriMo chatroom. Without those guys furiously writing along with me, I wouldn't be breathing this huge sigh of relief and celebrating with fish and chips.

Not only did I enjoy these word wars online, but also in a quiet corner of a local pub with some of my fellow NaNoers. We've not really run write-ins in previous years, but they really were fantastically fun.

Sometimes writing can feel like the loneliest thing in the world. You're wrapped tightly inside a world of your own creation; one that, at this point, no one else shares, or knows like you do. Your characters are your best friends and your family; but no one else knows them. But when you're sat with other writers around you, all tapping away furiously, you realise that writing isn't something you have to do alone. Whether in person or online, there's a world of writers out there ready to meet you and share your love for words.

They'll be there to commiserate your failures and celebrate your triumphs, and they'll never stop encouraging you. And they'll never, ever tell you to give up on your dreams.

Day 13... Storming Towards 30K

2011-11-13T15:30:00.000Z

So here we are on day 13 of NaNoWriMo and I am aiming to hit 30k today. That means around about a 3.5k day which is perfectly do-able.

Although NaNoWriMo has removed the space on their website for people to upload their book covers to their profiles, I just had to go ahead and make myself one anyway. I find it helps; it spurs me on to get the story finished. Plus, I enjoy drawing and playing about in Photoshop.

So here's my cover for this year. You can check out my novel synopsis and read an extract on my NaNoWriMo Profile.

The Finger of Fate

2011-11-06T16:41:00.002Z

I really should keep my faith in the universe. Sometimes life is rubbish and it makes you doubt the natural order of things; leaves you thinking the world is out to get you. No. Things happen just the way they should.

After such a great day of writing yesterday I woke up this morning with a serious case of premature week two slump. I was distracted, unmotivated, uninspired. My confidence had wavered and the inner critic began to give her opinion. So by mid afternoon I still hadn't written a word. I was mooching about, watching trashy tv that I wasn't interested in at all, and then suddenly the power goes off.

Great. No tv. No internet. No phone. No coffee. No distractions. I finally conceded and pulled out my laptop to do the only thing I really could; write.

I started out grumpily, trying to prove to fate that I was just uninspired, but my fingers were soon tapping away, making the most of the silence. After a good hour of no electricity I wandered out into the hall and nosed at the electricity meter. And then I looked idly at the trip switches. Ahhh. I flicked the master switch back to on and power returned to the house.

The moral of the story? If you don't write, the universe will step in and make you write. And if it can, it will make you look stupid in the process too.

5 Days In...

2011-11-05T19:22:00.000Z

So, here we are at day 5 of NaNoWriMo and steadily pounding our way towards the dreaded week 2. And why is week 2 so feared? It's when everything slows down, and I'm yet to meet someone who doesn't struggle in the 2nd week. The initial excitement of starting something new has worn out, people get fed up with not leaving the house, other distractions slip into your brain, the inner critic rears its ugly head and all confidence in actually being able to do this seems to slip away.

As you can see, things are going pretty well, and I'm comfortably above the target line. That's exactly how I want to be as I hit week 2 and start burning out after just a few hundred words each day.

So, what's happened so far?

I've initiated a huge amount of fighting talk in our regional chatroom
Our region has come up with its official NaNo anthem
I've written one of the most disgusting scenes I've ever written in my life
I've drunk lots of coffee and consumed numerous biscuits
I've missed tv shows to write
I've got totally hooked on word wars
I've written in characters with three different accents, one of them a fake one
I've dropped cake crumbs into my keyboard

And tomorrow things are going to get really good; tomorrow the killing begins.

Our NaNo Workstation

2011-11-01T09:52:00.000Z

This is our little NaNo workstation for the day with everything a writer needs: computers, notebooks, crisps, coffee and biscuits.

Finding My Story

2011-10-30T09:07:00.000Z

For a week or so I've had a vague idea of what to write for this year's NaNoWriMo; extending a piece I wrote for a writing group challenge in the summer. Yesterday, before going to my local NaNo Kick-Off meeting I figured I ought to get some sort of planning written down.

I wrote up my characters and a vague idea of the plot and I've never felt so uninspired about an idea in my life. It was thin, predictable and just generally kind of bleh. By the time I arrived at the KO meet I had decided to dump that idea and start the hunt for a new one.

It is scary to be just a few days away from the start of November with absolutely no idea what you're going to write, but exciting too. With more than a world of possibilities around me I just had to find one thing that sparked an idea. And that idea was a girl who popped into my head as I walked back to the car. I've been watching a lot of horror movies recently, and a lot of foreign horror, and scary little girls are kind of in my head at the moment.

So by the time I got home an idea was forming, and by the time I went to bed I had the story plotted in my head. Some ideas are very slow to form, milling about in your brain for months or even years. But other ideas creep in under the radar and take root quickly, spreading like weeds. Those ideas are pretty handy when NaNo starts in just a couple of days. Good luck to all my fellow NaNo-ers!

It's Not That Easy.....Is It?

2011-10-28T18:55:00.001+01:00

Today I was, as always, joking about the fact that I spent 3 years doing a totally useless degree (BA Hons Drama & Writing), when I was told that all degrees have their uses. I said "Well, maybe when I write the next Harry Potter..." and the reply was "Well just do it then."

I snorted to myself, thinking 'if only it was that easy'. I mean, it's not. Is it? It can't be, or everyone would be doing it. But then I think about all the evenings I spend slobbing about doing not very much at all, or all the effort I waste making up excuses not to write.

It's not that easy to write a best-selling book, but I'm certainly not putting all of my effort into trying.

Note to self: Must do better. Again.

It's That Time of Year Again...

2011-10-24T13:27:00.000+01:00

We're rapidly heading towards November which means that, once again, many of your writerly friends will be locking their doors, closing the curtains and taking their phones off the hook. It's time to do the unimaginable; to write a novel in just 30 days.

If you have no idea what I'm rambling about, check out the insanity at www.nanowrimo.org. And insane it is, but it's not going to stop thousands of writers from doing it...

Monster Fest Blogfest

2011-10-18T11:16:00.000+01:00

To everyone who was expecting this post earlier in the month, I can only apologise and throw my hands in the air claiming 'technical difficulties'. As some of you may know, the last 2 1/2 months of my life have been a battle to get our ISP to even recognise our existence, so I have had to make regular trips to our local library to use the internet. The day before this post was due I came down to the library to post it, and all I got was a message that Devon County Council had blocked access to Blogger. Either way, everything's sorted and we should be enjoying broadband from the comfort of our own home by the end of the week. At last.

Monster Fest is hosted by Sommer Leigh on her Tell Great Stories blog. The idea of the fest is to gather together, across the participating blogs, a collection of knowledge about various monsters. Me being me, am bringing you a slightly unusual choice and, me also being me, something of the feline persuasion.

The Bakeneko (Monster Cat)

The Bakeneko is a creature from Japanese folklore: a cat who has developed supernatural abilities. Any ordinary cat can become a Bakeneko by one of three ways:

By living to over 100 years old
By growing to be one kan (3.75 kg or 8.25 lbs) in weight
By being allowed to keep its long tail. In this case, its tail splits into two and it becomes a Nekomata (Forked Cat). It is thought that this belief may have brought about the breeding of the Japanese Bobtail.

Bakeneko will terrorise and haunt the house they live in, able to create ghostly fireballs, menace sleepers, walk on its hind legs, take on human form, or even devour its own mistress in order to shapeshift and take her place. It also poses a danger if allowed into a room with a fresh corpse as it is believed to be capable of reanimating a body by jumping over it.

But not all Bakeneko are bad; in many stories they are good-hearted and faithful to their owners; with some stories attaching benevolent Bakeneko to the legend of the famous Maneki Neko (Beckoning Cat).

I am Legend Blogfest

2011-09-29T15:38:00.000+01:00

Today is the day of the I Am Legend Blogfest hosted by Margo Lerwill over on her Urban Psychopomp blog.

The idea behind the blogfest is to give people an opportunity to share what is EPIC LEGEND WIN about their WIP or their favorite book. Is it a larger than life mythical creature? Is it a hero possessing such tenacity that he puts all other heroes to shame? Is it a war of such devastation that the human psyche will never be the same?

My current WIP is Hope's End, the novel I wrote (well, got halfway through) during Camp NaNoWriMo in July. And the reason Hope's End is 'epic legend win' is because it is jam-packed with a whole host of non-human characters who live among humans (or try to, they're pretty much completely ostracized). I am having the best time making up the different species, giving them special powers, creating snippets of their language, their culture, their history. And then the best part is clashing it tightly up against the opposing culture of humans.

I am having so much fun writing this, and that is what makes it 'epic legend win', in my opinion at least!

The Price of Knowledge

2011-09-19T12:47:00.000+01:00

This is inspired by a post by Lady Gwen on her blog Run Gwen, Run! Write Gwen, Write! and the recent watching of one of my favourite chick-flicks, 'You've Got Mail'.

What do you prefer? A one-stop book superstore where you are sure to find practically anything you're after at a fantastic price, or a cosy independent book store where they might have to order it in for you, but they know exactly what you're after and can even suggest a few alternatives too. There's nothing that can replace a true love and knowledge of books, but are the big chains really all that evil?

We've seen some of the real giants fall recently and, in the UK, our last remaining chain book store, Waterstones, is buckling under the pressure. If that goes, we'll be left with only independent bookshops (and the pitiful selection offered by supermarkets and stationers). But independent bookstores are closing quickly, even the second-hand bookshops, selling books for mere pence each, are closing down.

But what's more important; choice, availability and discount prices, or knowledge, passion and dedication? But is that really a fair distinction between the chain and indy bookshops?

I shop in Waterstones a lot. Their paperbacks are sold as 3 for the price of 2, and that is something I simply cannot resist. But if I'm after something a little unusual the staff only have the information on their computers. I've never had anything recommended to me, and managed to completely surprise one cashier when I bought the 'Writers and Artists Handbook 2011' as he had no idea such a thing existed. However, not all the chains are like this. Once, when I was browsing the fantasy section of Borders (much, much missed), I was approached by an assistant who was keen to recommend some books to me. This is how I came across Patrick Rothfuss' 'The Name of the Wind' which became one of my favourite books ever. Borders was a chain that seemed to be staffed by true book lovers eager to make suggestions to customers.

On the other hand, my local indy bookshop is truly knowledgable about books (it always pleases me to see the assitant sat behind the counter reading when I go in). When I bought 'The Road' by Cormac McCarthy, the cashier said "Be careful, it's heavy going that one." I replied "Well, I'm currently reading Adam Thorpe's 'Hodd'." She laughed and said "Oh well, it will be light relief then." She knew the books, and you just can't beat that.

But in hard financial times, it's so much easier to choose price over knowledge and convenience over great service. So what future for bookshops big and small? Only time can tell I guess, but I like to feel a book in my hands before I buy it, smell it's pages, prepare for the journey we'll be going on together. I can't imagine a world where I bought all of my books online, and I don't want to either.

Excuses, Excuses

2011-09-16T14:40:00.000+01:00

Here we are again, back at our recurring theme. I have barely written a single word since the end of July, and I know exactly what and who to blame for that:

My office is too hot in the summer to even contemplate sitting in
August was my 'break' after the hectic rush of Camp NaNoWriMo in July
I keep getting a typing pain in my hand and am nursing it carefully so it doesn't develop into full-blown RSI
It's Stephen King's fault. I read 'Misery' and it was so good I couldn't put it down and had no time to write
It's also H G Wells' fault, I read 'The Island of Dr Moreau' and couldn't put that down either
Right now it is most definitely the fault of Patrick Rothfuss and his new book 'The Wise Man's Fear'. I think he may have completely bewitched me and left me incapable of doing anything other than read it

And there you have it, I have successfully deflected blame to an impressive 6 other sources. Of course, we all know that there is only one place the finger of blame can really fall: TV. No, Twitter. Ok, maybe two places. Ok, ok, I concede. We all know I'm the only person to blame. Me and my uncanny skill for thinking up fantastic excuses. If only I could put as much energy into writing as I do into finding excuses not to.

You see, it's all to do with flow. And balance. And balancing flow. So often life gets in the way of living, doesn't it? What with work, and bills, and food shopping where can we find the time to write? And sometimes you just have motivation, and sometimes you just don't. And that's ok. It's a natural ebb and flow that needs to be respected.

I was motivated in July. My little NaNo graph kept me going. My big mistake was deciding to take a break in August. When you're flowing, you need to grasp that with both hands and cling on for dear life. Now I need to find that again. I've checked the pockets of all my coats, I've checked under the sofa and I've even pulled out the wardrobe to search behind it. I found some dust, the odd spider and more excuses, but no motivation. The search continues...

Developing the Critical Eye

2011-09-13T13:15:00.002+01:00

As everyone knows, we are all our own worse critic. It stands to reason; we all want to impress people, and do our best and achieve our potential, right? But while you don't want to be the kind of writer who thinks everything you do is fantastic on 1st draft (even though it might be, like mine - ha!), you don't want to be too harsh on yourself either. A lot of writers suffer with a lack of confidence in their work and their abilities, but you need to learn to step back and look at it critically, but fairly.

This is something you may never entirely master in your lifetime. Writing isn't just telling your character's story, it's partly telling your own. Your writing will be littered with your own opinions, experiences and emotions; it's personal, it's part of you, it may as well be written in your own blood. But you still need to find a way to step back from it.

There are three main things that will help you to develop your critical eye: Experience, Maturity and Advice.

Experience: This is made up of life experience as well as experience of writing. As a writer, reading widely is one of the most important things you can do. Read books from every genre, every style, every decade. Find how men and women write differently, discover how urban fantasy is different to steampunk, explore different balances between description and dialogue. If you think you have a particular weakness, go and read books that have that strength. (And I can't emphasise this enough; if your weakness is dialogue, read plays. Read lots and lots of plays). Write. Write everything you can. Write poetry, prose, songs, plays, journalism, recipes and shopping lists. Write odes to your pets, write personal ads, write your own obituary. It's like running. The more you do it, the further you can run, the faster you can run, the fitter you get. And don't forget to live. Go out and get drunk, fall in love, fall out of love (that's most important), do something unexpected, get in debt, buy new jewellery, eat chocolate (also important).

Maturity: You need to let your critical eye develop, just as you need to let your writing develop. Everyone's writing matures, and not necessarily at the same time as our bodies or minds. You might start writing in your 50s, but you still need to go through all the painful stages of maturing your writing. Where would us writers be now without our reams and reams of teenage angst poetry?

Advice: Seek advice from everyone and everywhere. Along with the above two points, you will learn what advice to accept and what advice to ignore. But, always accept it gracefully at the time; people only mean well (unless they're jealous, but you'll need to work that out for yourself. Life experience, see?)

Let me tell you a story. In October 2009 I found out about NaNoWriMo on Twitter. That November gave me the first novel I had ever completed. I proudly printed it out, bound it and held it to my chest. My first novel. I thought it was amazing. I set about the 2nd draft. I am still only halfway through that 2nd draft. Why? Because it's not worth continuing. My critical eye has matured.

This was really hammered home only this week. I was doing the washing up listening to the latest Writing Excuses podcast as usual, and they had a special guest; Patrick Rothfuss (oh I was so excited! If you haven't read his books, do it. Do it now!). Anyway, they were talking about suspension of disbelief, and they laughed about fantasy books that have a map in the front cover and then have the characters visit every single point on that map during the story. Oh. Yeah, I get it. I laughed at myself. My critical eye matured and any thoughts of redrafting that 2009 NaNo novel faded away. Maybe one day I'll use the characters again, in a different world, with a different map.

Podcasts

2011-09-02T15:17:00.004+01:00

I've recently become somewhat addicted to podcasts. I was terribly late on the scene though, only subscribing to my first ever podcast earlier this year, but now I just can't get enough of them. They are the best thing to listen to while doing the washing up!

So I thought I'd share with you my favourite literary podcasts and let you guys recommend your favourites to each other too.

I've harped on about it before but the Writing Excuses podcast is an absolute must for all writers. It's specifically aimed at speculative fiction writers, but they cover topics that are useful to writers of any genres like finding an agent or using description to reveal character. The podcast is done by novelists Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells and Mary Robinette Kowal, and cartoonist Howard Tayler. New episodes every Monday.
I'm also subscribed to the Write for your Life podcast run by Iain Broome. This podcast comes out less regularly, but the blog is updated all the time and has loads of fascinating articles and tips. He invites a lot of guests onto his podcast and covers loads of different issues to do with writing and literature.
I've just subscribed to the Faber and Faber podcast. As you can imagine these are interviews with a whole range of authors discussing books.
I've also just subscribed to the Penguin podcast which is author interviews, book extracts and news from Penguin.

So that's my little bundle and I'm always on the look out for more, so leave a comment with the podcasts you subscribe to and we can all re-affirm our love for our iPods!

A General Catch-Up

2011-09-01T12:54:00.001+01:00

I hope you guys remember who I am! It's been a month without any broadband at home and it feels like a year already. Not because I'm totally missing being online all day, but just because I feel unconnected with the world.

It's weird sitting in a house without a phone or an internet connection, there's this odd feeling of silence. Even if I have the tv or the radio on everything feels quiet and still. I miss catching up with other people's lives and the progress of their writing, and I miss telling people about mine.

I'm still trying to get Sky to give me a phoneline, oddly enough the only way I've managed to get a response is via Twitter because I've been tweeting about my problems. I hate bagging companies out in public, I think it's bad form, but sometimes it's the only way to get a response. Still, our wonderful public library allows me to sit there for hours happily catching up with you all. Long live our libraries!

So, besides all that, this month should bring the results of the British Fantasy Society's short story competition. I'm not expecting to get anywhere (last year's winning stories were amazing), but keep your fingers crossed for me just in case. Even if they just publish mine I'll be as pleased as punch! Also, I really need to get back into my novel I wrote for July's Camp NaNoWriMo. I promised myself August off, but now September's come storming into my life and I need to get back to the keyboard again. Two months to finish it before NaNoWriMo arrives in November. Luckily, I already know what I'm going to write (well, as much as I ever 'know'), but want to get July's novel finished before then. I really do think it's possibly the best thing I've ever written. (I really think it might be 'the one'.)

So excuse me if I'm still a little quiet, I'm trying my best, I promise. And do me a favour; pop into your local library. They need all the support they can get right now, and when the next round of budget cuts is announced, yours might just be the next one to close.

I've Been a Little Absent Lately....

2011-08-16T13:13:00.001+01:00

You may have noticed I've been a little quiet recently. Technical difficulties I'm afraid. Either that, or the company I'm trying to get a new phone line and broadband connection through are simply not interested in my money.

So, yes, we have no internet at home at the moment. We're up to 2 1/2 weeks and still no closer to having our broadband back. So, you'll have to excuse me if I'm a little quiet. I have, however, just discovered that our local library now has free wi-fi so, until the home situation gets sorted, I can catch up with everything at the library. Plus I'll be supporting the local library and with all the cuts to public services our libraries need all the support they can get. Because, no doubt, I'll be leaving here with a pile of books!

But no internet hasn't been all bad. I am reading so much. And I'm also enjoying watching my way through the entire DVD collection of Six Feet Under. I've also been getting a lot of fresh air in the fields around our home. In fact, I'm beginning to find it all a little liberating!

Also, be sure to check out my guest blog post on Misha Gericke's blog My First Book - http://sylmion.blogspot.com/2011/08/guest-post-featuring-angeline-trevena.html

Novel Films Blogfest

2011-08-01T09:35:00.000+01:00

Today is the start of the Novel Films Blogfest hosted by Madeleine (a fellow Devonian) over on her Scribble and Edit blog. The idea is to list all of the books you have read and seen the movie or tv adaptation of too. This is my list. I was going to write a little bit about each of them until I realised just how many there were, but there are some comments on the first few for you.

I used to hate seeing the movie of a book I'd read. They often made so many changes that the book was almost ruined by it. But I think directors are becoming more aware that many people enjoy doing both, and are now making films much more sympathetic to the books. And I think it's great.

Here's my list (although I'm sure there's some I've forgotten about):

The Reader by Bernhard Schlink - I loved this book, and when I watched the movie I cried my eyes out at the end. When you read a book you know the characters much more intensely, you put a lot more into the relationship. If I hadn't read the book it probably wouldn't have moved me to tears.
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold - They missed one big thing out of the movie, in fact the very thing that made me cry in the book. I won't say for anyone who hasn't read/seen it yet, but it really explored the relationship between the sisters. I'm extremely close to my sister and it really moved me.
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne - Sadly they changed the very ending for the movie. I can see why, it works better for the film audience, but the book ending is better.
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak - This was my brother's favourite book as a child, he was obsessed with it. And he loved the movie.
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling - I bought this book from a second-hand shop somewhere, possibly in Plymouth, UK. I think it was the first book I ever bought myself.
The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawntreader by C S Lewis
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
Red Dragon by Thomas Harris
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graham
A Room With a View by E M Forster
The Green Mile by Stephen King
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Animal Farm by George Orwell
The Piano by Jane Campion
Romeo & Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hamlet and King Lear by William Shakespeare

These last two are a little bit of a cheat because I didn't actually read them, my Dad once read them to me as bedtime stories. Yes, I have a really cool Dad who loves sci-fi and read us what was probably quite inappropriate bedtime stories for our ages. I thank him for it though!

The 39 Steps by John Buchan
The War of the Worlds by H G Wells

Winning Always Feels Good

2011-07-31T22:25:00.000+01:00

After a whole month of very, very hard work I figure I deserve a large serving of self congratulation.

Doing NaNoWriMo in the summer has it's pros and cons. The summer seems to bring a whole load more distractions than the dark, wintry month of November does. But, on the plus side, July does allow me to spend some time writing out on our small front lawn. I've even spent some time writing in a forest this month too.

It's been hard going (NaNo always is), and I definitely needed the extra 31st day, but I'm there, I did it. But most of all, not only am I totally enjoying my novel, but I think it's pretty good writing too, in my own humble opinion. And at 50,000 words I'm only just getting my teeth into the plot, so I've got a long way to go before it's actually a finished novel - I just hope I can manage to keep writing without the daily target graph.

Inspiration Blogfest

2011-07-18T08:17:00.002+01:00

Today is the Inspiration Blogfest hosted by Summer Ross on her My Inner Fairy blog. The idea of the blogfest is this:

On July 18th post one inspiring prompt. You can use a writing prompt or a photo prompt.
Go around and comment on each others prompts

I am lucky enough to live in the centre of rural Devon, England. What makes Devon special is that it lays claim to every kind of landscape; cities, countryside, moorland and miles of coastline. Other than a writer, I am also a keen photographer and living in Devon gives me wonderful opportunity for happily snapping away with my camera. There are shots that I bundle together in one folder on my computer for writing inspiration - buildings, settings, views, trees - anything that might pop up in one of my stories one day

So today I'm going to share one of my photos with you as a writing prompt. And here it is:

I'm Falling in Love...

2011-07-14T21:45:00.000+01:00

You know those times when a character wanders into your novel, not making too much of a song and a dance about it, appearing like a cameo who is only there to tug gently at the life of the main character. Just gently nudge it, and not take any kind of significant role. And then they refuse to leave. Instead, they push themselves to the front of the story and turn out to be so wonderfully flamboyant, interesting and exuberant that you instantly give them a bigger part.

My new character, Celeste, began as a name on an apartment door. And that was all she was ever going to be. Her absence was cleverly explained away, and she was never going to appear. But then she broke the rules.

Celeste decided to bring her drunk boyfriend home and break up with him at 3am. She blind-sided me completely. And now she’s offering to take my main character, Ida, out on the town. And I am falling in love with her. She’s everything Ida isn’t, and everything that Ida needs.

Watch out world, here comes Celeste…

The Future of Speculative Fiction: A Chat with Angry Robot Editor Lee Harris

2011-07-13T10:31:00.001+01:00

Ahead of Alt.Fiction's 'Other Worlds 2' event this Saturday at Nottingham Central Library, they hosted a live online chat session with some of the best talent in science fiction, fantasy and horror. I chatted with Angry Robot editor Lee Harris to find out how well speculative fiction might fare in the current and future publishing climate.

Angeline: Does speculative fiction have a strong future in traditional publishing, or will such genres see a move to self publishing?
Lee: SpecFic has a very strong future in traditional publishing - if we didn't believe that to be the case, we wouldn't have launched in the US less than a year ago.
However... 'Traditional' publishers will need to adapt to the new landscapes, but as those landscapes are still in a process of flux, it's going to be interesting to see how trad publishing changes, and how quickly.
After all, with 3million+ eBooks self-published in the last year, it's difficult for a self-published author to get attention. Traditional publishers don't experience that problem *as much*

Angeline: I'm just wondering with booksellers closing, they might concentrate on what sells most, forcing publishers to abandon niche genres
Lee: Well, I think niche is the way forward. Specialisation is a good thing. And some of the biggest success stories of recent years have been niche authors - JK Rowling, Dan Brown, etc.
Some booksellers *will* abandon some lines, of course, but traditional publishers (by this, I mean the ones with traditional *practices*, not necessarily the ones who publish paper) will continue to publish great books.

Where am I today?

2011-07-12T11:56:00.002+01:00

It's dark here, and it echoes too. Where's Angeline today?

Ah, today she's been guest blogging over on Deirdra Eden Coppel's A Storybook World blog. Go on, go check it out.

Musings on the #amwriting Twitter Hashtag

2011-07-10T14:51:00.000+01:00

MY FRIEND:

You have very much become queen of the #AmWriting tag (although you never seem to actually be writing when you use it LOL)

ME:

Ha ha! I usually am, or at least planning on writing, or thinking about planning on writing, or considering thinking about planning on writing.

Follow me: @DevonWriter

tumblr.

2011-07-09T21:00:00.000+01:00

I know that I'm about a million years behind anyone who's really cool, but I finally got myself a tumblr. account. As far as I can make out, tumblr. sits somewhere between a full blog like this and a Twitter account.

I'm sure I really didn't need to sign up to yet another social media platform, but I thought I'd test it out, and I'm sure that, just like with Facebook and Twitter, after initially feeling a little dubious, I'll soon be hooked.

http://iamangeline.tumblr.com

Well, that's my tumblelog. If you're on tumblr. put your url in the comments below so we can all follow one another and create another little literary bubble on the internet.

Eggesford Forest

2011-07-02T23:20:00.001+01:00

Caught somewhere between the small towns dispersed along the road from East Devon to North Devon is Eggesford Forest. It is a managed forest, and in 1919 the first trees planted by the newly formed Forestry Commission were pushed into the dirt at Eggesford. There is a small railway station just down the road at which every train stops; a condition written into the release of the land by the landowner in 1854. Besides the sporadic rumble of traffic, the air at Eggesford belongs to birdsong and the whistles of dog walkers.

Today I was at Eggesford for a meet-up with my writing group. With the hope of summer weather we had agreed to abandon our usual pub haunts in exchange for one of the stunning backdrops Devon has to offer.

And stunning it was. While I didn't get a huge amount of writing done, we had some very focused discussions warmed by the July sunshine.

My car rumbled up the track into Eggesford an hour before the meet-up today, and I pulled out my camera to spend some time taking photos in the morning light. The lighting is best when the sun is still sitting low in the sky, when the shadows are long and deep.

I love photography and find it to be a happy bedfellow to writing. My photography is available to buy as posters, prints, postcards and greetings cards here at RedBubble. I'm still very much a hobbyist photographer, but I'm learning all the time and I can see my composition improving noticeably. Besides being a place to sell artwork and photography, RedBubble is a supportive community of artists offering invaluable criticism, advice and support.

Camp NaNoWriMo

2011-06-30T19:23:00.000+01:00

Ok. So, I appear to have somewhat spontaneously signed up to Camp NaNoWriMo. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure how it happened. One minute I was chatting on Facebook with members of my writing group, and the next I was on the Camp NaNoWriMo site uploading my profile picture.

Camp NaNoWriMo is run by the same people as the standard NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) which runs every year in November, but this version runs over the summer, allowing you to choose whether to write a 50,000 word novel in either July or August, or both of course. I was thinking I'd go for August, giving me some time to prepare, but everyone else is doing July so I guess that will be it. So, tomorrow I start Camp NaNoWriMo.

It's just lucky that I had already decided what I was going to write for November's NaNo, so I'll just write it a few months earlier. Well, as they say; in for a penny, in for a pound. Here goes...

Something Wicked Blogfest

2011-06-27T08:31:00.002+01:00

This week is the Something Wicked Blogfest (you see that just from the name I couldn't resist it, could I?) hosted by the joint writers of the Wicked and Tricksy blog. Here are the rules:

Name 3 of your favorite speculative fiction stories (books, movies, tv shows, anything goes!)
Then tell us why YOU love spec-fic – what plot line, character type, story trope, setting, time, place is your absolute favorite.
And finally, take a guess if you can: where do you see spec-fic stories going in the next two, five, ten years? What will be popular and how will the sub-genres have changed?

And for those of you who aren't certain, Speculative Fiction is a broad, all-encompassing term covering all of the various sub-genres of science-fiction, fantasy and horror.

'Woman in Black' by Susan Hill - as you can see from my profile I still haven't finished reading this. I don't dare, it scares me too much. And that's why it's mentioned here: right at the very top of my list.
'The Green Mile' by Stephen King - I love the movie but, pretty much as ever, the book's much better.
'Weaveworld' by Clive Barker - this was the first Clive Barker novel I read and I became absolutely immersed in it.

I have always been a huge horror and fantasy fan. As a child I used to read 'Choose Your Own Adventure' books, all about children cycling into worlds of dragons and knights. As a teenager I decided to read the Chronicles of Narnia series one summer, and I read all of them in 10 days. I love the lack of boundaries, the lack of rules and limitations of fantasy and horror.

I have a vast horror movie collection, and over recent years have started buying foreign language horrors. I like the range of horror that the world has to offer; French for gore, Japanese of Korean for tension, German for psychopaths, British for humour. I love stories that have the power to really stay with me, and horror has me jumping at shadows for weeks after.

Horror works best when it's relatable; set in the modern world, in a place you could imagine yourself being. When it plays on your fears, not fears you've never had. That's why 'Eden Lake' remains as the scariest movie I've ever seen. Whereas fantasy needs to transport you. A different world, a different time, a different life; one that you could never live, but one that you would love to.

I think the future of speculative fiction will see a continuation of the merging of different genres. Fantasy has met horror in the form of urban fantasy and dark fantasy. Sci-fi meets fantasy in steampunk. Horror meets sci-fi in first contact and apocalyptic stories. I think writers will continue to merge the sub-genres and seek to discover something new and unique.

Lovin' the Language Blogfest

2011-06-27T08:31:00.001+01:00

Today is the Lovin' the Language Blogfest hosted by Jolene B Perry. And here are the rules:

Pick any five lines (yes, it can be a few short lines that roll together) from one of your WIPs. If you're feeling shy, and don't want to share from your own work, share from something you LOVE.

I'm going to be using my WIP 'The Ladies of Evertower'. This was my 2009 NaNoWriMo novel which I'm meant to be busy redrafting but haven't touched in ages. Hoping that sharing snippets in blogfests might spur me on a little.

Nimareth gazed over the heads of the crowd, and watched as the sun sank down, turning from a large ball, to an arch, and finally to just a gem floating on the water.

Lady Edoriella swept her arm out towards them. "Allow me to introduce to you The Many Wandering Knowledges." As the women reached them, they took up poses, creating a scene of arched backs and outstretched arms, a serene expression on every face. Nimareth wondered if she should applaud, but instead she just stared, awestruck and open mouthed.

There was a large, circular table in the centre of the room, pitted with age and scarred with knife cuts gathered over the years. Sat on a stool at the table was an old woman. She wore heavily woven clothes in many layers, as if she has opened her wardrobe that morning and put on everything in it.

In the cage stood an old woman, probably the oldest woman Nimareth had ever seen. She was like a twig; brown and twisted, her skin loose and hanging off her bones. Her hair was thin and wild, sprouting in clumps from her wrinkled head. Her eyes were sunk back in her skull and age had curved her spine, leaving her bent over and supported by a stick as twisted as her body.

It snowed that day; a freak storm had come across the sea, bringing with it snow in spring. And as the snow fell around the women like ash, Nimareth could only think how beautiful Ralassa looked in the icy light; her skin white, her lips red, snow caught in her hair like confetti.

Blog Award of DOOM

2011-06-24T11:04:00.000+01:00

Rather scarily, my very talented friend Tony Benson has passed this Blog Award of DOOM onto me (not sure what he's trying to imply!)

So, as a recipient of this ominous DOOM award I have to share with you a piece of writing (100-300 words from a WIP, completed MS or a brand new piece written just for this) where the main character faces danger; real danger.

I have chosen to use a piece from my 2009 NaNoWriMo novel 'The Ladies of Evertower'. This is rough 1st draft (and anyone who's done NaNoWriMo will appreciate just how rough!) I am supposed to be redrafting this at the moment, but progress is somewhat slow. By slow I mean non-existent. Maybe this will spur me on a bit.

The ground was sodden, and the water was through Nimareth's night dress in seconds, clinging it to her skin, wrapping it tightly around her legs. She turned on the torch and shone it up into the maze of cogs above her. She could see nothing in the darkness; no movement, no eyes, just cogs and pistons sitting just as they should be. She sighed, berating herself for being so stupid, for letting her imagination get away from her and for having told Dellannis what she thought she had seen. She began wriggling to manoeuvre herself out from under the vehicle, when something did catch her eye. A flick of a movement, right above her, so quick that she could have missed it had she blinked at that moment.

And then suddenly the movement had eyes, and it had teeth and long fingers grabbing at her. The torch flew from her hand and she cried out in terror, her arms and legs flailing as the Inim attacked, sinking its teeth into her shoulder, it's fingers digging into her chest, it's feet pushed into her stomach. It ripped a lump of flesh from her, spitting it across the ground, and Nimareth felt her warm blood flow over her body. The Inim leaned down to her ear and started to whisper to her, and as the words flowed into her mind, she stopped fighting, overtaken by sadness, her heart breaking inside her, her eyes filling with tears. But then Lady Edoriella was under the Dragonleaper, pulling the Inim by its leg, and it screamed out; a scream so unearthly Nimareth knew she would never shake it from her head, a scream like a million children dying in fear and pain, a scream that shook her soul and brought all her beliefs crashing down around her.

And now to pass the award on. I think I will pass it on to Heidi Windmiller at ...Then She Writes. Heidi is a sci-fi and YA writer so I'm interested in seeing what she comes up with.

Favourite Book Challenge

2011-06-20T10:34:00.000+01:00

Today is the start of the Favourite Book Challenge hosted by Teralyn Rose Pilgrim over at her blog A Writer's Journey.

The idea is this:

Pick your top five favourite books
Between June 20 and 22, write one line of what each book is about and then write one line of why you liked it. Think of it like a Twitter pitch for other people's work. Semi-colons are cheating, but you can use them anyway.
Go to other blogs and discuss the books.

I am David by Anne Holm
David is a young boy who is helped to escape from the Communist Concentration Camp in which he lives, only to find himself in a world he doesn't know and barely understands.
This book is beautiful and touching; I read it as a child and was truly inspired by David's courage, resilience and strength of will.

Angel Rock by Darren Williams

Two brothers are lost in the woods, and after several days the older brother returns confused and distressed, while the search for his brother digs up secrets the town would rather forget.

This was the first book to ever leave me in tears; it's touching, beautifully written with convincing relationships between the troubled characters.

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

An orphaned boy finds himself alone in the world, with a seemingly impossible wish to study at the top university and a whole world of hurdles placed in his path.

This was recommended to me by a member of staff at Borders and I was so glad it was; epic, masterful, compelling and impossible to put down.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

A father and son travel across a post-apocalyptic America trying to survive in a world filled with hostile, ruthless and cutthroat strangers.

The relationship between father and son is so beautifully highlighted against the brutality of the world around them; a truly captivating book.

The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

The story of the death of maintenance guy Eddie and the people he meets in heaven; the people whose lives were significantly affected by Eddie's actions.

This is my most loaned out book and it made me cheer out loud at the end; no exaggerration, this book is the answer to the meaning of life - read it.

It was so difficult to choose just five books; I could have easily written about 100 favourite books!

What Motivates You?

2011-06-18T20:13:00.000+01:00

Motivation is probably one of the biggest hurdles us writers have to face; what with daily life, other commitments, tv, Facebook, coffee, writer's block and general pottering about to distract us from our writing; I sometimes wonder what hope there is. But then, suddenly, out of the blue, your fingers fly across the keyboard and such brilliance pours from your head it leaves you wondering if it might be some kind of divine intervention. Sometimes you're so driven that nothing will stop you from writing; wrapped up in the world you're creating, you find yourself turning down invites, missing your favourite tv show, even saying no to offers of a coffee. Ok, maybe not quite that far.

So, where do these bursts of motivation come from and, more importantly, how do we sustain them? Motivation comes to me from lots of places; a song that inspires me, a movie with a happy ending, a beautiful view, the sunrise, the smell of coffee. And then, you have perhaps the less noble motivators; disapointment, anger, jealousy, stubborness. Stubborness is a big motivator for me. When I was 14 years old I announced that I was going to become a vegetarian. My family said I wouldn't last a week. I'm still a vegetarian 16 years later. Whenever anyone tells me I can't do something, I set out to prove them wrong. If only I could bottle that motivation.

Because, when it comes to writing, it's not other people telling me I can't do it. It's me telling me I can't. Me telling me I'm rubbish and I'll never amount to anything. And that's something I find difficult to fight. So what's the answer? Find what gives you motivation and bring it into your life. Bring it into your life every single day, and remember; only you can do that; motivation doesn't come knocking on your door, you have to find it in the world around you.

Is It Me, or are Things a Little Different Round Here...?

2011-06-18T11:25:00.000+01:00

No, you're not imagining it, things have changed. I did (yet another) redesign of my website, so I had to change the Blog too to bring them back in line with each other. Like it? I'm worried that it might be just a little bit too white...

Either way, I'm sure I'll be doing tweaks here and there over the next few days. I'm always changing the design of my poor, mis-treated website. I'm like that with everything: if I could totally change my hair every single day I would. Some mornings I wake up and dress goth, sometimes it's punk, sometimes I dig through to find any other colour than black. So my poor website has to suffer from the same constant change of identity.

But, it's not that I don't know who I want to be, it's just that there's too many different versions of me that I want to be.

Qurious Quirks Blogfest

2011-06-15T06:00:00.000+01:00

I talk to myself. I'm sure you'll say we all do, but I do it a lot. In fact, I go further than that, I have full-blown arguments with myself. Out loud and often forgetting where I am.
I very rarely agree with myself, in fact, I'm pretty sure I often disagree just to be vindictive. Everyone has more than one side to their personality, and mine just clash. You see, one side is a real go-getter; ambitious, inspired, energetic, focussed. But the other side just wants to laze around watching tv and wasting time on Facebook. I'm ashamed to say that she usually wins.

So here's your challenge. Ask one of your current characters this: What two sides are there to your personality, how do they clash, and who usually wins?

My character's response:
Name: Ida
WIP: Hope's End
My inner battle is the age-old story of head versus heart. I know what's required of me in my job and, well, it's more than a job isn't it? This role was my destiny from birth, this is my life, the only path open to me. And, because of my Father, there is so much expected from me. I should excel at this, and I'm trying so hard, but it's difficult when I'm also trying to hide the truth; trying to hide why I'm not quite as well prepared as I should be.
Then there's my heart. My heart that will do anything for my little sister, even if it means breaking all of the rules. Even if I put my own life in danger. I never knew that taking up this post would drag her into things as well: I thought that I was leaving her behind, but it's not like that at all. I'm crazy to trust a prisoner; we're told all the time to question everything they say, but if she can help Ellen... well.... what choice do I have?

Can Creativity Be Taught?

2011-06-11T16:05:00.003+01:00

I've just listened to the latest episode of the Writing Excuses podcast, entitled 'Can Creativity Be Taught?' I wanted to put in my two cents, and wondered what other Bloggers thought.

Now, I sit very much in the camp that creativity itself cannot be taught. You either have it or you don't (or maybe more precisely, you either recognise that you have it or you don't.)

I believe that creativity can (and should) be nurtured, that you can teach someone how to unleash it, exercise it, or train it. You can teach someone the craft of writing and how to better their own sense of creativity, but teaching actual, elemental creativity itself? I don't think you can.

I have been writing my entire life. I have a box of stories I can't even remember writing because I wrote them when I was so young. I've always made up stories, made up personas, pretended to be someone else or somewhere else. I can't say where that comes from; maybe it's genetic, maybe it's just there by chance, I don't know. What I do know is that completing a BA Hons Degree in Writing has taught me excellent techniques and improved the craft of my writing no end (and I'm not saying that you can only be a good writer with a qualification under your belt, I don't believe that at all), but the actual base creativity was already there. I've also known writers who have all the technical knowledge they could possibly need, but they just can't come up with that exciting story.

So, what do you think: can creativity be taught?

Sometimes We Don't Need Words...

2011-06-09T21:14:00.000+01:00

Tautology

2011-06-04T22:56:00.000+01:00

I love learning new words, particularly literary technical terms. For the first time, I work with people who are as interested in words and word-play as I am, and we often find ourselves discussing etymology or playing about with language.

This week I learned 'tautology', which is the term for saying the same thing in different ways, even when the repetition doesn't enhance the understanding. An everyday example of this is the term 'PIN Number'. PIN stands for Personal Identification Number, so you're essentially saying 'Number' twice. We use so many examples like this in everyday life without even noticing.

When I'm editing my work, I often find that over and over I'm taking out adjectives that add nothing because I've already used another appropriate one. Sometimes it's whole sentences that repeat the previous one, just in different words. It's an odd habit, but at least it's one that I'm aware of. Maybe one day I'll actually notice it as I'm writing, and not have to spend ages cutting them out later.

What odd little habits do you always have to edit out of your work?

The Long and the Short of it

2011-05-26T21:14:00.000+01:00

I've never really been much of a short story writer; largely because I love my description too much and could never stick to a tight word count. My late Grandmother was hugely talented; she was a published writer, a singer and actress, and a painter. I inherited the first three talents, all of my siblings inherited the artistic one. While they were doing drawings and paintings, I was drawing pictures with words. And so, yes, I love my image-heavy description.

But since the publication of my short story 'The Vincent Orphanage' in the Mirador Fantasmagoria anthology earlier this year, I've gained a whole new respect for the discipline. You see, writing a short story is worlds apart from writing a novel. If you are successful at one, it does not mean you can be successful at the other. They require entirely different writing styles and strategies. If a novel is a cheese ploughman's sandwich with extra salad on the side, a drizzle of dressing and some nicely arranged crisps on a side plate, a short story is a cheese sandwich with a cocktail stick shaped like a sword stuck in it. That doesn't mean to say it doesn't taste as good; you've still got to aim to make it from the best cheese and finest bread you can, it just comes without the trimmings.

I think most writers, particularly if they come from a novel-writing background, are going to find their first draft way over the word limit. You look at that and think "How can I possibly cut out 800 words?" And when your word limit is, say 5,000, 800 words is one heck of a chunk of text. That's where the big red pen becomes your best friend. Here's my editing tips:

Always choose plot and character development over description.
Be ruthless; does it reveal essential points of character that her dress is floral, or her shoes are red? If not, cut it.
But don't forget your readers still need to empathise with your characters. They still want to see a journey, a change.
Keep it simple. You only have a short time to get your story and your characters across to the reader.
Have faith in your reader's imagination. You have to leave more gaps for them to fill in themselves. Ok, so the room has a table and a chair in it. Do they need to know what wood is used, or what the wallpaper looks like?
Utilise dialogue to its full. You can quicken the pace and explore a lot of plot through dialogue alone. And lose those unnecessary speech tags (this is easier if you only have two people talking together at a time.)
Even if you cut just one word from each sentence, you'll be making a huge difference on the word count.
Read every draft out loud. Read it to someone else if you can. Listen to how it sounds and have your red pen at hand.

What are your top tips for writing short stories?

Night Owl or Early Bird?

2011-05-25T19:06:00.001+01:00

I'm a morning person. I have been for as long as I can remember; even when I was a student I was up early and yawning my head off by 9pm. My brain works better in the morning; while my friends were pulling all-nighters to finish essays, I was having an early night and setting my alarm clock for sunrise instead.

Mornings tend to be quieter and very early mornings let me feel like I'm the only person awake in the world. I like to pretend I'm a survivor living in a post-apocalyptic world and, being a fantasy and horror writer, that kind of helps me get in the right mindset for writing.

But recently things have changed. Daily life has shifted due to one thing and another, and I find myself distracted and unable to settle in the mornings. So here I am, Wednesday night and the Muse is with me. It's all a little odd really, but I know how important it is to take the chance to write when the urge is there.

So, are you a night owl or an early bird?

Rain Stops Play

2011-05-23T17:21:00.002+01:00

This week I'm on holiday. And that's not a holiday from writing, but a holiday from work to do some writing. I've felt somewhat distracted by life over the past couple of months; there's been some big changes around here and I felt I really needed some time with just me and the world inside my head. I was a bit worried that I'd spend a week playing Sims or just pottering around the house, but actually, Day 1 has gone pretty well.

I did have lovely romantic ideas of sitting out on our front lawn, watching the world dawdle by, lying on a blanket writing, maybe eating a peach or two... Well, today the rain's put pay to that, but, all in all, I've got some good work done. (By the way, I took the photo. I'm rather proud of it, so I just thought I'd point that out)

So, what have I achieved today? I've finished off the 1st draft of my short story due for submission by the end of the month. This might not sound like much, but this story has been dangling close to the end, untouched, for over a month now. So that's a big achievement. Not only that, but I've done the 2nd draft too. Later on I'll read it out loud to my alpha reader (ok, more of an alpha listener), my cat Neko. Neko hears everything first time round. There is no other animal on the planet that can focus upon you such a look of disdain than a cat can. So, if I can please her, I can please anyone.

(For fear of being branded 'insane') I feel I should point out that I do actually understand that Neko doesn't really count as an alpha reader. Really, it kind of makes me alpha reader. But, she's there to listen and reading your work out loud is the best way to edit. You can pick up on issues you just can't notice when you read in your head. And I like to think that Neko is listening and (hopefully) enjoying what I write. She's probably just wishing I'd shut up and let her sleep (did you know that the average domestic cat sleeps for 16 hours a day?), but I can pretend, right?

My Short Story Versus My Novel

2011-05-21T20:06:00.000+01:00

I'm currently working on a short story for a competition. Wait. Actually, let me rewind that. I am meant to be working on a short story for a competition. That's better. If I can't be honest through the anonymity of a computer screen when can I be honest? So why aren't I writing?

When the call for submissions came up for this competition the short story idea threw itself into my head full-force, demanding to be written. And so I began. Heading quickly towards the halfway point of 2,500. And anyone who knows me will know how stuck I always feel at the halfway point, and what a slog it is to force my way past it. But I did it, and I've hit the word limit but still have some way to go to end the story. Yes, it will need some very heavy-handed editing.

And it was my brain getting ahead of itself, and thinking about the editing that caused my problems. You see, I love the story I'm writing. If I may say so I think it's a pretty genius idea. It will make a great novel. Hang on. Novel? Aren't we writing a short story here? And so, you see my issue.

I am trying to get this short story finished, but the whole time I'm writing it, or thinking about it, all my head is filled with is the changes and additions I want to make to turn it into a full length novel for NaNoWriMo this year. Normally when a badly-timed idea starts bugging me while I'm working on something else, I tuck it away in my ideas box and it works wonders to get it out of my head. But I can't tuck this away for another day, not when it's kind of the same project.
I feel like I should be sharing some 'so this is how I overcame it' wisdom now. But I can't, I haven't overcome it. If I do, I'll let you know how...

Can You Be Too Much of a Book Worm?

2011-05-16T16:04:00.000+01:00

I've always been an avid reader. As a kid I did Book Track in double-quick time (a library-run scheme where you had to read 100 books and got badges at certain milestones), and I'm never happier than when I'm curled up and totally immersed in the world of a book.

I read in every few spare minutes I have; if I'm watching tv I read every advert break, I read when I'm waiting for the bus, even if it's only a 2 minute wait, and I read on the bus which is tough for me because it makes me feel travel sick, but I do it anyway.

The other day after work I was, as usual, totally engrossed in my book. I usually manage to read about half the journey before I feel too sick, but the book's so good I'm managing to get pretty much all the way feeling alright. So anyway, I'm travelling home and realise I'd better check where we are. I look up just as we sail past my stop. Great. Luckily there's another one at the top of the hill so I got off there and walked back down again. Incidentally, I got to walk past the house with the railway signal and they've got heaps more cool old stuff like an old petrol pump. And it was an interesting little walk, so something good came from it anyway.

By the way, the book was Room by Emma Donoghue and I urge you all to read it, if only for research. It's written in 1st person present tense and the narrator is a 5 year old boy. Impressive stuff.

Blogging Award

2011-05-03T07:06:00.000+01:00

Catherine Ensley at Words World and Wings has awarded me my very first Versatile Blogger Award. She's a YA librarian and writer, so go and check out her blog.

Meanwhile, the rules of the award are to say 7 things about myself before passing it on, and seeing as I never got around to doing a post about me during the A-Z Blogging Challenge, here we go:

When I was 4 I had to have surgery to remove a massive splinter from my hand. I still have the scar.
I am a classically trained Grade 5 singer. I also play bass guitar.
This year I joined a roller derby team (although I'm still struggling to stay on my feet).
If I won millions on the lottery, I would buy a house with lots of land here in Devon, England, and a large riverside apartment in Prague and spend 6 months of the year living in each.
I am a huge Formula 1 fan, and my dream would be to spend a year going to every single race of the season (another lottery win required for that).
In 2004 I won two tickets to Reading Festival from Kerrang Magazine. I took my brother.
I have watched 'Never Ending Story' well over 100 times and know pretty much the whole script by heart.

And there you have it, some random facts about me. I'm going to pass this award on to a few more people so go check out their blogs too:

Dawn Embers who wrote some of the most insightful posts I read in the A-Z Blogging Challenge.

Mia Hayson who writes a lot about zombies. How cool is that?!

Kevan Farrow who writes about horror movies (and is also my brother)

Heidi Windmiller who writes YA fiction and lives by the mountains.

Back To It

2011-05-01T11:46:00.000+01:00

It's very quiet in Blog-land today after the manic posting of the A-Z Blogging challenge, and, while half of me is relieved that I can relax a bit, the other half is wondering how I'm going to fill the time.

Can you believe it's May already? We're almost half way through the year and I still have so many things I plan to get done. So, back to it. Back to my current WIP which I need to get finished over the next few days so that I can do at least three redrafts before submitting it at the end of the month. There's a lot riding on this one, so it has to be absolutely perfect (if only I would spend less time blogging about it and more time actually writing it!)

But I definitely have the feeling that I need to line up a few Blogfests over the summer to keep my general creative juices flowing. I honestly do find it a little unsettling to immerse myself 100% in the world of just one story. I do distract myself by reading, but because I mostly read in the same genres as I write in, it's not a total escape. What's that? Try real life? Well, I'm afraid that never seems to be much of an escape either!

Z is for.... Zenith

2011-04-30T11:00:00.001+01:00

Here we are at the very end of the A-Z Blogging Challenge, and I think I've blogged hard enough to deserve just one post of just a few lines and a picture. So here it is.

Zenith is the point in the sky directly above the observer. Up there, yup, that's right. And that's where I'm aiming.

Who's with me?

Y is for.... Yippee!

2011-04-29T09:08:00.004+01:00

So here we are, on the penultimate post of the A-Z Blogging Challenge, and I just don't know what I'm going to do with my days once it's all over!

But today is a day for celebration and a big thank you to everyone who has stuck with me through April, reading and commenting my random ramblings through the entire alphabet, and thank you to everyone who has entertained, inspired and advised me through their own posts. I see a lot of people are doing 'thank you' posts today, and I think it's very fitting; it has been a big event in our lives, and it's taken a lot of commitment and energy, so well done to everyone who's kept going.

But I've got a couple of other things to celebrate; two publications of my work. I extended my H blog post on Creating Histories while world-building for your novel for the Essential Writers website. My article; A Writer's Guide to Successful World-Building went live on the site last Friday. Go and check out the site, it runs daily articles, interviews, opportunities and advice of great use to novelists, poets, playwrights, journalists and all kinds of writers.

And today, the latest issue of Reflections Magazine goes on sale in Exeter (£4 in Martian Records) and via mail order (£4.50). I've got four poems included in this issue, and you'll find it packed with poetry, prose, articles, photography and artwork from south west writers and artists.
I love seeing my name in print, and it's such a boost of confidence with every publication. Because when an editor says 'yes', they're not just saying yes to your work, but they're saying yes to you, and all the parts of yourself that you poured into your writing. They're saying yes to all the social occasions you've missed because the muse was with you, and yes to all those all-nighters you pulled to meet deadlines, and yes to all the smirks you've received when you tell people you're a writer.

X is for.... Xerophyte

2011-04-28T17:46:00.000+01:00

A xerophyte is a plant which is able to survive in an environment with little available water or moisture, such as a desert. Sometimes, life as a writer can feel a little like being in the middle of a barren desert.
I spend a lot of time with my nose in a book, or typing away madly, or browsing quiet bookshops, or watching shows like the Sky Arts Book Show which I do not let people talk through. Yup, sometimes being a writer can feel very lonely indeed.
Networking online is just as good as doing it in person, and if you live in the middle of nowhere (like me), online can be a lot easier. And it works. Afterall, you're here on my blog reading this. And can I just point out that since signing up to my very first Blogfest in February, I have gone from 1 follower to over 60. Not bad going, eh?
So why do we need to discover busy watering-holes in our desert wastes? Support, advice, motivation, competition, understanding, empathy, readers, critics. I know that I couldn't have got through the last NaNoWriMo without the support of my fellow NaNoers, and that sense of support was what gave rise to our local writing group. And it seems quite appropriate as we draw towards the end of the A-Z Blogging Challenge, to say that I have really enjoyed meeting a whole range of other writers this month. I've been inspired, and I have learned a lot. I have read some great advice, and I have done my best to pass on some great advice too.
Don't live alone in your writing desert; there are so many other writers out there who would love to know you. And no matter where we are in our writing careers, we all have valuable help and support to offer to our fellow scribes.

W is for.... Writing Excuses Podcast

2011-04-27T08:47:00.000+01:00

I recommend this podcast to every single writer out there. Each week, writers Brandon Sanderson, Howard Tayler, and Dan Wells record a 15 minute podcast packed full of fantastic writing, editing and publishing advice. It is aimed mostly at fantasy writers, but the advice works well for writers of any genre.

At a mere 15 minutes each week, there's no worry about not having the time to listen to it (I tend to listen to an episode while doing the washing up), and every week ends with a writing prompt.

www.writingexcuses.com

You can either listen to each podcast on the site, or you can subscribe via iTunes for automatic downloading every week. Seriously, it is totally brilliant. Go and listen to one episode, and if you don't like it, hey, you've only wasted 15 minutes. (Apparently the average person spends a year of their life looking for lost possessions, so 15 minutes isn't bad, is it?) And if you like it, it might just revolutionise your writing.

V is for.... Velocity

2011-04-26T06:52:00.000+01:00

Is your story moving forward? Is every scene, every character, every moment progressing the plot and its themes?

I touched on this in my Killing Your Darlings post about editing, but moving things forward needs to be at the front of your mind while you're writing your story for the very first time as well as during the redraft. If your characters aren't travelling towards the conclusion of the story, then they're just going round in circles, and that's not where you want to be taking your reader. Sure, your characters will get stopped along their way, and they will get detoured and distracted, but you're still moving them forward.
Such forward motion also reveals character, develops relationships and explores the themes of your novel. All of this, in turn, helps the forward motion of the plot.
You are taking your reader on a journey from A-B. In order to keep things interesting, you will detour past several other letters of the alphabet, but you still need to end up at B. B is where things are different. Your characters will be different; they will have developed, learnt new things, learnt things about themselves, made new friends, they may have lost people along the way, or made new discoveries. They may even have reshaped the future of the entire world.

U is for.... Unique Selling Point

2011-04-25T07:45:00.000+01:00

It is becoming more and more important that writers are marketing-savvy, and able to sell themselves and their book, not just to potential agents and publishers, but also to their potential readers. Unless you're lucky enough to be offered a book deal from one of the huge publishing houses, you will have to do much, if not all, of the marketing yourself. This means organising readings, signings and other appearances, it means getting your book reviewed, featured and recommended. But all of this will never happen unless you have a reason for people to want your book; a unique selling point.

There are millions of books that have already been published, and even more that are clamouring for the attention of publishers and agents. No one's interested in books that mirror what's already out there; they're looking for something new, something that grabs their attention and their imagination. Maybe you write in an interesting mix of genres, or you're tackling a subject that isn't often featured in books, or a character with an unusual twist.

But always remember that you're selling yourself as well as your book; the two come as a package. What's interesting about you and the relationship to your book? Perhaps you live on the edge of a forest that became the setting for your book, perhaps you're distantly related to someone famous (or infamous), perhaps your story was kickstarted by something you dug up in your garden. It's important to include this in your query letters, and in your marketing to fans.

There is loads of advice online, or you can look for marketing classes or seminars to attend. Talk to other writers, and network. Become web-savvy. If you don't know all about Facebook, or Twitter, or what SEO is, go and find out. These days it's not just about writing an excellent novel, you have to be able to sell it too.

T is for.... Telling It Like It Is

2011-04-23T11:26:00.000+01:00

Sometimes you just want to be nice, and you don't want to hurt someone's feelings, right? So what if you hate your friend's boyfriend's band, or your Mum's new perfume. Just smile sweetly and say they're great. That's fine. But as a writer you need people in your life who will be honest and tell you if your current WIP just isn't good enough.

We all have people around us that are good for different things. We have friends to shop with, friends to gossip with, friends to watch sad movies with. We have people we go to when we need a morale boost and those who will tell us the truth. They're the most important people to you as a writer. They're the people who will tell you they hate your new haircut, the ones who will be honest about how big your bum looks in your jeans, and the ones who can tell you that your story makes no sense, or it's boring, or your main character is impossible to empathise with.

If you're lucky enough to be part of a writing group, then you can have a whole host of people like this, but, more importantly, they can tell you why you're story is dull and suggest ways to improve it. Truth is essential, but when it's backed up with support and encouragement it's worth it's weight in gold.

S is for.... Synesthesia

2011-04-22T07:47:00.000+01:00

I have synesthesia. I grew up thinking that it was entirely normal and that everyone made the same kind of associations.

Words often have colours. And I'm not talking about 'love' being red or pink, or 'calm' being pale blue. It's 'and' being bright orange or 'write' being pale green. I make odd associations between words, not because of their meaning, or the sound of them, but because of the way they feel, or vibrate; like 'complication' and 'controlled'. I can feel words in my hands; their shape, their weight, whether they are soft or hard. Food tastes like shapes to me, and pain feels like shapes too.
Interestingly enough, synesthesia is prevalent in creative people, or maybe creativity is prevalent in synesthetes. I use my synesthesia to name my characters. I know what colour they need to be and I know how they need to feel in my hand, so I search for a name that matches. I have to have a range of different names in my work, they need to feel distinctly different from one another, and I need a good balance of them (but that's my OCD, and that's a whole other story!) My own name is very heavy. It's like lead, but maybe that's because it's mine.

Synesthesia, from the ancient Greek syn, 'together', and aisthēsis, 'sensation', is a neurologically-based condition in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway.

R is for.... Read it Out Loud

2011-04-21T18:02:00.000+01:00

If I could give just one piece of writing advice it would be to read everything you write out loud. Not in your head; out loud. You don't need to invite an entire audience over to hear it, just read it to your family, or even just your cat. My cat, Neko, has been treated (or subjected) to almost everything I've written in the past couple of years.

Reading your work out loud will let your ears hear it. I know that sounds odd, but trust me, it's important. It can be so hard to pick up on mistakes with your own work; you're too close to it, and you know what you meant to write.

If you read it out loud you will be able to pick up on issues like repetition, confusing sections or clumsy syntax (word order). You will also find it easier to pick up on spelling mistakes because reading out loud forces you to read slower than if you read in your head. You can't speed read or skim over sections. So stand up, take a deep breath and read it out!

Q is for.... Quirky

2011-04-20T18:52:00.000+01:00

In the garden of a house opposite the bus stop I wait at there is an old railway signal. It stands next to a flagpole from which hangs the ragged remains of a flag. I always wonder who lives there. Perhaps a retired train driver, or a train spotter, or someone whose entire attic is taken up by an amazing model train set.

I'm always on the lookout for quirky things, oddities, things that seem a little out of place or spark my interest. That railway signal will be turning up in a novel one day.

I'm always looking for quirks in people too. Someone who hums to themselves as they eat, someone who always wears odd socks, someone who clicks their fingers when they struggle to find the word they want. I love adding quirks to my characters and putting oddities into their world.

In my 2009 NaNoWriMo novel, I brought in a character I absolutely loved. Sadly she got killed off far too soon; I'll have to write a lot more of her in the next redraft. She was a dancer and had absolutely no reservations; the day my MC met her, she was stood in the doorway of her apartment completely naked. She spent a lot of time skantily clad, but that was just her. And what does this little oddity say about her character? The obvious is that she's confident and comfortable in her own skin, proud of her body; but perhaps she was overweight as a child and was bullied relentlessly. Maybe she's always naked because she feels she has nothing else to offer the world other than her body. Perhaps her Mother taught her that.

Just one unique quirk added to a character can open up so many possibilities about their character, their backstory and their life.

P is for.... Photoshop

2011-04-19T08:56:00.000+01:00

Today I will teach you how to create a map for your fantasy novel using Photoshop.

1 - Open a new document to the size you want and ensure the colours are set to the default black and white. Under the Filter menu, choose Render - Clouds.

2 - Under the Image menu choose Adjustments - Posterize. Change the number of Levels to 2. This gives you your land (black) and your sea (white). You can undo this and keep trying until you get a landscape you're happy with.

3 - Make sure your current layer is unlocked, and use the magic wand tool to select all of the sea (uncheck the contiguous box and set the tolerance to 0), and then delete it. You will probably find it useful to rename the layer 'Land'.

4 - Create a new layer named 'Sea' and colour fill it. I use a medium brown, but you could use a blue if you prefer. Add a radial gradient for that 'oldy-worldy' effect.

5 - Hide your sea layer and bring back the land. Under the Filter menu choose Stylize - Glowing Edges. Turn the brightness right up, and the smoothness right down. Setting the thickness to 5 will give you chunky outlines. Experiment with the settings to find what works for you. Then in the Edit menu choose Adjustments - Invert to swap the outlines to black, and then you can colour fill your land the colour you want it to be.

6 - Use the pencil tool to draw your details on new layers; buildings, trees, mountains, marshes. Copy and paste layers to build these up. For neatness, I tend to merge the layers so that I have one layer for each town, or forest, or mountain range. Use the type tool to add the names.

7 - You can add roads between the different places with the paintbrush tool. You can also use this tool to colour the land of mountain ranges, deserts and marshes; it works best if you use a brush with soft, blurred edges.

When I am completely happy with everything, I tend to add a canvas effect to the whole of the map (Filter - Texture - Texturizer). You will either need to merge all of the layers to do this, or save it as a JPEG and re-open the JPEG.

Always, always keep a photoshop copy of your map. You might think it's finished, but we all know how characters can hijack novels, and they might want another town or forest added in. Have fun!

O is for.... Office

2011-04-18T06:40:00.000+01:00

I love the section on the Sky Arts Book Show where they explore the place a particular writer does their writing. Some writers just have the most amazing spaces which I am so jealous of, others just write in bed, or in the garden, or at their local coffee shop. It does fascinate me, and I often wonder what my office (or, more aptly, writer's den) says about me.

I write in a small mezanine room tucked below the roof and above our dining room. It's small, and cramped and it gets boiling hot in the summer, but it's mine. All mine. And I was very proud when I read in Stephen King On Writing that he also has his desk tucked into the eaves.

My den has everything I need. Enough privacy to let me concentrate, but still open enough so that I can hear the kettle boiling. I have a gorgeous rocking chair - an absolute bargain from an auction - which my husband re-covered for me, toys from my childhood and a blanket knitted by my Grandmother with all my badges from Brownies and Guides sewn on. There are pictures and photos, ornaments, shelves full of both fiction and reference books (with many more in boxes in the cupboard), journals, art and photography books for inspiration and a stash of old writing magazines.

Where do you do your writing and what does it say about you?

N is for.... Neko

2011-04-16T12:34:00.000+01:00

One thing I've found very interesting is the amount of cat lovers that there are in the writing community. Maybe it's because we spend a lot of time sat in cosy offices with a cup of coffee, or curled up on the sofa with a book. Belonging to a writer must be like living in cat heaven.

And so, today's post for the A-Z Blogging Challenge is an ode to my beautiful cat Neko. She will be 2 years old this summer and she is one of the most important people in my life. Neko is half black shorthair and half siamese, making her a very unusual and beautiful cat. She is also completely insane, but then, aren't all cats?

Every time I settle at my desk and open my computer, Neko will appear with one of her toys in her mouth; full of energy and ready to play. She loves to play fetch and we always get bored a lot sooner than she does!

There are some words she's learned; "get back", "bedtime", "treats" and her favourite, "milk". In fact, she loves that one so much we have to spell it out if it's not time for her to have some!

When I write, she likes to sit with her head in front of the computer screen, or sit with her front feet on the keyboard. She is ever present whenever I write or, indeed, whenever I do anything that means she doesn't have my attention. But I wouldn't change her for the world. She is my crazy, feline sidekick, and things just wouldn't be the same without her.

I'll leave you with a couple of pictures of her sunbathing; one of her favourite hobbies along with sniffing and licking things.

M is for.... Museum

2011-04-15T22:35:00.001+01:00

I have to admit, M has been a real problem today. I looked through my dictionary, but still found myself at a loss, so I picked up my word origins book and found something interesting. I love etymology; I think we become so used to our language that we become almost de-sensitised to it, no longer truly hearing or thinking about the words and where they come from.

Etymologically, a museum is a place devoted to the 'muses'. It comes via Latin museum 'library, study' from Greek mouseion 'place of the muses'

I love museums and galleries, and I have always found them to be places of great inspiration. I spent a few months living in Manchester and loved visiting the large galleries there, slowly walking my way from one artistic era to the next.

A few years ago I visited the Antony Gormley 'Blind Light' exhibition in London. It was the one with the large box filled with fog. I can't even tell you how weird that was. I have never felt so lost and disoriented; it's a truly odd feeling to have someone's hand in yours, but to be unable to see anything past their forearm.

I'm just going to leave you with a photograph from outside the exhibition; showing two of Gormley's figures, which were scattered all over the place, standing in front of the London Eye.

L is for.... Life Experience

2011-04-14T07:08:00.000+01:00

You've heard it said a million times; if you want to be a writer, you have to write. Write every day. Set time aside to write. Write from dawn until dusk. Hang on. How are you ever going to write about your character's lives if you're not living your own. Today, put down the pen, turn off the computer and get out.

Life experience is the greatest inspiration you can get. Go out, fall in love, get your heart broken and then recover. Talk to strangers, eavesdrop on conversations. You don't need a shorthand notebook to dictate everything you hear; just listen and absorb. If you're a woman, listen to men, if your young, listen to older people. Listen to people from different cultures, different religions, every different demographic of society. Go into shops you wouldn't normally go into. If you usually dress casually, go out in a suit and see how people interact with you differently. Dye your hair, wear glasses, speak with a lisp.

Learn a new skill. Try something totally different. Do something that scares you. You can't get all the experience in the world, you'll never manage it. Besides, the lives we write about are extraordinary, that's what makes them compelling to your readers. You will never know what it's like to be in outer space with a Rakon approaching you with its teeth bared, but maybe it's the same kind of fear as the time you got into your car and found a hornet in there.

Go out there and experience life!

K is for.... Killing Your Darlings

2011-04-13T06:27:00.000+01:00

I'm not here to talk about killing off your characters, although, that is something I do all the time. And not just background characters, I mean characters I've worked on, characters I've fallen in love with, characters I've made the reader fall in love with. But as I've said, that's not what I'm talking about.

So, killing your darlings. Anyone who reads this blog regularly will have heard me harp on about this before. So you've written your first draft and you've got the big red pen out to start editing. You come across a scene you love; maybe it's hilariously funny, or deeply touching or the best bit of prose you've ever written in your life. BUT it doesn't progress the plot. In fact, it slows it down, or makes it falter altogether. So what do you do?

Editing is not the same as clearing out your bedroom. When you're sat in the middle of your bedroom floor you can save the photos, the old Valentines cards and the concert tickets, but when you're editing your first draft there is no space for being sentimental.

If a character, a scene or entire chapters do not progress the plot, the characters or the theme they have to go. But, you needn't throw them out altogether. Tuck them away somewhere safe, you might be able to use them for another project, or they might even be the basis for something new. Often, knowing that you're saving them for another time makes it easier to cut them.

Possibly the best piece of writing advice I've ever had is this: Get into a scene as late as possible and get out of it as soon as possible. It was advice in regards to playwriting, but it works just as well for prose or, indeed, any kind of writing. If your entire first chapter is just description or scene setting, take it out. Start at chapter two. Everything you put in chapter one can be revealed gradually throughout the book. This is something I expect all of us are guilty of having done at some point.

Your big red pen isn't sentimental, it doesn't care about your favourite scenes, so absorb some of that ruthlessness and get cutting.

J is for.... "Jinkies"

2011-04-12T06:13:00.001+01:00

Well, here we are storming towards the halfway point of the A-Z Blogging Challenge, so how's it going for you? I am having so much fun doing this, and thank you to everyone who's commented so far. But it's funny how some letters are far easier than others. J was another hard one. I dragged out my late Grandmother's huge, old dictionary (she was a published writer too) and started working my way through the Js. I barely knew any of the words, whereas, in my modern dictionary from just a few years ago, I know nearly all of them. Interesting how our language usage changes so much over time. Which leads me nicely to, J is for "Jinkies".

As you will almost certainly know, "Jinkies" is the catchphrase of Velma from Scooby Doo. This is not a critical analysis of that particular cartoon, but an analysis on speech patterns and how you can use them to reveal character.

There are lots of ways you can do this, and this list is not exhaustive.:

Dialects - this not only shows where a character comes from, but some carefully chosen dialect words and phrases can also give an indication of the character's age and the time in which the story is set.
Making Speeches - your higher status characters are likely to speak more than your lower status ones, or speak over other people, or simply ignore what they're saying; talking on crossed purposes.
Volume - someone with higher status, or who believes themselves to have higher status, may speak louder than other characters. Volume may also be a character's way of covering up their ignorance, nervousness or confusion.
Speech Impediments - does your character speak with a lisp, or do they stutter? Remember that people often hide their speech impediments, sometimes they only come out when that person is nervous or flustered.
Silence - always keep in mind that what a character doesn't say is equally as revealing as what they do say.
Catchphrases - nearly everyone you know will have certain words or phrases they overuse. This can reveal a lot. Think about the differences between characters whose catchphrases are "WTF" and "oopsie daisy". Catchphrases are fun to play with and can add an extra annoying element to a character.

Do any of your characters have particular catchphrases or other speech patterns? What does it say about them?

I is for.... Idols

2011-04-11T08:02:00.001+01:00

Everyone has idols; people they respect, admire and aspire towards. I had three major idols when I was growing up, the first being Tank Girl. This movie came out the year I turned 15 and when I saw it I knew what I wanted to be in life. My other two idols at that time were Tairrie B from Tura Satana (now My Ruin) and Rayna Foss from Coal Chamber. Notice a pattern here?

As I've grown up things haven't changed. I still admire kick-ass women who aren't afraid to go against the flow, and I still idolise fictional characters and real-life people in equal measure. Added to my list of idols (all carefully placed below Tank Girl, still my No 1) are Juliette Lewis (love her in Kalifornia, From Dusk til Dawn and Whip It), Helena Bonham-Carter, Selene from the Underworld movies, Aeon Flux and Alice from the Resident Evil movies.

So what impact does this have on my writing? Answer, a big one. I write female main characters. That in itself isn't surprising. I am female so I can write a much more convincing female character than a male one. But I write very strong female main characters. They're warriors, strategists, idealists, ambitious, cunning and ruthless. They lead the men. They are, however, always willing to do anything for love.

I also enjoy reading novels with similar main characters. I have recently read 'Graceling' and 'Fire' by Kristin Cashore and am looking forward to next year's release of her third novel 'Bitterblue'. I can't tell you what draws me to these kind of characters; maybe it's having 3 brothers, maybe it's because I was taller than all the boys in my class through primary school, maybe it's because I have big feet. Who knows. But something inside me draws me to these kind of women.

Who are your idols and how do they impact on the characters you write?

H is for.... Creating Histories

2011-04-09T12:32:00.002+01:00

I'm a fantasy writer and spend a lot of time world building. I love to create maps and plot out all the towns, cities, forests, rivers and other landmarks. It's an essential part of the work; I need to remember which town is north of which, or which forest my characters need to travel through to reach the coast.

Alongside my map I will also write reams and reams of historical notes for every single named place. When creating your world, you need to know why it has evolved and grown as it has.

Why was a town established there? Towns build up when the land around them is of worth; be it fertile crop land, good fishing waters or as a strategic military stronghold.
What are the main exports? This will be largely based on its location. A fishing village will rely heavily on fishing, but also tourism. They may have a particular craft which is highly valued, perhaps they make fantastic reed baskets or necklaces from fishbones.
What does it need to import? A military stronghold may be well-placed on the slopes of a mountain, but can they grow anything there? How do they get the goods they need and where do they get them from?
What are the main buildings in your town and city? From here we get to think about religion and also governance. If there is a strong religious belief there will be religious buildings. What do they look like? Which direction do they face? All of this has significance to the story, your characters and the physical layout of your towns and cities. Is your world ruled by a monarchy or a government? Do your cities have palaces, city halls, or do the people rule together from meeting houses or even their own homes?
What is your town called? The history of a town will have an impact on its name. It may be named after its founder, or the river it lies on. But why is the river named that? Names evolve over time, so it may be called something slightly different to what it was founded as.
Myths, legends and superstitions. Everywhere you go has a legend about it. It may be the story of a mass-murderer or the ghost of a famous resident. These will also be impacted by religion. There may be legends as to why an unusually shaped hill dominates the landscape, or why no crops will ever grow near a certain lake. You can also create your own religious or secular holidays, traditions and celebrations.

There is loads more that you can think about, but, for fear of writing an essay here I'll leave it at that. Maybe when we get to P I'll explain how I create my maps using Photoshop.

G is for.... Green Eyes

2011-04-08T18:07:00.000+01:00

I have green eyes. They are edged in a very deep, forest green and the centres are yellow with flecks of brown. When did you last look at your eyes? When did you last really, really stare at yourself in the mirror? Stare long enough and hard enough that you began to grow unfamiliar, or discover a mole or a small scar you hadn't noticed before? You know yourself, but you can still surprise yourself sometimes, do something you never thought you would. Or could.

Spend a moment to have a good hard stare at your main characters. Do you really know them as well as you could? Stare, stare harder, stare harder still until you find something new. If you've been working on a piece for a long time, sometimes even years, the characters can become a little stale. Let them surprise you again. I bet you could write a long list about what you don't know about them.

But don't neglect the obvious. I often forget to figure out what my characters actually look like. I know their entire history, their secrets, their motivations and dreams, what they like for breakfast and their favourite flowers. But sometimes I don't know what colour their hair is, their shoe size or how tall they are. But I do know their eye colour. They're always green.

F is for.... Finishing a Book

2011-04-07T20:25:00.000+01:00

Today I have finished the book I've been reading. Whenever I'm approaching the end of a book I'm always faced with a dilemma: part of me wants to read faster and faster, excited to find out what happens in the end, and the other part wants to stop, never wanting to have to end the journey the book has taken me on. Imagine having loads of books sitting around with the bookmark waiting at for you at the last chapter.

I hate that period of sadness after the end of a good book; the moments that it takes to readjust back to reality, the realisation that you won't set foot in that particular world again, or, at least, for a long time. I always call this my period of mourning. I mourn the loss of every book I read.

I need some time between the end of one book and the beginning of another; a respectful moment of silence. I need to readjust - it leaves me feeling a little dizzy jumping between worlds so quickly. I find it hard enough to slip back into my real life even after just 10 or 15 minutes of reading.

Reading a book is a commitment, the forging of a relationship, not just between you and the story, but you and every single character, every single event, every tiny gesture. It's also a relationship between you and the writer. Because, even if we don't do it intentionally, we all write a little bit of ourselves into our books. You may spend weeks or months skipping into the world of the book, living it, absorbing it. It impacts on your life, your personality and, of course, your writing. I'm not saying every book you read will leave you changed, but it will always leave something; a ripple, however small.

E is for.... Endanger

2011-04-06T20:04:00.000+01:00

I didn't have a plan for tackling the A-Z Blogfest: I decided that I would simply look around me each day and try to find something to inspire me, or wait for something blog-worthy to happen. The first four days worked well, but E decided to elude me. I even had to get out my dictionary to try and find my subject for today.

So, E is for Endanger. We endanger our poor characters all the time, be it physically, emotionally, mentally or spiritually; if we didn't it would make for a pretty boring story. And since I haven't posted any fiction for this blogfest yet, I thought I'd post up a snippet from my 2009 NaNoWriMo novel, 'The Ladies of Evertower'. Enjoy...

The ground was sodden, and the water was through Nimareth's nightdress in seconds, clinging it against her skin, wrapping it tightly around her legs. She turned on the torch and shone it up into the maze of cogs above her. She could see nothing in the darkness; no movement, no eyes, just cogs and pistons sitting just as they should be. She sighed, berating herself for being so stupid, for letting her imagination get away from her and for having told Dellannis what she thought she had seen. She began wriggling to manoeuvre herself out from under the vehicle, when something did catch her eye. A flick of a movement, right above her, so quick that she could have missed it had she blinked at that moment.
And then suddenly the movement had eyes, and it had teeth and long fingers grabbing at her. The torch flew from her hand and she cried out in terror, her arms and legs flailing as the Inim attacked, sinking its teeth into her shoulder, it's fingers digging into her chest, it's feet pushed into her stomach. It ripped a lump of flesh from her, spitting it across the ground, and Nimareth felt her warm blood flood over her body. The Inim leaned down to her ear and started to whisper to her, and as the words flowed into her mind, she stopped fighting, overtaken by sadness, her heart breaking inside her, her eyes filling with tears. But then Lady Edoriella was under the Dragonleaper, pulling the Inim by its leg, and it screamed out; a scream so unearthly Nimareth knew she would never shake it from her head, a scream like a million children dying in fear and pain, a scream that shook her soul and brought all her beliefs crashing down around her.

D is for.... Dog-eared

2011-04-05T09:21:00.000+01:00

I love my books. And let me make it clear; I mean real, actual books, not digital downloads. I don't own an e-reader. Anyone who knows me will have heard me say; "The day they make an e-reader that smells like a real book, I'll buy one." Anyway, that's a debate that will go on and on and on. I just want to talk about my books.

I love the smell of books, and second-hand books smell even better than brand new ones. I love stepping into a second-hand bookshop and just inhaling for a moment. Filling my lungs with words and stories that have been read and loved over and over. And the thought that maybe, one day, I'll be able to leave a legacy like that; a book that gets passed from hand to hand, someone writing notes in the margin or highlighting favourite passages.

I love the crack of the spine on a new book, and watching the creases slowly creep along it as I get further and further through the story. I love the curled up pages, that slight yellowing over time - every single sign that I have loved it.

And I love to lend my books too. I will never ask people to be careful, not to bend the spine or to carry them around in their bags. My friends and family are free to enjoy the book as I have; with all the spine creases and signs of wear.

My most loaned out book is 'The Five People you Meet in Heaven' by Mitch Albom. Since I read it, it has spent more time out of my possession than in it. If you haven't read this book, do. I am not joking; this book is the answer to the meaning of life. Go on, go and get it now. And don't just download it from Amazon, support your local bookshop or local library; in these hard times they really need your support. And don't forget to love your books.

C is for.... Cutting it Fine

2011-04-04T12:06:00.001+01:00

Phew. I've just submitted a play a mere 15 minutes before the submission deadline. So, why am I cutting it so fine? In all honesty it's a mixture of procrastination, laziness and excuses. This is typical me. I do this all the time under the excuse that 'I work well under pressure'. It's true, I do work well under pressure, but what's the result? I've just had to submit my first draft. It is not my best work and I don't expect an acceptance letter.

Part of me does wonder why I even bothered to submit it, but the other part of me knows it was as a punishment to that first part. That part that always wants to give up.

I'd love to say I'll learn from this, I'd love to say it won't happen again, but I know it will. But, at the end of the day, I made the submission. I did it. I may have sent something entirely mediocre (and that's probably being polite), but at least I sent something. Although, to be fair, I was never psyched about this submission. I only did it for the chance of the acceptance payment. So there is definitely something to learn from that - I write best when I write for the right reasons (now say that quickly 5 times!) And the right reason is? Because I love it.

How are you with meeting those submission deadlines?

B is for.... Blind-Spot

2011-04-02T22:07:00.000+01:00

We all have blind-spots; everyone has had a friend or a partner that they let get away with anything. People may tell you that they're no good for you, but you just can't see it, or refuse to see it. That person can become a serious millstone around your neck, and in the end, you're going to be the one that gets hurt.

Being quick to trust someone, or being naive, is often seen as a character flaw, but they are traits common to the friendliest, sweetest and kindest of people. Sometimes society just seems to rate more ruthless traits higher.

One thing blind-spots can offer you is a fantastic opportunity for creating tension in your writing. Is your character being lied to? Are they unable to see that they are being played for a fool? Are they falling out with friends that are just trying to help? Characters need weaknesses as well as strengths, and sometimes the best weakness to give them is another character. Put some blinkers on your character, turn their eyes away from the truth, and let the conflict play out.

A is for.... Awards

2011-04-01T22:17:00.001+01:00

So, here it is; day one of the A-Z Blogging Award. And, to be honest, I very nearly forgot all about it. But it's still April 1st here, so I'm still on track (couldn't have me fail right from the off, could we?)

And so, A is for Awards. I have just been awarded the Powerful Woman Writer Award from Deirdra Eden-Coppel - check out her A Storybook World blog. Thank you very much for the award, Deirdra, and what wonderful timing too!

I would like to pass this award on to one writer friend of mine. Margo Benson, who I have the pleasure to know in real life as well as online. Margo is a fantastic writer who really has an eye for detail, you should definitely hop over to her blog to check out some of her work there.

And while we're talking awards, I would like to take the opportunity to, once again, thank those who have previously sent me awards: Tony Benson and Arlee Bird.

Back to the Drawing Board?

2011-03-28T10:21:00.000+01:00

During last year's National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), we were a few days into November, and a few thousand words into the challenge when I lost all hope. I had spent October carefully planning the plot, outlining the characters and world building. And then I began to write and quickly realised that this, quite simply, was not going to work.

I considered it. I considered scrapping everything I had written and starting over. I still had plenty of time, so I sought advice with my followers on Twitter.

Everyone instantly messaged me back saying "Don't do it"; so I soldiered on. I ended up with a novel that is two different stories sandwiched together. But I also ended up with the sense of achievement that completing NaNoWriMo always gives.

I'm working towards a deadline now - 4th April to be exact - and I've changed my mind on what I'm writing. Totally changed it. I want new characters, a new plot, a new everything. Why should I submit something that isn't my best work? But, on the other hand, I don't want to miss yet another submission deadline due to my terminal indecisiveness. Because, as a writer, there's always a better idea, or a more exciting idea to chase. Sometimes it feels a little like the end of the Crystal Maze; desperately grabbing for the gold tokens.

So what do you do with all the gold tokens that are blowing around your head? Just like in the Crystal Maze, pop them into the box. Any box. Just clear your head out. Save them, nurture them, gather them together and use them when the time is right. You'll know when that time comes, because you won't be able to sleep or sit still until you do it.

As for my deadline? I'm starting over. Sometimes, you just have to. Even if I have to pull an all-nighter or two. What I've written so far is clinical, empty; just words on a page. What I have in mind is honest and real, human and personal. Much better. Scary, but I have to do it.

I've still got a gold token or two buzzing around, but they're tucked away in my Inspiration Box; I know they're safe, and they'll still be there when the time comes to write them. So I can push them to the back of my mind and concentrate on this for now.

So how do you decide when it's time to go back to the drawing board?

Here's to New Friends

2011-03-25T21:26:00.001Z

You know, I have actually been blogging here since December 2009. And from that first post until the beginning of this year, it was all a little quiet round here. I posted away on a not-very-regular basis, and presumed that someone, somewhere might be reading my ramblings. Probably not though.

I'm clued up on Twitter and Facebook, I know what #FF means and even #WW, and I've been deciphering IM acronyms for years. But one thing I have only just learnt is that Blogger is a social networking tool. I thought it was merely somewhere you poured out randomness in a similar way to shouting from a mountain. Someone might hear you, but any shouts back were probably just an echo.

Therefore, I would like to offer up a great big Thank You to all of my new blogging friends. Since February, and my very first discovery of Blogfests, my followers have expanded from 1 to 35 (as I write this). Hello to you all. I know all of this makes me sound a little behind the times, but, well, I subscribed to my very first podcast last month on iTunes and it all makes me feel very 21st Century.

And here's an award from a new blogging friend of mine; Arlee Bird from Tossing it Out (home of the A-Z Blogfest no less!) Thank you very much. And I'm going to pass this on to three of my other new blogging friends.

Loralie Hall - It's Always About the Journey

Heidi Windmiller - ...Then She Writes

Susan Kane - TheContemplativeCat

What's My Gender?

2011-03-23T15:46:00.003Z

I've just read the most fascinating post on Loralie Hall's blog; It's Always About the Journey. In her post, 'We're all genderless behind the keyboard, aren't we?' she talks about the gender split in the world of literature. Make sure you follow the link and check out her post. And I hope you don't mind me hijacking this Loralie!

What I want to talk about is the link she posted to The Gender Genie. I've not seen this site before, but I have a feeling it might become a new obsession of mine (as if I don't have enough already).

Using a simple algorithm that, as far as I can understand, counts the occurences of particular words, the site tries to work out whether a piece of text was written by a male or a female writer. I couldn't help myself, I started pasting in some of my text and had some interesting results.

When I posted in my blog posts, they largely came back as male. Some of them were male by an impressively large margin. But my fiction posts (I used my blogfest posts), all came back female. But only by a very small margin.

So it would seem that I write with quite a masculine edge. But I wonder what that actually means? What are your thoughts?

Promises, Promises

2011-03-22T11:22:00.000Z

That's it. I'm fed up of starting things and never finishing them, of failing to meet submission deadlines and abandoning things halfway through. You'll see some tabs have appeared at the top of the page. Yes, I'm going public. Public with my promises, public with my successes and public with my failures. Because making promises to you is going to motivate me to keep them. Hopefully. No, definitely. I promise.

Is it All Just in My Head?

2011-03-20T10:37:00.002Z

Most of us have suffered it, many of us curse it, some let it rule them. But is there really such a thing as writer's block? There are many who deny its existence, saying it is merely an excuse used by 'lazy writers'.

They are, of course, entitled to their opinion, but for anyone who's ever stared at a blank page, or struggled to transfer a thought from their head into words, or paced their house for three days straight without writing a word, I think they'll all feel that the muse abandoned them at their time of need. Besides, I don't think being critical, rude or condescending will ever help someone get over writer's block. Oh? It's meant to be tough love? Keep it.

But on the other hand, is it ok to fling our hands in the air and blame it all on lack of inspiration? To give up as if it were fate, unavoidable, completely out of our control?

Every book you ever read about the craft of writing will have a whole host of tips for pushing past blocks - just putting pen to paper and writing whatever rubbish comes out, or setting a routine for writing time, or locking yourself away from society. Has this ever helped you when you have a deadline to hit and just can't seem to drum up the, what is the word? Motivation? Passion? Inspiration? I think I still have all three of these when I feel blocked; and that's what makes it so frustrating. I think what's missing is the transition. The transition of a thought; an electrical pulse jumping between the nerve endings of my brain, into physical, linear and comprehensive sentences. It's the relationship between brain and page that falters, never my motivation or passion or inspiration.

You can read as much advice as you like on the matter, but the fact is, you have to find what works for you. Mine? The washing up. Just stepping away from the computer and doing something physical and mundane. Letting my mind relax and blank itself, sink into the routine of wiping out mugs and rinsing off plates. And that is why I will never, ever own a dishwasher.

So what's your advice? How do you banish the dreaded writer's block?

Luck O' the Irish Blogfest

2011-03-16T21:12:00.000Z

And now for the 2nd St Patrick's Day Blogfest; the Luck O' the Irish Blogfest. All the details and other entries are here.

"What's St Patrick famous for?" asked Ben.

"He chased all the snakes out of Ireland." Steve replied between mouthfuls of toast. Ben leaned back on his chair, writing the answer in the homework book balanced on his knees, glancing up to make sure his Father didn't see.

"Do you need a lift to school?" asked Steve, tipping the last of his coffee into his mouth.

"So there are no snakes here anymore?"

"Oh, I don't know Ben. Come on, grab your bag, get a move on."

The school was decorated with strings of shamrocks cut out of crepe paper, and Mr Carrow, his teacher, had dyed his beard green. The day was largely spent doing colouring sheets and crafts. Ben looked up from his badge making, his eyes resting on the tank at the back of the class where an orange corn snake was curled up. Mr Carrow was busy mopping up a puddle of glue, and Ben moved his eyes back and forth between the tank and the open window next to it.

"You'll be the first snake free in Ireland." Ben whispered.

Drunk at First Sight Blogfest

2011-03-16T20:35:00.000Z

So, it's time for the first of the two St Patrick's Day Blogfests I signed up to; the Drunk at First Sight Blogfest. You can check out all the rules and the other entries here. So, without further ado:

Kate woke; last night's argument still ringing in her ears. She turned over onto her side and watched sunlight creeping under the curtains. Jonathan stirred and groaned, finally draping a heavy arm over her hips.

"You still sulking?" he said. "I just wanted this holiday to be relaxing. I don't find climbing over volcanic rock very relaxing. Or kissing rocks or whatever it is you had planned. Can't we just play mini golf?" Kate slid out of bed, scowling at the gift shop bag from the Guinness Brewery.

"I'm going to walk to the village, you can play mini golf if you like." Kate wandered into the bathroom and shoved her toothbrush into her mouth before she said something she regretted, or set off another argument. She wasn't looking forward to the stares they would inevitably received at breakfast; having yelled last night until the walls shook.

The day was bright, and the trees misted the air above them as if exhaling the early morning rain. Arched across the sky was just a whisper of a rainbow, tipping down towards the village which was settled in the valley below the hotel. Kate's head soon cleared; let Jonathan stay in the hotel for the whole week if he wanted to; she came to Ireland to explore, even if she had to do it alone. And what better place to start than at the end of that rainbow? Maybe she'd find some gold there.

The village soon came into view, rich with the fading rainbow that itself settled between the buildings. Kate easily found the village's only shop and ducked in through the doorway. She smiled at the shopkeeper as he stacked the shelves, using a stall to increase his tiny stature. He clambered down to serve her, tugging at the hem of his green jumper.

That evening, Jonathan took Kate out for dinner; a grudging apology. He rambled on about the lunch buffet the hotel had put on, how the small plates they provided made the 'all you can eat' part of the offer a complete joke. Kate gazed over his shoulder at the TV, hopefully watching them drawing the lottery numbers.

Bits and Pieces

2011-03-15T18:38:00.000Z

I've just got back from a lovely, sunny day in Bude, Cornwall. It was such a gorgeously warm day and I've come home with lots of photos of gulls and boats. I also took a random photo for my 'inspiration photobook'. This is a gathering of photos I've taken while out and about. Sometimes I purposefully go out on one of my 'inspiration walks' (luckily, I live in the country, so these literally start from my front door), or sometimes I just spot something I want a photo of for later. Today it was an old boathouse. I just loved the look of it, and it may pop up in a story one day.

Just a quick mention of a giveaway my good writer friend, Tony Benson is doing. When he reaches 200 followers he will be giving away two paperback books: 'The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society' by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows and 'Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day' by Winifred Watson. Who doesn't love a giveaway? So pop over to his blog, Fireside Park, become a follower and let him know you want to be in with a chance of winning a book.

And while I'm talking about him, many thanks to Tony for giving me a One Lovely Blog Award. I'm truly honoured, Tony, thank you very much.

Broken Hearts Blogfest

2011-03-13T12:19:00.002Z

Well, it's time for another Blogfest entry, and the next few days is The Broken Hearts Blogfest. It's pretty much self explanatory really; I've got to break a character's heart. You can follow links to all of the other entries here.

Ella reached out for the chair she knew was behind her, somehow, her hands managed to find its arms and she gently eased herself down into the seat. She stared down at her shoes. Why had she just grabbed her dirty, battered trainers from by the door? It wouldn't have taken more than a few moments to find a nicer pair. She crossed her legs under the chair, hiding their faded canvas from view.

The Doctor was saying something to her sister, but it was just white noise to her, senseless. This whole thing was senseless.

"Ella." Lea sat down next to her and took hold of her hand. "Let me take you home." Ella could feel Lea's hand shaking in hers. Despite being two years apart in age, they were as close as twins, and felt every emotion together.

"Mrs Stafford." The Doctor handed her a plastic bag. "These are your husband's personal belongings. I'm so sorry for your loss." Ella nodded, not trusting her voice to work. Lea placed an arm around her shoulders and took the bag from her. Everything happened to Ella now, her feet moved her forward, her waist bent her into the car, her hands passed her doorkeys to Lea, but she wasn't part of it.

Lea undressed her, put her to bed and left a cup of tea to go cold on the bedside table. In the darkness, Ella shifted to the other side of the bed and pushed her face into the pillow. She could still smell him here. She pulled the sheets tight around her, trying to capture as much essence on to her skin as she could. It was all she had now; just a fading scent.

It rained on the day of the funeral, absolutely poured down. Ella stood in the doorway of the crematorium, watching water pooling at the bottom of the steps, inviting her down, inviting her to slip beneath its surface, to just disappear. She turned to the sound of Lea wailing. She had wailed through the entire ceremony while Ella had remained tight-lipped. But she couldn't anymore.

"How have you managed to make today all about you?" Everyone in the room turned, sandwiches and drinks halfway to their mouths. "Although I shouldn't be surprised, you always did have to be the centre of attention."

"Ella, please." Lea's voice was pathetic; tight and high pitched.

"Look at you, wearing that ridiculous veil, who the hell do you think you are? He was my husband, mine. Anyone would think you were the widow. What the hell is your problem?" Ella was screaming now, but she didn't care. She just needed this out of her.

"I loved him too!" Lea screamed back, tears leaping from her eyes. She grabbed her daughter and held her close to her, pulling the girl into the folds of her black dress. Ella looked down at her. How had she not seen this before? His eyes, his nose, his same lopsided mouth. She stepped back, her hand on her mouth, but this time nothing was there to stop her as her legs collapsed and she sunk to the floor.

What Happened to Coffee Shops?

2011-03-11T20:53:00.000Z

I love Fridays. Not only is everyone at work in an uncommonly good mood, but I only work half a day. Awesome. So, this afternoon, rather than heading straight home to catch the lunchtime showing of Neighbours, I met up with my other half for a carefully-planned trip to one of Exeter's wide choice of coffee shops.

Ahhhh, the modern coffee shop. I have such romantic ideas about them, but the truth is just more of the usual corporate over-priced saturation of our towns and cities. But this is not a rant about capitalism. Afterall, I am a coffee addict, and if it's given a fancy continental-sounding name, and comes in a mug the size of my head, I'm there 100%. But what I am complaining about is the noise.

Coffee shops; once the quiet haven of readers and writers, where you could sit, in peaceful surroundings and people-watch while relaxing in a carefully chosen window seat. Oh, you could while away the hours eavesdropping on snippets of conversation, or making up lives for the people that pass you by, while sipping on your giant latte and eating your mass-produced but satisfyingly sugary muffin.

But no more. After visiting 3 coffee shops, and still failing to find a window-seat free, we tucked ourselves into a corner and got our journals out, pens poised, brains tuned in. No hang on. Brains tuned in? If only. The packed out coffee shop was overflowing with noise; the milk steaming, the clattering of cutlery, the side-effects of what must have been the clumsiest barista ever. People were chatting loudly on their infernal mobile phones, shouting across the table to their friend sat a matter of inches away from them and taking up the coveted window seats while reading newspapers.

With two big sighs we gave up and wandered out onto the equally noisy highstreet. Seriously, what happened to coffee shops?

Writing People I Hate

2011-03-08T07:19:00.001Z

Just come up with an idea for the current challenge for my writing group. Thing is, it's not a particularly nice one. In fact, it's disgusting; full of characters, situations and prejudices that make me feel sick. I almost thought I wouldn't write it, but art's meant to push boundaries and explore contentious issues, right?

So, I'm going ahead with it, and I'm going to have some fun writing it too. I love writing characters I hate: I love seeing just how far I can push them past the boundaries of likeability, just how digraceful I can make them, and just how subtly I can do it.

Every protagonist needs an antagonist, but what happens when your antagonist is your main character? It is generally accepted that your main character needs at least some endearing qualities; your readers need to care what happens to them in order to keep reading. You'll usually find that if a character starts the story unlikeable, they will develop and learn from their mistakes to become a more likeable character, or, at the very least, gain the reader's sympathy with a backstory to explain why they are like they are.

But what if they don't change? What if they end the story just as horrible as they started it, or worse even? And what if they never get their comeuppance? What if there is no sense of justice, or what goes around doesn't actually come around? I don't think this would work in a novel. I really don't. If you can prove me wrong with an example of this working, then please do. But for short pieces, definitely. Art should cause a reaction in people, and if I can write a character that people can really, truly feel hatred for, then I've done my job as a writer.

The Halfway Blues

2011-03-06T12:11:00.002Z

Anyone who's ever been a work colleague of mine will know how much I hate Wednesdays. I always have; things always go horribly wrong on Wednesdays. I hate that limbo feeling of being halfway through the week: you've still got as much of the week to go as you've already done, and it just feels kind of 'meh'.

When I'm watching a movie, I tend to get kind of fidgety at the halfway mark. Most of my past relationships went horribly wrong after 6 months. I'm forever leaving jobs half finished. And maybe it's significant that I'm the middle child in my family.

That 'about halfway' point seems to last forever, right? When I'm reading a novel and I'm approaching halfway it seems to take forever until I can look and think I'm about 2/3 of the way there. 'About halfway' is a laborious place to be and it's always the place where my motivation and inspiration dries up.

I'm currently halfway through a short story I'm writing for a competition. I'm actually really psyched about what I'm writing, and excitedly explain the idea to anyone who asks what I'm working on at the moment. The first half was written in manic bouts of excitement, but it seems to have dried up. I know where I'm going with it, and I'm really looking forward to reaching the end, but right now it's like being waist-deep in treacle. Halfway = bleh.

Super-Snooper Blogfest

2011-03-02T19:13:00.002Z

Here's my entry for the Super-Snooper Blogfest. You can check out all the blogfest entries here. The idea is to reveal character through the description of their room.

The room is at the back of the house, tucked into the eaves of the roof, the ceiling sloping almost all the way to the floor on one side. A narrow window stretches almost from floor to ceiling, looking out across the sun-filled pastures below.

A single bed sags low to the floor, pushed under the slope of the roof. A dusty handprint is smudged onto the ceiling above it. The bed is neatly made, a plain, colourless blanket stretched across it without a single crease. At the foot of the bed sits a small bookshelf, it's shelves overflowing with books, every spine faded and wrinkled from use. A further pile of books leans lazily up against it.

On the other side of the room, an ancient wardrobe fills much of the small space. It is dark and overbearing, its door standing slightly ajar, poorly hung on old, rusted hinges.

A black and white photograph is stuck to the wall by the window; the picture showing two girls that could have been twins except for the obvious age gap between them. On the floor below it is a large, thickly stuffed cushion. The cover has been hand sewn from old scraps of material, appliqued with the image of a large flower; it's petals in various garish shades of pink. A book is just visible beneath it, it's pages yellowed and folded. This is where the sun falls, stretched out in just a slither of gold across the cushion and the bare, wooden floor beyond.

Making Monsters

2011-02-28T09:20:00.000Z

My current piece of work gives me the opportunity to do one of my favourite things: make monsters. The wonderful thing about writing fantasy horror is letting my imagination creep into all those dark places; I rummage under beds, slip into old wardrobes, search in the darkest corners of the darkest rooms. (I do, however, avoid cupboards under the stairs, but that's another story for another time.)

Monsters come in so many different forms; from the mythological to the fantastical, the humanoid to the human. We all have the capacity to be monstrous. Just as they say the things we dislike in others are the things we dislike in ourselves, maybe we fear what we fear in ourselves. What a wonderful chance I have, as a writer, to play with that. Is there anything more horror-inducing than the realisation of just what human beings do to one another?

So how exactly do I make my monsters? I love humanoid creatures; creatures that can, with a slight disguise, slip into a crowd of humans without being spotted. I love the juxtaposition of the cold, hard and emotionless put into a body that looks so much like our own.

I enjoy playing with superhuman strength, magic and psychic abilities, shapeshifting and disguise. But one thing every superhuman ability needs, is a flaw. Every creature needs something to stop it. Vampires get staked, werewolves shot with silver bullets and zombies decapitated. If there's no way to kill your monster, there's no tension. If there's no tension, there's no reason for your readers to continue.

I doubt that any of my monsters will become timeless classics, but they are so much fun to create, and just as much fun to kill.

Dear Muse...

2011-02-25T18:47:00.000Z

I started a new short story on Monday (although this idea is way too interesting for a mere 5,000 words, so that's my NaNo sorted for this year), and it's been seriously possessing my thoughts ever since. Trouble is, it's possessing it at all the wrong times.

So, muse, I hope you're paying attention, because this is a letter to you.

Dear Muse

While I am forever indebted and grateful to you for all the help you have given to me over the past, I wonder if I could make a polite request.

While I appreciate that the world is full of writers, artists, musicians, performers, inventors and other creative folk, and I understand that you have a large quota of people who you are duty bound to help out, I feel that I am not being allocated slots that are best suited to my needs.

For example, I do feel that waking me in the early hours of the morning is a little unfair, especially on a week day when I need to go to work all day. I am also growing a little tired of filling my lunchbox with post-it notes of ideas while I'm at work. In addition to this, what you did to me today was truly unfair. Filling my head with ideas while I'm jammed into a corner on a severely overcrowded train is not conducive to a happy relationship between us.

Please can I request that you time your visits a little more carefully. Weekends are good for me, also my days off and evenings. If you could keep an eye out for me settling down at my desk in my office, and try to visit me then, that would be perfect.

Yours gratefully

Angeline

Removing the Armour

2011-02-21T17:54:00.002Z

Today has been a great day. I managed to hide up in my office away from the moochers and actually get some damn good writing done. Although, I didn't write what I had planned: I kind of abandoned that project and wrote a 15min script for a competition instead. But writing is writing.

So, back to the point - removing the armour. Drawing from our own experiences and, particularly, emotions is the only way to pack a sense of believability and relatability into our work. I'm not a believer in strictly subscribing to 'writing what you know'; that's why we have research and imagination, right? But emotions are universal, and you can always find something in your past to inject into your writing.
My two MCs had one of those horrible, "I still love you, but I can't be with you" break-ups. Uch. I've been on the receiving end of a particularly traumatic one of those before. So that's what I wrote. Almost word for word actually. And it turned out to be truly cathartic.
Writing my words into a character's mouth, and then reading them back, it was cringeworthy hearing how pathetic they sounded. But we're all geniuses with hindsight and that was a long time ago, a different lifetime, a different me. I believe that writing should always be about nakedness; injecting yourself into it, letting your audience see right into you.
Even the worst experiences in our lives are useful to us. Don't forget things, don't push them from your head or pretend they didn't happen. Use them. Exorcise them. Put them on paper and make someone else say your words. Enjoy your own vulnerability. It's the best kind of therapy you can get.

Procrastination, Avoidance and Excuses

2011-02-20T10:50:00.001Z

Ahhh, procrastination, avoidance and excuses, a writer's best friends (and their worst enemies). They're the friends that stop by for a coffee and then stay all day, insisting that you 'deserve' a day off to slob about watching daytime TV. Sure, sometimes they help you with the housework, but, when push comes to shove, they're moochers. They want to stay over for the night, then it turns into a week, then a month. We all know them, and we've all let them stay. We may moan about them, but we like to have them here, because they're much more fun than our other mates; dedication, discipline and perseverance.

So what does it take to banish these moochers from our homes? Well, the answer to that, I'm afraid, is that there is only one person who can do it. You. And only you can find out how to do it.

I've read a lot of advice about working at writing as if it's a full-time job. Sit down at 9am and start, break for lunch, and then finish at 5.30pm or whenever. If that works for you, then great. If your inspiration comes from within the four walls of your writing space, then fine, go for it. Or is that just my friend excuses talking again?

In a recent interview with Mslexia (issue 48, Jan 2011) Susan Hill said "Who says you have to start writing first thing in the morning?...Who makes these rules? This sort of thing makes people anxious about their writing before they've even started." Absolutely. If you don't enjoy writing, if you make it into a chore, then how can you ever expect to be any good at it? And for that, Susan Hill is one of my favourite writers. Actually it's because she's an amazing writer and is the only one to scare me so much that I cannot finish her book. But I do admire her for standing up against the rules. And no one can accuse her of letting the moochers win, with over 40 books published and a fantastic writing career spanning 50 years.

So, how do you get rid of the moochers? I'm afraid I can't tell you. They took up residence here just before Christmas and are yet to leave. So, answers on a postcard please?

When Stereotypes are Helpful

2011-02-13T17:09:00.001Z

Writers are generally expected to take the familiar and look at it in a new way, making it obscure, exciting, dangerous even. The thought of including cliches and stereotypes fills most writers with absolute horror. But stereotypes can be very helpful.

I'm currently working on a short play (up to 30mins) for a competition and have found myself putting quite a few stereotypical attributes into my characters. Sure, that's not all they are, but it's the basis, the foundation stone of their personalities. When you're writing a very short piece stereotypes can be immensely useful; they are instantly recognisable to your reader or audience and can be used to indicate place and time within seconds.

Stereotypes are, of course, absolutely invaluable to comedy, but they are also perfect for quick minor characters, or for highlighting prejudice or snobbery in another character, or for providing a twist or unexpected ending. Keeping one of your characters in their pigeon-hole throughout the piece gives a marvelous opportunity for them to turn around and do something surprising at the end. Because we mustn't forget that stereotypes are born from truth, or a perception of truth, even if they become grossly exaggerated or caricatured over time.

I've Got More Sense Than I Thought

2011-02-11T20:36:00.001Z

I was watching an old epidsode of QI and one of the general ignorance questions was "How many senses do we have?" Apparently, it's not five. Or even six. It's at least 22. So I have more sense than I thought, right?

It got me thinking. I've been advised many times over the years that to make my writing full and truly engaging, I need to think about all the five main senses; sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell. And it is true. When you describe a beach with the salt in the air, the grit of the sand scratching between the toes, the constant rush of the ocean as well as the stark blue sky, it really does allow the reader to feel like they're there.

So what would it take to include the full spectrum of the senses? How about including nociception (pain), equilibrioception (balance) or kinaesthesia (acceleration)? It would certainly make for an interesting challenge to make sure all of them were included.

Of course, there will be senses that are included regularly in your writing that just naturally sneak their way in there. Senses like sense of time, thermoception (temperature differences) or magnetoception (direction). These easily slip into the general plot by themselves: afterall, time passes, warm days turn to cool nights and people move around.

There are even more that we possess, but the list gets a little, well, internal, and you may well be eating while reading this, so I won't go into detail. But to write a piece that contains every single one of the senses certainly is an interesting idea for a writing challenge, don't you think?

'Wish I had a Camera' Moments

2011-02-02T19:48:00.001Z

I love fog in the mornings. I love the way half the world disappears and suddenly feels so much smaller. I love the way trees fade out of the haze as you approach them: first pale grey, then darker, until they're finally stark black against the white fog. I love the way everything you see every day is suddenly different, or smudged, or gone altogether.

I love standing at the station watching the railway lines fade away into the sky, knowing that, when the train arrives, that's where I'll be going. Beyond my own vision. There's something truly magical about that thought.

This morning, as I squinted into the fog, I saw the faint outline of a train carriage in the siding. A mere ghost, a suggestion. I questioned its existence for a moment as I watched the smudge of a figure approach it and climb inside. A bright red light flashed from inside the cab; on - off - on - off - on - off. An irregular click echoed around the wiped-out world, strange and out of place. There was something disturbing in it, like walking into your house and knowing someone's been there even when nothing's been touched.

I wish I'd had a camera. I wish I could have captured the scene to return to later. So I saved it the only way I could. I saved it in words, putting the scene into the life of a fictional character. I placed her in my shoes, stood her on this platform, turned her head and pushed the clicking into it. She saw the red light, she watched it flash. In my head I positioned the words on the page, played with the adjectives, placed it neatly into chapter 10. I wish I'd had a camera, but as long as I have language, I can capture any image I want.

Save Our Libraries Day

2011-01-31T12:54:00.005Z

In the face of nationwide library closures, a 'Save Our Libraries Day' has been organised for Saturday 5th February, and is being backed by The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP). People are being encouraged to use their local library on this day to show their councils that libraries are essential to the communities. they serve. You can find out more and download campaign resources at the CILIP website.

You can find a list and a map of all of the planned library closures on the Public Library News Blog.

The residents of Stony Stratford, near Milton Keynes banded together via a Facebook campaign and checked out every single one of the 16,000 books in their local library. The Friends of Stony Stratford Library (FOSSL) were astounded by the support as the books flew off the shelves at a rate of 378 per hour. They will find out whether the library will be closed nearer the end of February.

You may not be a regular library user, but if you sit down and really think about what the closure of your local library means, it's certainly a cause worth supporting. Libraries are havens, sanctuaries for writers and readers alike, and they are definitely worthy of saving.

And if you're on Twitter, use the hashtag #savelibraries for your campaign tweets.