Research: the best and worst of it

My current WIP is accidentally historical. And current. And possibly a little bit into the future (but that's a whole other matter). I normally avoid writing about the past because I don't like research. Or, I do, but I get so involved I forget there's a book to write. But my character is 80, so …

Drowning in words!

I've simultaneously got too many and yet not enough words! And what words I do have seem to be spectacularly in the wrong order... After spending a couple of weeks hiding from my critique partners' comments, I opened the file of my novel-in-progress and started to work my way through my notes, their notes, and …

January

January is my nemesis. It's dark and dreary and haunts me, and it's twice the length of any other month. Sometimes, it's even longer than that! A canine representation of my usual January despair. You can almost hear the huffing from here, can't you? But not this year. In a strange inversion of reality, being …

New Book Out This Year!

Happy New Year! This isn't a New Year post, I did that last week - it's the first Monday of the month, so this is a post about my writing projects. This time last year I was preparing for the release of Grace & Serenity. And oh, what plans I had for books signings and …

Stuck in Covid

I've got eleven days to write, edit, polish and submit a short story to a very prestigious short story competition, the Manchester Fiction Prize. Well, I've got something written, but I'm not sure it can actually be called a short story - it's currently a jumble of words with the Covid pandemic as its central …

I’ve finished and just started…

Hello! Today I've watched the FIFA World Cup Final - still feeling a bit gutted England weren't in it, but excited for the next stage of their development - and completed the first draft/very detailed outline of my next project. I'd aimed to write the draft, aiming for 20,000 words, in June. But as it …

Write with Fey

Hello, dear readers! Today I'm welcoming another guest to share her book with you - this time Chrys Fey, whose new book will help you navigate the world of writing and publishing. I'm still busy querying my novel, gearing up to write a new one (I'm planning another month-long blitz, so I've been jotting down the …

The end, the end, the very very end…

My novel is complete. It's been sent for editing - the lovely Karen Sanders removed a million extraneous commas - and I've looked over the notes, and now it's done. Completely and utterly done! Next, I have to decide what I want to do with it. I'd like to submit it, either to an agent …

Yes, Yes, Yes!

I've done it! I've finished my novel. I started - as you know - in November 2016, and wanted to finish within the year. It's been one year, two months and sixteen days. With a caveat... it's going to go to my editor, the wonderful Karen Sanders, who, I imagine, will pull it apart and …

Happy New Year

So, 2018... hello. From a personal point of view, last year was good, yet I'm struggling to think of anything specific! I've just had a look back at last year's round-up, and it was much more eventful. I guess some years just slide along easily, moving from day to day, week to week. It doesn't …