The First Month of 2014

Something of a transitional month for me. Having finally committed to spending more time on writing activities and less on the building of the author platform, I’d also committed to certain activity on Twitter, which lasted until the last week of the month.

Much of my writing time was spent doing the final edit of book 2 of the fantasy trilogy (46 chapters), completing it on the 28^th. Book 1, A Seared Sky: Joinings, is due to be published by Fantastic Books Publishing in spring. I then began to edit book 3. This is a much more time consuming exercise as it’s the first edit of the rough draft, much of which was written for the NaNoWriMo project last November. So, where I could edit a chapter of book 2 in around 20-30 minutes, the chapters of book 3 are taking between 3 and 4 hours each and, so far, I’ve done the first 2. I’m doing a structural and language edit together and following that with a full edit using ProWritingAid. I then give each chapter to my wife to read. Valerie has a great memory, and spots repetitions, typos, anachronisms and inconsistencies. She makes the perfect beta reader and I usually have to do only one final edit after she’s made her suggestions.

I’d set myself a target of submitting 4 short pieces, either stories or poems, to magazines of writing contest each month and I managed to send off 2 stories and 2 poems to contests. Of these, 1 story and the 2 poems were written this month. I also wrote and posted two short autobiographical pieces to the excellent ReadWave site. These submissions are up to 800 words each and may be factual, opinion, memoir or short story. If you click on the site title above, it’ll take you to the relevant page.

My writing group, Hornsea Writers, decided to celebrate 25 years of being by designing a group blog and I contributed to that. If you click on the group name, it’ll take you to that site.

I read and reviewed 4 books, though one of those reviews will actually follow this post, as I wrote it this morning, having finished the book last night.

And I updated the Writing Contests page 3 times. I’m due to do another update this weekend. It’s a popular page and receives a lot of visitors. If you know of a contest I haven’t listed there, by all means let me know. (there’s a ‘contact me’ link at the top of the page.) I only list contests with cash prizes at least 20 times the cost of entry, by the way.

So, not a bad start to the year so far. Let’s hope the output increases as the year progresses. How are things going for you in 2014? Drop us a comment and share your success or other news.

The chart, explained:

Writing - initial creation of stories, blog posts, reviews and longer works.

Editing - polishing of all written work to make it suitable for readers.

Research - discovery of info for story content, market research, contests and blog posts.

Reading - books and writing magazines.

Networking - emails, Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, and comments.

Admin - story submission, blog posting, marketing, organisation, tax, and general admin tasks.

Sing the Midnight Stars, by C.M.J. Wallace, Reviewed

This fantasy is full of imagination and introduced me to a thread of magic I hadn’t come across before. Whether that type of magic is entirely the invention of the author or not I don’t know, but it’s a very effective story element.

I was hooked straight away by this tale of intrigue, with the mad king intent on apparent self-destruction as he greedily sets about obliterating all that is good in his kingdom. The central protagonists, male and female, are fully realised characters about whom the reader very quickly cares. The lesser characters are cleverly drawn so that they, too, are real people. Many different quirks and faults are employed to make the cast into real individuals.

The story moves quickly and the pace only slows when appropriate, allowing the reader to gather background information and details of relationships before being plunged into further action. I found the balance of description and action very well done.

I read this in ebook form and wasn’t able to access a map, which would have been a useful addition. I don’t know whether the book comes with a map or not.

Personal commitments prevented me reading this lengthy tome at one sitting, but I was always eager to get back to it. It’s a page-turner. If you like your fantasy told with skill, passion and imagination, you’ll enjoy this read. I thoroughly recommend it.

The Writer’s Priorities. Part 2

Portrait of Samuel Johnson commissioned for Henry Thrale's Streatham Park gallery (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Timing, they say, is all. An odd coincidence occurred today. I was due to write this post, as a follow-up to last week’s effort. But, I’d also determined I would enter at least 4 writing contest during the month, and I’d only managed 2 entries by yesterday. In preparing for the other two, I went online and discovered at the top of my emails an alert to the Writers’ Village blog I follow for its excellent advice and content. The subject matter was ‘A Simple Idea That Can Sell a MillionBooks’. Bearing in mind what I said last week about money as a motivator, I thought I should at least read the piece. If you click on the title, it’ll take you to it.

It was one of those posts, of which there are many these days, promoting the idea that money can be made from writing by doing a great deal of it and getting it published, more or less regardless of the quality. It’s a persuasive argument for a lot of would-be writers and there’s evidence that this approach does, indeed, earn its better practitioners money. I had to make a comment, of course.

So; back to the theme of this post. Priorities. Do you know what yours are? Are you driven by money? James Boswell, in his Life of Samuel Johnson, wrote, ‘No man but a blockhead ever wrote, except for money’. However, Samuel Johnson himself wrote, ‘The only end of writing is to enable the readers better to enjoy life, or better to endure it’.

My own primary aim is to increase my number of readers. It’s been suggested that the easiest way to do so is to charge nothing for the books. I do have a short story offered free; But, Baby, It’s Cold Outside is a bit of seasonal cheer to make readers smile. But it’s been proved, many times, that in general terms, people place little value on something that has no worth placed on it by the producer. So, I compromise and price my books at what seems a fair cost for the piece on offer. Before I place a piece to market, I spend as much time as is needed to make it the very best I can. My priority has been quality at the expense of quantity.

Perhaps I’ve been too concerned with this aspect, since it’s clear that many readers are not really concerned with the quality of the writing. I’m not sure, to be honest. But, in the interests of discovering whether my writing can stand the rigours of quantity and remain both accessible and readable, I’ve decided to devote this year to more in the way of quantity.

So far, I have 7 books available, published over a period of 5 years. This year I aim to produce a further 4 titles. Nothing like the quantity that many of the genre/formula-fitting writers produce, of course. But a challenge, if quality is to be maintained.

So, my priority for this year is to write, and publish, 4 new titles. This means that certain other activities will necessarily have to be curtailed. Much less time with Twitter, Facebook and the other social networks to which I contribute. But not a complete cessation, of course. I will still need to let people know about my writing, after all.

Last week, when I wrote the first part of this post, I had little idea where I would end up. I’ve now set my aims. Do you have targets, aims, priorities in your writing life? If so, please share them with us here.

Oh, and I will try to maintain a post each week here on the blog, of course.

Related articles

• An author's life is not a happy one
• Review: Life of Johnson

The Writer’s Priorities. Part 1

We’re creative souls, we who write stories, not generally the disciplined and single-minded types for

whom regulation and habit overtake our free spirits to the exclusion of all else. No, those for whom self-discipline and ultra-focus are paramount are, generally speaking, business-minded; people for whom money is the primary concern. That’s not to say that these qualities are undesirable, simply that they’re not the most important elements of our make-up.

As artists (sorry if that term makes you uncomfortable, but perhaps you should be looking at your view of your role as a creative spirit?), we’re more organic, less easily defined by rules, more open to the bending and even the ditching of external influences on our behaviour.

So, where am I going with this?

Let’s face it, if we call ourselves writers, our first love, our primary drive, is writing: yes? If your answer to that is not ‘yes’ then I suggest you examine your reasons for placing words in specific order on pages. It may be that you’re an entrepreneur who’s spotted an opening in a market that just happens to involve the skill of writing. Perhaps you’ve seen the zillions paid for certain best-sellers, and identified a niche you could fill by writing the same story with different names and locations. It works. It’s been done countless times. But it doesn’t make you a writer; it makes you a businessman/woman.

Writers of fiction are more concerned with the words they present, the stories they tell, the effects of those compositions on their readers. Money, fame, success are all viewed as ancillary to the craft and inspiration of actually setting the right word in the right place. Imagination is the primary resource of the storyteller and the emotional punch of the story is the reward.

I’m not making judgments here. If the business approach suits you, that’s your choice. If, on the other hand, the role of the storyteller, the ancient role that started around the fire in the mouth of the cave as a way to explain the world and its wonders and terrors, drives you, then that is also your choice. Unfortunately, for those of us so inclined the world has moved into an era where the majority of the advice, help and support for writers is aimed at those for whom money is the major mover. Talent, it seems, is less valuable.

It’s very easy to be drawn into the world of marketing, promotion, advertising and generally concentrating on making ‘a living’. And, of course, we live in a world where making a living is paramount to mere survival, so the pressures are intense.

The issue then, for those of us who are essentially creative beings, is achieving a balance between making enough to allow us to survive and giving ourselves the freedom of thought and action that will nurture and develop our talents as tellers of tales.

I write this post as a taster only. As a way to introduce the idea that we may need to examine our priorities if we’re to lead full and rewarding lives as writers. For my personal approach, watch this space. I’ll provide my answers soon; just as soon as I’ve reached an actual conclusion, in fact!

And, for the time being, I ask you to consider just one question: 

Why do you write?

Fictional Worlds, by L.A. Alexander, Reviewed.

Subtitled, ‘Traditions in Narrative and the Age of Visual Culture’, this tome of nearly 400 pages of erudition is a considerable piece of work. The book is essentially about storytelling on the screen and is, in fact, part of a series under that title.

Academic, considered, analytical and full of wisdom, it is a book for those working in the film industry, for students of that medium, for critics and reviewers and, ultimately, for those who write screenplays. As a manual for study and an analytical tool for those involved in film, it is a wonderful book.

There are many illustrative case histories: unfortunately, I’ve seen vary few of the many popular films discussed, so this aspect was of less value to me. In any case, although I’ve dabbled in screenwriting and my fiction is visually based, I’m essentially a novelist. As such, I have different needs as a writer. That’s not to say that the book has nothing to offer me. The analysis of story elements and the explanation of story structure are valuable elements and I come away with a deeper understanding of the history and purpose behind story. Myth and legend form the basis of most of what we write today and the discussions of the various root tales are useful and inspiring.

My writing method is that of the pantster. I don’t plan or structure, except in the very loosest way possible. Generally, I start with a theme, develop a story beginning and ending, to which I add characters, and then allow these invented people to determine the route, the journey, of the novel. So, analysis and structural planning are of little help to me; in fact, they can be destructive of a process that relies hugely on instinct and the subconscious mingling of experience, knowledge and emotional elements. Sorry if that sounds pretentious, but it’s the nearest I can find to expressing what actually happens when I sit at the keyboard to create.

Planners and plotters, however, of which there are multitude in the writing world, will find this book invaluable. It guides and explains, suggests analogies, prompts with themes, and labels those elements of a story that such writers need to identify.

So, a book I’d definitely recommend to scholars, scriptwriters, film directors, those with an abiding interest in film, and to those writers who find their creative stimulation in plot.

Related articles

• Reading A Writer's Mind: Exploring Short Fiction - First Thought to Finished Story
• Five basic elements make up a story