Three Top Tips For Moving Your Writing On...

By Antonio Litterio

1. DRIVE THAT DRY: When you’ve had a run of successful writing sessions,  it comes as a shock when you hit a dry patch.  Don’t panic.  The act of writing is like holding handfuls of sand: the harder you try, the more effort you put in, the closer to impossible it gets.  The first blank sheet, or coming back after a break, is always tough. Forget what you planned to write. Instead, plunge straight in to writing your most exciting scene. It doesn’t matter if it’s out of context, just get something down on paper. This works on the sink or swim principle. It may just take a prod to make the words start flowing again. If that doesn't work, there’s a point when sitting and suffering is pointless. Visit your own particular well of inspiration, even if it’s only snatching a nap or taking a walk. Chill out. Stop and smell the flowers. Sometimes you achieve more by trying less. 

2. PLAY FAST AND DIRTY:    When you’re first grabbed by an idea, don’t get bogged down in detail. As long as you’ve done the groundwork on your characters and conflicts, try this. Charge straight through your story, writing only the dialogue. Scribble away as fast as you can, getting down on paper or screen all the juiciest exchanges. Start the beginning, and work right through to the end. You’re not looking to write the whole novel at this stage. You’ll probably change a million things about it before you’re satisfied with your final draft, but that’s in the future. What you want at this stage is a big boost to your self-esteem. The explosion of your idea into visible words will power you on to the finish.

3. FINE TUNE THE FUTURE: Your first, “dirty” draft captures all the interpersonal, edge of the seat stuff – the interplay of character and conflicts that first got your idea up and running. If you’ve invested in plenty of thinking time and done your research, your second draft should be pure pleasure. Go back over your work word by word, and line by line. Use your character sketches to make sure everyone is doing and saying the things they should - or at least, in the way they should. Season your writing with a dash description, and a lot of character development. Let your fictional people drive their story on.  Crank up the conflict. Make them laugh and cry, and you'll make your completed story a guaranteed page turner. 

For more writing tips, visit my website by clicking here. You can sign up for my occasional newsletter by mailing me at christinahollis@hotmail(dot)co(dot)uk, putting "NEWSLETTER" in the subject line. 

Refilling the Creative Writing Well...

By Martyn Stanley

The surge of spring is well under way. These bluebells surround our house like the sea, and  for a few precious weeks each year their blue tide sweeps through the wood.

Growing things gives me a break from writing and gives my mind a chance to freewheel. I can develop fictional characters and formulate new stories. This week, I've been planting salads out in the Greenhouse #1, and looking forward to the first tabbouleh of summer. Tomato plants give off a powerful fragrance which reminds me of when I was little, as my father used to grow hundreds of the things. The perfume of lilac blossom is another trigger for memories. The house where I grew up had double white lilacs all along one boundary. In the low light of dusk and dawn the flowers glowed like banks of snow. I used to think it was an extra present, as my birthday falls this month. Things were so much simpler back then!

The dawn chorus is another powerfully evocative spur for me at this time of year. The birds start singing before first light. That's when I like to go outside for some thinking time. Sitting in the garden with a cup of tea, waiting for the performance to begin eases me gently into my working day. It's usually a robin who starts singing first here. There are two song thrush nests close to the house, one in the kitchen garden and a second in  a holly tree on the lower lawn. I like their songs second only to the nightingales that sing a few miles up the road. There are blackbirds nesting in the ivy encrusting our old shed, and once the male starts warbling from the ridge of the bigger greenhouse, I know it's time to get ready for the school run.

Sunday, 4th May, is National Dawn Chorus Day. The thought of yet another "day" to add to all the other weird and wonderful promotional activities dreamt up by marketing men usually provokes yawns of boredom. Not this time. We'll be heading off to Highnam before 4am, to see if the famous Gloucestershire nightingales are on song. Then it'll be back home for a great British breakfast. The smell of frying bacon is another memorable experience. It makes me want to write a piece on why I could never be completely vegetarian...

What inspires you to write?

Three Top Tips - Mind Games In Writing

By Antonio Litterio

It's one thing to have a great idea and write about it, but what works for you may not work for other people. That doesn't matter if you're only writing for your own pleasure. If you're aiming for publication, then you'll have to get crafty. Think like a reader, and keep these three points in mind: 

CONVICTION: Whether you're writing non-fiction or a novel, a short story or saga you've got to Believe in your work - note that capital B. Making up your mind to put your thoughts down on paper is a big decision. You may or may not be aiming to get published one day, but the more faith you have in your idea, the better your work will be. Spelling and grammar can always be tidied up with redrafts and revisions, but if your writing doesn't have heart,  it hasn't got a hope. 

CHALLENGE: Don’t do all the work for your readers. Add twists and turns to make them think. Give them clues, drip feed information and build tension, whether dramatic or sexual, all the time. Engage their interest, and they'll keep reading. Strap them into an emotional roller-coaster, and push them out of their comfort zone. And challenge their beliefs and their assumptions by all means – just don’t challenge their ability to finish your book. 

CARE: Don’t insult your readers' intelligence. They come from all walks of life. They’re all individuals, too. Your writing could attract either a roadsweeper with a PhD, or a high court judge with no common sense at all. You can’t generalise about your readers, so write as well as you can. Then take care with your editing, to make sure you produce something that everyone can enjoy–whoever they are, and whatever their qualifications 

I'm Christina Hollis, and I write both contemporary and historical fiction - when I’m not cooking, gardening or beekeeping. You can catch up with me on Twitter and Facebook, see a full list of my published books at http://www.christinahollis.com and get full details of my latest release, Jewel Under Siege, here.

Jewel Under Siege - My New Release.

Find out more here

I love the quote from writer Norah Ephron’s mother that everything is copy. This was brought home to me when I was researching the life of Robert Curthose for a magazine article. He was the eldest son of William the Conqueror (remember? Battle of Hastings, 1066?). As well as being a chivalrous knight, Robert was the original party guy. He was a lot of fun, but too easily swayed by his advisors. He could never have been a good ruler, and in the end both his younger brother William (Rufus) and then his youngest brother Henry (I)  got the top job  instead.

Robert’s travels took in Constantinople (modern day Istanbul), which was an amazing place. The luxurious descriptions of a city at the hub of all the great trade routes made me want to use it as the setting for a novel. People have always been resourceful in times of hardship, and I wondered how attraction would work between two people on opposing sides, caught up in a war.  My notes turned into an historical romance, Jewel Under Siege. Heroine Elena is a young widow who shelters Emil, an injured Crusader. This puts her in terrible danger, both from the authorities and from Emil’s rugged charm. The tension mounts as their attraction for each other struggles with Elena’s guilt at living a lie. Then disaster strikes - and only Emil can save the situation.

Jewel Under Siege was brought out in print by Harlequin Mills and Boon as part of their Masquerade Historical Romance Line, under my pen-name Polly Forrester. Now the on-line market has expanded, the book has been re-edited by Tessa Shapcott, given a great new cover by Samantha Groom at magicat45degrees and is now available as an ebook by clicking here.  

I love the ebook’s cover image, which you can see above. It suggests Elena’s vulnerability, as well as the exotic setting. After all the dreadful weather we’ve been struggling with here lately, the sunlight on the sea is a welcome reminder that warm weather is on the way.

I’d love to know what you think about Jewel Under Siege. If you’d like your name to be entered in  a draw to win a review copy, email me at christinahollis(at)hotmail.co.uk, replacing the word in brackets with @. To find out more about Jewel Under Siege, you can sign up for my next newsletter here.

New Year, New You?

By Photos public domain.com

The New Year holiday already seems a long time ago. How are your resolutions holding up? Here are some ideas to keep you on track...

PLAN: You wouldn’t dream of setting off on holiday without knowing how you were going to get there. Fuzzy ideas are more likely to fail. Decide exactly what you want from 2014, and write down your goals. Don’t just say; “I’m going to lose weight”, or “I’m going to write a book.” They are nice ideas, but too vague to take seriously.  Turn your dreams into proper objectives. Be precise - “I’m going to lose fourteen pounds in weight by my birthday" or "I'm going to write a full-length romantic novel by December 31st, 2014.” They look both scary and impressive when you put them into words, but that's the idea - resolutions are all about growing and improving. Break your big projects down into manageable chunks, then create “to do” lists to help you whittle away at each one. Rather than endlessly slogging toward your distant target, reward yourself each time you lose a pound in weight, finish writing a chapter or reach some other significant milestone. 

MINGLE: Everything’s easier once you know you’re not alone in what you’re trying to do. Join a group of like-minded people, whether it's WeightWatchers or the Romantic Novelists' Association. Talk about your resolution. If you’ve found something that works, share it. On the other hand, if you’re going through a rough patch, it’s amazing how people will spontaneously supply support and ideas. It's true – a trouble shared really is  a trouble halved.  Don’t take it too far, though. If you abuse people’s sympathy and rely on them to solve all your problems for you, every time, another popular phrase will soon turn into “a friend in need is a blasted nuisance.”

By Dijr

KEEP GOING: Make a note of every single one of your successes - no matter how small.  Whatever happens, keep going. Everyone has times when they let things slide. The important thing is not to let one mistake throw you permanently into reverse. Build on every tiny triumph until you’ve turned your vision from a dream into a reality.  

One day, a building team shoved a single stone block into exactly the right position on the Giza plain in Egypt. All they had to do was repeat that simple action another two million, two hundred and ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine times and they'd created the Pharoah Khufu’s Great Pyramid. At 481 feet (147 metres) high, that’s the largest pyramid on earth - and it all started with that single block.

How are you getting on with your New Year Resolutions? Have you got any top tips for success?

Three Top Tips To Help Your Creative Writing...

By Antonio Litterio

Keep copies of all your work. Set your computer system to do this automatically, every thirty minutes or so. It will remember, so you don’t have to! Have a separate memory stick for each day of the week. At the end of each working day, copy the latest version of your work in progress onto the appropriate stick. Keep them together on a key-ring, and keep them with you at all times. As an extra safeguard in case your external memory gets corrupted, lost or stolen, email your work in progress to yourself once every seven days as a backup. If you use a MAC, “save As” a word document too. That way, you’ll always be able to access your WIP via email, on whatever form of computer you have to hand. Never rely on keeping things wholly in the cloud, just in case.

Use all your senses to gather inspiration, then store it in ways that will help you to get creative. Take photos (getting permission where necessary) and upload them onto Pinterest andTumblr, for example. This will provoke all sorts of reactions from potential readers, and you can use these to further inspire your work. You can keep the boards secret if you like, or fully engage your social network. Bookmark helpful sites online, but use metadata (tags and key-words) so you can find things again easily. There’s so much interesting stuff on the internet, the tendency to save links and articles in the same way a demented squirrel hoards nuts. A good system for retrieving them makes the difference between useful information, and endless time-wasting searches.

Make use of your local library. They need all the support they can get, so the staff there are always delighted to help. They do far more than simply lend out books nowadays. Ours holds talks and creative writing classes, offers a free audio book service, lends ebooks, and has a telephone book-club, so the housebound don’t miss out.  They work with family history and local studies groups, as well as subscribing to wide range of newspapers, magazines so you don’t have to! The ability to book online time means you’ll still have access to a computer if yours is out of action. You can also use the library’s facilities to scroll back through back-copies of printed media, which is bound to give you dozens of ideas. You can go on to check facts and figures with the library’s reference section at the same time. Most library services are free, or easily affordable, so a trip to your local branch is always a bargain.

For another free resource, visit christinahollis.com and click to sign up for my newsletter, which will bring news about my next release and a whole lot more!

Writing A Mission Statement-For Writing, Or Anything Else...

By Sandro Botticelli

A mission statement is a short, snappy way to keep your objective in focus as you work your way to success. Draw one up when you start your next big project. It will really help to keep you focussed. Make it personal - tailor it specifically to what you want to do.  Then keep it visible. Take some copies, and keep one on display in your office, beside your bed, as wallpaper on your screen - anywhere you'll see it often. 

Think up some daily incentives to encourage you - I use “half an hour watching my bees” “eat a peach” or “read for an hour”.  Choose bigger treats for when you’ve had a successful week: “soaking in the bath for an hour” “relaxing in the garden” or my own favourite, “a trip to the stationery store”. When you’ve finally completed your project, you can choose a really big treat as the ultimate prize to enhance your brilliant glow of total satisfaction. I take my OH out to dinner, although that's not much use if we're on diets! 

Of course, where there are prizes there have to be forfeits. Mine is to keep well away from my bees, but I've inserted a more popular horror below.

Here’s a basic template so you can create your own mission statement, with some ideas in italics to get you started. Substitute those words as necessary, and don’t forget to be specific. Personalising this declaration will make your project mean more to you, and that will help you to succeed.

MISSION STATEMENT

"I am going to write a novel/non-fiction book. My long term dream goal is to record my thoughts for my descendants/achieve publication/on all platforms, which I’m going to achieve by (date). 

In order to achieve my objective, I will draw up a schedule of what needs to be done each day, and set weekly targets, too. Every single time I hit my daily word-count, I’ll select one reward from my “daily” list. At the end of each week, if I complete all my tasks I’ll choose one treat from my “weekly” list.  After successfully completing my project, I’ll celebrate by spoiling myself with my ultimate prize. I will read my mission statement daily to remind me of the rewards I have planned, and my ultimate objective. If I miss any of my weekly targets without a very good excuse, my forfeit will be to stay completely offline for one whole day. If I miss my final deadline, my forfeit will be to  stay completely offline for one whole month."

Then date and sign it, to make it official.

I’ve given you a couple of ideas for rewards and forfeits. What will be going on your own list?

Three Top Tips For Getting Started...

By Antonio Litterio

...on any project...

THE BIG PICTURE - whatever you want to do, whether it’s write a book, start your own business, make money, learn to cook, or grow your own food, have one specific aim in mind. Then stick to it. Benjamin Franklin is supposed to have said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”. Label a folder (real or virtual) with the name of your project. Gather everything into it-notes, images, charts, infographics, the lot. Once you can find exactly what you’re looking for in seconds, it’ll save a lot of time time when inspiration (or desperation) strikes. 

ZOOM IN - Put a filing system in place the second you start collecting stuff for your project. It doesn’t need to be fancy. Separate files within one on-line folder will be fine. A plastic wallet with dividers will store your so-called “dead-tree derivatives” (that’s paperwork, to you and me). A DL size envelope within this system is perfect for keeping scrappy notes, receipts and parking slips safe. Incidentally, expand that idea to twelve envelopes, each one labelled with a different month, and you’re on the fast track to filing your annual tax return without tears. All you have to do is remember to transfer the relevant receipts from the car, your pockets or purse into the right envelope. But do that as soon as you get them. 

You know why.

FOCUS - Write down your big idea. Seeing it at the top of a blank sheet, or screen, will make it real. It’s smart to set goals, and the acronym S.M.A.R.T (used by George T.Doran, Paul J. Meyer and others) can help you reach that target. There are all sorts of alternative meanings for the initial letters, but they all come down to the same thing in the end. These are the headings I use when I’m planning a new piece of work:

SPECIFIC–this is what you want to achieve. It’s your dream. Spend some time working out exactly what it is you want to do. Be positive, and distill it into one sentence such as “I will write a book.” There's no room for want here. Think positive.

MANAGEABLE–will you be able to do this in the time you have available, and with the facilities you have? If not, either set the alarm an hour earlier each morning and borrow what you need, or revise your objective–but think carefully before doing that because A is for... 

AMBITIOUS–Go for it! Aim for the stars - if you miss, the moon will break your fall. Find an inspirational quote and post it up where you’ll see it every day. Edmund Burke’s “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing” glares down at me all the time I’m writing.

REALISTIC–Ambition is indispensable, but there are limits. I come from a family of comfortably upholstered women. Much as I’d like to be a size eight, it's never going to happen. Believe me. That’s why I modified my own aim, from “getting down to 130 pounds” to “following a calorie-controlled healthy eating plan and taking more exercise for one month.” I lost 5lb without ever feeling I was on a diet, so all I need now is the willpower to repeat...and repeat...and repeat.... as necessary!

TIMETABLED–deadlines, like the threat of execution, concentrate the mind wonderfully. Draw up a list of what you need to do, and work out how long it will take. Mark the finish date in every form of diary you have. Tell yourself it’s absolutely non-negotiable. Obviously there will be times when work has to take a back seat because of illness or accident, but personal disasters apart use every carrot-and-stick you can think of to motivate yourself and hit your deadline.

Writing From Life: Inspiration Fieldwork...

Cyril Connolly wrote: "There is no more sombre enemy of good art than the pram in the hall”. He was writing in the first half of the twentieth century. Working people can’t afford to think like that these days. 

When my children were small, I found the perfect way to keep us all happy. On fine days, I loaded up everything we needed and headed off for the local pick-your-own farm. It was a perfectly safe and secure space, complete with fresh air, and exercise. At first they stayed with the picnic, then later they galloped around while I picked strawberries, raspberries and anything in season we didn’t have at home. As they grew older, they did the picking while I sat in the shade and wrote. We were nearly always the only ones on the site, and the peace and quiet was lovely. Sadly, the lack of customers meant the fruit farmer couldn’t make a profit. He eventually gave up, and sold his land to a developer. We had to find another pick-your-own place, but luckily Over Farm runs a great farm shop too and seasonal events as well, so it’s always busy.

By David Shankbone

DD and I went fruit picking early last Friday, before the sun got too hot. After picking pounds of strawberries from the greenhouses here during May and June we’ve finally run out,  but everybody’s still keen to have fresh fruit every day.  Supporting the pick-your-own was an easy way to get some more, and made it cheaper than buying ready-picked fruit.  The quality was better than supermarket fruit, too, as we could be selective. We only picked the best, ripest berries. No supermarket tricks for us, such as hiding the unripe and damaged ones at the bottom of the punnet. One of the biggest con tricks pulled on the fruit-buying public can be put in two words: "home ripening". Most of the time it has been picked hard and green days before, then it gets shipped for miles. The produce goes wrinkly and/or mouldy before it gets soft enough to eat. When it eventually seems “ripe” it’s got none of the flavour of properly matured fruit, picked at its peak and eaten within hours.  

By Birdies Perch

Our freezer is now packed with boxes of strawberry granita, frozen raspberries for adding to our traditional Christmas trifle, and fruit puree ready to defrost and pour over cheesecake. It’s supposed to last us for months, but the weather’s so hot at the moment, I think we’ll have eaten it within a week. That’s a good excuse to go back and pick some more fruit!

There was a bonus from our day out in the peace and quiet of the countryside. It took the form of some unexpected inspiration. The ticking of my daughter’s watch sounded very loud in the quiet of the strawberry field. It gave me an idea for a new short story. Everyone laughs at the amount of junk I carry around in my handbag, but at least I had a notebook and pen right there with me. I could make notes on the spot, instead of having to wait until I got home. By that time, you can bet I would have been distracted by a dozen other things, and forgotten my idea. 

A sun-soaked strawberry field was the last place I expected to be hit by inspiration. Have you ever had a good idea in an unusual setting?

A Sense of Place

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If you’ve read the recent posts here about my current work in progress, you’ll know that I use inspiration boards as I write. There’s one in my office, and you can see my public one online here. These are just hints - I don't base my characters on any one person. They're an amalgamation of many different people, with a dash of pure invention added for good measure. 

The same doesn't always apply to places. Sometimes I use real life locations for my fiction work. As I was writing Lady Rascal,I had a very particular interior in mind for Philip Adamson's country house. My OH's office used to be based in Hollywood Estate Mansion, which is in Easter Compton near Bristol. As luck would have it, my father’s best friend used to work there back before the Second World War, so I had some background information about the place before I started. The exterior of the house didn't quite match my idea of Philip's house, so the trailer you can see at the top of this post includes shots of a completely different property. That's the great thing about fiction - you can fiddle with reality until it's exactly the way you like it.

While dialogue and action bring characters alive and keep the plot moving along, the “genius loci” or spirit of a place forms the background of your story. You can use this in two ways: as a straightforward clue to tell readers what to expect, or as a contrast to what goes on there. The forbidding Transylvanian castle on a crag is an instantly recognisable shorthand for a vampire story. Alternatively, you can use your setting to shock. Miss Marple’s St Mary Mead is a cosy country setting. Who would expect an idyllic English village like that to be the setting for murder? Yet Agatha Christie used it in the perfect contrast of place and event. In the same way bad things happen to good heroes and heroines, nasty things can happen in the best places.

What's your favourite fictional place? Whether you’re a reader or a writer, I’d love to hear from you.

Food, Men and the Weekend...

By Clare

What a lovely line up! First of all, the food. Here's the picture that didn't quite make it in time to be included in my blog as a new fan of the Abel and Cole Writers' Lifeline - otherwise known as their box scheme.  You can get more information about them here (love those Easter treats, by the way). 

Food has also been featuring in a big way in my son's science lessons recently. His class have been working on the difference between mixtures and compounds. Last week they made Cornflake Cakes. Apparently, they are a mixture on the basis that you could (in theory) separate out the cornflakes from the chocolate if you wanted to (ha - like that's ever going to happen!). This week, his class made Chocolate Brownies, in which cake mixture became the delicious compound we all know and love, by the application of heat.  His weekend homework is a delight, too - he has to write up the recipe of his favourite dish, for possible inclusion in a cookery book to be sold in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care. He's quite a cook, so tonight we get to sample his Spaghetti Carbonara so he can take a photo to illustrate his written work. I can't wait - why wasn't science taught like that when I was at school? 

Enough of the pure enjoyment - now to put a little impure sizzle into your weekend. I'm blogging over at Authorsoundrelations right now, about matching the hero and heroine I have in my mind as I work on my current book with some images of real people. The idea is to find some photos to go on my inspirations board. Here's one of the front runners, Ian Somerhalder, to whet your appetite - I'd love you to drop by and join in the fun!

notmyson, by vagueonthehow