Sabbs-in cartoon form from David Michael.

Having written in a solitary situation for the past four years, working with a publisher has been a real eye-opener as I suddenly feel part of a team – rather than being my own boss, PA and tea maker all rolled into one.

I have never worked with an Editor before now, and to be honest, I was filled with trepidation until the day he – James – contacted me. He sent me an email explaining the whole process in a language I could comprehend, and I have found that he doesn’t mind me asking inane questions.

The publisher warned me that my patience would be tested during the editing process. Thus far, I found the transition from “Mum is at her writing hobby again” to “Mum has got real work to do to a deadline” hasn’t quite sunk in with my family. They have been spoilt over the past few years by my taking on every role in the house – from cook and cleaner to ironing fairy and games partner, so now I need to spend some quality time in my writing world, it’s hard for them to fathom out. This is where my patience is tried so far, and perhaps when they hold my book in their hand, they’ll understand!

But having a publisher doesn’t mean just having and Editor-in-Chief. It entails having deadlines, expectations in a two-way process and executing the art of promotion. I am no longer just writing for me in my own time – we have a contract where we pledge to work together with the same goal – the book.

Working alongside people across the Atlantic means that I have people to connect with. I’ll have a virtual celebration the day my book comes out, and as for the Christmas office party, well, I shall be wearing a paper crown, drinking egg nog and dancing on my own in a corner.

This is my first step in my dream – and Winter Goose are guiding me along the runway until they launch me into the sky, where my dreams may fly.

Happy Word Flow One & All.

                                                    Photo:Words from Southernpixel Alby.

I’m revising my WIP and I suspect the middle sags slightly. It has made me realise that if I don’t lift it I risk losing the reader at this point.
This has happened to me on a few occasions when reading another author’s novel. If I find it’s packed with too much information, or if it seems to be going nowhere, I tend to stop reading or skip a few pages. I know that’s a sin – but what can I say? It’s from reading other novels that I pick up what not to do as well as what really works.

I’ve read conflicting arguments on the pace of the mid-story. Some articles recommend allowing the reader to ‘take a breather’, whilst other articles recommend the roller-coaster ride throughout the whole novel, including the mid-story.
Personally, I like a gentle pace interspersed with action, shock, conflict, passion or mystery. However, I often find the mid-story a challenge when writing my own novels.

Something I turn to is a mind map. I find the visual display an easier way to plot what is happening and what needs to happen to move the story along. I write the name of the character and theme in the centre of the page and then I branch out and write down ideas as they come into my mind. I may not use all of the ideas, but at least I have something to work with. If necessary, I stick A4 sheets together to make the mind map as big as I need.

Another thing I do is go back a few chapters and see where I was at. Sometimes changing a few details brings fresh ideas to my mind and novel. One thing I always do is keep writing – as I’ve mentioned in previous posts – as it’s better to have rubbish words to work with rather than no words at all.

Hope this spurs you on if suffering a mid-story slump. Welcome to all my new followers – great to see you!

Happy Word Flow One & All

I would like to thank EW Greenlee for his insightful answers and enthusiasm in taking part in this interview.

If anyone else is interested  in taking part in an author interview, then please contact me.

Happy Word Flow One & All.

http://lessonsfromthemonkimarried.blogspot.com/

I wrote a short piece on patience on Katherin Jenkin’s blog : The monk I married’.

Happy Word Flow One & All.

                                                     Photo by Mad Baker

Viktor Frankl, a psychologist and holocaust survivor, wrote in Man’s Search for Meaning: ‘Don’t aim at success – the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it.’

As I wait for ‘The Divine Pumpkin’ to be published, I’m already worrying about how it will be received. Will I sell many copies? Will people who read it, like it? Will the publisher think I’m worth keeping on for my next novel? Of course, no one can answer those questions now, and instead of worrying about the success rate, I am trying to focus on my new WIP – trying to keep my mind active on something I have some control over.

But what is success? Is it actually finishing a novel? Is it getting an agent? Is it getting a publishing contract? Is it selling 100 books? Is it selling 10,000 Books? Of course the answer is ‘yes’ to all of them – and the success can be graded to certain degrees for each of the answers.

It has taken me four years of crafting my writing, three novels which will never be seen, and numerous rejections to get to this stage with my fourth novel. So when I received an email from the publisher saying they wanted to work with me – that was a huge success for me. It rated highly, and I was on a high for days. Reality kicked it – would I be able to work with an editor? More questions followed, each one question my abilities and querying the future success of the novel and myself as an author.

But as Viktor Frankl says, if I constantly aim at success, I may miss it as I only had my eye on the bull’s eye and not the whole dart board, so to speak. There is more to life than success, although success is what makes us feel like life is worth living. And for that to happen, we need to acknowledge that success isn’t about all the big things in life, the small things count just as much. Getting the children to school on time, preparing a delicious meal, sending a piece into a writing competition, getting short-listed for a prize, all have a value of success tagged onto them. We all perceive success differently, and some people may need major things to happen to qualify for the term of ‘success’, whereas, others may find small tasks completed a great achievement. Perhaps people who fall into the latter category get more joy out of life, as they aren’t just aiming for the big prize.

So to heed my words, I’m going to work hard at promoting my novel when it comes out, but I’m also going to count any small action as an achievement, as just waiting for the ‘big time’ to hit with ‘The Divine Pumpkin’ may bring more misery than contentment, and I know that when I hold my novel in my hands,I will feel the power of success wash over me for a few minutes, before I plunge right back in on my new WIP.

I hope that the big and small successes come knocking on your door someday soon.

Happy Word Flow One & All.

Unlikeable characters can be such fun to write – just as many actors proclaim that a villain is more fun to play than a straight character.
I find the darker side of me revels in making the antagonist spoil the plans of the protagonist, and say things no one else can say. They can spill poison in the minds of other characters, and even be too-faced, which can aggravate the reader as they can see both sides.

We all know unlikeable people in our own spheres, and we can use that knowledge to look at how they make us feel and how we respond or react to them. Do they bring out the worse in us, which in turn makes us feel bad or guilty.

Heinous crimes carried out by individuals are mentioned in the news daily.How do they affect the community or world around them? What kind of conflicts do they give birth too?

A novel would be rather dull if the protagonist never came across someone who treated them badly, or set obstacle’s in the way. There needs to be some form of tension and conflict in order for the reader to be rooting for the protagonist. I see the conflict as an arch throughout the novel, where it peeks to cause the most damage to the protagonist, but then is resolved in numerous ways, such as death, being incarcerated or seeing the light, for example.

I recognise that in my current WIP, I’m lacking some form of conflict part way through, so I’m going to remedy that by heeding my own words and stirring up trouble for my protagonist – poor thing.

Happy Word Flow One & ALL.