The Fruits of Summer...

It's fortunate you can't see the traces of purple on my fingers, but if you could then you might realise I've been picking Blackberries.

Blackberry season...

As I grew up in the Garden of England- Kent, I was used to seeing hop-fields and fruit being grown and picked, especially in the summer when it was common to go and pick Strawberries when the farmers had fruit crops to get in.

Wild brambles grew in lots of overgrown places and country roads, and it was common to pick the ripe fruit on a country walk. It was then made into a pie when we got home, or if there was enough, jam.

This was probably being done for centuries...

This year has been very good for fruit, and this winter our garden will need sorting as we've got self-seeded Redcurrants and a Holly growing up among the Tayberries- a raspberry/blackberry cross.

Of course we're growing cultivated varieties of the fruit, rather than the wilder fruit that would have grown in hedgerows a couple of centuries ago.

One of my research points for my Nottinghamshire story, is what would be growing in the rectory's kitchen garden in 1802?

My heroine, Sarah, defends herself with her spade when confronted by the hero's unpleasant cousin, and I immediately thought what would it have looked like, and could she have hefted the spade in the way I describe?

I found some images for American garden tools of the time and also have a history of country house gardens- somewhere- that I can search; but I realised that living in a village attached to a smallish estate, there would likely have been a carpenter, and even if not there, then there would be a blacksmith in another village who could make a suitable sized spade section to attach to a shaft and handle just right for my heroine's needs...

There may perhaps be a small rose somewhere, grown from a cutting given to the previous occupant of the rectory as a kind gesture.

But it certainly won't look like the scented roses in my garden that seem to have gone crazy this year- these were opening when we got the heavy rain Friday night...

blown Roses...

And the Hawthorn has
ripening berries...

Competition- 500 Words for Write for Elle...

Thanks to the Facebook page of the Romantic Novelists Association, I saw the link for the write for Elle competition.

Elle is a glossy monthly magazine you're guaranteed to find on the shelves of your local newsagents and supermarkets. Like many of its competitors it has a strong online and social media presence too.

So for the seventh year of this competition, they want a 500 word piece inspired by the hashtag  #RelationshipGoals so who the relationship is with that matters to you, and what you want from it, all that is up to you.

The competition opened 6th August and closes just before midnight on the 10th September.

Submission is by email and you'll find the link for the address to send it to on the competition information page, here.

Entries will be judged by an editorial team from Elle, and the remainder of the judging panel will be made up by author Jessie Burton (The Miniaturist), and novelist Kate Mosse.

Now to the prizes. The winner's piece will be published in the January 2016 issue of Elle under your own name, and you also win a Smythson monogrammed Dukes manuscript book (worth £135) - as do the remaining four finalists. There's no actual cash involved...

As with any writing competition there are terms and conditions you need to be aware of.

The winning entry may be edited "at the sole discretion of the ELLE editorial team" and "by entering this competition you consent to this and grant Hearst an exclusive licence in and to your work, in perpetuity."

The wordage is a little unclear, and I'd want clarification of whether the exclusivity is just with the winning entry, or every entry submitted (I'd suspect the latter, but I'd like to be surprised).

And whether they're 'in and to your work, in perpetuity' ONLY applies to the 500 word piece, and not any other potential articles for the magazine?

Don't forget to read the full competitions on the blue highlighted link further down the instructions page too.

Finally, you need to be over 18, resident of the UK and Ireland, not had material published by Elle or on elleuk.com and the piece submitted must not have been previously published.

If you enter, good luck...

Making Plans for 2016...

A couple of years ago I bought an academic style diary because I started to have a list of dates for appointments and school/college dates for the next year, but only the back of the current year's diary to note them down - and my writing is not small!

So now as soon as I see them in the shops I make my choice, and at the first opportunity I transfer details over. 2016 is not going to be quiet.

Today I was booking my appointment dates for the rest of this year with my hairdresser (as the bookings for December were starting already). I have no intention of having my grey roots showing for the Festival of Romance weekend in November. :D

But this got me thinking about next year's events- yes I know it's only August...

I definitely want to go to the Writers' Conference again- this year it was the end of March, then June is always Lowdham Book Festival and a busy time generally. So if I want to get away for a research trip I'm going to have to aim for May again.

I'm thinking about a visit to Dorchester as there's some research details I need for my Dorset novel before I get back to writing it (at some point next year). On my previous visits time was limited and the family impatient to go, so like my trip to Bath last year, I need time to myself for visits.

There's still a couple of small research areas that I noted down in my Nottinghamshire novella/short novel, so I need to resolve those, but they don't require me to travel away from home, just sit down, read and look at pictures...

And write of course.

My resolution for next year will definitely be better time management. I'm getting there, but I still have to work on procrastination in the morning.

Meanwhile I've got between now and the end of November to get as much done as possible.














Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Planning Museum and Gallery Visits...

Now that Serena's website is complete with it's own domain name, I'm considering a few visits to museums and galleries within the East Midlands so I'll have some interesting items to share here and on Serena's blog. And of course they will be research trips too.

I need to be able to complete the visit in a day, either by bus or train - I may even need to use both!

Locally, Nottingham Contemporary has an exhibition called The Grand Tour; this currently has loans of fine and decorative art from Chatsworth (the popular stately home in Derbyshire) but set among work by contemporary artist Pablo Bronstein, with Baroque inspirations.

Visiting a museum...

Over in Derby, there's a few museums to visit, but I'll be going to Pickford House as it has the Museum of Georgian Life and Historic Costume- the research side of the trip.

It's always interesting to see the different versions of Georgian life, as so often it's big stately homes that get visited.

The Museum and Art Gallery in Derby also has a Grand Tour event. This is a display of paintings by Joseph Wright, 'The Colosseum by Moonlight' alongside 'The Colosseum, by Daylight' are featured.

The Moonlight painting has apparently had "extensive overpainting by an enthusiastic restorer during the 20th century". It's going to begin a conservation process this autumn, so the next time it's seen by the public it will look more like it once did.

It's easy to miss what's happening locally when you live in a city with so many events, and what's available in other locations within travelling distance.

Do you have a gallery or museum that puts on tours or events you can visit?







Image courtesy of digidreamgrafix &http://freedigitalphotos.net

Almost There...

It was a busy weekend, as I was trying to get everything still to do for Serena's website and remaining social media links completed.

Although I published Serena's first proper blog post on Saturday and it could be read via my links, it wasn't showing up on the blog page I'd created. Clearly I hadn't done something I should have and I couldn't see what it was... :(

After consulting fellow writers: Patsy Collins and poet, Liz Brownlee who both have Wordpress sites, I finally found what I needed to do. It did mean changing pages and moving text, but finally this evening everything went where it should- and worked.

Tomorrow I'll start the domain mapping process to apply Serena's domain name - and pay the annual fee for doing so.

Meanwhile, Serena now has a Facebook page to go with the  existing Twitter account...

My pictures from my trip to Bath last year have begun to be helpful. Beside my lady with a fan, you will probably be seeing the dancing figures- these were on the wall in the Fashion Museum and represent the different positions in a dance- sadly I didn't make a note of what the dance was...

All I need now is to get on with the Nottinghamshire novella/potential short novel.

I've probably got another three to four chapters left of my contemporary romance to write, and as soon as that draft is completed, I'll be returning to Hugh and Sarah's historical romance story.

I'm amazed how much I've managed in a little over a week. And now that's done I can concentrate on writing, knowing the support framework is in place and there when I need it...

How to dance...

Sorting Our Serena...

I've been busy this week putting together a website for my pseudonym, Serena Lake.

A few months ago when I bought my domain name, I also bought one for Serena. The intention was to create a website for her in the Autumn, but something has been telling me to get it done now.

I've learnt that it's advisable to listen (and action) those instinct alerts, because when I ignore them I quickly find out that it was the wrong thing to do.

I'm going to continue the Carol's Corner blog covering my writing, research and the news about competitions and other literature related items- that I sometimes venture into talking about. But while I may also talk about history related items here, I'll perhaps give a different slant or more detail on Serena's blog.

Serena's blog on the website will concentrate only the historical romance side of my writing- and reading. I may even share opinions of research books and useful websites.

I'm on the final adjustments now, and as soon as I'm happy I will get my domain transferred, and begin blogging. And of course let everyone know it's officially launched.

Making the website has taken a lot of thought as I had to decide what image I wanted to suggest by my choices of design, colour and pages, as well as their content.

Having learnt a few skills over the years with this blog I could at least create pages without any problem, though learning how to get where I want to is still a bit hit and miss. :-)

Serena's Lady with a Fan...

I'm going to let you have a quick look at the website before it is finalised- still trying to work out the contact options so that's still missing, but otherwise it's 90% there.

I'll be expanding pages when needed, and adding social media links.

So if you want a quick peek, then follow this link.

Novella or Novel- What's the Length?

I doubt there can ever be a truly definitive answer to what it the actual length of a novella or a novel because there are so many variables: market, genre and publisher's requirements (such as Mills and Boon who have set lengths for certain categories).

So I was interested to read an article in this weekend's Arts/Books section of the Independent online, about The Novella Award. Their shortlist was announced on the 17th July, and the entries to this year's competition had to be between 20,000 and 40,000 words.

Perhaps the question is when does a novella become a novel?

The My Weekly Pocket Novels are now 50,000 words, though the version from The People's Friend is only 42,000 words. So both these are higher than the 40,000 mentioned above. But neither would be considered novel length by a mainstream publisher.

Perhaps we need to start using 'mini novel' for those word counts that fit between 40-80,000 words.

The writers of the past didn't have these issues; they went to both extremes.

'Animal Farm' by George Orwell has 29,966 words, so although it is actually novella length everyone thinks of it as a novel- probably because at the time it was written it was a novel!

While Margaret Mitchell's 'Gone With The Wind' was a large novel of 418,053 that could rival some of the Game of Thrones novels now available.

You can find some interesting facts on the wide range of word lengths on the Electric Lit website, in the post titled Infographic: Word Counts of Famous Books. (The figures from the above titles came from here.)

No doubt in a few years these figures will change and we'll still be uncertain about what length is a novella, and the minimum for a novel.

What are your thoughts on the subject?

Which is a novel and which a novella?

All Went Well With the Names Session...

Pleased to say that the session I organised for yesterday's writers' club meeting went well.

Last month one of the writers had mentioned that they had 'holding names' for their main characters, and a couple of others agreed they did this too.

Personally it's not something I've ever done. I need at least a first name that is right for the man or woman of my imagination before I start writing.

But we all work in different ways, so if a holding name works for you then go with it. Sometimes it will be the right name. The important thing is that the character in the next story doesn't have the same name too...

I'd cut people images from old magazines, flyers and brochures (before they went in the recycling bin) so there was a mixture of ages, even action shots- a runner, and a climber.

I made two tables each for male and female names -  a mixture of traditional, modern, or shortened names. Plus I had two name books, an old one from 1991, and another from 2011 - classic and modern- it also included names from other nationalities. So if anyone wanted to browse for a different name choice they could.

Finally for anyone who wasn't sure of what a character bio was and what sort of things would be included I created a short explanation and half a dozen basic questions (with an example) to get started.

As I've found when doing the bios for my characters, there will often be a statement or remark that leads me to ask, why? It can get an interesting response, or even another direction for the character to go...

It was satisfying to see a room full of writers (of all levels) creating bios and sharing their experiences and views on naming characters with one another. And then hearing the results that the images had inspired was very interesting- a few had the potential to build a story around their new character because they had answers to why their character looked/acted the way they did.

I'll be back to the latest work in progress next week when my OH goes back to work- he's been busy in the garden tidying up, now the nesting birds have gone.

So I took a couple of fruit pictures, and below it's the Gooseberries. Even fruit bushes have names, and this one is 'Careless'.

A Gooseberry bush...

Multi-Tasking...

Very pleased that the temperature has gone done to nearer normal for this time of year. Last week it was a struggle to do anything, even writing was difficult.

I took a picture of the moon last Thursday night as I wanted to catch the polluted tinge that hung across it, but it was too low. By the time it was high enough it had gone above the that layer so looked a lot cleaner.

Early July Moon...

This week has been good so far. I've managed to get a couple of hours to write each day this week so I've added about 1,600 words.

It may not seem a lot but as I don't touch type that was a big improvement for me.

It's always difficult to write in the summer when it's sunny outside and there's lots of things you need to do- the plants need water and the grass needs cutting again to name but a few.

At least I'm on the downward path to the end of my current work in progress. Okay it's still only a first draft stage, but I can already see where I need to insert scenes, and make changes in the second draft.

At the moment my brain seems to be juggling thoughts on each of my three projects.

My Dorset novel has a synopsis and first four chapters. I needed to give myself some time to work on a few of the characters, to round them out a little. It's been a couple of years- longer than I intended- but now I know what works for me, I'm looking forward to getting on with it.

My Nottinghamshire novella has a complete first draft and is waiting for a complete read through before I start the second draft. I've pinpointed a few things that need changing, major and minor.

Then there's my current story, making steady progress.

There's at least another four ideas in varying stages, but fortunately those characters aren't hassling me.

(I've got a Pinterest board for each of the three stories, and adding to when I have time, but they're remaining secret.)

I'm also putting together the writing session for the writers' club next Wednesday- putting names to faces and creating bios. Hopefully some of the writers will use them as inspiration for a story...

Plus the final thing I need to do is get my entry sorted for this year's Festival of Romance, New Talent Award 2015. You can read more about it over on the website.

I'm going to enter the first chapter of my Dorset novel. It's an historical romance so fits within the specified 'romantic novel (of any kind)'. I just need to look at the word count of my first chapter as there's a maximum 2,500 word count.

So there's lots to do over the next few months.

Scribd and Kindle Changes- Good or Bad?

The week just gone has seen a couple of changes relating to e-books that have implications for both writers and readers.

The unsettling announcements came days apart, so concerns and questions will depend upon which service is your priority...

I'd heard of Scribd, a subscription service for e-books, but never looked into it further.
I can see that if you're travelling every day then reading a book on your mobile device would be a good way to pass the time, and you could get through a number of books in a month, before you add on the number you could read at other times. So a one-off cost each month would be cost effective.

For the writer it's another sales avenue that doesn't rely on Amazon only, and gets their books out to more potential readers. But now it seems many romance writers will find their books delisted- though free offerings are being kept.

Smashwords who provide many self-published books to the service have an extensive post on their blog, and highlight the few advantages the culling of titles will bring- less competition being no.1, nice if your paying titles are kept, not so good if they've been removed...

For anyone who is unfamiliar with the news, here's a few links to find out more: Smashwords blog and the Guardian books section. And the Bookseller. Obviously there will be some duplication of content, but each has something different to say on the subject.

Now to the Kindle changes.

For those authors who have books in the KDP Select and the Kindle Owner's Lending Library, they will now be paid by the page read. This will be referred to as KENPC- Kindle Edition Normalized Page Count, so no matter how you've formatted it, it will be calculated to a standardized form that they've worked out.

There's a good explanation of how the money side works in this Bookseller article.

The brilliant thing about KDP was that there was finally a place to publish novellas- something many mainstream publishers didn't want. Every story has its own length, and not every one will be novel length, so authors of shorter works could suffer under this new regime- it depends on whether the amount they get per page equates to what they would have received under the previous system...

Writers who have been able to build up a readership over a number of books, probably have more choices available to them, plus the statistics to help them.

Likewise. those who have e-books with a mainstream publisher are in a different position to self-publishers.

Anyone just starting the self-publishing process needs to step-back for a moment and look at all the options available to them before they make a decision.

Yes, Amazon will triumph because they have the largest share of the e-reading market, and any writer who ignores that fact does so at their own peril. The option of which service you sign up to will be the difference...

It will be interesting to see what effect the Scribd and Kindle changes make, to both writers and readers of e-books, for the remainder of the year.

My Saturday at Lowdham Book Festival...

The Lowdham Book Festival has been running 16 years. It started small and has built on its success, and the final Saturday is a must visit place for anyone living in Nottinghamshire.

I've been attending for about 10 of those 16 years with the writers club, and now I'm the one who co-ordinates, from booking the stall, confirming which members have promotional material to display alongside the club's, and who is going to be available to help on the day- and making sure they know where to park and other essential information.

On the day I'll be there with one or two others to set up, and the last to leave with all the gathered equipment/leaflets.

This year I was very fortunate to have extra volunteers (I thank them all) - especially a couple of members who hadn't attended the festival before and wanted to come along for a few hours to see what it was like as well as help out.

They resisted the book stalls, unlike the regulars who went home with more than they arrived with!:D

Ready for opening time...

It was wonderful to meet a writer who I've known online for many years, but never met in person;
Ana Salote was launching her book 'Oy Yew' and doing a talk with her publisher (Teika Bellamy of MothersMilk Books) and her illustrator Emma Howitt.

Later in the day I had an opportunity to talk to Teika Bellamy to find out what she was looking for, and there are opportunities available.

Have a look at their submission guidelines which will tell you more...

Early afternoon I was able to get to an interesting talk by author Nigel McCrery on his book 'Silent Witnesses: a history of forensic science.'

The audience were entertained by this retired police officer who had an interest in forensics, though his many writing credits include: Silent Witness, Born and Bred, and New Tricks among them...

Promotion opportunity

I came home with four second-hand books. Basically reference works, though one, a wonderfully illustrated hardback is extremely large, but I'll never have a problem knowing what sort of furniture my historical heroes and heroines will be sitting upon.

My flask of coffee just about lasted out the day, and I limited myself to one piece of lemon sponge late morning so I could eat my packed lunch after the lunch-time rush.

Fortunately the hall was a comfortable temperature with the doors into the hall, and the back door open. It was very bright and hot outside, and even my camera had a problem with how bright it was- I'm going to have to darken the outdoor shots!

Well that's it for another year. I'll be suggesting what worked and what didn't this year, as will my fellow volunteers, so NWC will be ready for next June.

I never stop learning on days like this....

It's Book Festival Time...

To be honest, any month of the year is book festival time!

As in previous years this Saturday I'll be setting up and spending time on the Nottingham Writers' Club stall, with assistance from a few of the members.

This year we're not selling any of our members books, just letting visitors to the last Saturday event, know that we're there and welcome new members- whether new, developing or established writers...

There is so much available online nowadays that joining a writers' group sometimes seems to be viewed as unnecessary, but there's nothing like a group of writers getting together and sharing knowledge, inspirations, writing and having fun.

(Only another writer understands about characters talking to you and doesn't think it's strange... :D)

It's also good to venture out into the world and attend a book festival to discover local writers- new and established; attend interesting talks on subjects that I'd never have thought about before- just because there is an author discussing the background and/or research for their latest book.

Finally, it's a good way to learn what works with an audience in a tent, or a hall- especially when the weather is hot or you're competing with heavy rain- trying to drown your voice out- as it smacks against the canvas...

I'm used to standing up in front of people at club meetings. I've read some of my work to a small public audience too (there's a few June/July blog posts from previous years if you're interested) so standing behind the club stall isn't too difficult, but I know not everyone finds it easy, or comfortable.

(Despite all that I'm sure I would be nervous if I was the author in one of the tents talking about the latest book. One day it may be me!)

Book Festival time...

I'll be taking photos to record the day for the club magazine, so I'll share a few pictures in my next blog post on Sunday/Monday.

Do you attend your local book festival, or have you done an author talk at one? What's the best part for you?

(In the case of the Lowdham last Saturday, the second-hand book stalls are very popular, and I've found some interesting and useful research books there.)

Now keep your fingers crossed for lovely weather.

Every Picture Tells a Story...

Happy Father's Day.

Dad and I 

I've been playing around with images today over on Pinterest, so I thought I'd include a picture that's relevant to today.

My Dad used to carry a copy of this photo in his wallet when I was small, and after he died it was the one picture I especially wanted, but it was mislaid.

A few years later one of my brother's found this copy of that same picture and gave it to me, so it's now in a small frame on the windowsill above my desk.

The photo was taken by my mum, and on the back it says 31/7/1962, so we were either on holiday, or it was one of our regular summer Sunday trips to the seaside.

Even though the photo is black and white I can still remember my blow-up plastic boat. The outside was pillar-box red and the inside white. It took quite a bit of puff to blow it up... I've no idea what I have in the boat with me- possibly a blow up beach ball.

My Dad volunteered for the army at the start of the Second World War, and he was one of the many soldiers who were evacuated from Dunkirk; and having researched the regimental history, it's likely he was taken off the beach- he couldn't swim, and as far as I know he was very much older before he did learn, so this picture has a lot of meaning to me...

Every picture does tell a story...

Now to Get On With the Story...

I've been working on possible names since my last blog post, and being able to put variations into Google has been very helpful.

A rose by any other name...

If you haven't read my last post, it might help to explain my dilemma.

I had a list of first names that seemed to be possibles for the ex-girlfriend/model character in my contemporary romance.

All I can say is there are a lot of models out there and finding an original name is tough work. All the ones that I thought would be few, were quite the opposite.

Yesterday I was at the stage of reverting to Suzi/Suzy if I couldn't come up with anything else, but I persisted and found two possibles, but whether they would work would depend upon the right surname.

This was where the Behind the Name website proved useful. I was able to bring up an alphabetical surname list - my own is not on it!

Finally I had five potential surnames that would work with either first name- I'm not revealing which two until it's finished and ready for publishing. :-)

Over the last few days as I've searched for her name, I've also been concentrating on her role in the story and discovered more about her. I  now understand her motives- which is important.

Sadly I had to exclude some surnames because combined together with my possible first names,  I found there were models with those names!

It was using an alternate spelling of one of my Christian name choices that made all the difference, and it's always worth checking for spelling variations that might make the name slightly different from usual - there may just be fewer people using that variation.

And best of all, the final name choice does not clash with any of my other characters names.

So I can now get on with her bio and back into writing - I'm really looking forward to writing the upcoming scenes...







Image courtesy of Tim Seed & www.freedigitalphotos.net

Character Name Dilemma...

I have one secondary character bio left to complete, but I've hit a snag; the name and occupation I'd chosen.

It's a contemporary romance so it's not essential that I pick a name to fit a specific time period as I'd need to with my historical romances, but there's still a problem.

My hero's ex-girlfriend is a model. Now it's not that she's horrible, but from what others have told my heroine in passing, you wouldn't want to be called her best friend...

I'm at the stage in the manuscript where my heroine and the ex are going to unexpectedly meet, so getting the bio complete for her is important.

Now to the problem. I called her Suzi/Suzy. I decided on her not using her real surname, but a shortened version of it.

So just in case there were any models of that name I Googled it- and variations.

Result, not a good idea. I never knew there were that many models called Suzi/Suzy something or other; including some quite risqué.

This character is not one of a herd...

I need to find an alternative name for her so one that is unusual but would still sound okay for a glamorous model.

This is going to be where the numerous online lists prove useful.

Starting with her age, about 28, I'm going to begin by looking at girls names for 1985/6, and starting at the bottom names on the lists, as they'll hopefully be one or two less usual names.

I'd like to have a few possibilities to choose from, so that one will fit with my visual image of her.

Who said writing was easy? :D










Image courtesy of Ventrilock and www.freedigitalphotos.net

Busy Working - Building Characters...

I've just about finished my character biographies, and they have been a revelation.

Now I'm anxious to get back and start building the story to completion.

It is only the first draft, but already I can see where I need to add scenes or incidents earlier on in the draft, as the character bios have provided information I was unaware of when I started writing the story.

There's a couple of areas of research that I still need to do, but they can be done as I go along, so by the time I'm ready to tackle the second draft I'll have what I need.

Also I feel I have finally found a system that works for me, and I'll continue to use it for all my longer stories.

I'm flexible enough to make changes in the plot if they're needed, but just being able to write down chapter outlines helps me know where I'm going - even if some bits do get changed around.

Clearing my head of the ideas and scenes, and then concentrating on my characters' secrets has been like taking the icing off a piece of fruit cake, leaving the delicious part to be exposed and savoured.

Like cake...

(This could just be that I feel hungry after this latest writing session of course, and I like eating cake- occasionally.)

So I'm off to follow up on one of those vital research areas...










Image courtesy of Apolonia/ www.freedigitalphotos.net

A Brief Diversion into Poetry...

I foolishly told the poetry Secretary at the Writers' Club (at the weekend) that I'd attempt an entry for the May poetry competition- to be handed in tonight (Wednesday).

It was rhyming form and there was a given theme.

I remember that I never found poetry difficult when I was a child- because it was playing with words and enjoying the creative process.

When you get older and aren't poetically inclined, like me, all the rules are headache inducing.

But with some technical advice from poet friends who do know, I ended up with two verses, each of four lines, and the ABAB rhyming scheme worked- well it seemed to...

I will get a little feedback next month when the judge returns the results- assuming there are enough entries for the competition to run.

So I've decided that if I ever try writing poetry again, I'll keep to blank verse. :D

Even Antagonists Have Feelings...

I've made good progress with the character bios. I've completed those for my hero and heroine- and found out a few snippets I hadn't realised before which will be useful in the later chapters.

Now I'm at the stage of creating the profiles of my antagonists. One isn't very pleasant, but I now know why.

And the second, lesser antagonist, is my heroine's sister. She's not really bad, just selfish. And she's a catalyst without intending to be.

(Now I know they are fictional characters, but they have to be real to a reader, so they need to be real to me too. So remember that as you read the next couple of paragraphs.)

Just like the other characters, the baddies will have had a mother, and perhaps other family members that they may have loved and cared for in their own way.

 They could even have shared some of the same influences and experiences as my protagonists, but something has made them unpleasant instead.

Think of Star Wars, especially episode 3, when you see Anakin Skywalker turning to the dark side and taking on the identity of Darth Vader...

I remember a writer explaining that while a reader won't like the bad person, they want to understand why they are bad.

Perhaps it's just human nature; compassion, or the unwillingness to believe that someone could be evil for no reason.

Fortunately my main antagonist is taking a role in a romance, not a gruesome psychological crime thriller...

I hope to be back to writing Chapter Twelve by the middle of next week, if not sooner.

So, do you want to know how an antagonist has turned out that way?

Chapter Outlines Complete...

I've been lucky to have some undisturbed time today, so I've made good use of it by getting my chapter outlines written up and printed out.

It's the chapters...

I found it really useful with my Nottinghamshire novella- that was planned from the start- and even though some bits moved chapter position, it made it easier for me to work through. The plot ideas were already formed and it reduced how much was still swirling around getting in the way of the 'maybe' stuff.

As I'm already up to Chapter 12 in my contemporary romance the first few pages were done quite quickly, so the brain work started with Chapter 13.

Of course, by the next draft the number of chapters may have changed, but I'm not really too concerned about having some short chapters versus longer chapters- I go for where it feels right to end a chapter. So I may actually end up with twenty by the time it's completed!

This afternoon I've written a little over 1,200 words, and could finally see where everything was going, rather than realising I'd missed something important because my brain's too clogged up with possibilities.

Actually I was even seeing snippets of scenes developing in my mind as I wrote some of the chapter outlines...

Now I just need to get my character bios done. I do have some notes on the main ones, but I need more detail as I've discovered more about them as I've gone along; and neither my hero or heroine are quite as I imagined them at the start- she's stronger minded and daring than I thought, and he's less confident than he appears.

I'm certain that I can make much better progress on my word count once the bios are done this week...






Illustration courtesy of Stuart Miles at www.freedigitalphotos.net

Yes, I Need a Plan..

I've been thinking- seriously...

The past few weeks have been a struggle with my writing.

It's not that I've lost my enthusiasm, or lack ideas- still too many to get through- but I've realised that I'm a flexible planner; just writing the story as I go along doesn't work for me. I need thinking time...

While the current work in progress (the contemporary romance) has been evolving, I've learnt more about my characters, but they're still a bit too two dimensional at times.

It's okay when they're having an emotional scene, they come alive, but between times they flatten out because I don't know enough about them. While they talk to me I know they're holding important information back, and it's that deep down stuff I need to get to to round them out.

Also secondary characters and incidental ones have turned up as part of the plot, and while it's not essential I know a lot about the latter, I do need to know a bit more about the former.

At the moment I feel like bits of the border of the jigsaw puzzle are missing, and it's making it harder to complete the whole picture.

I also know there are important areas of research I need to clarify.

Usually I research as much as I feel I need to start with, based on the characters and my general plot outline, before I begin writing. But because I only had a few basics to start with, and a lot more questions have arisen as I've gone along, and I've had to note in the manuscript that info is needed on x.

Yes, I need to find out other information as I go along on my planned stories, but never in as much depth as I need with this current story.

I roughly know where I'm going with it, but I need a better plan, and more thorough character bios than I have at the minute.

And my historical novella is demanding attention too, the second draft has been on hold too long and I need to get back to it.

So I've decided that I'm going to spend the next week creating those detailed bios, and chapter outlines- they're not set in stone, elements can be moved around if need-be. And the really important research items will help.

I feel certain that once those are done I will make better progress, and hopefully get the first draft completed.

I now know the writing system that works for me. I just need to build on it to get the most words out of it.

Nothing is wasted, because the story will get written...






Image courtesy of jesadaphorn at www.freedigitalphotos,net

Guest Posting on Womagwriter's Blog

You may be familiar with the womagwriter's blog that was originally run by Kath McGurl, and now is under the safe wings of Patsy Collins.

Today (16th) I'm guest posting on the womagwriter's blog about joining the ALCS - and hopefully dispelling the myth some writers may have that it's complicated.

Membership of the ALCS (Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society) has been increasing each year as word spreads, but I'm sure there are still writers who qualify, but haven't joined yet.

I hope you'll pop over and leave a comment, or any questions...

Brain Swirl...

This is actually blog post 501, and I don't know what to say...

At the moment my brain is swirling ideas around, beyond my current work in progress.

I suppose it's because my routine has been thrown out of sync, just when I was back into routine after being ill.

There's been a list of things that needed to be done- a few with deadlines, a few still outstanding that need a completely free day to get done.

My combination microwave had to go in for repair- it's still under the first year's guarantee- but it means I'm missing my porridge and (made with milk) drinking chocolate for breakfast. Cold cereal just doesn't set me up for the day.

Fingers crossed it's a simple repair...

We probably all have rituals, but never think about them, and it's only due to the microwave problem that I really became aware that I did have distinct patterns.

For me, I can't start writing until I've had breakfast, dressed and had at least one mug of coffee- no sitting around in my dressing gown writing, my brain doesn't associate dressing gowns with serious writing, just procrastinating! :D

I've been making more effort to go on Twitter regularly, for about ten minutes a day, to keep in touch with others, and also what's going on locally in the city. Sometimes I just read and retweet anything interesting.

I've written a couple of short pieces for other people, one to fill a gap in the quarterly magazine that the writers' club (I'm a member of) produce. There is also a slightly longer piece too which I wrote last month for the same edition.

The other item will be online later this week, so I'll post a link when it's up. Again it's only a short piece, but even so it still needed thinking time and editing, but I was happy to do it, because it's an important issue.

So I have actually been writing, even though it was factual rather than fiction.

Now I'm off to write my to do list for this week...

Giving Characters the Right Name...

As possible names for the new royal baby is getting press coverage at the moment, with the birth of a daughter to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, I thought talking about suitable names for characters might be a good topic - and it's wonderful to have something other than the approaching general election to discuss.

Names 'come with baggage' even if we don't realise it. It's built into us as we grow, experience life and are exposed to the numerous influences around us; certain names can suggest certain things- when you may have been born, and even social background.

But it doesn't have to...

Rose

Ethel for example; it suggests an old lady, which was perhaps why the early writers of EastEnders called one of their fictional elderly characters by that name. But to someone else who grew up with the golden age of Hollywood films, the same name would suggest the gutsy singer and actress Ethel Merman, Two completely different examples of the same first name.

There are lots of name books available, and the Internet has numerous sites where you can find out the etymology of names, whether general or to specific cultures/countries. So if you need to find a name for a character you've decided was born in another country, you won't have such a struggle...

Have a look at the random name generator on the Behind the Name website. You can set options for country; there's even Myth to Fantasy via Ancient, Biblical and even Fairy, Goth or Transformer!

If you have a contemporary setting there's a lot more choice of names, even taking into account setting, location, and background of your characters.

Look on the ONS website for the list of popular baby names each year going back to 1996.

Names in an historical settings are different too, especially the further back you go. Name choices are reduced for the ordinary worker, compared to the variety used for those with land and money.

If you've ever done family history research you will often see the same names being used, in the 1600-1700's, William, John, and Thomas are extremely common- it wouldn't be unusual to find first cousins with the same first name (that must have been confusing at times).

By the Victorian period there was a much wider variety of first names- even unusual ones, probably reflecting the progress made with the industrial revolution and the wider movement of the population..

Genealogy websites can be useful if you want suitable surnames for a character located in a specific region or county. I did this for one of the main servants in my Dorset novel, and it just brought her to life, giving me a stronger mental image of her.

I've learnt to listen to my characters where names are concerned. If I choose a name that my characters think is wrong, whether their own, or someone else's, they'll deliberately start referring to them by the name they think is right.

A few even tell me straight out that what I've called them is wrong, and their name is...

To be able to write these characters' stories their names have to be right, because if they aren't, the words don't flow for me. So it's all in the depths of my brain.

So, how do you choose names for your characters? Are there any books or websites you'd recommend to others?

As Shakespeare wrote, what's in a name?








Image courtesy of Tim Seed/www.freedigitalphotos.net

Authors for Nepal - Auction Coming Up...

I doubt many will have missed the news reports of the devastation left by the 7.8 magnitude  earthquake that hit Nepal last Saturday, resulting in the death and homelessness of huge numbers of  citizens.

As with previous natural disasters authors are rallying together to raise funds by donating to a charity auction; items donated range from signed books, to critiques, and an author visit, plus many more.

There's still time for other donations to be added with a deadline of 6 pm this Sunday, May 3rd.

For details of where and how, pop over to the Authors for Nepal Facebook page.

At the moment the auction is scheduled to begin Tuesday 5th May at midnight on ebay. The organiser, writer Julia Williams, has said that although they may not have loaded all the items by the start time, they will carry on until they're complete.

So even if the earlier ones have finished there will still be later ones running.

The money raised by the auction will go to Earthquake Relief for Nepal set-up by a New Zealand based charity, First Steps Himalaya, who are involved with providing early years education for rural Nepali children, and are already based within one of the villages.

You can find out more from this item in the Bookseller.

The charity's page.


The Facebook page for Authors for Nepal.


So keep an eye on the Facebook page for more updates over the weekend.

AUCTION RUNNING so pop over to ebay and take a look at their all listings- there are a few still to be added, so keep checking.

Catching Up...

After weeks of not adding to my work in progress due to lack of time, quiet, a stuffed up head and a second chest infection, I was really worried that I would find it difficult to get back into writing my contemporary romance, especially as I'd left off writing mid-chapter, with my heroine having to make decisions that could be good or bad, dependent on what she discovers...

I was surprised how quickly I got back into the flow.

Going with the 'write it and see' method has not suited me, and the contemporary romance will certainly need much more work in the second draft.

Even when I plan I'm flexible. Sometimes ideas expand or new ones emerge as I'm writing my historical romances, and they seem to fit in easier, whereas at the moment with the contemporary these additional bits seem to stick up like nails that haven't been hammered in properly!

I'm also anxious to get back to the Nottinghamshire novella too- the characters have started reminding me they are still waiting for the rewrite, and when will I start?

Along with a few ideas for shorter pieces- inspirations that have been percolating, and now keep popping up when I'm not expecting them to- usually when I'm meant to be cooking dinner, are distracting.

It's great there are all these ideas, but it doesn't help me get anything finished!

So I'm going to put some serious time in during the next couple of months, and try to be more organised.

There are short, mid and long term plans that I can dip into as and when needed.

I'm determined...