tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76069475334793090932024-03-19T19:42:35.712+00:00The Racy WriterAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01839784428966580278noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7606947533479309093.post-82727614367644244272012-05-09T18:30:00.001+01:002012-05-09T18:32:21.095+01:00Take a Left at Writer's Corner<br />
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So it’s been a while since my last blog post. Why?
Well... which is why I’m only writing this now. Did that make sense? No.
Actually, I deleted all the excuses and reasons which I had stored up as armour
because you don’t really want to know. You don’t really want to know what
mundane life-things have happened to me in between posts. Presumably, you’re
here to read an interesting blogpost. To be honest, up until this point it wasn’t
even going to be interesting but having deleted all that mush in between, I
think that’s a pretty good thing to talk about.</div>
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<br /></div>
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When you’re reading a book do you really want to
know that after the big party and before the heroine finally succumbs to the
hero’s charms that she had to put fresh food down for the cat, that she drew
the curtains in the bedroom (which are marigold yellow with orange leaves on
them) and that she had to set Virgin Tivo to record an episode of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Deadliest Catch</i> which was being shown at
4am?</div>
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No!</div>
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You want to get down to the nitty gritty of the
story that matters. The only exception I might add at this point is if putting
fresh food down results in the cat becoming poisoned or throws up in the hero’s
shoes causing him to kick the cat and cause a conflict, or because drawing the
curtains enables her to see into her neighbour’s house where she witnesses a
murder and she and her hero must help police solve the crime.</div>
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Okay, those are a bit extreme but what I’m trying
to say is you don’t want to read stuff which doesn’t move the story forward in
some way. None of it. As a writer, you might think well, I’ve done it for the
most part, there’s no harm in slipping in a bit of redundant information here
because it feels so good. There is harm! It’s not needed so it should go – all of
it!</div>
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<br /></div>
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I know that’s all well and good saying that but as
a writer I know just how easy it is to get caught up in the moment, you are so “into”
the scene that you just can’t help but describe every little thing that goes
on, whether it’s needed or not. And editing that is one of the hardest things
in writing. “Killing your babies” as they say. Stephen King, in his book <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/On-Writing-Memoir-Craft-ebook/dp/B003BVFZ4Q/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1336581445&sr=1-1" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">On Writing</i></a>, quotes a theatre saying
(which I’d never heard before): “If there’s a gun on the mantle in Act I, it
must go off in Act III”. For any writer who hasn’t read Mr King’s memoir of the
craft, then I recommend you do. It’s the best five pounds you’ll ever spend
(apart from <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Keeping-the-Peace-ebook/dp/B007T6LRCS/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1336584554&sr=1-1" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Keeping the Peace</i></a>, of
course, which is only £1.94 on Amazon).</div>
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I found it a terrific help but I still sometimes
struggled to put what he advised into practice. I’m a visual kind of person.
Loads of instructions mean diddly to me unless I can rearrange it in my head
into a picture which makes sense. The way I use Stephen King’s advice is as
follows. It may work for you, it may not. Hey, we’re all different but if you’re
struggling with cutting down on your descriptive narratives here’s another way
of considering it.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Imagine you’re driving in your car in a strange
town. You haven’t got a map with you and the Sat Nav isn’t working again and
you’re trying to get to – let’s say the library, an old favourite. You stop and
ask for directions.</div>
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The first person says “Carry on down this road,
there are some lovely mock Tudor houses on your right, the Fox and Rabbit pub,
some more terraced houses each with a different painted door, while on the left
there is a Co-Op, a SpecSavers, a Poundland shop, a Vue Cinema and the Black
Cat pub. Take a right into Park Lane, where there is an avenue of maple trees
losing their leaves, some Victorian style houses opposite a small green with a
skate-park and swings. You’ll come to a set of traffic lights where they are
doing some roadworks and you should take a left there into Lower Fifth Street,
pass by the bus depot and transport union offices which are painted an
off-cream but has graffiti on the walls, past the City Hall opposite the
primary school which was used as a bomb shelter during the war and a 17th
century cottage where the headmaster lives with his wife. Then you’ll see a TK-Max
store with a big car park next door. And the library is your next building
along.”</div>
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The second person says “Carry on up this road. Opposite
the Fox and Rabbit pub turn right into Park Lane then turn left into Lower
Fifth Street at the roadworks then park by TK Max and the library is just next
door.”</div>
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<br /></div>
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Which set of directions is the more straight
forward? I’m hoping you thought the second otherwise we have a problem. The
first is just too much. I’m sure it’s nice to know what pubs are in the area
and the autumnal maple trees probably do look quite beautiful but you want to
get to the library, end of.</div>
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In the second example, however, the director hasn’t
totally left out a bit of descriptiveness. He or she has mentioned clear
landmarks to look out for in order to make the journey easier. That’s great, it’s
not completely clinical (i.e. turn right into Park Lane, turn left into Lower
Fifth Street), but it’s not overwhelming either. If you took his advice you’d
look for the Fox and Rabbit and know that Park Lane is opposite it and you’d
hopefully make the turn in time. But the first director has pointed out mock
Tudor houses, two pubs, a cinema, some retailers as well and with all that
going on you’re probably going to miss your turn-off.</div>
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The same applies with writing. If you overload
your reader with superfluous information they’re in danger of missing the vital
information they need to know in order to navigate smoothly through your book
without having to backtrack and get frustrated.</div>
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That’s how I think of my writing when I’m
redrafting and it makes more sense. If your reader doesn’t need to know it, don’t
tell them. But equally so, find a happy balance. Give them some “landmarks”
along the way to make the journey easier.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The other thing is “Get in late, get out early”.
We’ve all heard that mantra before. We all know it works, it’s proven and it
makes sense, but how easy is it to pinpoint when a scene should start? What are
you losing by cutting out the two hundred-word introduction and how do you then
start the scene without jarring the reader?</div>
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Honestly, I don’t know.</div>
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Personally, I’ll write the scene with all the
trimmings then at the end, once I know what the scene is all about, I can go
back and cut out the bits which have now become redundant although they seemed
important at the time.</div>
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Then there’s the stuff which you want to keep but
occur in the cut intro.</div>
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Peasy.</div>
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Filter them into the next draft. For instance my
latest heroine is a big Bonnie Tyler fan. It’s part of who she is so in my
opinion is worthy of being mentioned in the story. How do I let the readers
know this without creating a whole scene of her driving in her car with the CD
player on before the REAL scene where she arrives at the pub and bumps into the
hero?</div>
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The final piece started with her walking through
the pub doorway with Bonnie Tyler still ringing in her ears. There you go. You
know what she’s been listening to. You know she was obviously enjoying it if it
was loud enough to still be ringing in her ears. The next sentence: WHAM! There’s
our hero looking heroic and we cut to the chase.</div>
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<br /></div>
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And so as not to be hypocritical, I’m going to get
out now. I’ve pretty much said everything I wanted to say. You’ve read all you
need to read. If you reading past this... well, thanks I appreciate your
company. Happy writing and happy reading!</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01839784428966580278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7606947533479309093.post-83527566293154583702012-04-16T12:05:00.000+01:002012-04-16T12:05:09.595+01:00Keeping the Grand National Peace<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-GB</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/> <w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/> <w:OverrideTableStyleHps/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst">So it’s been a bit of a hectic few days with emotions tumble-turning all over the place. First off: PANIC. The formatting of <i>Keeping the Peace</i> went haywire 48 hours before it was due to be published. Thankfully I have a friend who designed his own formatting programme and was able to quickly put <i>KTP</i> through the works and in the end it went live on amazon almost a day before I’d planned. Hurrah! Now cue the excitement and nerves. Yay – my favourite book so far (that I’ve written that is, my ego ain’t that big yet) is about to be shared with the world*. Nerves: will this book be a success? It’s had some great pre-release reviews but will people feel so kindly towards it when they’ve had to buy it?*</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">So with that lot swirling inside me, Saturday rolls around. Saturday was important for me for three reasons: firstly, weekends are sacred and should be treated as such. Secondly, I’m a horseracing fan and had to watch the Grand National. Thirdly, I’m a writer who’s just released a romance novel centred around the Grand National. I took a risk that the Grand National would go smoothly and no bad press could affect my sales...</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">Well, we all know how that panned out.</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">I was very upset after the National to think of the tragedies surrounding two great warriors like Synchronised and According To Pete. With the latter, I keep remembering his owners, an everyday family who bred him and raised him, and how she was on the verge of tears with pride beforehand. So it is easy to imagine the devastation his death would have had on them.</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">On top of that, the beating racing fans took afterwards from anti-Grand Nationalists just added to the hole of despondency I was in. Everyone’s entitled to an opinion, I know, but I don’t like people telling me how I’m feeling and that I don’t love horses. I do, more than anything or anyone and there is nothing that makes me more proud than watching a grand servant like Neptune Collonges win the greatest challenge in horseracing and be recognised for the hero he is.</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">But when everyone’s upset, it’s easy for sensitive debates to get nasty, right? Racing gets defensive and lashes out and the label they are already branded with - the one that reads “cruel, greedy, selfish, unfeeling” sometimes looks fitting. But you tell me, when you’re upset, having thousands of fingers pointing blame at you and upsetting you even more, are you likely to say the right thing and should you be judged by that one scenario?</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">To be honest, I’m already a bit tired of this whole fiasco and like many have pointed out, we should let the dust settle before discussions should begin about improving the safety for everyone involved in the big race (just to clear one thing up: those screens which you saw when the runners bypassed one of the fences were protecting Noel Fehily, an injured jockey. It wasn’t Synchronised). So many opinions are being thrown around from one extreme to the other – from 'ban horseracing all together' to 'make the fences bigger and they’ll jump them slower and pay them more respect'... I thought I would add what I would <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">like</i> to see implemented. It is not necessarily what I think will happen.</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><b>First, is there a problem to be solved?</b></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">Well, since only one Grand National has been run since the modifications to the fences, we’re left with very few (and possibly fluke-like) statistics on which to judge their effectiveness. But two horses were fatally injured, and that is very much a problem.</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><b>Second, identify the problem.</b></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">It’s all well and good saying lower the fences, but is the height really what caused those horses’ deaths? No. It’s unclear whether Synchronised injured himself whilst running loose or jumping loose so he is unreliable evidence (apologies if that sounds rather coarse, I obviously think of him as more than just a piece of evidence) on the safety of the jumps. According To Pete jumped the fences perfectly, but was brought down by another horse. Again, the jump was only indirectly involved since it obviously played a part in bringing down the horse who brought Pete down.</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">Size is not the problem then. Speed then? Certainly, the faster you go the more at risk you are, but at the same time jockeys go that fast because they all want to get the safest position near the front on the inside. A bit of a double-edged sword really. And it’s many people’s belief, including jockeys that if you lower the fences, they are inclined to tackle them even faster than before. So we don’t want to do that!</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">Jumping prowess then? It’s been suggested that entrants should have completed a course of the National fences in order to become eligible. To show they’re up to the job. A reasonable suggestion until you try find statistics to back this up and here sadly, the complete opposite comes up.</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">Firstly, not just any horse can run in the Grand National – only the highest rated of those entered (of which the original field is hundreds) make the line-up and all of them have to have won over three and a half miles or more (either three and a half or three, I can’t remember for certain).</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">Then take a look at the results this year. The winner: Neptune Collonges, who didn’t put a foot wrong the whole way round, had never jumped those fences before in his life. The horse he beat by a whisker, Sunnyhillboy, hadn’t either. The third horse, Seabass hadn’t even been to Aintree before and the fourth horse, Cappa Bleu? You guessed it, he’s run at Aintree before but not over the National fences. So the horses who filled the first four places had never set eyes on those jumps but were still good and lucky enough to come out top.</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">On the other hand, we have the seasoned warriors like Black Apalachi, who was lining up over the National fences for the FIFTH time and who had come second to Don’t Push It in 2010, State Of Play taking part in his fourth Grand National, Westend Rocker competing in just his second Grand National but nonetheless had won the Becher Chase last year over the same fences – what happened to them? They either fell or blundered so badly that their riders were unseated.</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">So as reasonable as that suggestion is, there is nothing to suggest that National fence-jumping experience has anything to do with the result.</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">I have one last piece of ‘evidence’ that I think backs up why modifying the jumps is a waste of time and possibly more dangerous. There have been a few races already run over the course since the last modifications and before the Grand National: the Becher Chase in December (on heavy going), the Foxhunter’s Chase and the Topham Chase – there are possibly more but I can’t think of any right now. Three races over the same jumps, no fatalities.</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">What was the big difference? The size of the fields in my opinion.</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><b>Thirdly, how can the problem be solved? </b></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">Lessen the amount of runners and a) there’ll be less speed and scrimaging for position, b) runners will have a clearer view of their fences and c) less runners generally means less ratio of fatalities**.</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">The Grand National is not the same race it was 100 years ago, it’s not the same as it was 10 years ago, not even one year ago. It’s famous for more than just it’s age – it’s famous for the challenge it presents and that is why it is the most watched and recognised horserace in the world. If we continue to tinker with the jumps, that challenge is going to be so reduced that it is just going to be another horse race and nothing more. I don’t want the National to lose its historicism but at the same time I do want safety to be paramount. With fewer runners – say 25 or 30 – we would have a race that still presented a challenge but with fewer risks involved.</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">I don’t ignore the fact that horseracing carries deadly risks, but to be honest, living carries deadly risks too. In <i>Keeping the Peace</i>, which is a romance set against a National Hunt racing background, the heroine's main motivation is to run her horse in the Grand National.</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">Like in reality, I haven’t ignored the risks involved (it’s so tempting when you’re a fan of something with a less than perfect reputation to write about it in the most glowing terms), I’ve included them, and more I’ve tried to portray as best as I can how the people involved in the sport of horseracing react and respond in such circumstances.</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">I’ve also tried to bring across how horseracing does do good, how it can bring people together, change people’s and horses’ lives for the better and by the time you read those words ‘THE END’ I hope you’ll agree that I’ve portrayed racing in a balanced and truthful light.</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">That is the intention!</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">And just because I love the cover which was designed by Pro Book Covers so much, here it is again!<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Keeping-the-Peace-ebook/dp/B007T6LRCS/ref=sr_1_7?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1334148376&sr=1-7" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMqcplJO6ihVTiJIOShkVs3leavYKzMrT94JVqbNkKDLD72u3YdpMOZrVJLYJwHdYxPelEgxReBbzi4AJ6eG2uOkYA67Tqi5CMeFp2nAJcOLHctiK2yvMEt1bBSmiI5CpLL1RIssvHKpo/s320/KTP+Cover+Upright.jpg" width="251" /> Keeping the Peace</a></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: x-small;">*excluding Asia of course. Come on, Asia! Get Kindling!</span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: x-small;">** sometimes freak accidents happen and a horse might very well get fatally-injured in a three-horse field, while as we’ve seen in the past, some 40-runner National fields have resulted in no fatalities at all.</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01839784428966580278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7606947533479309093.post-61575304482364988072012-03-12T16:05:00.000+00:002012-03-12T16:05:39.300+00:00Cheltenham: to the lengths of the earth I will go<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-GB</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/> <w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/> <w:OverrideTableStyleHps/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Twas the night before Cheltenham and all through the house</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Could be heard Hannah clicking on Festival updates with her laptop mouse.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Okay, I won’t go on. Poetry has never been my strongest point. But there’s something about this time of year that has such magic to it that you can’t help wanting to be poetic. People have written songs about this racing Festival before! Cheltenham is my Christmas (and birthday until I hit 30). For any of you who don’t believe how magical this festival can be, have a look at these youtube clips here then ask yourself ‘Has anyone made a song about the golf Masters?’</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The cherry of Cheltenham for me is Friday, Gold Cup Day. Or on a more personal level, it is Kauto Star Day. I was working it out this morning – in the eleven years I’ve lived in England I’ve missed two festivals: the first was the year I arrived and I didn’t even know of it’s existence (the year Best Mate won his first of three Gold Cups), the second was when I was backpacking around Australia and believe me I did my damnedest to see it. I was working on a stud in New South Wales called Coolmore.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There was no chance of taking time off since I was a temporary studhand and where would I go? We were out in the middle of the Hunter Valley – my television set in my digs couldn’t even pick up Neighbours or Home and Away never mind an international channel in the early hours of the morning. Since the stud was owned by some Irish people I thought it was worth giving it a try and approaching them to see if they would record it on their state-of-the-art satellite system.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I trembled in my boots as the lowly studhand approached the big Irish magnate. I was shown sympathy but told it wasn’t possible. So instead I watched what races I could find on youtube the following day. Those were the lengths I would go to watch the festival.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And since Kauto Star’s introduction I haven’t missed one. I have always taken time off work to watch it. I threatened to quit my job when they wouldn’t let me take those days – am I bordering on obsessive? Perhaps, but when it comes to seeing how much Kauto Star and the festival mean to me, you see what extremes I am willing to go to.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This year, my dilemma involves university lectures. If I stay the good swotty student then I’ll be missing the first and last days of the Festival. I have a full day of seminars and lectures and writing groups on Tuesday and I have a presentation to perform for my second filming project on Friday. Tuesday, we also have the Supreme Novice’s Hurdle (maybe not the biggest race of the festival but great to see what we have to look forward to in the future), the Arkle Chase (with a very competitive renewal starring Sprinter Sacre v. Al Ferof), and the Champion Hurdle (I have invested interests in this race because my beloved Zarkandar runs in it – I don’t mean he’s literally <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">mine</i> – but if you read my previous post <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">‘<a href="http://theracywriter.blogspot.com/2011_03_01_archive.html" target="_blank">Nagsto Niches</a>’</i> you’ll understand my attachment to him. And he, the young pretender, is up against the old champion Binocular and reigning champ Hurricane Fly.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And then Friday, of course, is just about the Gold Cup for me – I don’t even know what the rest of the card is. All I know is that Kauto Star will be lining up for the sixth time in this race (and possibly the last) in an attempt to win his third Gold Cup. He’s up against Long Run who beat him into third last year same time, same place, but this season Kauto has trumped Long Run in two out of two clashes. Why is he still the underdog? Possibly because he is 12 compared to most of the other runners who’s age averages out at 8 or 9. He also had a nasty fall while schooling the other day. But he seems to be back to 100% now and I have a stupid amount of faith in him.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So that’s how my timetable clashes. Important things will be missed either way. I’ll feel very guilty if I bunk off uni for the races but I will not be able to forgive myself if I miss Cheltenham. I have compromised with myself. Since we’ve now got Virgin Tivo, I’m going to record Tuesday’s action and go to uni. In return for not watching it live I am taking Friday off to watch Kauto canter to victory. The presentation will have to wait until next week. Sorry tutors.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">And that pretty much is what the next week holds for me. I’m finding it exceptionally difficult to focus on anything else other than the Festival so the writing of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Giving Chase</i> has been put aside for now. After losing my USB stick I am having to retype <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Keeping the Peace</i> (which is, in a way, a good thing because it’s forcing me to micro-edit) but it’s also put me against the clock if I’m to manage the April release deadline. Another reason why I’ve decided to take a sabbatical from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Giving Chase</i> is because I’m currently reading <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ruby</i>, the autobiography of champion jockey Ruby Walsh. Since Giving Chase focuses on the lives of two jockeys in particular, I thought it would be a good way to research the more personal side of the sport on top of the broader research which I’ve done.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Needless to say, there’s way more to it than I’d anticipated and I think I’d better stock up on jockey and trainer autobiographies before carrying on with my blinkered take on being a jockey!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I won’t be posting until after Cheltenham so I’ll say where my ‘money’ is going over the next few days (these are not tips by the way!).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Day One: Arkle Chase – Sprinter Sacre; Champion Hurdle – Zarkandar.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Day Two: RSA Chase – Grand Crus.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Day Three: World Hurdle – Big Buck’s. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Day Four: Triumph Hurdle – Baby Mix; Gold Cup – Kauto Star.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Wish me (and them) luck!</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01839784428966580278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7606947533479309093.post-60321670059091961372012-02-08T13:41:00.000+00:002012-02-08T13:41:19.087+00:00The Difference Between Delusion and Illusion<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-GB</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/> <w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/> <w:OverrideTableStyleHps/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal">So ten days into the new career, do I feel different?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, I feel like a little round plastic thingy, maybe yellow, maybe red, with a line of string tied around my waist – otherwise known as a yo-yo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My initial bravado of selling my writing was swiftly followed by an attack of inferiority complex and then the burdening weight of responsibility that when people read my books they are expecting the truth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first two peaks and troughs seemed to have levelled out now but the responsibility still lingers.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>I also felt this almost overwhelming feeling that now I was publicly trying to sell my name that I had a reputation to uphold.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now I know this is a delusion of grandeur but what if in the far off future somone says ‘No, I’m not going to buy Hannah Hooton’s book; I saw her littering at the train station’?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my defense I do try to avoid littering and what can you do if there are zero bins at the station?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This public persona delusion seemed to fold pretty quickly when the day after <i>At Long Odds</i> went live I was slipping and sliding the half hour walk to the station at an icy six o’clock in the morning to catch the Cambridge train so I could attend eighteen hours of university and commuting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh yes, I was in a really chirpy mood. A group of youths, yelling and tripping over each other, approached and the one girl draped herself over me breathing toxic fumes into my face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did I think of my author’s reputation at that moment?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No, I was thinking how ridiculous it was to be still out drunk at six o’clock when I was on my way to work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So in no uncertain terms I told her where to go and shrugged her off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She then replied with some surprisingly imaginative insults.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Walking away, I thought that it was really quite ironic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t recall ever telling anyone to eff off unless I was joking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I chose to curse publicly the first opportunity and really mean it not 24 hours after becoming published.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, I’m under no illusions such a thing would have a long term detrimental effect, or indeed have an effect at all – the girl was obviously never going to recognise me again – but it did make me wonder.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">That’s the psycho side of becoming published for the first time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The other side is the facts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not about to list my sales numbers etc., but I am amazed and thrilled by just how well received the free promo weekend went for <i>At Long Odds</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has resulted in some lovely reviews on both the US and UK amazon sites and my latest addiction is checking the Kindle Charts to see if it has moved in the last five minutes.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Naturally, my WIP is feeling ignored and unloved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To make it feel better I completed another chapter (hit the 40,000 word mark – hooray!) and played around with Title and Chapter headings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh, and I found a new picture for my hero, Rhys Bradford.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiZr-xuZls_GbP60BlGGXa7JRhyphenhyphengK6WEGDaNr1VzIC0yARyzL8WYRiOMifbCLpfh-Y43suY9utRboFWmZlJJfj54a_zqVzUUhvV_9fy0cMU7QTsSGXxV1JhtUktqiGo9TbLoqD6VJwKNQ/s1600/Rhys+Bradford.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiZr-xuZls_GbP60BlGGXa7JRhyphenhyphengK6WEGDaNr1VzIC0yARyzL8WYRiOMifbCLpfh-Y43suY9utRboFWmZlJJfj54a_zqVzUUhvV_9fy0cMU7QTsSGXxV1JhtUktqiGo9TbLoqD6VJwKNQ/s320/Rhys+Bradford.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">In other news, I’m preparing to do the last edit and polish of <i>Keeping The Peace</i> and finding someone capable of designing a cover to do it justice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With any luck that’ll be up for sale at the beginning of April*.</div><div class="MsoNormal">As part of my degree course myself and two other students made our first ‘movie’ on Monday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Untitled as yet, it is barely a minute long, is one continuous shot (project requirement) and runs to the soundtrack of <i>Postman Pat</i> (not project requirement).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not Scorsese-material yet, I grant you, but if you ignore my dodgy camerawork and Mark’s dodgy acting and everyone’s dodgy idea of m<span style="font-size: small;">ise-</span><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-GB</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/> <w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/> <w:OverrideTableStyleHps/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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</style> <![endif]--><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">en-scéne</span></span>, then I think we did all right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ll find out soon enough.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">*deadlines have never been my friend so consider that date tentative</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01839784428966580278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7606947533479309093.post-32232317290271874322012-02-01T12:13:00.002+00:002012-02-01T12:17:13.458+00:00Book Release and Film Capture<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It’s so tempting to start each new blog post with ‘Crikey, look at the last time I blogged! I’m so sorry I haven’t got on my soapbox for three and a half months. It’s because of...’ and then insert a list of lame excuses. My only excuse this time is that I’m instinctively lazy when it comes to blogging and do you really want to hear how my Christmas went? No, thought not. I will say though I hope you were at Kempton Racecourse on Boxing Day. I can’t remember the last time a horse winning made me cry like Kauto Star did in the King George... Oh yes, I can it was when Kauto Star won at Haydock Park earlier in the season. That horse is turning me into a wreck. If he wins the Cheltenham Gold Cup, I shall need to be hooked up to a saline drip.</span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">What this post really should have started with is an apology to the lovely Clare Wartnaby. She very kindly nominated my blog for the Liebster Blog Award. So totally undeserved I feel, I never found a way of saying thank you and before you know it, weeks and months have gone by and I felt too embarrassed to speak up. I can feel the guilt shawling me as I write this. But Clare really is a great gal. If you haven’t checked out her blog already then I’d recommend you do <a href="http://clarewartnaby.blogspot.com/">here</a>.</span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">If I was even vaguely marketing savvy I should also probably have already mentioned my novel <i>At Long Odds</i> is now out on amazon as an e-book. Woohoo! There’s something about writing blog posts that unleashes the secret metaphorist in me and I can’t help but write in bizarre disguises of reality. I was going to compare <i>At Long Odds</i>’ launch to attempting a pike to double twist somersault off a 6 metre board but since I never had the guts to do anything but divebomb off the 3-metre board, I don’t actually know what that’s like. I do know however what’s it’s like to unleash my imagination on an unsuspecting audience though now.</span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It’s bloody scary.</span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">‘You write about horses and love? Are you the next Jilly Cooper?’ I’m asked.</span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Noooo. As much as I’d like to adopt that tag, I think anybody looking for a Jilly Cooper read should go read Jilly Cooper.</span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">‘Are you the next Fiona Walker?’ they then ask.</span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Noooo again. But only because I’ve never actually read any of Fiona Walker’s books (sorry Fiona - I will, I promise).</span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>At Long Odds</i> is all me. I hope you’ll give it a bash (not too hard though, they’re really strict on whip use these days). If you honestly don’t think you can, then tell someone who you reckon might enjoy it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">When it was available as a free download it got some great reviews so without trying to blow my own trumpet too loud, it can’t be that bad, can it? Each £1.98 (minus tax) goes towards the Hannah Hooton University Fund since the loan which the government deem acceptable for students to live on only keeps me in home and food eight months of the year.</span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/At-Long-Odds-ebook/dp/B0072VSS36/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1327784218&sr=1-1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy0R1tQR9UjmF6IiM7O08Az9yHiAGwGRodtOVIJjorxDOcgnWCm1FOcnpSWNxSPjpTEZoqtPHrbp0ODgUgoHJ5CNkNLppBqPM_rk5Ow6EjkUOx1bvpYGbEsmSHbszmlUTKfDoCPpqKUjo/s320/ALO+Cover+2+complete.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/At-Long-Odds-ebook/dp/B0072VSS36/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1327784218&sr=1-1"><br />
</a></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In other news? Not a lot, to be honest. Well, nothing that would be of riveting interest to anyone but myself (I have an eccentric taste in interests I’ve found).</span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Oh, I did go see <i>War Horse</i> at last. Well! I waited impatiently for about a year for that film to come out and all we get is Equine Lassie? I’m sorry, maybe I’m being too harsh - it is a family film after all. I just feel that after the massive build-up it had, it fell a little short of the mark. It had its moments, don’t get me wrong but it didn’t hit the spot which triggers the waterworks. I had much the same impression after watching Secretariat back in 2010 - they’d turned a gritty but magnificent horseracing tale into a chocolate-chip Disney ice cream cone. I rewrote a partial script of Secretariat for one of my film modules last semester and received a first for it. Take that Disney.</span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Okay, I’m going off on a tangent so I’d better stop there (you never know, I might be looking for work placement with these production companies someday if I get this degree).</span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Cheers for now and hopefully it won’t be another three and a half months before the next exciting thing happens in my life.</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01839784428966580278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7606947533479309093.post-32445629914982694112011-10-09T13:35:00.000+01:002011-10-09T13:35:13.247+01:00A Bomb Scare, An Engagement and a Mature’s Outlook on University<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-GB</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/> <w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/> <w:OverrideTableStyleHps/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal">Look at that date!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t believe I’ve been at university for almost a month now. Somebody tell me where time has gone these past few weeks (I’d love to ask the guy who looked like David Tennant’s <i>Dr Who</i> but after seeing him every day for the first week, I haven’t seen him at all since… I’m now beginning to wonder)?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijSCL5nBqBmOSYXwb-cU6zaWWPpGImlJ6R40kHu0kG7TXhzaz0rux6vydt04aziPyA_L0IJB4KCyX9zsMBgskYgVbInKKiodNFS5j6ubpWS00cwpjr7rj7jrfgLTrqi6A_uG1p3JvtgC8/s1600/ARU+Freshers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijSCL5nBqBmOSYXwb-cU6zaWWPpGImlJ6R40kHu0kG7TXhzaz0rux6vydt04aziPyA_L0IJB4KCyX9zsMBgskYgVbInKKiodNFS5j6ubpWS00cwpjr7rj7jrfgLTrqi6A_uG1p3JvtgC8/s320/ARU+Freshers.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Freshers gathering for free welcome braai</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"> So what, you might ask, is it like being a first year undergraduate student when you’re thirty?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s ageing, to put it simply.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My combined degree of Writing and Film Studies I think is considered pretty cool and an ‘easy’ way to get a degree (that’s not why I’m doing it by the way), so I think there is this expectation that you just lounge around watching the latest Hollywood blockbusters and writing a couple of stories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nuh-uh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, we watch films – but quite often you wouldn’t touch them if they were the last in the rental store.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Happily, I’ve been surprised by how much I’ve enjoyed them so far – Buster Keaton’s silent movies from the 20s and a rather chilling black and white movie called <i>The Night of the Hunter</i> come to mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To give myself a treat while at the same time calling it ‘homework’ I went to the cinema to watch <i>Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. </i>Considering I spent the first hour marvelling at how much one of the actors looked like Ian Hislop (I always thought he was a one-off) and it took me three-quarters of the film to work out everyone’s names and that Control was actually a person and not a department, I could easily have scratched a bald spot into my head if it went on for much longer.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">My question to ‘What if I miss my disitation deadline?’ was answered at the beginning of my second week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Phone the uni and tell them there’s a bomb in a microwave at the front of the building.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That generally distracts people away from their work and makes everyone within a mile radius evacuate the area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was in the middle of a Visualisation, Research and Storyboarding seminar when the friendly warden stuck his head round the door and said ‘Out!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s a bomb!’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our lecturer was much calmer although I think I preferred the warden’s attitude to preserving life as we were then instructed to pack up, save our work and switch off our computers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sorry, bomb scare or no bomb scare, I was not going to endanger my life a moment longer for the sake of a Photoshop collage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was out the door in pretty snappy time and down in the courtyard with the rest of the building’s congregation for a couple of fags and a gossip about what was going on.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Because of the scare, our class overran and because I’ve just discovered the miracles of Photoshop, I stayed on to work on a book cover for <i>At Long Odds</i> (see below for my handiwork).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And while I love living in Norwich, when you drag your feet across Cambridge’s platform 5 at 7 o’clock in the evening, knowing that you’re not going to get any dinner or even a coffee until 9, it becomes a bit of a turn off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On that particular evening the train carriage was fairly empty and I spread myself out at one of the tables.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A couple sitting opposite me caught my eye.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were sitting close together, cooing and crowing over the empty bottle of vintage 1983 champers. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My first thought was ‘Oh God, I don’t want to be sat with a couple of drunk people when I want to read my book’.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>But there was something different about these two.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were dressed very smartly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His tie was loosened. He was in a state of half-consciousness and was falling asleep on his partner’s shoulder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She, on the other hand, was glowing – not literally like in a Stephanie Meyer book – but there was some radiance of happiness humming about her like a force field.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I looked closer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was twisting a diamond ring on her wedding finger and gazing at it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was too small and her finger was red and creased where she was trying to make it fit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every now and then she would give a big heartfelt sigh and look tenderly at the gently-snoring man slumped on her shoulder. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She caught me peeping over my book at her and beamed at me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I felt genuine happiness for her – I wanted to congratulate her, give her some wise words of wisdom that she would remember for the rest of her life and recount them to friends in years to come as being uttered by the stranger on the train.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, Britishness for respecting one another’s privacy has really rubbed off on me and I settled for giving her a pleasant smile (plus I couldn’t think of anything particularly wise and memorable to say).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her phone conveniently rang – family congratulating her and her fiancé on their engagement – and I got to hear the whole story without having to ask.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It brightened my evening and made the hour and a quarter trip back to Norwich less gloomy.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">When people politely ask how uni is going I’m a bit stumped for an answer and I’ve miraculously remastered the teenage shrug.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s different, some of it is interesting, and it’s time consuming (university that is, not the teenage shrug).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although I am genuinely enjoying it, it’s brought my own writing to a grinding halt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The writing muscle is still being flexed with plenty of short stories and scripts for homework exercises but the stand-alone sequel to <i>Keeping The Peace</i> has not been touched in nearly three weeks – hmmm, so much for that 1,000 words a day target.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the bright side, I’ve come up with an idea for the next book so I have something to work towards when the cogs get turning again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the meantime this is what I made in our Photoshop class: <i>At Long Odds</i> – to be e-published next month.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsycz0Z104oMmZUl9-mjNiR9Ql6tLqNup4NNzeQvtD5AiYPVaY2RKz_uqsTI7XbjfGKmbQwJ2P2VLmYpF5L9mSoEumWtRcFo2BJFcbfH7Fu8muvLIfcQOg0LHJIoCn5Jsya8YtmOgrLbQ/s1600/ALO+Book+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsycz0Z104oMmZUl9-mjNiR9Ql6tLqNup4NNzeQvtD5AiYPVaY2RKz_uqsTI7XbjfGKmbQwJ2P2VLmYpF5L9mSoEumWtRcFo2BJFcbfH7Fu8muvLIfcQOg0LHJIoCn5Jsya8YtmOgrLbQ/s320/ALO+Book+Cover.jpg" width="225" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01839784428966580278noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7606947533479309093.post-65579731642208096212011-08-31T15:14:00.000+01:002011-08-31T15:14:16.921+01:00A New Chapter or Six<span lang="EN"> What happened to Katie Melua? You never hear of her these days yet as I’m trawling the web for suitable tracks to accompany the new book-venture, I’m having to stop myself from lumping her entire collection into my soundtrack. Take a listen to this as you read:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/DTy3WA0Pq8M?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div> <br />
Where were we the last time we left off - I promise if I had anything of any interest I’d do more regular updates but alas, my life continues to coast along. Actually, I don’t know if I’d like it if my life became manic. For one, I don’t know how my writing would cope. When I moved to Norwich almost a year ago to the day, it took me a good fortnight to find my writing rhythm again. I think it’s something to do with feeling settled - plus I kept getting distracted by the big ass spiders that inhabited my new bedroom (I have now moved from there and have two cats so spiders are no longer a problem).<br />
Anyway, I digress. Oh yes, last time I was telling you about my holiday in Malta (go there those of you who haven’t, go there again those of you who have) and telling you the continuing saga of <i>At Long Odds</i> and <i>Keeping The Peace</i>.<br />
<br />
Just to keep you up to date, nothing exciting has happened on the book front. <em>Keeping The Peace</em> is with some publishers but they’ve been very quiet in the two months they’ve had it. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Sorry, I’m a pessimist (leads to less disappointment when things go wrong), it’s probably a bad thing. In the meantime, I’ve started <em>Keeping The Peace</em>’s sequel and am six chapters in. This book has been a bit of a wake-up call. I presumed that when <em>Keeping The Peace</em> turned out to be relatively easy to write in comparison to <em>At Long Odds</em>, it was because <em>At Long Odds</em> was the first <i>proper</i> (note: proper - not the three books I wrote as a fanciful teenager) book that I’d written and therefore still learning the ropes. I assumed that the ropes had now been learned when <em>Keeping The Peace</em> flowed like Victoria Falls onto my screen. Great, I thought! Book number 3 will be even easier!<br />
Cue squealing brakes. Not so.<br />
This book - I haven’t even been able to settle on a title yet and that’s usually the first thing that comes - is like having to drag Dominic West up a hill to a remote cottage. Exhausting and painful, yet each time you look at him or think of what’s to follow when you eventually reach the cottage, it makes you carry on. I shall be very disappointed if I reach that metaphorical cottage with my metaphorical Dominic West and find my only reward is metaphorical tea. So even though I’m only six chapters in I’m already praying the end will have enough <i>oomph</i> to leave the reader with that warm fuzzy feeling inside.<br />
<br />
I started this book at the beginning of August, thinking don’t be too ambitious with the amount of work you can get done. Keep it manageable so I set myself the target of 7,000 words a week (I read somewhere someone saying it’s best to have weekly targets rather than daily targets - that way you’re not under so much pressure). I kept to that target for approximately 24 hours as I discovered just how uneasy this book was going to be. Nevertheless, I still have the end of the year as my overall target to have the first draft finished and I’m only a little behind (maybe 10,000 words behind but I’ve convinced myself not to panic).<br />
<br />
Also having just read Amanda Hocking’s blog <a href="http://amandahocking.blogspot.com/">here</a>, I am in awe of this woman. Yes, it’s all tremendous that she’s made so much money, blah-dee-blah, but her work ethic is incredible! I think some of her books have taken her two or three weeks to write (once all the planning and prep has been done). There is no way I could hammer out even half a book in that time, so hats off to you, Amanda.<br />
<br />
Another thing about Amanda’s blog (I haven’t read any of her books but if her blog is anything to go by then they’re guaranteed to be hilarious) is that I now really understand how much hard work it is to self-publish. It certainly is not the easy way out. I’m under no delusions - I don’t reckon on becoming the new indie-pub sensation - but I still look at At Long Odds with great fondness and read the reviews it has received on fictionpress and it makes me yearn to self-publish it now that the traditional route has turned it down.<br />
<br />
Plus, even though there is no evidence to show that book trailers do anything to increase sales, I really want to make a book trailer for it. But a proper trailer that doesn’t just comprise of stills. I want there to be actors. I’ve got the music (check out Miika’s music <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/Miika153?blend=4&ob=5">here</a>, he is a genius) , soon I’ll have access to camera equipment and studios/editing suites when I start my film production degree. All I really need is someone to do hero Julien Larocque justice. He might be modelled on Billy Crudup’s character in the film adaptation of Charlotte Gray but when I think about it, Johnny Depp would be the perfect man to fill that role. Well, if he shaved off his goatee and cut his hair. So Johnny, if you’re reading this give us a shout if you’re prepared to do these things (for free I might add, I’m doing this on a student’s budget).<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9isxLfVJW-idtJmTXIQCVNua2DOo6aqRAqqUokRKZ3AEWYNNBc7yQ8GPvSAGjnGtCt5-xltxdrct0IDHReQNz31wiN55IFVpztYv3GS2nWgiTGW-tboaQq3ZNojhjbz-asbRK4nWKVa8/s1600/Billy+Crudup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9isxLfVJW-idtJmTXIQCVNua2DOo6aqRAqqUokRKZ3AEWYNNBc7yQ8GPvSAGjnGtCt5-xltxdrct0IDHReQNz31wiN55IFVpztYv3GS2nWgiTGW-tboaQq3ZNojhjbz-asbRK4nWKVa8/s320/Billy+Crudup.jpg" width="320" xaa="true" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Billy Crudup</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_qMPztgyAwy-9kwWkwWlVKQP4bZR_aErfZcjp1ktq86bMKpcXysLLtspplMAtfVaGiyQYDuvb329lcvb0W1AApl3yvUb751TkWaqRxl-ROZuyENTf3l-TztTWY0Jwg6xFVOfTPiS5Tbk/s1600/Johnny+Depp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_qMPztgyAwy-9kwWkwWlVKQP4bZR_aErfZcjp1ktq86bMKpcXysLLtspplMAtfVaGiyQYDuvb329lcvb0W1AApl3yvUb751TkWaqRxl-ROZuyENTf3l-TztTWY0Jwg6xFVOfTPiS5Tbk/s320/Johnny+Depp.jpg" width="320" xaa="true" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Johnny Depp</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>See the similarity? Plus, I have the feeling Johnny might do a better French accent than Billy (I loved you in Charlotte Gray, Billy - hell, you inspired me to write a book, but the accent slipped a few too many times).<br />
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In two weeks’ time, it’ll be Freshers Week at university. And according to Facebook everyone has only one thing on their agenda: to get completely sloshed. Let me put this in perspective for you: I’m going to see a Neil Diamond tribute concert with my mum this weekend and a walk on the beach. I’m only 30 yet I feel Freshers Week is going to make me feel twice that. I will let you know how it goes down. Take care.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01839784428966580278noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7606947533479309093.post-28977093639008641412011-07-25T12:55:00.001+01:002011-07-25T12:57:07.772+01:00A 30-year-old A Level student in Malta<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Recall that sunset and the cloud cover metaphor I used a while back? Okay, think really hard - I realise it was a while back since anything was posted on my blog. To give your memory a nudge I was riding off into the sunset after securing myself a literary agent with my novel <em>At Long Odds</em>. The sunset then became overshadowed by cloud cover when unfortunately the publishing world weren’t as keen to take <em>At Long Odds</em> on as I was to foist it upon them.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, I think I might stick to that metaphor with the continuing saga since it implies horses and romance and - yeah, you get the picture, don’t you?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It would seem the horse I was riding off on has become lame. Is it worth saving? Maybe but it’ll be some place further down the line. Instead I’ve jumped on a shiny new steed in the shape of <em><strong>Keeping The Peace</strong></em>, my latest novel. It went through the nail-biting process of the Romantic Novelists Association New Writer’s Scheme (with two critiques) and under the sharp scrutiny of my agent. And the good news is I and <em>Keeping The Peace</em> appear to have come out the other side unscathed. Since it’s submission I think I’ve undergone more changes than the novel (see below).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And now we’re at that point again of waiting. Waiting for publishers to say those magic words. Going back to that metaphor, <em>Keeping The Peace</em> is a stronger, fitter, better-looking and more well-proportioned horse to be riding off on than <em>At Long Odds</em>. Here’s hoping it’ll last the distance (it had better because I’ve just started the sequel).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In other news, I am now officially qualified up to Level 2 standard now after completing an Access course in Creative Writing, English Literature and Journalism. In some ways it doesn’t have the impact that having 3 As at A Level does, but in other ways the work was (apparently) the same difficulty level and was compacted into one year’s study instead of two, making it harder than A Levels. I don’t know. All I do know is that it was a terrific experience; I met some amazing people, both students and tutors and some might say most importantly, it’s got me the grades to get into Anglia Ruskin this September to study Writing and Film Production (is it wrong to tell people when they ask that ‘I’m going to study <i>in </i>Cambridge’? It’s not really lying after all).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And this monumental moment in my life, which usually occurs when people are turning 18 happens the week of my 30<sup>th</sup> birthday*. I’ve bid farewell to those short carefree years of my twenties and am now preparing to settle down, behave, act responsibly and get published in my thirties - oh, did I mention I’m going to become an university student in a few weeks’ time? Maybe I’ll just concentrate on getting published in the next decade.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And to bring you more or less up to date with everything in my more than a little haphazard life, I’ll fill you in on the short holiday recently taken by my mother and I in Malta (by the way, this is where I underwent the ‘change’ I referred to earlier). That change came in the form of extremely painful sunburn followed by a beautiful if somewhat patchy tan. For ten lovely hot days, I felt like the island was honeymooning me and I’ve come away having fallen in love with the land and its people. If you’ve been to Malta you probably recognise this feeling. If you haven’t been, then I strongly recommend going. It’s the best place to unwind and just chill out (so long as you have the air-conditioning on).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The best thing that came out of that holiday for me was the inspiration juices it got churning again. I finished my final writing project/beginning and synopsis of screenplay for my Access course while relaxing in Ta Peter's Restaurant, which earned me a distinction and recommendation from my tutor to pitch it as a 6 part drama series to then be adapted into a feature film, using State of Play as an example. Only if Dominic West or Tom Hardy act in it is all I can say.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">On top of completing my course project, I had time to dwell on my next book. It's</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> slowly beginning to take a more solid shape, characters are becoming more defined and plotlines less blurred. I think holidaying in Malta is going to become an annual event for me (finances allowing of course. When I tell people I’m excited to be going to university in seven weeks’ time, I don’t mention the main reason is finally getting a student loan). And who knows, if I become tired of writing horse-themed novels, Malta isn’t a bad backdrop for a book. It’s just a pity there aren’t any horses there.</span><br />
</span> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizOkHquYA-gnvAu18niPpuNdaSKILoS29EI8cbc5c8GBQTOxU1S79IWDS5EJwTTIgANhWs8MQl9UzcMMge1phTek_vG9G7gDx8BxwVkguw3FV05VtB0jKrc4WBoWMLqq2h2siyPFZqhrQ/s1600/Malta2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizOkHquYA-gnvAu18niPpuNdaSKILoS29EI8cbc5c8GBQTOxU1S79IWDS5EJwTTIgANhWs8MQl9UzcMMge1phTek_vG9G7gDx8BxwVkguw3FV05VtB0jKrc4WBoWMLqq2h2siyPFZqhrQ/s320/Malta2.jpg" t$="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Anchored at Crystal Bay</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPjzeB2fwEKVschFS0im_4G4yX8kNHfm1OwJe_FUzJxC76WkPosuvSujZ6dSWxrVpNTYC_Ik-0OBeozRXia482QGUAfsJpiIYVVHS91QVzpEZxDv2kYgbWl6msAAjCVNeudteqbsY6btc/s1600/Malta3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPjzeB2fwEKVschFS0im_4G4yX8kNHfm1OwJe_FUzJxC76WkPosuvSujZ6dSWxrVpNTYC_Ik-0OBeozRXia482QGUAfsJpiIYVVHS91QVzpEZxDv2kYgbWl6msAAjCVNeudteqbsY6btc/s320/Malta3.jpg" t$="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Cocktails at Cafe Puccini</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsaWE8pmacgqRh07Vud84t-o8JlLbFP5FTgeBVIJjCA1sroFvDi3RziHfQUaBJbzqzWH3lLCi2g1zRnjLnDWDyNNNVJ9X1h9IAuRQCXDSDSSZ4QYiskr3BeIRML1yr5guCobgahLuvx2Q/s1600/Malta4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsaWE8pmacgqRh07Vud84t-o8JlLbFP5FTgeBVIJjCA1sroFvDi3RziHfQUaBJbzqzWH3lLCi2g1zRnjLnDWDyNNNVJ9X1h9IAuRQCXDSDSSZ4QYiskr3BeIRML1yr5guCobgahLuvx2Q/s320/Malta4.jpg" t$="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Cathedral in Mdina</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">*thanks for the party, Mel; I never thought I’d enjoy drinking sparkling wine and listening to John Denver on full blast quite so much.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01839784428966580278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7606947533479309093.post-15875726384550244982011-05-18T14:01:00.001+01:002011-05-18T14:15:41.186+01:00Two Wrongs Do Make A Writer<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of my favourite philosophies in life is ‘Learn from your mistakes’. Another equally valuable one to remember is ‘Learn from everyone else’s mistakes’. In writing you are always going to make mistakes (and hopefully learn from them) but it would make things so much easier if most of these errors could be avoided.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By learning from everyone else’s of course. And some people are kind enough not only to write books about these mistakes but alternatives and the things which worked for them. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here’s a list of 30 such books, exploring everything from plot to punctuation to publishing and everything in between. They’ve all been recommended by fellow writers as being helpful but bear in mind, what works for one person might not strike a chord with you. The beauty of having so much variety in advice is that you can pick and choose what suits your way of writing.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ve spent the last eight months completing an Access course in Creative Writing and sure, I learnt about the craft of writing (and crucially, self-discipline) but what my tutors taught me* were just their opinions on how to write a novel. There is of course no right or wrong way to write a novel, but if you read something being repeated in many of these writing books, you can bet it’s something fundamental to a creating successful novel.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Have fun filling up your bookshelf!</span><br />
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<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Walkers-Writing-Romance-Writers-Guides/dp/1842851284/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1305720948&sr=1-1"><em>12 Point Guide To Writing Romance</em></a> - Kate Walker</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Becoming-Writer-Dorothea-Brande/dp/0874771641/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1305721030&sr=1-1"><em>Becoming A Writer</em></a> - Dorothea Brande</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bird-Instructions-Writing-Life/dp/0385480016/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1305721111&sr=1-1"><em>Bird By Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life</em></a> - Anne Lamott</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Characters-Viewpoint-Elements-Writing-Fiction/dp/1599632128/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1305721306&sr=1-2"><em>Characters and Viewpoint: Elements of Writing Fiction</em></a> - Orson Scott Card</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Getting-Point-Panic-free-English-Punctuation/dp/0863155677/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1305721395&sr=1-1"><em>Getting the Point: A Panic Free Guide to English Punctuation for Adults</em></a> - Jenny Haddon and Elizabeth Hawksley</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Goal-Motivation-Conflict-Building-Fiction/dp/0965437108/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1305721482&sr=1-1"><em>Goal, Motivation and Conflict: The Building Blocks of Good Fiction</em></a> - Debra Dixon</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Love-Writing-Romantic-Erotic-Fiction/dp/190637399X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1305721536&sr=1-1"><em>Love Writing: How to Make Money Writing Romantic or Erotic Fiction</em></a> - Sue Moorcroft</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Writing-Memoir-Craft-Stephen-King/dp/0340820462/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1305721609&sr=1-1"><em>On Writing: A Memoir</em></a> - Stephen King</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Plotting-and-Editing/dp/B004OEIMJY/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1305721719&sr=1-1"><em>Plotting and Editing: for Writers</em></a> - Anna Jacobs (kindle edition)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Plotting-Novel-Michael-Legat/dp/0709047703/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1305721900&sr=1-1"><em>Plotting the Novel</em></a> - Michael Legat</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Scene-Structure-elements-fiction-writing/dp/0898799066/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1305721948&sr=1-1"><em>Scene and Structure</em></a> - Jack M. Bickham</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Steering-Craft-Exercises-Discussions-Navigator/dp/0933377460/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1305722025&sr=1-1"><em>Steering the Craft</em></a> - Ursula K. Le Guin</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Story-Substance-Structure-Principles-Screenwriting/dp/0413715604/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1305722103&sr=1-1"><em>Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting</em></a> - Robert McKee</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Telling-Lies-Profit-Lawrence-Block/dp/0688132286/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1305722197&sr=1-1"><em>Telling Lies for Fun and Profit</em></a> - Lawrence Block</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Artists-Way-Spiritual-Creativity-anniversary/dp/1585421464/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1305722304&sr=1-2"><em>The Artists’ Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity</em></a> - Julia Cameron</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Idiots-Getting-Romance-Published/dp/002863196X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1305722439&sr=1-1"><em>The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Getting Your Romance Published</em></a> - Julie Beard</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Elements-Style-William-Strunk-Jr/dp/0205632645/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1305722492&sr=1-1"><em>The Elements of Style</em></a> - William Strunk Jnr. and E.B. White</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fire-Fiction-Donald-Maass/dp/158297506X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1305722542&sr=1-1"><em>The Fire in Fiction</em></a> - Donald Maass</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Marshall-Plan-Workbook/dp/1582970599/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1305722649&sr=1-1"><em>The Marshall Plan Workbook: Writing Your Novel from Start to Finish</em></a> - Evan Marshall</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Novelists-Guide-Powerful-Techniques-Character/dp/0749916532/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1305722741&sr=1-2"><em>The Novelist’s Guide: Powerful Techniques for Creating Character, Dialogue and Plot</em></a> - Margret Geraghty</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Writers-Journey-Mythic-Structure/dp/193290736X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1305722902&sr=1-1"><em>The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers</em></a> - Christopher Vogler</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Writers-Love-Writing-Romantic-Novels/dp/0907675786/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1305722961&sr=1-2"><em>To Writers with Love: On Writing Romantic Novels</em></a> - Mary Wibberley</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wannabe-Writer-Katie-Fforde/dp/1905170815/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1305723075&sr=1-1"><em>Wannabe a Writer?</em></a> - Jane Wenham-Jones</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wannabe-Writer-Weve-Heard-Wenham-Jones/dp/1906373973/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1305723118&sr=1-1"><em>Wannabe a Writer We’ve Heard Of?</em></a> - Jane Wenham-Jones</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Write-away-Novelists-Approach-Fiction/dp/0340832096/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1305723165&sr=1-1"><em>Write Away</em></a> - Elizabeth George</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Write-be-Published-Nicola-Morgan/dp/1906727945/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1305723225&sr=1-1"><em>Write to be Published</em></a> - Nicola Morgan</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Writing-Emotional-Impact-Karl-Iglesias/dp/1595940286/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1305723277&sr=1-1"><em>Writing for Emotional Impact</em></a> - Karl Iglesias</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Writing-Pleasure-Profit-Michael-Legat/dp/0709052618/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1305723337&sr=1-1"><em>Writing for Pleasure and Profit</em></a> - Michael Legat</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Writing-Screenplays-That-Twentieth-Anniversary/dp/0061791431/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1305723376&sr=1-1"><em>Writing Screenplays that Sell</em></a> - Michael Hauge</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Writing-Breakout-Novel-Workbook-Hands-/dp/158297263X/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1305723433&sr=1-2"><em>Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook: Hands-on Help for Making Your Novel Stand Out and Succeed</em></a> - Donald Maass</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This blog post is by no means a promotional banner for these authors (although of course they should be rewarded and acknowledged for writing such helpful books). It’s to help you, the writer, so if you’ve read any other writing books which you’d like to recommend, then please go wild in the comments section (once you’ve hurdled that incomprehensible code you have to translate to prove you’re not a computer).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">* or tried to, poor suffering souls</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01839784428966580278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7606947533479309093.post-16450007593246022602011-05-07T13:29:00.005+01:002011-05-07T13:46:43.325+01:00Hungry For The Wolfe - An interview with Hazel Osmond<span lang="EN">‘Unusual to find such a proficient debut novel.’<br />
‘Didn’t want it to end.’<br />
‘Hazel Osmond is a new talent to get really excited about.’<br />
‘A new slant and a fresh approach [on romantic fiction]’<br />
‘A real page turner.’<br />
‘You will finish it a few sittings.’<br />
‘Highly recommended.’<br />
‘Could not recommend this more.’<br />
‘Laugh out loud funny.’<br />
‘Osmond is an author to watch.’<br />
<br />
…okay, I’ll stop there but you get the idea. These are just a sprinkling of quotes from readers and by the sounds of it, newly-dedicated fans of debut author Hazel Osmond. The book they’re all raving about? </span><span lang="EN-GB"><strong> </strong></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1849164185/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d3_i1?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0BS5WGC4ZR4TCJGN9JB5&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=467128533&pf_rd_i=468294"><em><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_aCEo-1oGSAlDrlyeADcu4gdtrwMVkPOLX1jE6cTrXYDoSUE6WDSNhYzuIE3yMz6eFdB-3KtTxQsGQs6YMmkYuLv8kQt2hvVIM88qiMJSWGthO6BaRWa4dgS6UmNAP6YYftxMhgrsDHE/s320/whosafraidofmrwolfe+cover.jpg" width="205" /></em></a></div><br />
<br />
<em> </em>The phrase ‘Not just a pretty face’ springs to mind. Not only is this contemporary romantic comedy beautifully presented but the content is pretty special too. Curious as to how and why this new kid on the block has caused such a stir, I interviewed Hazel Osmond hoping to get an insight…<br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What should readers expect from <i>Who’s Afraid of Mr Wolfe?</i></span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">To be kept on their toes by the plot and moved by the situations that the characters face. I wanted to write a romance that had all the traditional elements – Alpha male, gay best friend, etc. but with several twists that shake up the story and the reader’s expectations.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Why should readers choose <i>Who’s Afraid of Mr Wolfe?</i> over any other book on the same shelf?</strong></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think what sets it apart is the humour – I believe that humour, even in difficult circumstances, adds to the poignancy of a situation – it’s almost a mark of bravery in a character, being able to laugh when things are going awry.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How did the idea of <i>Who’s Afraid of Mr Wolfe?</i> come about?</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of people who are hiding things. It probably comes from reading Jane </span></span><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Eyre when I was a girl. I have a thing about wolves too, especially lone ones. So I wanted to create a hero who combined both of these elements. What gave me the nudge was writing fan fiction based on Richard Armitage’s portrayal of <i>Guy of Gisborne</i> in the BBC TV series – he had wolf’s head clasps on his jacket and did a lovely line in prowling.</span><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If <i>Who’s Afraid of Mr Wolfe?</i> was made into a film, who would you have play the characters of Ellie Somerset and Jack Wolfe?</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, Richard Armitage obviously for Jack… second choices, Hugh Jackman or Jake Gyllenhaal. Ellie I see as Amy Adams from Enchanted or Jemima Rooper from <i>Lost in Austen</i> – with a bit of padding though… Ellie’s all curves.</span><strong><br />
</strong></span><span lang="EN-GB"><strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Where can we find <i>Who’s Afraid of Mr Wolfe?</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Apart from <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1849164185/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d3_i1?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0BS5WGC4ZR4TCJGN9JB5&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=467128533&pf_rd_i=468294">Amazon</a> it’s at <a href="http://www.whsmith.co.uk/CatalogAndSearch/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=9781849164184">WH Smith</a>, <a href="http://www.asda-entertainment.co.uk/books/who-s-afraid-of-mr-wolfe/10322513.html">Asda</a>, <a href="http://www.tesco.com/books/product.aspx?R=9781849164184">Tesco</a>, <a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/hazel+osmond/who27s+afraid+of+mr+wolfe3f/8005594/">Waterstones</a> and <a href="http://www.eason.ie/books/9781849164184">Eason & Son</a> in Ireland.</span><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As a debut novelist, how do you cope with seeing your name in publications, getting your work reviewed and all the other things that come with having a novel published?</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ve been lucky that I’ve had a gradual introduction to seeing my name in print, having won the <i>Woman & Home</i> Short Story Competition (sponsored by <i>Costa</i>) in 2008. I’ve also had positive reviews, to date. I think the important thing is to connect with your readers or potential readers in anything you do as far as publicity is concerned… in a way it’s not about you, it’s about what you can offer them. Thinking that makes it much less scary!</span><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Where do you find your inspiration for characters and storylines?</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Life, I guess, is the answer to that as far as characters go, and once I’ve got the characters right, the storylines suggest themselves somehow. In <i>Mr Wolfe</i> a lot of the characters are based on the types of people I’ve come across in twenty years of advertising.</span><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Are there any authors whose writing has particularly inspired or influenced your own style?</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ve been inspired by all kinds of writers, but it’s the humorous ones who stick in my brain - like Dorothy Parker, Alan Coren, and David Sedaris. </span><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When did you first begin writing, and when did it become a career rather than a hobby?</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well I’ve always written for a living, but I guess the first time I got a real buzz from writing was when I started on the fan fiction. Writing in instalments and getting regular feedback was a total turn on creatively and something clicked into place. That was really only four years ago. I still balance my short story and novel writing with my advertising copywriting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Who were your favourite writers as a child?</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Richmal Crompton of the <i>Just William</i> books –she has a way of moving a narrative along and is masterful with slapstick and wry, witty scenes. I read <i>Jane Eyre</i> quite early on too and some Dickens and I liked AA Milne – but not particularly <i>Winnie the Pooh</i>… I preferred his nonsense poetry.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What is the last book you read that you could not put down?</span></strong><i><br />
</i></span><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell </em><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">by Susanna Clarke. I love the mix of magic and history, the sheer excitement and sweep of the action and the heart-breaking love story that runs through it. Jonathan Strange is one hell of a hero.</span></span></span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What can we expect next from Hazel Osmond?</span></strong></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’m currently doing revisions on my second novel set in Northumberland. It’s another romance with plenty of twists and turns, and it explores the way in which people get judged on how they look. I’m tinkering about with a children’s story too called <em>Sushi Baby</em> and still writing short stories for women’s magazines and competitions.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN">Thanks to Hazel, my curiosity is temporarily settled. If you’d like to find out more, visit <a href="http://www.hazelosmond.co.uk/">http://www.hazelosmond.co.uk/</a>. Now there’s just the wait for Book Two to come out…</span></span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01839784428966580278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7606947533479309093.post-25762151399711371112011-03-22T12:26:00.000+00:002011-03-22T12:26:37.388+00:00Nags to Niches<span lang="EN"> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The sunset that I was merrily riding off into in my last blog post has become obliterated by cloud cover. Otherwise known as rejection from publishers. Combine this with the fact Cheltenham Festival has come and gone with only two of my favourite champions retaining their crowns (that’s Quevega and Big Buck’s for those of you who follow National Hunt racing).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One horse that did catch my writer's eye though was Zarkandar. And not because I want to write about him (give it time though) but because his career is almost a metaphor for a writer's. In some ways, this young horse is a failure even though with only two races over jumps, he is already the Triumph Hurdle champion, with a record unblemished.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why is he a failure?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By simple association. He is the half-brother to the great mare Zarkava, whose uncompromising speed burnt up the French racetracks and whose untainted career ended with a sound whipping of every turf champion from around the world in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Zarkandar was not his sister all over again and didn’t have her acceleration to push him to the front of Flat racing’s field. Instead, he was sold and trained to jump. And here he excels. He is at the top of his game with plenty more years and titles to come. He was simply not suited to Flat racing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Back to those two rejections I received last week: one said it wasn’t funny enough, the other said it wasn’t raunchy enough. Now for me, sexual prowess and sense of humour are attributes which I am more sensitive about than others (my sense of fashion has taken enough flack for me to wear crocodile skin and not notice the difference in texture to my own). So my confidence took a bit of a knock. But a couple of days and a few encouraging words from my agent and friends* later, I was willing to look at the rejections again with a more objective eye. After reading Sue Moorcroft’s <em>Love Writing: How to Make Money Writing Romantic or Erotic Fiction</em>, I deduced that <em><strong>At Long Odds</strong></em>, the book in question, is not a romantic comedy or chick lit or erotica novel. It is a contemporary romance. Here it fits perfectly, whereas as chick lit, it falls way short. Just like Zarkandar fitted into National Hunt racing much more than Flat racing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, it just goes to show how important identifying what your book is in terms of genre/category/market. As an unpublished novelist, unless you are unnaturally and constantly high on self-confidence, there are moments when you ask yourself who are you kidding? Who on earth would want to read - and God forbid, spend money on - stories which you have made up? These attacks on self-belief become more acute when you receive another rejection, the familiar thump of your returned MS landing on your doormat coinciding with your heart becoming lodged somewhere between your arches and your toes. More than likely, your writing is probably very good but you are entering a race not suited to your strengths. Send your manuscript to agents and publishers who you know are interested in the type of fiction you write. When making comparisons to other writers in your cover letter, don’t be overambitious and rattle off a list of blockbuster writers. Giving the agent or publisher high expectations will most likely result in them being disappointed and it won’t have done you any good at all. Living up to a pre-built reputation like Zarkandar had to do following Zarkava’s success, will probably end in disappointment.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The next Jilly Cooper? Well, it was flattering to be called that but do I honestly think it? I like to think I can create a good heart-warming romance around the horse-world but is it as raunchy and the humour as flippant as Jilly Cooper’s?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That’s not to say it isn’t sexy or funny. They’re just different.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am Zarkandar. Jilly, you are, quite deservingly, Zarkava.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">*Here’s lookin’ at you, Twitter</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01839784428966580278noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7606947533479309093.post-10561432695906968042011-02-20T20:49:00.000+00:002011-02-21T19:32:25.457+00:00Eat Your Heart Out Bridget Jones, Mine’s A Blog<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So, here’s the thing. The first few words debut bloggers cautiously tap out on their keyboards always have that edge of apprehensiveness. There’s an almost tangible question hanging in the air saying</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">“Am I a crazy fool for blogging about my thoughts and other nonsensicalness when I know nobody is reading this yet?”</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">“Furthermore, do said musings et al warrant people’s interest?”</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">“Everyone has something exciting happen to them at some stage in their life but is it enough to justify a blog?”</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As a writer, you are told time and time again "Get yourself out there, start a blog, get on to Twitter" (ha! Already there!) but the first I’ve always hesitated at. Until of course the obvious became, well… <i>obvious</i>. A blog is not a diary. It’s true, people aren’t going to be interested in my 16-year-old self’s entries* which usually read along the lines of “Rick passed me on the way home from football practice. He smiled and said ‘Hi there.’ I’m sure he doesn’t have to go home that way and he did go out of his way to speak to me…”. Needless to say, Rick did apparently have to go home that way and possibly the fact that I all but engineered our every meeting, meant Rick never did feel the way this starry-eyed love-struck teenager hoped. Sucker.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A blog isn’t a day-by-day account of one’s life. Unless a blogger jets around the world, flits between death-defying circus acts whilst working on NASA’s budget space-liner to the moon and part-times as Tom Cruise’s psychiatrist (yeah, I know he won’t get one), one isn’t going to be blogging every day. Sometimes weeks or months can go by without anything blogworthy happening. So here I am, willing to take a chance that something blogworthy will happen soon. Why? Because at round about this point in the history of humanity my life is beginning to take shape. It’s taken nearly 30 years but the dream that I’ve harboured for the majority of that time actually has a texture to it now. The texture is smooth, approximately 80gsm per sheet (of which I count 360), an off-white colour with a black chemical splattered over it and is otherwise known as the manuscript of my first book, the horse-racing romance, <b><i>At Long Odds</i></b>.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">To cut a long story short, I went through the same rigmarole as every other aspiring author, learning the craft, redrafting, editing, getting countless rejections and eventually disposing of the manuscript in the bottom drawer labelled “Learning Curve”. Then out of the blue last December, I received a phone call from a hugely-excited agent wanting to represent me. Did I act calm, think things through rationally and keep my blooming career as a novelist a surprise to my family? No. I shrieked “Yes please!” to the agent, agreed to do everything she asked (in my defence and to her credit, everything she asked to be changed in the book were valid improvements) and before the light on the screen of my mobile had had a chance to fade, I was dialling my mother’s number at work, screaming “My book’s gonna be published! I’m gonna be the next Jilly Cooper!” The latter comment wasn’t met with as much glee as the first (don't worry Mum, I won't force you to read the sex scenes) but each to their own.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Now, my agent (every time I say that, a warm feeling swells inside me - it does have a certain ring to it) and I are awaiting decisions from various publishers. This time, I’m determined to keep any good news a secret from my mum until I have that lovely freshly-printed and bound copy of <i><b>At Long Odds</b></i> in my hands. Yes, this time I am determined. Just watch me.</span><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">* This statement excludes my elder brother, Daniel. When you told the parents what I’d written in my diary and subsequently got me grounded for close to a year, your excuse of ‘It was in your best interests’ still does not pass muster with me, even fourteen years on.</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01839784428966580278noreply@blogger.com3