Managing your time

I often hear writers saying that they haven’t had the time to write. I refuse to use this excuse for my lack of writing as it would be selfish.

I know of writers who work long hours, raise a family and still find time to write. What these people have is good time management, and the motivation to drive them forward towards their goals.

I have the luxury of not having to go out to work. I have worked since having my daughter, but my hubby was happy for me not to so I could stay at home and concentrate on writing.

It doesn’t actually mean I write more though, if anything I am actually less organised with my time.

When you have to juggle work with housework, children and writing you seem to plan your day better. When you have loads of time on your hands you seem to just waste it.

Maybe that is just me!

I am definitely writing more this year so far though. I am charging through the re-write of my novel and am very happy with how it is going. I have also managed to write a lot of short pieces including children’s stories, poems and flash fiction work.

I think I just need to treat it more like a job and give myself working hours. It only actually takes about 1 hour to write 1000 words on a good run, which isn’t a bad amount to be aiming for daily. I could produce the first draft of a novel in 3-4 months in theory!

 

The best time to write. Are you a morning person?

It never ceases to amaze me how many people are up writing while I am fast asleep.

I am a lazy person who can’t function without at least 7 hours sleep, preferably more! Part of me envies those people who get their writing done early.

I get most of my writing done while my daughter is at school, but I can’t help but wonder what my writing would be like if I shoe horned my butt out of bed early and wrote something before life got in the way.

Just think how much more I could fit into my day. I could read more books, take my dog for longer walks (extra thinking time) and go out to lunch more.

I cannot convince myself to actually do it though.

In my defence it is cold at the moment and the heating is not left on over night, but there is no excuse in summer.

It isn’t as if I need perfect conditions to write in. Some people need their own room, no noise, a view of the garden etc, but I am not one of those people. I can write standing at the worktop while watching the dinner cooking, I can write while my daughter is playing in the same room and I even used to write while listening to my ex neighbour shouting, screaming and swearing.

I just need to free up some more hours in my day. I will have to work at it.

When it is warmer!

When can you start calling yourself an Author?

I recently created my own “Author’s page.”

A lot of my fellow writers had their own and after much consideration I decided it would be a good idea.

Before the introduction of e-readers, when you had to be published the traditional way or through vanity publishing, you probably wouldn’t have called yourself an author unless you had at least one book in the shops.

E-publishing means that a lot of writers now have the ability to publish their masterpieces reasonably easy.

I am hoping creating my page will motivate me to finish my novel. In the past I have allowed myself to procrastinate for long periods. My WIP was started over two years ago, and I am writing my second draft. I do not want to allow myself to drag this novel out too long; I have the sequel to write!

To be a successful writer I have to start thinking of myself as a writer. “Fake it 'till you make it,” is something I have heard many times.

I have wanted to write novels since I was very young. It is not a hobby, it is what I am, a writer. I have had a piece published in an anthology, “The other way is Essex,” and will hopefully have two pieces in a Children’s anthology to be released by summer this year.

My recent experience signing books at Chelmsford Library helped to make me feel like an Author too!

I have read many affirmations that tell you that all you have to do to get what you want is to think about it regularly.  The power of the mind!

I am a big believer in affirmations and visualisations; I just have to put them into practice.

That is why I decided now is a great time to create my new page.

Reading to your children.

I read to my daughter from the day I took her home from hospital. She was born prematurely at 32 weeks, and we were told that she could be behind in her development. I had always known that it was important to read to children to help with language and bonding.

She came home from the hospital at four weeks old. I had baby books, and I read to her every day while she lay in her crib. When she was three months old we moved into a new flat and I got her a library card. She weighed seven pounds at the time and was still very small and I can still remember the strange looks they gave me.

I loved picking out rhyming books, and would make all the animal noises. I would make sure I was alone though! I would take out twelve books every three weeks and I would read them to her every day. I think I enjoyed it more than she did.

When she learned to crawl I would keep the pile of books on the coffee table so she could pick them up whenever she wanted. If I sat down she would automatically bring a book and climb on my lap for me to read. When it was finished she would get another, then another and so on, until I had read them all. This routine could happen several times a day.

By the time she was two and a half she would memorise her favourite books and read them to her imaginary friends.

She was behind in a lot of things. She didn`t walk until she was two and struggled with fine motor skills, but she has always been at least a year ahead in reading, literacy and mathematics. She was reading Harry Potter books when she was six and I love to see the excitement on her face when she receives a new book that she loves. It reminds me of my childhood when I loved books so much I would take them to bed with me and cuddle them. I was a strange child!

My first experience of "Book signing"

On Saturday 16^th February my writers’ group hosted our first book signing at Chelmsford library in Essex. I say first signing, that is because I hope it was the first of many.

Our first anthology, “The other way is Essex,” was released late last year. It is available on kindle and paperback. It is a collection of poems and short stories highlighting the great things about Essex. I am proud to have been able to be a part of it, and am exceptionally pleased with the finished piece.

The signing was from 10-1, and the time went far too quickly. We sold 17 copies of the anthology, and a few of the members sold copies of their own novels and poetry collections. All profits from sales goes to Farleigh Hospice, a charity very close to my heart as they took care of my father in his final stages of cancer.

We are starting work on a new anthology at the moment. It is aimed at 6-10 year olds and the subject we were given was “Creepy House.” I have submitted a poem and a short story. We are on a tight deadline this time as we are aiming to have the book out before the summer book read starts in the Essex libraries.

 Essex book festival launch is on 1^st march. I will be helping out at that for a few hours and we will be selling the anthology as well as setting some writing challenges for the public.

I have had an amazing time since joining my writers’ group “Writebulb.” It has grown a lot in the time I have been going, (I joined in January 2012, as my new year’s resolution!) Every month seems to bring new members with it, all bringing their own contribution to the group. Everyone wants different things, some want to publish novels, some write just for fun and some are not sure exactly what they want but are learning a lot as they go along.

It has been a lot of fun .If you are not a member of a group, I suggest you look into joining one, or if that is not possible you could start your own!
 

E-books. Are they a good thing?

When e-readers first came out I was very against them. The thought of reading off a screen seemed insane to me.

My sister-in-law was the first person I knew who bought one. The idea of having loads of books with me wherever I went was too hard to resist, so I bought one January 2012.

I love it! I have discovered some amazing authors who I wouldn’t have found without my kindle. I can buy books for a great price, and I can buy them any time of the day. Without my kindle I would never have discovered Kealan Burke’s books, and “Turtle boy” and “Kin” were my favourite reads last year.

The downside of the kindle though seems to be just how easy it is to download a book. Everyone seems to be doing it. And there are some shocking books out there that are not even free or cheap.

This post was inspired by a conversation I had with some writer friends last week. We were discussing the fact that on a facebook page we had seen a post that recommended reading a “How to write book.” The name of the book escapes me, but what I can remember was the person recommending it admitted it was full of typos. I loaded the sample and this person wasn’t wrong, it was littered with mistakes. It is almost laughable that someone could write a “How to write book,” who can’t even be bothered to have their work proofread.

When did it become acceptable to charge money for something that is not good enough to be published? The book in question wasn’t cheap, it was over £3.00.

This is not the first time I have found this in a “How to write” book. I have found at least a half a dozen examples of such bad writing, and there are plenty of novels, novellas etc that are just as bad.

It is the job of the author to make sure that what they are putting out there is good enough. The author needs to make sure it is edited and proofread, and by someone else preferably.

I write novels. I haven’t been published yet, and I may look into self publishing when the time comes. The reason I have not published yet, when all my writing friends have done already, is that my work is not good enough yet. I am getting close, but almost isn’t enough. I can’t justify expecting people to part with their money to read something that isn’t worth it. They won’t want to read anything else by me in the future if they are left unsatisfied.

I am working hard this year at improving my writing. I have joined an English course to improve grammar, punctuation etc, and I am taking on writing challenges. I had a piece of work published last year in an anthology with my writing group, called “The other way is Essex.” It is available on Amazon in e-book and paperback form, and is raising money for Farleigh Hospice. We are also working on a children’s anthology this year also for charity. I am really enjoying working on the new one; my daughter is a great source of inspiration.

I think it is great that it is easier for authors now. Before e-readers it was so hard to get published that a lot of people didn’t bother to try, just writing for their own enjoyment.

 We just all need to act professionally. It is not okay to sell bad books just because we are in a hurry to see our name in print.

You belong to me

He lay awake in the darkness. The time on the digital clock said 3.32 am. He wondered what Carrie was doing at that moment, she would probably be asleep, unaware of how much her life was about to change. Today was the day he had been waiting for so long, she didn`t know him yet, but he knew all about her.

Turning on the bedside lamp he picked up the pile of photos he had of Carrie on his bedside unit. He kept some in every room so he could always feel close to her. Picking out his favourite picture he laid the others down and studied it. He had taken it of her while she was sleeping. He had known it was risky entering her flat but she had left her window open and the dopey man downstairs had left a ladder out. She had looked so beautiful sleeping, he had wanted to touch her but had resisted. If she had woken it would have ruined everything, he had to be patient the time would come for touching. He traced a finger over Carrie`s image, “I know your every move,” he whispered.

  He had been collecting pictures of her since the first time he had seen her at the graveside 10 months previously. She had been so lost that she hadn`t noticed him. He had noticed after she left that the anniversary dates were the same, he had known then that it was a sign that she was meant to be his. He hadn`t wanted to scare her away by approaching her too soon. The first anniversary would be perfect. She would be there then, hopefully alone. He had adored Sandy but she hadn`t loved him the way he loved her. She always said he suffocated her, wanting to be with her all the time, that she needed space. He had told her that you shouldn`t need space from the person you loved. When she had taken her own life he had thought that his world would end, but then along came Carrie. She would be different, she was special, and he would take care of her.