Making twitter work for you

Twitter took me ages to get used to. I only had a handful of followers for the first 6 months.
Once I started really following other writers I learned alot. These are my observations.
I have alot of self published writers following me. I do not have a book published as yet.
Some writers follow and constantly plug their books, sending private messages with the links. I personally find this off putting.
Then there are the writers who i love. They tweet to say hello, use my name, tell me they have read my blog. They don`t send me links for their books because they don`t have to. These writers plug other writers books, they retweet other writers, mention other writers. You know what they say about give and you will receive. These writers get their books to many more followers this way.
If you had a friend who had written a book, you would want to read it. You would want to check out their blog.
I love twitter and there are many of my followers who are a joy to follow. I really want them to do well.

Murdering People.

I recently finished a first draft of my second novel. It started out as a romance. I had my main characters buzzing in my head. I had it all planned, or so i thought.
I was in my inlaws conservatory when it happened. I thought i was in control of the story, but i wasn`t. My hero turned into a psycho! The beginning was the same he had just turned into a psychotic stalker.
I have to admit it was very exciting! I loved writing the story and before i had written the first chapter i had an idea for the sequel.
I had a very clear picture in my head of my two main characters.I murdered people in very violent ways. It is great being a writer, being able to do these things on the page.
I have put the first draft to one side and am now working on a romance. This one will be a romance honest! I will start editing my thriller in february hopefully. I enjoy alternating the two genres.

Writing a whole novel!

A very daunting thing to do. A whole novel with killer beginning and ending, subplots, twists and turns.
I always used to be a pantser, starting with a basic idea and writing away with no idea where i was going.
I should have known it wasn`t right for me, I am a planner in every other part of my life.
The first novel i actually completed was a romance. It was going round in my head like a film. After about a month of it running over and over i realised it was a fully formed plot. I wrote out a synopsis and started work on it. Six months later it was finished, though a little short at barely 50,000 words. It had some seriously bad writing in there but it was a complete story, still to be edited!
I am a daydreamer and my brain never shuts up! I laugh to myself, talk to myself and can cry when my characters do. I have found the best thing to do is put headphones on so people think something you are listening to is the cause rather than the fact i am stark raving mad!
I have had a full story pop into my head while riding on my bike, complete with characters. They don`t come when it is convenient though.

How To Books

Everyone has an opinion about them. Should you read How to write books?
I think you should read anything you can get your hands on.
You shouldn`t take what you read as gospel. You should write your own way.
I have read some brilliant books. "The Novelists Guide," by Margret Geraghty is my favourite. I never bought it, I borrowed it from the library dozens of times.
I take what i want from them and ignore the parts that i don`t need. I keep a book of prompts that i fill with ideas i come across, just incase i find myself unable to write.
I don`t personally believe in writers block, writing is like exercising, use it or lose it!
I have always worked with pen and paper, I`m sure it will shock some writers to think someone still writes like that! It is making life hard for myself, but it feels right. NaNoWriMo meant i had to work straight to word. It was strange and made me realise how many silly mistakes i make. Writing with pen and paper made me lazy about grammar, something i will have to put serious effort into if i want to be published.

Born To Write

I believe i was born to be a writer.
Everyone in my opinion has something that they dream of being when they are young, but very few follow their dreams.
I knew from an early age i wanted to write. I obsessed over books. I had an overactive imagination. I even tried to make my own using folded paper that my Mum sewed along the fold.
I can`t remember a time when i didn`t think about someday being a Novelist.
Writing is something that takes practice. my early attempts were not great and it was hard not to question my ability to actually write a full manuscript.
I took on a writing class aged 22 and the tutor told me i didn`t want to write novels! I should stick with short stories. I started to wonder if she was right.
After my parents died aged 62 & 60 i started to panic. Life can be short and i wouldn`t want to regret not following my goals.
About 4 years ago a story was buzzing in my head. It was playing out like a film, and i realised i had lots of material for a novel. I wrote a one page  synopsis then started writing the novel. It was a short first draft, but i finished it. The only problem was i had a problem with killing one of my characters so i have not edited it.
Since then after a few plots that didn`t work i started work on my present story. It is a psychological thriller and i have a sequel planned.
I tried NaNoWriMo this year and although i didn`t win i learned alot. I am now excited about finishing my novel.
I set a goal to be published by age 40 and i will be 39 in 3 weeks, I need to get moving!