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Writer Life: Some words, but mainly yawning

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I’m very happy to reach the weekend. Yet another manic week is behind me, but then the next two are gloriously empty. I know life moves in cycles, but I seriously have to get better at managing them. Still, you live and learn. This final quarter of the year is all about experimentation and testing, so I’m braced for one or two failures along the way.

On the bright side, I had a lovely weekend exploring the very beautiful South West of England. There is nothing like sun, sea, sand and… the rest to make you appreciate life. A bit of fresh air and time to just think kept me sane for the weekdays that followed.

So, writing this week has been fractured but I’ve managed to make some progress.

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Creative – new ideas and first drafts

Things That Die In The Light has continued towards the end of the first draft, despite writing mainly from hotels and cars this week. I’m not sure that’s 100% accurate, but it is certainly how it feels.

I’ve also had a small plot bunny for a new lesbian romance that may or may not be interesting enough for me to bump it to the top of the list and the next project I work on. Only time will tell…

Editing – the slow, tortuous road to publication

Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. There simply hasn’t been time amongst the more mundane (yet thankfully bill paying) work.

Publishing – and all the other bits that go on behind the scenes

Dirty Little War has continued to receive some pretty great reviews, so I am really happy with that. I’ve got some fantastic readers out there that I’m grateful for.

STILL trying to get to grips with Facebook. I keep having moments of teenage style angst. I’m such an introvert, I have utter fears about coming across as desperate. Please like me! It’s utterly embarrassing for someone my age, but there you have it. We all have our weaknesses. This is one of my many.

Planning and dreaming – what’s coming up next week

It is the end of another quarter. I had some pretty big goals and dreams for the last one. I achieved most of them – even if the majority of the work I procrastinated on until September. So I will be spending some time this weekend planning how I round out the year. The remaining three months will give me the information I need to determine how many side projects I can (and am willing to) take on next year. I’ll be deciding which book to draft next as well as picking the next one to edit. Some more big decisions, but I’m sure taking the time to think about them properly will be worth it.

Writing Best Bits

The biggest win for me this week was actually getting out of bed to write despite feeling terrible. A mixture of both mental and physical exhaustion held me back. So why was this a best bit? Simply because years of training myself to this point, along with an unwavering desire that writing is what I want to do for the rest of my life, allowed me to get up when normal people would have quit. That is worth celebrating.

Weekly success score: 5/10 (Not enough sleep. Will try harder next week.)

Writer Life: Busyness, business and books

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Wow, this week has been a busy week. Between consultancy work and non-fiction, I’ve been working 16 hour days to get everything done. The reward? I get to spend the weekend exploring the beautiful south coast of England, giving my brain time to relax. I went tramping through a forest last weekend and was amazed by the boost just being outside with time to breathe and think gave me. So I’m trying to make this a feature of my life, to compensate for the hours spent in hotel rooms or chained to the desk.

I’m also now weighing up an iPad Pro for work on the road, so if anyone has any experience of whether that works or not, then hit me up.

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Creative – new ideas and first drafts

Book four in The Lazarus Hunter series – now tentatively titled Things That Die In The Light – had to go on the back burner this week. I still managed to get around 5000 words completed to keep my brain engaged with the characters and the story. I like the way it is going so far but I can already see places where I need to ramp that tension up a bit! The title definitely needs some work though…

I also pitched the idea for another non-fiction book to a couple of people, so that’s an exciting step forwards too.

Editing – the slow, tortuous road to publication

Some final minor tweaks last weekend to the non-fiction book, but they were simply some references changes, so nothing too strenuous thank goodness!

Publishing – and all the other bits that go on behind the scenes

In week two, Dirty Little War has received some pretty great reviews, from people I definitely don’t know. There’s always a bit of a writer’s doubt that your mum is writing good stuff to make you feel better, like when you found out those Valentine’s cards you got as an early teen was just her using her left hand to write. Unsolicited stranger reviews are always amazing.

Okay, so I am still getting to grips with Facebook. I’m still not a huge fan, but have begun to see the real value it offers in connecting people. I’ve been able to talk with readers and other authors to get valuable insights into how I can write things that excite not only me, but also the people who want to read my fiction. So I guess Facebook is going to stay part of my life for awhile.

I’ve published a non-fiction book as my alter-ego this week, which has been an altogether different experience to publishing genre fiction. It’s been exciting though and I’m feeling really positive about it.

Planning and dreaming – what’s coming up next week

I’m having the weekend off now to spend time with my wife as she’s been somewhat neglected this week. Monday will bring with it a week of non-fiction marketing (honestly, no more fun for me than any kind of marketing) and getting back to Things that die in the light. If I can get 8000 words drafted in that small space between getting up and having breakfast, then I’ll count the week as a success.

Writing Best Bits

The best writing bit this week was letting something go. That sounds strange and with better timing on my part, I wouldn’t have had two large projects come to a conclusion so close together. One of my goals for next year is to better plan the contingency time so that if other people slip, then the pressure doesn’t fall on me!

Weekly success score: 7/10 (not enough downtime – even if I’ve done a lot, being a workaholic loses points, not gains them. Life is for living!)

Contact for credit

Contact for credit

Questions of certainty

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It’s strange how you can be doing something you love and, for that matter, for it to be going really well, but still experience moments of absolute terror and doubt.

This is completely what happened to me this week. I had a moment when I questioned, for the first time in probably nearly two decades, what I would do if I decided that writing wasn’t my dream job and I should just give it up.

Live some kind of normal life instead.

It was a strange, dark and yet, at the same time, completely illuminating moment. I have been writing for so long that I still do it for pleasure, even when I have no intention of sharing it with an audience. If I don’t write for a few days, I start to get twitchy. I have creative energy and I need to use it. God didn’t give me any other talents, so writing it is.

But that traitorous little voice was there, the one that reminded me how much easier it would be if I just gave it all up now. If I stopped and concentrated on another career instead. How I would get so much of my time back, time that I could then spend with family and friends or on other hobbies. How I wouldn’t have to deal with rejection and failure that is part of every writer life, even once you are published and successful.

It was Steven Pressfield’s Resistance in full force and it nearly took hold of me completely.

I’ve pushed that feeling down and have been coming back to myself and my dreams with a fresh pair of eyes. It is hard, this dream of mine, possibly it is yours too. It doesn’t end and it is always challenging. But despite the free time and the glittering grass on the other side, it really is what I was meant to do.

So, tonight, I’ll sit here and keep on doing it. But if you have those moments of doubt, about anything that part of you truly believes in, know that it is entirely normal. It’s better to work through it than live a life not trying.

 

Restless Wanderer

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It doesn’t matter how good life is, or what else is going on, there are still moments when I get a hankering to just hit the open road. I’ve decided that Instagram is a deadly force when it comes to generating these feelings. All those beautiful sunsets and places to see that I’ve yet to visit. I’m fairly well travelled, but there will always be a part of me that wants to see what the world has to offer.

To close out the year, I’m just going to have to settle for a little bit more Europe. Hardly a burden, I know, and a luxury that I am most definitely grateful for. With NaNoWrimo kicking off this weekend, I’m using it as a serious motivator to get a deadline met. A healthy dose of competition never hurt anyone. But as soon as it’s done, I’m packing a suitcase and going undercover for a couple of weeks. I’m going to escape the grey for the beach.

I need a mini writing sabbatical (given the last one was spent doing last minute editing that was requested and therefore not really what I wanted) to get my brain in gear. To also let it be completely out of gear so I can do some creative free-wheeling for a while.

But first, time to psych myself up for a little bit of crazy writing time. Coffee, chocolate and late nights, here we come!

I might have to use robots

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Why might I have to use them, I hear you ask? I can say you, because stats indicate that you’re probably alone while you’re reading this.

I’ve been trying a little experiment to push the boundaries of my writing. It’s just to keep my mind feeling fresh while other things – more stressful and demanding things – steal much of my creative energy. So, as always, I have a few little side projects going for fun. One of which is to plan a short story, nothing longer than novella in length, and start writing it. I’m a planner by nature, so I’m cruising along in my comfort zone here. Which is where the robots come in.

I don’t write sci-fi. I don’t read sci-fi. So what better way to force myself to be creative than to throw in a problem I not only don’t know how to solve, but also know very little about.

Hence robots.

Don’t worry, I’ve got no intention of AI infiltrating my urban fantasies or crime stories. No-one is going to be killed by the robot. This isn’t an episode of Castle. But hopefully I’ll have a little bit of fun doing it, maybe learn something new, and then come back to those other projects with a different state of mind.

So ask yourself, do you need robots?

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Do LGBT readers expect explicit content?

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It is clear to see when you do a simple search of any LGBT eBook category that the first few pages of book titles include a generous serving of the steamier side of life. Seriously, you only need to look at those covers to know what’s going on between them.

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Which then led to an interesting conversation with friends: do LGBT readers expect explicit content? Is that what they’re there for, or is it just a given within the genre and no one is at all surprised when it happens?

I have a few thoughts about this, given that my own books don’t contain explicit content (yet it has been requested, so there is obviously a market). I wonder, sometimes, if  actually the assumption is somewhat based on that old stereotyping – that the gay is all about the sex. Gay men certainly suffer from this perception more than lesbians, hence the oft-held belief that they can’t be in a long term relationship and will hump anything that also has a penis.

Are we still in the stages of infancy with the genre so books with gay characters are all about the gayness rather than plot? If so, this automatically leads into somewhat dodgy ground. It is difficult to demand greater visibility but without giving characters same depth and multi-facetedness. Romance is one thing, but other genres?

Let’s face it, sex sells. It doesn’t matter what kind of sex you’re into, it’s still enough of a taboo to  generate intrigue, and the anonymity of eBooks makes for fertile ground. After a perceived drought for LGBT readers it’s no great surprise that explicit content is in high demand.

So, is the LGBT eBook market just moving with the dynamics of supply and demand? Do the readers merely accept the content or are they actively seeking it out? If anyone has the answers then I would genuinely love to know. I’ve tried to make diverse characters who are more than just their sexuality, or their race, or their social background. But I suspect that I’d probably shift more sales if there was a bit more laborious breathing and references to bodily fluids in that first 10% taste you get for free.

Bonus points and apologies if you’ve spotted all the sex puns scattered throughout.

Travel: Why it is essential to a writer

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So, with the release of A Taste To Die For complete, I have indulged myself with a little bit of a vacation. In return for the months of hard work on this (and numerous other projects), I am giving myself sand, sun, sea and wine. Maybe even a cocktail or two.

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Not only because I quite like the idea of a treat and a reward, but also because I believe that travel is essential to every writer.

It doesn’t have to be exotic, or extravagant like this. It just needs to be somewhere new. This goes for if you are an aspiring author, a traditionally published author or an indie author. New places are vital for creativity.

It’s just the same as books. You would never read the same five books over and over again in isolation and expect to grow. Overseas travel is great for seeing the world with new eyes. There are different cultures, languages, customs and, of course, food, which can all be incorporated into your writing in some way.

Yet it’s also possible to achieve the same result without going too far from home. Unless you live in the middle of nowhere, there is every chance that a local town or city is within a couple of hours drive away. I’ve come to look for the unfamiliar in things; each town will have something about it that makes it unique. Travel is essential to finding that little gem and unlocking the creativity.

On top of that, it is the perfect opportunity for me to lavish some time on my significantly better half, who has heard nothing but book release talk for the past year. Of course, I’ll still have a notebook to hand, ready to capture any interesting nugget that comes into view from the other side of the cocktail umbrella….

Do your characters ever refuse to do what you tell them to do?

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This is definitely a question for the writers rather than the readers out there.

Sometimes it really does seem like characters are living, breathing entities with a mind of their own.

I’m hands down a planner when it comes to writing, as I’ve frequently discussed. So, on the whole, I’m not waiting for inspiration to strike in order to know what my character is going to do next. I’ve already done that kind of plotting by the time I put the first sentence on the screen. Yet sometimes, despite my best intentions, at certain points in the novel, I find my characters wanting to do something other than what I have intended for them.

Cue a tug of war between me and them. Given that both exist solely in my head, if it wasn’t part of the writing process it would clearly be a psychiatric disorder of some sort.

Some people argue that if the character isn’t completely under your writerly control, then it is merely a symptom of poor planning. I think that can sometimes be the case, but not always. After all, part of the joy of writing is the excitement of finding out what happens next. Even with deep structure and plot points, you never know until you start writing how the words are going to line up on the paper. You don’t know what new influences you will be exposed to as part of the process. After all, for most people it takes at least six months to do a first draft. Sometimes it can take years. It would be foolish to expect not to have changes in perspective during that time.

For me, working on book two of one series and book four of another, the more I go along, the more likely these characters seem to want to play their own game. Perhaps it is because as they become more rounded they become more real. Perhaps it is because that the arc I originally envisaged for them is changing. Or maybe, when you create independent women who you love because they do whatever the hell they want, then sometimes they might just do that right back at you.

I didn’t want the Teddie McKay series to be more romance than cheeky, cheesey crime with some thriller tension thrown in there. Yet, as book two draws to a close, she seems determined to have a some fun. In my head, saying ‘aw come on, how about you let me live a little, huh?’

It might not be in the plan, but you know what? I think I might just let her…

Finishing – It’s Always The Hard Part

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This is no ‘how to’ post. You won’t find any handy tips and tricks here. This is just me talking about how finishing is always the most important part of a novel, and that probably makes it the hardest.

As with writing, the same applies with life. The best things are the hardest won. The sense of satisfaction is the most rewarding. Yadda eider eider. Right now, the words ‘The End’ seem to be a moving target. Moving, apparently, further and further into the distance.

Writing is my hobby, my passion, my love. It is also my business. Therefore, it has schedules and deadlines and project plans, just like everything else. True, it may be rooted in creativity and dreams, but as anyone will tell you, it’s hard work that gets you over the line. There is no fantasy lottery win that will free me up to write in that luxury beach villa. Or the cabin on the lake. Insert your location of choice here, alongside whatever your dreams and goals are.

So, logic tells me it will be worth it. However, the child in me wants to stamp my feet and demand to know why my characters are refusing to play ball and be written according to the ideas I had originally. I knew what I needed to write to create the follow up to The Crochet Killer. While I know the new direction will all work out better in the end, it doesn’t stop things from being as frustrating as hell now!

So, when you’re reading this, I sincerely hope you’re having better luck than I am on finishing your dream project! If not, then we can carry on battling through it together!

Blood Inheritance

And if you want to read something I did manage to complete, then Blood Inheritance has been released on Amazon. Go grab yourself a copy and make me feel like this is all worthwhile!*

 

 

 

*shameless plug and plea. A writer’s first draft despair knows no bounds.

Writing and motivation: keeping the momentum going

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I find the long weekend has been perfect for a little bit of extra introspection time.

I’ve spent the past few months building up to publishing Blood Inheritance, with the crazy planning and scheduling that goes with such a big endeavour. I say that because we should not belittle our achievements. I am terrible at taking time out to celebrate when I hit my goals. I’ve been talking about getting this book out there for the best part of two years, so I’m allowed to high five myself for being brave and letting one of my babies fly the nest.

The downside in achieving something that has taken up so much of your time and attention for months is that after the excitement fades, then there is a moment when you realise the enormity of the void it has left behind. Instead of breathing a sigh of relief that you have now got so many hours of your life back each week, you sense the loss. There is only one thing to do.

You have to keep going.

There will always be another book brewing on the horizon. There will always be an idea to be captured and the seed of the idea planted so it can grow. Writing tasks will never disappear completely, but neither will the joy of those first moments of creation. So when the sigh of relief wears off and I begin to think about that sudden free time, it’s always good to know that I have several projects I can dip into.

It is good to take a break. It is good to allow yourself to recharge. It is not good to allow that to turn into sloppiness and complacency. So how do you avoid it? It’s quite simple really.

fieldnotes1. Keep a notebook. Capture your ideas somewhere safe so you don’t have to keep them in your head. Then they’ll always be there waiting for you when you need them.

2. Plan your next project before you finish your current one. In those quiet times, those moments when you find yourself twiddling your thumbs, think about what you want your next project to be and outline what next actions you’ll be taking on it. That removes the panic of having to come up with something spur of the moment.

3. Be realistic with your scheduling. Each project will be different, but each one will also take a lot of hard work. Be kind to yourself and allow yourself adequate time when planning your project. Don’t be too generous though. You want to have enough tension there to motivate you to do something, rather than having the psychological freedom to continually defer it until next week. Be sensible, but also give yourself a deadline. Even self-imposed ones carry a punch when you keep a reminder of them where you can see them.

So that’s what I’ll be doing. The first draft of the next Teddie McKay novel is nearly complete and I’m going to be working through that for the next few months. My goal is to publish it in September, so that is the deadline keeping me on track. Whilst Blood Inheritance may be published, everyone knows that is not the point at which marketing and reader engagement stops. Of course, I’ve already got the next book I’m editing decided and set up to make it easy to start.

So the void of time was relatively short; I’m back to writing again.