Swanwick Writers’ Summer School – 2024

SWANWICK WRITERS’ SUMMER SCHOOL – a Chair’s View

I have just recently returned from Swanwick Writers’ Summer School. 

https://www.swanwickwritersschool.org.uk

It’s a summer school, residential, full board, where writers can participate in many aspects of a learning programme, be entertained with evening after-dinner speakers and quizzes, open mics and musical evenings. 

We have around 200 delegates per year, and it’s a great place to meet writers and discuss the many, many aspects of writing. This was my 7th year, and I have just stepped down from 2 years as Chair.

It all happens at the Hayes Conference Centre, in Derbyshire.

https://www.cct.org.uk/the-hayes/the-hayes-conference-centre

It’s a cracking location.

So, how did this year’s School go? Pretty well, I think. We had a great committee leading up to the School, and our hard-working Secretary Sharon Payne and Treasurer Sally Warr were central to the smooth running of the organisation for the delegates.

I took the opportunity to visit a couple of courses – “The Road to Self-Publishing Success” by force of nature for self-publishing Lizzie Chantree, and “AI and Writers – Should we Worry?” from Martin Lake. Both are items of interest to me. Much of the rest of the time was making sure last-minute glitches were avoided / fixed, supporting the other members of the committee, and gleaning feedback from delegates.

It was a great time – hard work, but worth it. There is a certain magic about the place, a feeling of community, in that we are all writers. Many of us are following different paths, many of us have different destinations, but we are all writers.

The committee arrive on Friday, a full day before the delegates. There’s a lot of work to do to preparing the School. Signs to make, many items to liaise with The Hayes about, certain things which need clarifying. It’s different every year, but it needs to be done.

On the Friday, we pick up boxes of room keys which have been programmed by The Hayes (over 200 of them!) and we need to print name badges and match them up, which is an incredibly fiddly and time-consuming operation. We always feel there must be a more efficient way, but as yet, we haven’t found it!

Early Saturday afternoon, we get the reception volunteers – those lovely people who sit in one of four locations around the site, and welcome delegates with their information packs at the ready. Nearly all the time, this works fine. There are always those delegates who haven’t received or haven’t read their email which tells them which reception is for them. So there’s a bit of human signposting required, always with good humour and WITHOUT  asking “WHY DIDN’T YOU READ YOUR EMAIL???”

And then there are those who haven’t been allocated the room they requested. We always try hard to ensure they are happy with their allocation, but sometimes we need to work with The Hayes, who are BRILLIANT, in reallocating some rooms.

Photo: Susanna Lewis

It was our 75th Anniversary! Our secretary, Sharon, had reproduced the very first programme from 1949, and a booklet with a great timeline of significant events over the years – from the use of the Hayes as a prisoner of war camp, up to date. The Hayes had donated an amazing celebration cake (including a gluten-free one), the King had sent us a wonderful message of congratulation, we had the Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire, Mrs. Elizabeth Fothergill CBE to cut our cake, and share our special anniversary dinner in the dining hall. We had pinned some reflections from tutors past on the walls of the Main Conference Hall, and we had bought and donated a celebration bench, which was assembled and installed in the labyrinth, near to the chapel. Our programme had a lovely diamond emblem on the cover, which was matched by the icing on the cake! Thanks to everyone who contributed to the special celebration events! 

Photo: Helen Ellwood
Photo: Viv Brown

One of the Chair’s roles is to stand on the stage and make little speeches. A Welcome Speech on the first day, a short speech at the first timer’s reception, introductions to all of the guest after-dinner speakers, running the AGM (essential, because all delegates are members of the charitable organisation, and therefore must be included in a number of votes). I also MC’d the prizegiving ceremony on the last evening, which was great fun.

Photo: Keith Hinchey

I’m not a natural on the stage, as last year’s School showed. I get flustered easily. Delivering courses and workshops to people has never been an issue, but speeches at Swanwick always seemed like an artistic performance to me. So in preparation for this year, I wrote out my speeches in advance. There were a few items which wouldn’t be known until the School was underway, but at least I knew my scripts were in place, including the introductions to the evening speakers.

Another of the Chair’s roles is to book evening speakers. Despite our own preferences, it’s important to get a speakers from a broad spread of the writing sphere. We had 4 slots available, and I know we needed a scriptwriter, a poet, a novelist plus one other (sounds like the opening to a bad joke).

My role on the committee of the Frinton Literary Festival <<  https://www.frintonliteraryfestival.co.uk/  >> allowed me access to a number of speakers, which usually results in one or two bookings for Swanwick. This year, I invited Adele Parks to speak, as she went down really well in Frinton. Lesley Kara is a personal friend from Frinton when we both lived in the area. The scriptwriter Julian Unthank contacted me directly, interested in returning. I watched an evening speaker session from him a couple of years ago, and he was engaging and funny, and provided an interesting insight into scriptwriting. This year, he had a particular insight which I thought would go well. And finally, Luke Wright was a personal recommendation through a friend of a Swanwicker. 

On Saturday evening, we hosted Adele Parks <<https://www.adeleparks.com/ >> and her husband Jim, who conducted an interview. I think it worked really well, and a tiny frisson of marital relationship came through. Adele was awarded an MBE for her services to literacy in the New Year’s Honours list in 2022.

Photo: Keith Hinchey

On Sunday evening, we entertained Lesley Kara <<  https://www.lesleykara.com/ >>. Lesley and I used to be in the same local writing group, from 2015 – around 2019, so I wanted to try to show that the road to writing success (if becoming a multi-million Sunday Times bestseller is your measure of success) can come to all of us. I thought it might be interesting for the audience to hear what it was like at the pinnacle of the book industry. Lesley is a great speaker, and answered my occasionally slightly intrusive questions with honesty.

Unfortunately, Julian Unthank  <<  https://vhassociates.co.uk/writer/julian-unthank/ >>, who we’d booked for Tuesday evening, needed to cancel at the last minute as he was suffering Covid-like symptoms. We like to try to cover all aspects of writing from our after dinner speakers, and Julian is a superb screenwriter, with a host of credits such as Queens of Mystery, Doc Martin, New Tricks and The Bill, and has spoken to us before with a very entertaining and dynamic event. I hope you recover soon, Julian.

Our final speaker of the week was Luke Wright <<  https://www.lukewright.co.uk/ >> His approach to poetry is fresh and exciting. His performance skills have been honed over many years of professional gigs and support acts. He is the regular warm-up guy for John Cooper Clarke. He’s a theatre maker and broadcaster, and visited us after another successful set of sell-out shows at the Edinburgh Fringe <<  https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/luke-wright-joy >> Suffice it to say that he held us, the audience, in the palm of his hand for an hour. Spellbinding!

Away from official events, I was able to chat to a number of delegates – some old friends for several years, some I’d met once or twice, and some I met for the first time. I always enjoy speaking to delegates quietly, and away from the events, as I feel I’m like to get a honest opinion about the week, how it is going, what they’re enjoying and what they’re not. This is really valuable. 

During one of the discussions, someone asked about marketing information. I referred to a couple of websites I’ve used in the past when researching marketing advice.

The first was Kindle Boards << https://www.kboards.com/  >> 

Alas, like a number of websites, Amazon didn’t like the use of “Kindle” in the name, so they needed to change it. This is a great discussion board, especially in the Writers’ Café section <<  https://www.kboards.com/forums/writers-cafe.60/  >>. This was where the ‘big hitters’ used to hang out during the ‘goldrush’ of self-publishing, in 2010 – 2014. Suddenly, there were devices where reading ebooks became a genuine possibility (and a pleasurable experience), and when Amazon first began using Print On Demand. For those who don’t know, PoD is based on a machine which takes in paper at one end, feeds your manuscript and cover data in the side, and out pops a book at the other end. There are no print runs. If someone wants one copy of your book, they will print one copy. Magic!

Anyway, one recent discussion concerned the use of Google Ads for books, which is fascinating. Real world data from real authors.

<<  https://www.kboards.com/threads/has-anyone-tried-google-ads-for-books.339604/ >>

And another resource I have used is K-Lytics <<  https://k-lytics.com/   >>, which uses software to interrogate the Amazon store software, and despite Amazon’s continued desire to hide *actual* sales figures manages to create data and charts to indicate both the sales volume and competition for a number of categories and sub-categories. They also do a monthly general report, showing trends for ebooks and print books generally, and in specific categories.

Some people were kind enough to ask about my own books. My fiction is listed at:

<<  https://gerald-hornsby.com/fiction-books/  >>

and in particular, my latest novel, the first in a new series

<<  https://gerald-hornsby.com/last-orders/  >>

My non-fiction books for authors can be found at:

<<  https://gerald-hornsby.com/non-fiction-books/  >>

and I had a discussion with someone about writing novels efficiently, and how I can write up to 4 novels per year. And I have a book!

<<  https://gerald-hornsby.com/the-efficient-novelist/  >>

So, to sum up: another great Swanwick Writers’ Summer School, I think just about everyone went home happy, and were looking forward to Swanwick 2025.

As am I!

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DAY 22A – #MonthOfBlogging #June2024 #MonthOfWriting

Sorry for hijacking this series of blog posts, but I just wanted to let you know that my new book, LAST ORDERS, is now up for pre-order on Amazon.

So go and pre-order it now, and start loading up your Kindle for the summer holidays.

CLICK HERE: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Last-Orders-Witford-Mystery-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B0D5DM5RBC/

The ‘blurb’:

In the quiet seaside village of Witford Market, Suffolk, a tight-knit community lives and works in peaceful harmony. Against this blissful backdrop, the owner of a local pub dies in a freak accident.

Newcomer Emma Stafford, here to stay with her sick mother, uses her training as a Metropolitan Police Crime Scene Technician to informally investigate the death. At the same time, she makes a momentous decision – one which will change her life dramatically.

At first, she is suspicious of the many offers of help, but as the days go by, she begins to understand how the community works, and she enlists the help of her best friend and new friends in the community.

How will she juggle the three pressures on her – a criminal investigation, preparations for her new life, and supporting her mother in her last days? Will she be successful, or will she fail all three challenges?


If you’re looking for other books to take on holiday with you, can I offer you my box set of the 1st 3 books of my “Body” series? They’re fantastic value!

https://gerald-hornsby.com/body-box-set/ Three cozy crime novels for only £3.99!

Reviewers have said:
“What a great read!”
“All in all, this is a great and entertaining read.”
“A coastal cliffhanger; and I bet you won’t get there first.”

If your taste is more in the thriller genre, I have a box set of my thriller books, written under the Jack Warwick pseudonym. Please feel free to check it out! Again, great value.

https://gerald-hornsby.com/thriller-box-set/ Four full novels for £4.99!

Reviewers have said:
“If you’re looking for a page turning story with a great plot then look no further. Brilliant characters and great plot.”
“After reading Jack Warwick’s novel Deceit I was really looking forward to Meltdown and it didn’t disappoint. Looking forward to more from Jack Warwick!”

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DAY 22 – #MonthOfBlogging #June2024 #MonthOfWriting

You may have heard of this term. But what does it mean?
As fiction writers, we create an imaginary world, with imaginary characters and imaginary plots. And the key word here is: IMAGINE.
Legendary BBC Broadcaster Alistair Cooke once said “I prefer radio because the pictures are better.”
Clearly, Alistair was of the opinion that, using words to fire up listener’s imaginations can tell a better story.

There’s perhaps no better example than the featured image on this post: “Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” – Anton Chekhov.
Isn’t that a beautiful phrase? And doesn’t that create a better image in your head, which also, possibly, raises a questions: why is the glass broken? What are we doing her during the night?

Here’s another example: “Emma was sad.” Okay. It’s short, to the point. She’s sad. But sadness is an emotion, so why not instil some emotion, some sharing of Emma’s emotion, with the reader? Enjoyment of stories is much better if the reader can imagine themselves as one of the characters. “Emma was quiet. I looked across at her, seeing her face blank, tears forming in her eyes.”

You can show so much about a character’s internal status and demeanour by body language and facial expression. They don’t need to tell us how they’re feeling at this particular time – we can see!

You can also show a character’s mood through their dialogue, and how they say things. Compare these two lines: 

Her eyes lifted to look at his face, showing pain, anguish, even fear. “It’s not right,” he whispered.

Her eyes lifted to look at his face, showing pain, anguish, even fear. “It’s not right!” he bellowed.

Okay. Let’s try one of these ourselves. Take the view you have, or a view through a window. “I can see a tree in the sunshine. There’s a breeze.” That’s a bit boring, isn’t it?
“The silver birch outside my window bent, lazily, its branches flicking in every direction. Harsh midday sunlight reflected off its bark, forcing me to look away.” It’s a bit more ‘wordy’, and it’s a much better picture I’m creating.

You can show seasons: “Deep snow lay like a puff-white blanket in the garden” (winter); “The smell of fresh-cut grass wafted in through the open window for the first time this year” (spring); “In the distance, I can hear children’s excited voices as they cool off in the city-centre fountains” (summer); “Dried leaves crackle and branches snap underfoot” (autumn). I’m sure you could do better – these are ones I just made up now.

Have a look at something you’ve written recently. Is there a way to enhance the storytelling by showing, not telling?

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DAY 21 – #MonthOfBlogging #June2024 #MonthOfWriting

Don’t click away! I’m not going to nag you (well, not much, anyway) to do your backups. I’ve already done that. This (like the previous case) will give you some practical solutions to make sure that you DO YOUR BACKUP!

Oops. Sorry to shout.

In the first episode of BACKUP ( https://gerald-hornsby.com/blog/2024/06/09/day-7-monthofblogging-june2024-monthofwriting/  ), I talked about the reasons we need to backup our data. In the second episode ( https://gerald-hornsby.com/blog/2024/06/15/day-14-monthofblogging-june2024-monthofwriting/  ), I described my file naming convention, which means I have a series of fresh files throughout the project, ensuring that if something disastrous happens to my work file, I have a file that’s (at most) 1 day old.

In this episode, I’m going to talk about where you back up your data to. Where do you put the copies of the files for safekeeping?

1) The first, and easiest, and one I mentioned before, is to email a copy of your file to yourself. It really is quick (I’ve just done it, and it takes 10 seconds, maybe less). It’s easy. It’s free. Just think that there will be a nice, safe file somewhere in the cloud which you can access from anywhere in the world. Neat, huh? You should be doing this at least once per day.

2) Use USB ‘thumb’ sticks. These are huge nowadays for very little money. £10 will buy you 32GB of safe storage. You can buy them from supermarkets. for goodness’ sake! Buy one with your weekly shopping. Tell you what – buy two. Alternate between them. I back up the files I’m working on (sometimes the whole of a project folder) at least once per week. And make sure you don’t leave them with the laptop. I have two memory sticks which attach to my set of keys. When I’m out of the house, so are my keys, and so are my important files.

That is such a brilliant idea, I should be selling these tips.

3) Use external USB hard disks. These are relatively cheap now. I can buy a 2TB (terabyte) external drive for less than £50. Yes! Two thousand gigabytes! And it’s a good one, at that. You can afford to back up your whole writing folder whilst you’re having lunch or something. And, while you’re investing in security, buy a second USB hard disk, too. Alternate big backups, but give one to a neighbour. Theft or fire could destroy your precious backups. Thousands of pounds- worth of work is at risk if you don’t look after your computer files.

So, just a short post today. It’s not like I’m going to labour the point, is it?

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DAY 20 – #MonthOfBlogging #June2024 #MonthOfWriting

Writer’s block. You’ve all heard of it. It’s that time when you want to write, but the words just won’t come. Your muse has departed, and left you… wordless.

Excuse my language. I do not believe in writer’s block. Neither do these people.

“Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.”
– Louis L’Amour

or

“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.”
– Jack London

Let me explain. Sometimes, writing flows. Sometimes, writing doesn’t flow. The reasons? I have no idea – it could be a combination of mental state, tiredness level, enthusiasm, other things happening in our lives… many, many things. And it would be very easy to kowtow to our feelings. And it is made easier by giving those feelings a name.

Writer’s Block

Writers talk about it a lot. It seems to be a common problem.

But waaay back, when I was thinking I’d quite like to do this thing for a living, I wondered about those days when the writing didn’t flow. What could I do about it?

One comment I heard was: “A brain surgeon doesn’t get surgical block.” And the obvious parallel is that when someone does a ‘normal’ job, they need to do that job, no matter what. And I’m sure on some days, surgeons don’t feel as well as they do on others. Our capability to do a job to the best of our ability varies day to day, but apart from being ill, a surgeon can’t phone in and say he doesn’t feel like doing his / her job.

So – what’s the solution?

Firstly – STOP USING THE TERM WRITER’S BLOCK

Next thing – tell yourself you’re going to do some writing at the time you normally do your writing.

Then find some way in which you can put characters, words, and sentences onto paper / in a file.

Here are some suggestions: write a blog post. Sometimes, writing non-fiction will break the deadlock where writing fiction won’t. If you’re not a blogger, and you don’t think you want to be, you can write about something else – maybe write about getting through writer’s block (like I’m doing now!)

OR (and I know this worked with a friend I helped) pick a tiny portion of your viewpoint. It doesn’t matter where you are, or what you can see from where you write, but focus on one small portion of your view. Here’s a thing I’ve found useful – extend both arms in front of you, and form a rectangle with the first finger and thumb of each hand. It’s like zooming in on a camera. Don’t choose your view point. That may sound strange, because you’re naturally going to want to choose something interesting to write about. Don’t do that. Bear with me. Extend the arms, form the viewpoint, and look. Really, really look.

Okay, let’s do a test, right now. I have a viewpoint. It’s a small portion of the wall in front of me. So now, let’s write 50 words on what I see. Only 50 words. Be as eloquent or lyrical or poetic as you like.

A shadow falls across the wallpaper, from black to grey to lighter grey to… the off-white wall. But the wall is not one flat colour. There are patters, swirls and whirls and lines and curves, surface texture embossed with semi-random shapes. They make no sense. And yet, suddenly…

There you go. Exactly fifty words on the wallpaper on my wall. It ain’t gonna win no Pulitzer, nor am I going to publish it.

There is a stage 2, where we enlarge our viewpoint slightly. Bend your arms, form that viewpoint again, and look. Really look. Look throughout the restricted viewpoint, noting what you see, all the details. Now, write 100 words on what you’ve seen through that viewpoint. You can do this. You wrote fifty words a moment or two ago. You just need to write a few more, and now I’ve given you a MUCH bigger thing to write about!

Okay. Done that? Guess what, you don’t have writer’s block!

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DAY 19 – #MonthOfBlogging #June2024 #MonthOfWriting

Earlier in the month, we talked about finding somewhere to write.

There’s something I wrote in my “NaNoWriMo – Meeting the challenge” book

https://gerald-hornsby.com/nanowrimo-2020

Here’s another complaint I hear – “I don’t have anywhere to write. I only have a small house / apartment / igloo”. We’ve all seen Stephen King’s writing room, and Ian Rankin’s upstairs office space. How much easier would it be to write if I had a centrally heated, air-conditioned, coffee-machine-equipped office with a view of Mont Blanc or the River Rhine or the South African Veldt or the soaring peaks of Glencoe?

Well, maybe a little, but you’re just finding excuses. Again. You don’t need a special space to write. Yes, you would do well to be on your own without interruptions from pets or family. But you can write with your laptop on your … lap. You can write in the middle of an office with headphones on. You can write on a train.

The most prolific period of my career was when I sat at a tiny flatpack desk facing a blank white wall. You can write in the kitchen whilst you’re waiting for your pasta water to boil, or your coffee machine to bubble, or even whilst you’re waiting for the kettle to boil. You don’t need an office. You don’t need a ‘special space’. What you need to do is write words. Get to it!

I remember an episode of “Grand Designs”, where a man wanted to build a house in France with an office “with a great view” so “I can wrote that novel I’ve always wanted to write.

He built that house, and he really did have a study which had a wonderful view across a valley, including green fields and a village in the distance. So, he must have polished off that novel in no time?

He didn’t.

What he did do was write a book about how to build a house in France. The novel didn’t get written. So it wasn’t the lack of a special room that was stopping him – it was himself!.

You could say: “But Gerald, you’ve got a nice study with a view into countryside – it’s all right for you to preach!”

True.

But in my defence, it is a spare bedroom, converted into a study. AND writing is my business. AND my partner writes on the dining table. She’s a full-time author, too.

In conclusion: you can write wherever you want.

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DAY 18 – #MonthOfBlogging #June2024 #MonthOfWriting

This is a blog post for novel and novella writers.

It’s quite easy to keep a reader engaged in your flash fiction or short story, with their limited range of characters and plots.

But what about when you want to extend your range a little, and write longer stories? It’s easy, right? Just add a few more characters, another plotline or two, maybe another location, and Bob’s your uncle.

Take it from me – it’s really not that simple. Don’t ask me how I know.

And there is a danger that in the middle of the wordcount (say, 30,000 words for a novel), you end up waffling. What’s waffling? 

Waffle – to speak or write at length in a vague or trivial manner.

How this manifests is that your story is roaming around, not really getting anywhere. Characters appear, say something, do something, and then disappear again without having had any significant effect on the story. That, on a number of occasions, has been my story.

If you, too, find yourself in this awful situation, what can you do?

CHANGE SOMETHING.

Have your main character break a limb, take up a new hobby, lose the love of his life. Just when you think it’s all done, and all the ends are tied up nice and neat, CHANGE SOMETHING. PIVOT. What’s the worst thing that can happen? The hero has vanquished his arch-enemy. He has grabbed the girl. She has kissed him (because he’s not an over-aggressive jerk, he’s your hero). Then have him (or her) contract a rare a virulent disease. Have a sink-hole open up and take her away. Have a random plane land on them, miraculously killing him but saving her, thus making her the NEW hero of the story. Ha haaa! Got you there, readers! But that’s, at least, more interesting.

You can also ‘design out’ the saggy middle, from the start of writing. Shout out to my favourite ‘thing’, Save The Cat https://savethecat.com/ Since I began using this, I NEVER have a saggy middle (in my story!). The StC structure ‘designs out’ sags by setting out a beat-by-beat plan for the story, ensuring that you write in the highs and lows, the changes of pace, the tension and the conflict as you begin to plan your story.

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DAY 17 – #MonthOfBlogging #June2024 #MonthOfWriting

How difficult is it to be a writer?

Strangely, no one ever asks that question. Because they either already know it’s very difficult, or because they think it’s easy.

Writing is easy. No, really, it is. You pick up a pen or a pencil or crayon or anything which will make a mark, you pick up something else which will show those marks… and you write. You can write whatever you like.

 Here’s a scenario, and see if you recognise it: you make a decision that you’re going to start writing. You write about a few things going on in your life. You may even put your opinions down on paper (electronic devices are available!). You might even construct a story – perhaps for a child, or for your own enjoyment, or a fictional piece of writing based on something that happened to you, or maybe is happening around you.

So far so good.

You’re happy with what you’re doing. You quite like this writing lark. Maybe even a family member looks at what you’ve written, and given you feedback of the “that’s really fantastic! Well done” kind.

You feel that maybe you’ve got this writing thing buttoned down, and you write more. Maybe you join an online group, or a real life group, and share your writing.

And you get a bad critique.

This is where writing gets tricky. Do you accept the critique? Because, when you’re a new writer, a critique of your writing is a criticism of you. This is your writing baby. How dare someone say nasty things about it?

At this point, your writing journey can go one of three ways:

  • You totally give up writing, vowing never to pick up a crayon again.
  • You take umbrage, and vow never to speak to that person again; you know you’re a good writer, because people have said so, and you’re going to continue your journey in the same way
  • You listen to the critique, you look at your writing, you accept that maybe other people are not so emotionally attached to it, and you learn from it.

You will probably guess that I’m advocating the latter. And I am, but only if your heart is in it. You are going to want to improve your writing.  It’s a tough lesson, and one which many of us have had to learn. When I started writing literary short fiction, I read some damning critiques of my work. But, do you know what? It improved my writing, and critiquing other writers improved my writing, too. But, as the leader of that group always said: critique the writing, don’t criticise the writer.

Learn the difference, and react accordingly.

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DAY 16 – #MonthOfBlogging #June2024 #MonthOfWriting

A first draft is a horrible thing.

The first draft of anything is sh*t.

Ernest Hemingway

Writing, and especially publishing, is filled with anachronistic terms and phrases. Like many industries, I’m sure people use out-of-date phrases in order to heighten the mystique. It might even be used to exclude those who haven’t been educated in the rarified atmospheres of ‘good’ universities. Might.

So, the “first draft.” As one person said to me once, it’s “telling yourself the story.” And in a way, they’re right. If you’re writing a novel, or even a short story, you don’t really know how it’s going to look until you’ve written it. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been writing a full-length novel, and then realised that there’s not enough ‘story’ in it to complete it, or that the story I had in my head isn’t what’s coming out in the manuscript. I’m my own harshest critic. 

So let’s say you’ve fought these inner demons and doubts caused by imposter syndrome, and you’ve finished the story. Brilliant! Send it off to be printed / entered into a competition?

Errr… NO!

Remember Hemingway’s statement, above. He knew a thing or two about writing did old Ernest. What you do is you put the story to one side – in a drawer, or closed off in a folder on your laptop. 

DON’T LOOK AT IT! 

What this does is to give you, the writer, ‘some distance’ from your writing. This is a fact – if you turn to edit a story too quickly, your mind sees what you think that you, the writer, should have written. Your mind ’sees’ the manuscript you wrote in your head, and not what you put on paper / in a file.

How long should I put the manuscript away?

It depends. In theory, the longer the better. I’ve come across old stories, written years ago, that I don’t even recognise as mine! But how long you put the manuscript away is entirely up to you, and how well you can ’step away’ from the writing, and what you intend to do with the story when it’s finished, and whether that has a deadline to it.

And my key message – when you start reviewing your first draft, BE HONEST! Read it like you would any other piece of writing.
Are there spelling and punctuation mistakes? Don’t assume an editor will fix them for you!
Does the opening spend too much time on description of landscapes or the weather?
Does the story move along at pace, or is it dreary and slow?
Does the key message of the story, the key theme, come through in the writing?
Does the ending round things up nicely, and provide a satisfying conclusion?

These are just some of the questions you need to ask yourself before moving forward with the story.

I have done, MANY TIMES!

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DAY 15 – #MonthOfBlogging #June2024 #MonthOfWriting

This is a strange question I often get asked, but in a way, it’s not strange.
“Which word processor do you use?”
or, the even more strange
“What laptop do you use?”
Why are they strange questions? 

Because it doesn’t matter

Let me explain. If you’re going to be a writer, you need some way in recording the words you’re using to tell your story. All agreed?

Writers, traditionally, LOVE a good notebook. I do, too – up to a point. But some people want to write poems and stories in their notebooks and keep them on a bookshelf. Which is great. I’m not knocking it. But the writing is then stuck, in pen / pencil / crayon on paper. Unless you show someone your notebook, you can’t easily share your work.

Some people like the kinetic feel of a typewriter. I love the *idea* of using a typewriter, but the thought of not being able to quickly and easily fix typos from my amateurish typing chills me to the bone.

If we’re moving into the age of modern technology, thee’s no doubt the rise of portable computing has changed much of our lives. You can write on a mobile phone (I know someone who won a competition using a story written on their phone, because they didn’t have a laptop.) There are tablets (such as iPads, Samsung Galaxy Tab and many low-cost imports from the far East), there are hundreds and hundreds of laptops around. Some (called Chromebooks, based on the Google Chrome browser) have little local storage, and are thus cheaper. I have a thing called an AlphaSmart, which is a mobile device, very low power, with a full-sized keyboard and tiny LCD display.

But no matter what other devices get recommended, I always come back to my beloved 2015 MacBook Pro. It was high-spec when I bought it (and expensive!), but it still works well enough.

So then we come to the perennial question: Do you use Mac or PC?

It’s one of those very binary questions which creates intense arguments at times. I was once called stupid for buying Mac. Buying one new now would cost in the region of £1,000 for a minimum spec model. A top spec version: over £4,000!

I treat my laptop as a tool of my job, and reliability is paramount, and in my opinion, worth paying a little extra for.

BUT

If you can’t afford or justify Apple’s eye-watering prices, there are other, good options. Brand new Chromebooks are less than £200. PC (Windows) laptops are similar in price. You can look out for special offers (especially at the start of school term); refurbished devices can have bargain basement prices. Always check on quantity and quality of feedback of supplier if you’re buying online. Also check Facebook marketplace, but beware if computers come without any documentation.

When it comes down to it, my 9 year-old laptop does the job I need it to. It helps me create my manuscripts (my 8th novel is coming out at the end of this month, and I have written seven non-fiction books for authors.) I do my own internal formatting and I create my own covers with some quite sophisticated graphics software. It doesn’t run ALL of the latest software, it doesn’t work from battery alone, and the processor overheats when I render video files. But it does everything I need it to, and if I needed to replace it in an emergency (having backed up my data, obviously) I could buy a refurbished MacBook air for £200.

So…

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