A Conclusive Weekend

I spent the guts of six hours today reading my novel first draft. While I speed read some parts, I read most of it naturally. It’s even more of a fast paced book than I thought, which is excellent, as that’s my aim.

I’m going out of county tomorrow and won’t be back until Monday of next week. It’s quite convenient for me, really. The ending of this novel as it stands is really good, I enjoy it so much. But it doesn’t actually fit with the plot. So my weekend aim is to either figure out how it will slot in or to rethink the ending. It’s only the last few paragraphs, not plot integral, just a nice way to end it which makes the otherwise cruel ending a little easier to take.

Gonna be a long, thought-filled weekend…

Emerging From The Cave (Editing Begins!)

 

So today I’m starting my editing.

As mentioned before, I want to get my draft read by the end of the weekend, so I may start actually editing next week. But this process of reading and taking light notes is a terribly important one, hindered by the awful writing I’ll have to endure.

What cave am I emerging from? The comfort of my writing cave.

Much like Plato’s cave, I am going to emerge into a bizarre and foreign world, with new dangers and thrills that I have never experienced. I’m scared to leave the cave, for I know once I enter the world of editing I will become a changed man. My outlook on writing will change. My skill will improve. And my view on first drafts, what was once my world of writing, will be forever different.

And you know what? I can’t bloody wait to leap out of the cave and tackle the challenge!

How Do I Always Manage This?

I just got my 150th follower (thank you!) and this is my 150th post. I have a freaky tendency to hit follower goals with an equivalent post number. Maybe I should just load up more posts and cheat my way to a big following…

I just wanted to say a quick thank you to all my followers and those who continue to read my blog. Every view, like, comment and the occasional share really boost me and are the reason this blog is still going a few months on. Tomorrow I start editing (post up soon regarding that) and it’s support like this that’ll get me through that fun but challenging phase.

So kudos to you people, you’re all awesome!

Nearly Time…

 

So now that I’m free of exams, it’s nearly time to edit.

I have under 100 pages of my girlfriend’s novel to read first, though, so that’ll have my attention for the next day or two.

Then it’s onto my novel: reading and minor note taking on glaring problems.

I’m out of county this weekend and don’t get back until Monday, but I hope to read it while traveling and hopefully get up to half of it done by my return, which means I’ll possibly be able to start editing properly next week.

Then, once both those readings are out of the way, it’s onto my two new purchases: The autobiography of Lord Alan Sugar and Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less by Jeffrey Archer. I’ve really wanted the former so snapped it up when I found it for 4.99 in a second-hand section of the bookstore. The latter was in a ‘two for five euro’ sale, so I thought why not! Something about the unusual title just drew me to it. I also like archers, so I hope he lives up to his name…

I’ll probably write a post about both books when I’m done reading them.

Also, I had a meeting with one of the team members for one of the companies I’m starting up and it went far better than I expected. We’ve a lot of common ground and he’s as enthusiastic as me to make it work, so it’s going to be a fun few months!

The Switch

 

We live in a world of opportunities. The American Dream is no longer just for Americans, it’s for everyone. We all live our lives with the thought that we just need that one break – that one break to set off the chain reaction of success.

The problem is, we often sit around and wait for that break. Even if you work hard at your job, you’re still most likely waiting and wondering when that big break is going to come. Well, what if you could flick a switch and turn that big break on? I think you can.

There’s generally three things back: Work ethic, enthusiasm and an idea.

The idea is either there or it isn’t, there’s not much you can do about that other than come up with new ideas. As for the other two, they’re always there in some form, but usually not there enough. Now here’s my theory of how to solve that.

WORK ETHIC:

Some of us don’t work. Some of us work 9 to 5, five days a week. Hell, some of us work 9 to 5, seven says a week. Guess what – you need to work more.

It’s a common thought that you need eight hours sleep to be at your best. That leaves you with sixteen hours of being awake. So my question is this: Why don’t you work those sixteen hours? If you REALLY want to succeed. If you REALLY want to get your big break. Work sixteen hours, then you’re working as hard as you can for it and you’re working at your maximum efficiency.

Now, obviously nobody is going to do this. Well, I hope they don’t, because that’s taking work-alohic to the extreme. However, I would count traveling to and from your job as work, as they’re necessary to gain the income. I would count time at home researching methods to increase your job’s output as work. For writers, I would count time thinking about and mentally working on ideas as work. Watching TV? Work through that novel’s problem in the back of your mind. Having dinner? No reason you can’t jot out notes on the side.

Basically, always be switched on.

Now this is in no way easy to do, which is where the next important factor comes into play…

ENTHUSIASM:

A boss I once had told us every morning that there’s no point working a job if you don’t wake up every morning and look forward to coming in. Life is short and while finances are important, there’s always a way to gain them in a way you enjoy. I promptly took his advice and left a few days later…

But this has always clung to me since that job. It’s a very good way to live your life. Be enthusiastic in what you do, enjoy it. You can’t force it, not to the extent where it feels empowering. If you’re enthusiastic about your work and truly enjoy it, your output will be more efficient. If you’re going to commit your sixteen waking hours to work, you might as well enjoy them!

 

So to return to my happy switch-fellow above, I pose this challenge to you: Flick the switch. You don’t have to pick sixteen hours, but pick a set number of hours and stick to it. Flick the switch and work for that amount of time, every day, without fail. Comment below with how many hours you’re going to do and we’ll do this together, see who can get the furthest!

As for me, I’m going with ten hours a day to start, leaving me with a nice six hours of enjoyment and relaxation. How about you?

(NOTE: You don’t have to turn yourself into a robot. You can take off days for family events and other unavoidable occasions. I won’t tell anyone…)

The Big Question

 

How much is in my piggy bank?

I don’t actually have a piggy bank. I have a plastic wheelie bin, a Homer Simpson head, a metallic money tin with Spongebob on it, and a similar one with cats on it. All but the latter are full, two with bronze and one with coins and notes (stick with me, Americans – just take from this that it’s money!). I’ve no idea how much I’ve saved over the last few years by this method. A few hundred? A thousand? Two thousand..? I hope!

With the search for a Summer job as fruitless as the day began, despite continued efforts even during my exam period, I’m left banking on these tins. Until I get a job, these are my only hope of moving out. I add to them as often as I can, so I hope it actually proves useful!

In other news, I’ve only one exam left. It’s on Monday at 9am, nice and early! My one today (9am on a Saturday – what are they smoking?) went swimmingly, as did the others. Surprising.

Let’s hope I can finish my last one on an equal high and pass all of my modules for this semester, otherwise my big question will be Do I have 230 in those tins for my repeat fee?

I still have to get through my Girlfriend’s novel, a far easier task when the exams are over and I have time. Which means some point next week I’ll be posting my first editing update… EXCITEMENT!

Accountability – 5 Reasons You Need It!

Two common questions I’m asked are these: One, why did you start your blog? Two, how did you stick with one novel for so long?

The answer is simple: Accountability.

It’s a known problem among artists of all art forms that we find it hard to do what we love. It’s often agonizingly difficult to turn pen to paper and fingers to keys. We come up with every excuse under the sun to avoid it. My pet armadillo got run over by a tractor going ninety on the motorway, so I better do the dishes in his honour instead of writing. But if you have people holding you accountable, that excuse is met with a big “Fat chance buddy! Sit down and work!”

So I started this blog as a way to get myself writing. Updating it regularly helped just to get a routine in general, but it was the growing audience who wanted to see my updates that really had the impact I was looking for. I couldn’t let them down. I couldn’t leave them with nothing. They wanted and update and by god they would get an update! Although sometimes that update was that I wrote nothing… and that was when I saw the great thing about blog readers, they don’t care. Hell, the posts that get me the most likes, comments and new followers are the ones saying how crap my writing day went! But I’m rambling away from the point here and you’re already holding me accountable to deliver…

While accountability is fantastic for keeping a writing routine, it can also be amazing for other outcomes that I and probably you wouldn’t expect until it happens, and here’s my top five favourites:

1. You enjoy your writing more. Whether you’re putting up extracts or not, you’re writing for an audience. The audience might never see your work, but you’re still writing for them. The fact that people are cheering you on and supporting you, especially with no idea what your writing is even like, is extremely uplifting.
2. You make some great, like-minded friends. Your accountability buddies and blog viewers connect a way that others don’t. Sometimes, not often, but sometimes that will expand into a proper friendship that you could never foresee.
3. You get ego boosts. From the “Go get them!” pick-me-ups to the “You wrote that many words?! Damn, that’s impressive!” applauds, your accountability buddies are great at feeding your ego.
4. You learn more about yourself and your writing. Naturally, you go through phases where you hate your writing and your decision to pursue it. Why you, right? You can’t write. Every average Joe can write better than you. You’re just living in a silly fantasy realm that is still somehow more creative than the one you’re trying to write. Nobody would buy this crap. Nonsense! Your accountability buddies, especially the close ones, have a remarkable habit of picking you up out of these dark holes. But most of the time you have to do the work yourself, they’re there to cheer you on, not do all the work. It’s in these moments that a lot of self-discoveries occur which ultimately lead to harden your resolve and passion.
5. Accountability – it’s fun to say. If you don’t think so then you’re obviously not saying it right!

So who’s your accountability buddy? Do you rely on your blog viewers? A spouse? A family member? A combination of these? Let me know in the comments below!

Yet Another(More) Project(s)…

 

So you’d think between editing my novel, getting a job and running two mini-companies I’d have enough on my plate for the summer, right? Wrong!

Today is was talking to my WordPress buddy Charles Yallowitz and one thing naturally led to another, now I’m going to be making a book trailer for him. It’s something I’ve done a few times for people with nothing other than their personal amusement involved. This time it’ll be used hopefully in time for the launch of the sequel in his self-published series, Legends of Windemere. Should be a fun one to do!

Secondly, I’m going to try something I’ve always wanted to do: Customize action figures. From a young age I’ve wanted to alter and paint action figures, but I never got around to it. Now I’m not the best when it comes to art, far from it in fact, but I’m quite the perfectionist and especially when it comes to fine detail, so I’m thinking that’ll pan out well for this. So for now my eyes will be on the lookout for some cheap action figures that will work well. I’ve three ideas of a possible starting one, just have to decide on which… I also need to check out the prices on brushes, paints and an appropriate glue for sticking action figures together. The hobby shop in town is going to love me!

I’ll be posting updates about both as they happen, especially the latter. Pictures of the process will most certainly be included! Here’s hoping it actually turns out well.

In other news, I have two exams tomorrow and only have two more to go after that. It’s oh so close to editing time!

7 Ways To Know You’re A Writer

 

I always say that writing is one of those things in life that is truly unique and offers up situations and emotions that you just don’t get with anything else. It’s hard to give word to a lot of them, so instead I’m going to stick with a few of the odd things I’ve experienced while writing, which I’ve heard a lot of other writers speak about to:

 

1. At 4.00am you don’t get up to pee, you get up to type out a niggling chapter through weary eyes because the demon characters just won’t let you sleep.
2. Sitting on a bus home, out for a meal with your family, watching a TV show, at some point when you’re not expecting it, you see or bump into one of your characters. Whether it’s their mannerisms or their appearance, they are scarily close to a character in your novel. You feel obliged to walk up to them and tell them but you just about hold yourself back, god forbid you get yet another restraining order for public harassment…
3. When reading a book you ask the question “What agent is hating himself for rejecting this novel?”
4. When someone asks you is writing the most enjoyable thing you do, it most certainly is not! Yet it’s the thing you always want to do…
5. 90% of the time you detest your own work and think it’s the worst writing you’ve ever witnessed. 10% of the time you’re sleeping.
6. Typewriters are beautiful. Fact.
7. You recognise one of your friends or family members in your writing when you didn’t mean to have them in there.

 

Number six is a definite of mine. Nothing gets my heart tapping like that titter-tatter-CLICK! of a typewriter. There’s so much more than seven ways to know you’re a writer, but these are seven that spring to mind. Experience any of these? Let me know in the comments below! Have any reasons not on my list? Let me know on the comments below! Like the Snoopy above? Yeah, I don’t want to know about that in the comments below…

My Facebook Page Is Born!

 

Apologies for cluttering your reader with two posts in such quick succession, but I have to announce the launch of my Facebook page. It’s  slightly premature to when I planned, as I’ve not quite hit 150 followers here, but I’m nearly there. My twitter account can wait a while yet, no idea how to work that place, one step at a time…

So please like it here and if you’re feeling extra kind, share it! Time to get this writing show on the road.