Category: Recommendations

General Writing, Recommendations

Tools of the Trade…

I’m back to writing by hand to get myself out of a little writing slump. 

It’s not that I’m no longer enjoying the story, have lost my way with it or don’t want to write it, it’s just that getting the things in my head down on paper using a pen and notepad seems easier than sitting at the laptop typing away.

I’ve been thinking about the LWL series as it stands – 2 complete novels down and one that’s 3/4 of the way through. I saw a blog post on a news site a few days ago that quite honestly echoes the first scene in LWL1 and I think that’s given me a bit of a jolt, which is translating to being nervous about finishing.

I’ve heard life can mimic art but it’s the first time it’s happened to me with something I’ve written – something only a few agencies and publishers and critique partners have read – and I don’t like the feeling. I kind of feel threatened, pressured, like I need to hurry up and find a way to get these stories out into the big wide world before they’ve all been done by someone else.

(The publishers sent nice rejection emails, by the way; the agent hasn’t replied at all so guessing that’s a no.)

Deep breaths, I suppose, and onwards and upwards as the saying goes.

In other, less depressing thoughts, I’m reading The Hygge Holiday by Rosie Blake and absolutely loving it. Sweet and funny – I’m in love with the parrot – I’m 60% of the way through according to my Kindle and I don’t want it to end!

Books, General Writing, Recommendations

August already?

I don’t know how that happened, to be honest, and I don’t know how my plan to keep writing on this blog on a regular basis fell so far by the wayside!

Hello, to anyone out there!

We’re officially over halfway through the year now so it’s time to have a little look back on all the writing and reading goals I’d set myself at the beginning of the year.

Reading wise, I’m on target to hit the 30 books I set myself on my Goodreads challenge – I’m two books ahead, in fact, which is a bit of a surprise. (Nearly three, as I’m midway through reading Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones – it’s very good, especially if you grew up with Labyrinth as your go-to film of choice for those rainy weekends as a kid like me!)

I recently finished reading Big Sexy Love by Kirsty Greenwood, which I utterly adored and would recommend to anyone and everyone. You can read my review of it on GoodReads here if you so wish to do so. It’s my favourite book of the year so far, and I think will still have a place in my all time top ten by the end of it, too. Other books I’ve read and thoroughly enjoyed are the last two books (for now) in Ilona Andrew’s Hidden Legacy series, which

Other books I’ve read and thoroughly enjoyed are the last two books (for now) in Ilona Andrew’s Hidden Legacy series, which is right up there in terms of favourite urban fantasy universes.

Writing wise, I’m around 1/3 of the way through book three of my contemporary romance/romantic comedy series. I say romance, but really the relationships that really matter in each of the stories is that of the female characters. It’s a series about friendship, and how having good friends can get you through life’s little obstacles that come at you unexpectedly where love/work/families are concerned. I’m enjoying it, more so now I’ve tweaked a few things so writing it is more of a dream than a struggle. (That said, I’m still looking forward to writing book four most of all – the characters in that one are already vying for attention in my head!)

And the above brings me to the question I really want to ask other writers out there. I’ve got two of the four books done and dusted but for some reason, I’m really reluctant to start sending them off to publishers until the whole series is done. The story doesn’t feel finished yet even though each book can be read quite happily as a standalone, I think because in my mind I know there’s more to come.

Writers, how do you know when you’re ready to send your book baby into the world of agents and publishers? And is it still the goal to get a publishing deal the traditional way or is indie publishing the way forward?

Feel free to get in touch and let me know your thoughts – I’d love to speak to you! x

Recommendations, Reviews

March Madness…! (Book Recs)

Though, to be fair, it’s not just March that’s been crazy – most of February was the same.

I’ve done a lot of writing, a lot of editing, exchanged novels with a lovely fellow writer met through a critique group, and done a lot of reading.

As in, I’m 33% of my Goodreads book challenge for this year. Hopefully that means I’ll be able to beat it.

Recently read books are the reason I thought I’d make a blog post, because I wanted to recommend them in as many places as I could.

Continue reading “March Madness…! (Book Recs)” →

Recommendations, Writing: NaNoWriMo

And we’re back… Kind of.

Today, for the first time since last week, I got to writing again.

1,754 words written so far today. Not a patch on the number I need to do in order to get back on track with NaNo (we’re supposed to be at 25,000 words as of today – I’m just shy of 18,000 in total) but it’s still a number I’m happy with – and just the first of today’s offering.

There’s not been a sudden surge of inspiration, or anything like that. I just turned back to a trusty old friend and put fingers to keyboard.

Write or Die is a website that is a must for anyone who gets distracted, or anyone who needs a kick up the arse to get back into the swing of writing. I used to have the software downloaded on my baby (aka my laptop) but lost it when that baby crashed and I needed to get a new one. After using the website  – WriteOrDie – to get some words out tonight, I’m more than likely going to bite the bullet and buy it again.

Writing is proving difficult at the moment due to a number of things:

  • The stresses and pressures associated with my day job inclined sharply towards the end of last week/beginning of this week when I found out a colleague is leaving and there are no plans to replace her – just to distribute her work to yours truly. (Because you know I don’t already do the work of two people after another former colleague left earlier this year and the company decided to give the managers a pay rise rather than replace her. Ho hum.)
  • Family life… Well. Let’s not go there.

Cutting a long and no doubt boring story short, I’m tired. I’m upset. I’ve got so many thoughts and worries and anxieties spinning around my head right now that I’m not sleeping, not eating, drinking too much and just really trying to hold things together. 

Huh. This post wasn’t supposed to turn into a pity party for one. It started off all happy and positive because yay, words and now. Yeah.

WriteOrDie. I recommend it. If you’re a NaNoWriMo or a writer in general looking for a fantastic writing tool to help you churn out the words, give it a try.

Bye for now! x