Staying a reader whilst becoming a writer…!

Friday 17th June 2016

As you’ll know if you’re a writer, it’s extremely important and necessary to keep reading just as much as you’re writing.
When i was working on my first novel a couple of years ago i focused solely on the writing aspect and didn’t bother reading, and because of that i couldn’t write. I thought from this that i wasn’t deemed to be a writer, so i went back to reading a huge amount like i had before, then what did i find out? All of a sudden i could write again, that was how i learned it was a necessary aspect of living this life, to make room for both of them in my day, and that’s what i still do now. 

I find it’s a lot more of a struggle now that i’m taking my writing  seriously. Some days i just want to sit there and keep plowing on with the scene i’m doing,  but with the night drawing closed and me having to wake up at 4am for work, i have to put the writing down and settle with my reading. This has become some what of a ritual now.
My other options are reading on my breaks at work, or if we’ve got nice weather i’ll sit outside with my partner for the day and the both of us will read to our hearts content together.
It’s extremely enjoyable and easier to do when you figure something that’s right for you, just make sure you keep doing both. Besides, who doesn’t want to be reading with all the amazing books and authors that have been publishing lately…give me some new Sarah. J Maas any day!

“If you don’t have the time to read, you don’t have the time or the tools to write.” – Stephen King

Editing takes away the fun

Wednesday 15th June 2016

Now the editing begins and it’s really drawn out my vibe. Yes reading my novel for the first time was amazing, seeing how it all came together. But going over the same thing continuously is a little repetitive and frustrating.
Trying to get the right words and right sentences structured together better then they were before is hideously frustrating but there is no way i’m giving up now (even though i do just want to go straight into writing the second one).

I’ll let you into my little editing process that i’m working on:

1. Print off the manuscript, read through like a normal novel and mark changes with a red pen.
2. Mark down major changes on a post-it note and stick on the page for you to reference back to when you start working on the computer again.
3. Have both the marked paper manuscript and your word document on your computer in front of you and make the changes page by page, (this is an extremely long but not dull process).
4. Then go through the post-it note pages and make all the huge changes that you’ve identified.
5. After i’ve done all this i print off the new self edited manuscript and hand it to someone who proof reads for more. This gives them the chance to get the most out of your book instead of editing it with you, even though you can give them the option to write any changes they’d do on the manuscript. Remember you’re not limited to how many times you change it or print, this has to be just right. 

Reading through it and making the paper changes takes me about a week depending on the manuscript length. I’ve nearly done this one and it comes up to 367 pages, then the computer fun begins.
The boost i’m getting though to work hard on the editing is the people who are excited to get into the rest of my novel. The proof readers who i’ve given the opportunity to read the first 4 chapters when i editing those first.

The thought i like to keep is if my non-reader proof readers are enjoying this then who else is going to enjoy my world.

I can’t wait to share this with people one day and to get back to writing the second instalment, my characters are calling to me…we’ve got a Kingdom to burn together!

PS: i may also start doing some posts on the books i’ve been reading and my thoughts and feelings on them. I love talking to people about books but don’t have many bookish friends, so who better to express my love to in words other than myself!

MANUSCRIPT COMPLETED!

Saturday 11th June 2016

Lets just sit and hyperventilate together! 

This is the details from microsoft word right now and i’m officially finished with this manuscript…woo hoo!
Now i’m spending the weekend editing the 20 odd chapters and seeing where this takes us. I’m so excited now it’s really done it’s unbelievable. Doesn’t feel real at all!

I think the excitement that empowers you when you finish a manuscript is completely overwhelming but also enough to completely freak out a new writer. Now i’m done i’m just thinking, “so what do i do now i’ve finished this?”
I guess we’ll soon find out.

Hitting a milestone

Thursday 9th June 2016

Yesterday was such an exciting day! I’ve been adding a bit more detail and concluding the last few ending chapters and normally when i write i work on a huge chunk and then automatically check my word count, this had just turned out to be a habit of mine now, i get super happy when i worked into the next thousands.
Well yesterday because of coming to this conclusion my brain was working fast along with my hands (i know shocker that they were actually working at the same pace and not having their hissy fits together 😉 ) and i hadn’t checked for a while, i popped the screen down and clicked the work count button because it’d disappeared from the bottom of the screen, and what did i know? I’d hit and gone over 100,000 words!!
I’ve done this a couple of times before on other books so it’s nothing new to me but doing it on this book where so much time and serious work had gone into it for my future was something i couldn’t quite comprehend. 
The only other thought to post on here is that i’d planned for the book to finished around 100,000 words and at 20 chapters, well we’ve hit 100,000 and I’m just wrapping  up chapter 19…that means i’m nearly done!!

There’re going to be a lot of exclamation points by the end of this post!

This has got to be one of the fastest novels i’ve written in such a short amount of time (6 months) but also my most favourite. Within the time i’ve gotten this edited and sent it off to a few agents i don’t even think i’ll be able to give myself a little break from writing before i start the second edition to this series, all hell is going to break loose next and i can’t wait to get full blown into the action with my characters again and i’m not even done with this one. Anyway, enough of my crazy rambling. I hope anyone who reads this is having a gorgeous day and start to the summer wherever you are.
Love and light!

First bouts of feedback

Tuesday 24th May 2016

So, after many many years of keeping all the work i do completely private i finally started airing it out to a couple of people for feedback now i’m coming close to the end of completion. This is where my nerves started to wrack up because if this turned out to be completely shoddy and not as good as i thought it was going to be then i’d completely wasted years of my life thinking that i might actually have a chance at being an author.

Well…first i edited and printed 4 chapters off for my mother to read (she’s not a reader) but completely fell in love with the story which gave me a huge confidence boost. The best one though was what i’ve just received from my Aunt who i sent part of the manuscript to a couple of weeks back and, because i hadn’t heard from her, i thought she’d just thrown it to the side because it was completely unreadable…was i wrong yet again!

This was the feedback i got from her:

Hi ya. I’ve posted to you today your draft which I’ve read and scribbled amends on so should get tomorrow. Wanted to say it’s a fab read and totally amazed how good you are for someone so young ..giggled at some of the swear words but I was hooked and can’t wait for the next read …well done you ..I’m very proud xx

This just absolutely just made my writing career so far and was definitely worth the persistence of pushing myself to get things done!

So i guess all i’m trying to say is, as with anything in life, if it feels right, then it most probably if right.

YIKES…nearly a month?

Friday 20th May 2016

Hell it’s been nearly a month since i’ve last written a post on here, but don’t worry it hasn’t been any less productive. There’s been a lot of writing and a lot of editing going on as we fly into the ending point.

I’ve been getting the first 3 chapters together so i can start sending my work to agents and that’s been an extremely exciting part, especially since my mum (who might i add isn’t a reader) has read through them and enjoyed them so much that she keeps pestering me to edit some more chapters so she can indulge herself again. This most definitely gave me the biggest boost of confidence i could wish for.

Yesterday i had a full 6-7 hours to myself in the day and this resulted in endless amounts of Mumford and Sons and getting around 10,000 words drafted down…that’s got to be a record for me with this novel.

Anyway there’s not really much else that can be updated except for life is good and i’m highly optimistic, maybe 2016 will actually be my year!

Current books being read

• A court of mist and fury – Sarah J. Maas
• Heir of fire – Sarah J. Maas
• Prodigy – Marie Lu
• Miss Peregrines home for peculiar children – Ransom Riggs
• Opposition – Jennifer L. Armentrout
• City of fallen angels – Cassandra Clare
• Glass sword – Victoria Aveyard

 

 

(Yes i read a lot and have an awful lot of books on the go! It’s a habit i can’t help)

Personal deadlines

Friday 29th April 2016

Exciting times are coming and i just had to write this post immediately!

I’ve been keeping to a strict deadline as much as i can because i promised myself at the beginning of this year that 2016 would be the year that i’d set the line straight for my life before i turn 20.
I know what i want my life to be like and both my partner and i are in complete sink with this which is insane as it can be. So, getting this book series written and done is just one of the main steps that is really pushing me forward because i want nothing more than to be a writer and to have my freedom.

With the deadline of minimum words that i’m working on lately which is 2000 a day, i should have this first manuscript completely finished and written within the next 3 weeks. Which, thinking back to the beginning of the year, i wouldn’t have thought that this would’ve been even slightly possible with how busy and insane my schedule was, but i’ve made the time for the important things.

This post is just going to be one ball of excitement because of how fizzled my mind feels right now.
The hundreds of ideas i’ve got running through my head and noted down on paper are just the most random and thrilling things, and to put them out on paper in words one day, i just don’t know what they’re going to come out like, and quite frankly, they could make me look rather insane. But these thoughts, ideas, worlds and characters just need to be built and put out into the world in whatever format is going to be possible.It feels like being a writer is my destiny, because i’ve gone through so many different hobbies in life that i thought i held so much passion for, but in the end i didn’t. Writing for me was just on the sideline, something i did when i felt like it and i never really put any thought into what i was doing. But one day a few years ago after i’d finished with school and was left thinking what to do with my life i just thought, i might actually sit down and give this a go, what harm could it do?

And now here we are today…one contemporary done and the manuscript sitting on the shelf, and now the first book in my fantasy trilogy on the way to being wrapped up, plus the so many other books that are in the planning that won’t let my mind settle.
I’m so excited to see where I’m going to be this time next year, but i’ve got a lot more hard work to be putting in until then!

Love and Light and keep on writing!