The evolving writer

A Christmas Present – Tiny Things to Write About

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As a Christmas gift I was given a book of tiny things to write about. I’m sure it will improve my writing and I thought I would share some with you.

One morning you run into the person who bullied you at school. After preliminary greetings, you let loose, what do you say?

 

‘Isn’t it strange that when we were alone together you were always so kind. I guess you tried to make yourself look superior to me in front of everyone else by putting me down. However I saw in other people’s eyes pity, not for me but for you. I was always winning our battle, even when I didn’t want to. Sorry. I hope you have more confidence as an adult.’

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Endurance, the hard work

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I have never understood physical endurance tests. One of our good friends once did the Marathon de Sables; five and a half marathons in five or six days, set in the Sahara Desert.  I am currently writing with a guy who has swam the English Channel. Why? Was my first question. Surely life is difficult enough without giving yourself more challenges. However I have realised that giving yourself these bigger challenges makes very easy work of everything else.  Isn’t it true, that through struggle we grow?

Feeling physically fit is mentally empowering. Being a Pom in Melbourne can sometimes feel like a fish out of water. Aussies are a beautiful race and generally seem a lot more active than us Brits. Beach Road is more of a cycle track than a road. Swimmers don’t just go to the beach to muck about, they go to swim five kilometres, ten kilometres. Even around the bay!

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Page Three…the error

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I have sent my manuscript to various publishers and then today as I went through it for the umpteenth time I saw it. That bloody error on the third page! This means that all five publishers will have seen it.  Some publishers want 100 pages, some the first chapter, all want a synopsis. One wanted a three line synopsis! To which my explicit words were rampant for a good half hour whilst composing.

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Energy

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Something’s happening!

Isn’t it amazing when you just click with someone.  They get you and you get them.  Sometimes words are not needed.  This is happening a lot recently. I’m making a lot of new friends and finding them in the most unusual places! When I say friends it feels more like old family acquaintances that have been missing from my life for a while. They know me better than I know myself.  We share a history, although our historical journeys could not be further apart if we tried!

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Ten Months of Writing

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I thought I’d map out what has happened this year.  In February I started writing my first fictional novel, my aim was to finish this by December. Then at Swinburne Uni I was told ‘write everyday’. My good friend bought me a planning diary and I soon realised my manuscript would be finished way before Christmas! In fact it was finished in July.  All 67,000 words of it, I actually wrote more like 80,000 but edited it down.  I think it fits in the genre of Chick Lit, a friend said it could be Bridget Jones meets Monkey Grip.

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Frankie’s Fiction

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It was busy on the train into Flinders Street but Sarah managed to get a seat.  The man opposite catching glances in her direction was about her fathers age and ruggedly handsome.  Sarah’s phone beeped and she looked down.

Running five minutes late, meet you inside the NGV

She looked out of the window noticing some of the tin roofs passing by. It had been a long time since she had stayed with her Gran in Warburton. She loved thinking back to the nights she had spent laying in her bed listening to the rain hammering on the roof. The sound would send her off to sleep and at other times would wake her up with huge crashing thunder and lightning. Luckily their house never got hit, she knew a few in Warby that had.

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Letting Go – Petrified

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After watching the tragic end of Anna Karenina. I realised there was something I needed to look at and let go.  In previous posts I have talked about finding my inner child. Feeling so pleased to have her back I was ignoring the fact that she wasn’t very happy.  Trying to give her a voice and indulging her in childish games wasn’t working, she needed to let go of something. Continue reading →

Competition

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I have found something I want to be competitive in! It will take a lot of time to get this writing right. Time and practice but that’s ok. Having written book one in 6 months I decided to try and write book two in eight weeks. Just under ten thousand words a week should be pretty easy, I thought.

Getting in the flow and staying there is the tricky part. I can go to a cafe and get far too embroiled with the goings on around me. I can let my imagination really go and then go completely off tangent. Then all of a sudden the magic happens. My fingers are typing away and I am not actually thinking about what comes next. The characters take over and tell their story. For a split second I force myself back to reality to grab a sip of coffee and revel in this fantastic flow. I smile and then continue.

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Marvellous Mistakes – Editing

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Editing my first book was probably one of the hardest things I’ve done mentally for a long while.  After rearranging the content of the book three or four times I was sick of the sight of it!

‘Know your book inside and out before approaching anyone with it!’

How can you not know it inside and out when you have read the bloody thing five times! Frustration started to creep in and I still needed to tackle the grammar and punctuation.  Arguments with the proofing tool could go on for hours! Never mind saving expletives for dramatic effect.  I was aiming them all directly at my stilted reflection in the laptop.

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Top Tips from Published Authors

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Now that I am nearing the end of book two, I was thinking about how I got to this point.  I thought I would share with you the top tips from published authors that have kept me writing.

  1. Write Every Day
  2. Follow your passion
  3. Keep the rise and fall
  4. Don’t be discouraged by the first draft, just get the mess out there
  5. Trust your gut
  6. Keep reading
  7. Keep learning
I don’t think you can go far wrong with those seven.  If anyone has any others please post!
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