Writing And Marriage

Sometimes I think that writing is a bit like marriage; or at least a long term relationship.

At first there is the all consuming buzz. Your new novel is the only thing you can think about, its all consuming and you struggle to pretend to be a fully paid up member of society as you think about your characters, environment and (if you’re writing romance) that all consuming first love scene. It’s a bit like having an affair but without actually committing infidelity.

After a while the first flush of passion wanes a little. It still feels a bit like a guilty secret - especially if you’re doing it on the side of work, family and life etc, but the dazzle is less.

Half way through the first draft and you’re beginning to wonder if its all worth it but you continue anyway - because you believe in the happy ever after.

And then you get to the end of first draft and its like you’re celebrating the engagement party - yes the happy ever after is in the bag.

After a bit of time out you realise that you’ve got to put the hard work in if there is ever going to be a wedding and so in the run up to the wedding (second draft) you’re carving out the bits that work and don’t work to result in the perfect day.

And so at the end of the second draft you think you’re there. Only to realise when you get back from honeymoon that there is still some serious work to be done on your relationship (novel).

Right now I’m likening the next draft to wedding plus children and about ten years. You’ve struggled, you’ve accepted massive change and in effect you should be near to perfection. But there’ll always be things you like, things you don’t like, things you want to change and things you think that if you do change you wonder if you’ll suffer for.

There’s no doubt about it, at this stage the real work is required, and I’m not just talking about the novel!

Talking of Footie and Birthdays

Well what a weekend that was.

It started off early on Saturday morning as my eldest son who is nine was playing in the final of his football league.  All the matches were played at Chester football ground so this was a major event and incredibly nerve wracking, both for us watching and him playing.  The kick off was a nine am and by nine forty five I was physically drained.   I must admit the team played well and had many chances to score but unfortunately it was not to be.  However, the other team didn’t score either so no one lost.  Being only nine they don’t do extra time or penalties so both teams will share the Shield for six months each.   It was rather nice that there were no losers on the day and both teams should be proud of themselves for playing some very good football.

I’m not what you call a football fanatic, but living with three of them in the house, you do tend to get involved and it was a lovely atmosphere at the stadium with mums and dads shouting for their boys alike.  Talk about proud – I was positively puffed up.

More football followed in the afternoon with the FA cup final but the boys went to watch it elsewhere, leaving me in peace for a few hours.   And I used my time wisely by playing with my new toy – a Kindle.

I have been debating the merits of e-readers versus books for a long time but have finally decided to take the plunge.  My kindle will never replace the good old fashioned book as there is nothing like the feel or smell of a book so I don’t see it as the demise of the hard copy.   We live in such of an age of technology these days though that it doesn’t make any sense to ignore it.  Rather, I think you should use it the best way to benefit yourself.

Anyway, the Kindle was a birthday present (for yesterday) and it had arrived in the week.  Of course I had to take it out of its box in advance, just to make sure that it had arrived in one piece and on Saturday afternoon I decided that it would be prudent to charge it up so that it was ready and waiting for me on Sunday morning.  Well of course then I had to connect it to Wi-Fi, and register it, and it made sense to download some samples of books too didn’t it?  I did resist the urge to start reading then – because that wouldn’t be right now would it?

No, I put it away and went to get ready to go out.  The boys were spending the night at their cousins so we went out for a lovely Italian meal with some friends.

It was weird waking up on my birthday with no children, but it was very chilled out an relaxing and thoroughly enjoyable – although I did get to the stage when I insisted on picking them up because I was missing them.

In the morning I did have a chance to play with my new toy properly and so far I’m really pleased. I love the fact that you can download sample chapters of books for free so that you can see if you want to buy them.  I picked quite a few of my wish list and am now compiling a must have list.  I found the Kindle easy to use and to read and I’m looking forward to saving my baggage allowance when I go on holiday at the end of the month.  So far I’m really chuffed with it but I’ll let you know how I get on.  As far as I’m concerned it will never replace the paperback, but as I’m desperately trying to declutter my house, it will come in very handy.

In the afternoon we went swimming, went out for tea and then spent the evening with friends enjoying wine and cake.  I got some lovely kindle vouchers too, so I can spend freely on my first books.  Can’t wait.

All in all a fantastic weekend. Now I just need to recover.

A Royal Wedding and The Middletons

I must say I'm not an obssesive Royalist, but I do believe that the monarchy plays a part in what puts the Great in Britain.  People complain that they are a financial drain on society but when you look at the amount of tourism they bring into the country they also put an awful lot back.  Watching the wedding on Friday I thought it amazing how it brought so many people together. 

What was especially lovely was to see a Royal couple who have taken the time to get to know each other and are genuinely affectionate together.  I wish them joy in their marraige and hope it is a long and happy one.  I think William and Kate will bring new depths to the monarchy and are just what are needed to bring a modernity to the institution.

What is strange for me is the fact that the name Middleton is banded around constantly in the press because that's my  name too.  Unfortunately the name is the only thing we have in common (wouldn't say no to some of their dosh or connections).  My husband's name is Mike and what is really weird is that we chose Catherine as a name for a girl if we had one.  We ended up having two boys instead so there is no current Catherine Middleton in our family (although my husband's grandmother was Catherine Middleton).  But doesn't life play strange tricks on you at times?

I must say though, I'm proud to share their name.  I think they showed an enormous degree of grace and style on Friday befitting of any Royal Wedding.

More Book Reviews

I just thought I would give you a quick run down on the rest of the books I read whilst on holiday and some more since. This is me guilt tripping myself because I have been meaning to do this for ages and as I've just booked my holiday for the May half term I thought I needed to stop putting this off!

 

The first one is Calling Romeo by Alexandra Potter.

 

The first book of hers I read was Be Careful What You Wish For. A romantic comedy whereby a girl buys some lucky heather and then things that she always dreamed of starting coming true. But things didn’t always work out quite as she’d hoped which leads us neatly back to the title of the book. It was a thoroughly enjoyable read – nothing too strenuous but certainly high on the feel good factor. So when I saw this next book I just couldn’t resist buying it.

This book is about Juliet – a thirty something, living with a man who she once hoped would become her husband. But the romance seems to have disappeared and Juliet is left thinking that there must be more to life than this. Cue the sexy rival colleague who seems intent on whisking her off her feet and suddenly life is all about romance. But is it real? Juliet needs to work out what matters to her most.

Again this was an enjoyable feed good read. Perhaps not quite as absorbing as Be Careful What You Wish For but satisfying all the same.

The next is Sister by Rosamund Lupton

This is a debut novel which was selected by the Richard and Judy book club.

It is the story of Beatrice and her younger sister Tess. Although at the beginning of the story Tess is missing, the story is very much about her life while Beatrice desperately tries to uncover the mystery behind her disappearence.

In uncovering her sister's past, Beatrice also learns things about herself, things which she has previvously chosen to ignore and therefore travels on her own journey throughout the book.

Initially I found this story a little difficult to follow as it constantly flipped between the present and the recent past. Once into the main story thhough, this tense thriller had me totally gripped and the pages just kept on turning.

There were many twists and turns throughout the novel and without revealing too much, one in particular left me feeling particularly disappointed. The author, however, did have one further twist up her sleeve which redeemed the story somewhat. Despite that though, I did find the book an enjoyable read.

The final two books I would just like to mention are both by Maureen Lee.

This author was born in Bootle during the second world war. She now writes family sagas through the ages, based on the area she knows so well.

The first book I ever read by Maureen Lee is called Dancing In The Dark. The story is about Millie who is a character in the present day. She is asked to sort through the belongings of her Aunt Flo who has recently died. Gradually Milliee gets drawn into discovering her aunt's past and through her explorations we are taken back to the 1930's and slowly lead back to the present. Maureen Lee weaved the two stories so beautifully toghether and really brought to life the connections between all the characaters. Her storytelling is so vivid that Liverpool almost becomes a character in itself.

If you enjoy historical family sagas then anything by Maureen Lee is a must read.

I knew instantly that her books would be a hit with my Mum and so I introduced them to her. The two books I erad on holiday were actually passed on to me by her.

The first was Lime Street Blues

Street Blues is set in sixties Liverpool and is about three different families all bound by music. Whilst they are all successful, this comes at a price and the book expertly exmaines the resulting relationships.

.And finally, Nothing Lasts Forever

This is the story of Brodie Logan who has recently sepearted from her husband. Living alone in a big house she decides to let out the spare rooms. The novel is about the women who come to live with her.

What can I say? Maureen Lee never fails to disappoint.

And here endeth my book reviews for the time being. I've read quite a few other books since what now seems a distant holiday, some of which I will tell you about in the future, as this blogpost is already long enough!

 

Second Draft Dilemmas

I have been a bad blogger this month - I keep meaning to blog but never quite find the time - slap on wrists.

My only saving grace is that I have been writing - or should I say editing. 

My 80,000 word novel wot I wrote in November and December last year has come under scrutiny because I want to send it to  to the New Writer's Scheme at the RNA this year.

In January the months until August stretched languidly ahead of me but as the first draft is only a very very rough first draft I have quickly realised that I really need to put the hours in if I'm going to lick it into some kind of shape in time for submission.

So how do you redraft?

Well I've started by a quick read through to remind myself of the whole story.

I know alot of people do a a scene by scene breakdown on index cards to give them a better handle of the structure of the plot.  I've done this too but now that I have I'm not really sure what to do with this.  So for now I've put the cards to one side and am going through my script line by line and chapter by chapter.

This seems to be working well.  I'm tightening text and adding info and looking at whether I think the plot is realistic and the characters' motives believeble. I still have quite a bit of description to add - ie locations and intricate details but I'm highlighting these to deal with on the next draft and am concentrating of the flow of the story.

Once I have reached the end of this, I'm going to print this off again and then add the description and then I'm going to look at it again and see if I've got it right.  And then I'm probably going to panic because how will I know?

The answer is I won't - at least I don't think I will. Which is, I suppose the reason why I'm entering this for the New Writer's Scheme.  I just want to get it as good as I can before sending it of for  professional input.  I've part written novels before - even completed a first draft and half of a second draft but I've never got to the stage where I think it is as good as it can be. 

So that's my aim I suppose - to get it as good as I can and then see where I'm up to.  And then, when it comes back from the RNA, I'll probably have to start again.

But then I guess that's what this writing lark is all about. Learning from your mistakes until one day, one day - well maybe - who knows.

How do you edit?

My Holiday Reads

OK, I know its ages since my holiday (desperately in need of another one) but I wanted to post about the books I read while I was away. So here goes
The first one was:

Hothouse Flower by Lucinda Riley

I saw this book in Tesco’s just before Christmas and put it on my Christmas wish list (actually, no I didn’t – I put it in my husband’s hot little  hands and told him to go and buy it for me – sometimes there’s no point in just wishing!)

One of the first things which attracted it to me was the cover.  It reminded me of two of my favourite books by Kate Moreton – The House at Riverton and The Forgotten Garden.

I love historical novels but I love them even more when the characters in the present day are delving into their family’s past. In fact I love it so much that this is one of the genres I am trying to write and one day hope to publish.    I’ll never be as good as Kate Moreton but there’s no harm in having aspirations.
Later I learned that Hothouse Flower was nominated for the Richard and Judy Book Club and my interest was sparked even more.

It’s a hefty tome and I wanted to read it when I had plenty of time, so decided to sequester it away for my holidays.  It was temptation waiting in the wings but I resisted.  And I’m glad I did and after all that build up, it certainly wasn’t an anti-climax.
I loved the description of the run up to WWII and I loved the two main present day characters too.  The story had plenty of twists and turns and kept me guessing right up until the end.  I was a bit disappointed that the main character from the past seemed to fizzle out a bit after the war and one of the twists I found a little incredulous, but on the whole I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was glad I had saved it for my holiday.

I was sad when I finished the book and had to say goodbye to the characters and I wished that I had been the author of it – so I think you’ll agree that there’s no better recommendation than that.

Just after Christmas I was asked if I would like to become a member of a reading group organised by the mum of one of my youngest son’s friends.  I’ve always wanted to be in a reading group so was delighted to be included in one on my doorstep.
We were all asked to come along to the group with a book to recommend. I knew a few members of the group but not all and I wanted to recommend a book which was sufficiently literary without being too dry.

I’d read quite a bit about Kate Mosse, author of Labyrinth and Sepulchre, and liked the sound of her new novel – The Winter Ghosts, so I recommended this and it ended up as one of the first reads.

I have to say that I was sadly disappointed by this book.  She writes incredibly atmospherically and I could imagine myself physically in the setting.  Parts of the book were completely absorbing too.  But as a book as a whole, well sadly, I didn’t feel there was enough plot to keep a full length novel going. .  I found myself in the first half of the book waiting for something to happen and in the second half waiting for it to end.  Perhaps it’s just me, perhaps I just didn’t get it, perhaps I’m just not literary enough, and it’s more about feelings that things happening. The middle bit was good though.

The next book is by the lovely Kate Harrison, and is the second in the Secret Shopper series, Secret Shopper Unwrapped .

Oh my, Kate, you’ve done it again.  I loved the first book and I loved this one just as much.  Revisiting the characters of the previous book felt like putting on a favourite old jumper.  I didn’t have to work at who was who and what was there background and I fell in love instantly with a new character – Kelly.  At the end of the book I read the first chapter of her third book in the series – The Secret Shopper Affair and wished I could get stuck into that too.  It’s just come out and has gone straight to the top of my wish list – can’t wait.

Oh dear, for some reason the blog won't let me add the images of these books - sorry.

Well that's all for now, more books to follow shortly.

 

 

On A Lighter Note

Sorry for my ramblings of Monday - hope I didn't depress you all too.

The black fug has lifted and I'm back to normal now.  The messy house is still the same but I'm just trying not to either notice it or let it get me down.

A while ago I entered a competition in Candis to become their next blogger.  You had to write something amusing that happened to you in 200 words.

Today I found out that I didn't get anywhere with the competition, not that I expected to really, but at least its given me a new blog post. 

So please see below my entry to the competition. Hope it makes you smile.

As my fingers fumbled uselessly in my handbag, I realised with rising panic that I had forgotten my door key. My mouth went dry, heart began to thud and my palms were sweaty.  I was later than I’d planned to be, well you know what it’s like when you get talking, and my husband had obviously decided to have an early night.  To make matters worse the battery on my mobile was dead. 

I rang the doorbell, risking waking the children, but no one stirred in hibernation house.

All the other doors to the house were carefully locked so, as panic resurfaced, I stood below our bedroom window and shouted.  My voice echoed around the neighbourhood but my husband slept on. 

Spotting a ladder lying idly along the side of the house I heaved it up and leant it against the extension roof.  Trembling in high heeled shoes I climbed slowly up, step by step. Shaking even more, I negotiated myself onto the flat roof and up to the bedroom window.  I rapped on it loudly. Eventually Lazarus rose and with a frown on his face opened the window.

            “What are you doing?”

            “Trying to get in,” I replied. “Obviously.”

Since that day I have never forgotten my key!

Linda