Saturday 14 January 2012

C’est la vie, Kindle eBooks and young bucks fight

Morning folks, it is a very frosty one here in the UK. I have lots to share with you so; I’ll waste no time in jumping straight in.

I had a worthy lesson as a writer on Wednesday evening, when I was informed that my novel’s working title ‘Her’ had just been released by a well known writer. I have to say, although I was disappointed, I was extremely pleased with my reaction and response, which was very much a ‘C’est la vie’ moment. ‘Her’ has been a working title for my novel since day one, but a publisher doesn’t promise to keep a working title. If someone else has written and published a novel using the ‘title’ then they are several steps ahead of me - so let it be. And, that was my genuine feeling on the subject. Now, I recognize and acknowledge that if I rewind a year, I think my reaction may possibly have been very different, but I know that my professionalism as a writer has turned a definite corner in the past 12 months – publishing a business, not a hobby. Anyway, having arrived home and told Hubby, I was intrigued to know one what subject the novel was written. Next morning, while getting ready for the day job, I watched the interview and discovered that the original information was incorrect; the author’s title ending sounds like ‘Her’ but isn’t actually ‘Her’. But, this one incident confirms my growth as a writer and the importance of retaining titles and details while working on a project – a detail that I’m already applying to future work, as previously mentioned on this blog.

Wednesday evening Mad Hatter meeting was a busy one with many a belly laugh, not that we don’t laugh on other occasion - but, boy this one was different. I didn’t take anything to read, I could have taken pomes but I chose not to. I informed the group of my membership into Romantic Novelists Association’s New Writers’ Scheme – all good news. I also saw a design copy of my ‘Jutt’ poem – all very exciting as it feel quite real seeing the proposed image, the installation date in currently planned for the end of March.

Thursday evening, Grace Dieu Writers’ Circle saw a very full group of 12 members - all wishing to begin the New Year in the right creative mood. It’s quite amazing the range of genres covered by just one evening of readings. Several members have join Twitter – so there was a scramble for details and names – which all helps us to keep in touch and promote our work between meetings. One member has recently had a short story published on Amazon as a download for Kindle eBooks – ‘Painting the Hay Bales’ is a delightful story by Rebecca Burns and at the price of 77p a very good read for any coffee break. I’d already downloaded and read prior to the meeting, so was able to give her feedback. She then instructed me of how I go about doing exactly the same thing. Watch this space, folks – I will be sharing a short story with you, via Amazon eBooks, very, very soon. I can hear what you’re saying, ‘but that will blow my secret writer status’, but I really don’t mind sharing amongst creative types – it’s the friends and family that don’t appreciate – that the secret is kept from.

‘A river of stones’ has continued nicely, I have updated the list my daily observations (in the right hand panel) so you can follow my experiences in the month of January. Please check out http://www.writingourwayhome.com/ for more details.

I have been seeking assistance in writing my synopsis for ‘Her’ – I feel too aware of how important this document is in aiding my success at finding an agent. I’ve search the documents on line, searched book stores for ‘How to books’ all to no avail, or rather none enhance my knowledge on the subject. So, I have continued to struggle on re-drafting and editing – but if anyone knows of a decent book on the subject, please let me know via Twitter: odwyer_author.
As a writer you have to use every opportunity to spot the moments of inspiration that can be turned into a creative piece, whether it is a painting, prose or poem – you have you keep your eyes peeled and your mind open. For instance, I broke up a pretty aggressive fight at school, me and another female teacher ploughed in and managed to break up the situation. The very next day, whilst walking the pooch, a line for a poem came out of the blue. Now, morally school might see my musings as somewhat unprofessional but hey, I’ve now crafted a poem from that one incident.

My plan for today, is following a decent dog walk, I’ll settle at the desk and continue to bash at ‘Her’ synopsis. I have plans for this evening, given that it’s my mother birthday tomorrow, but I shall return to the grind stone tomorrow.

A big hello to Germany - who has clocked up the most visits in one week – but I do hope you’re each enjoying following my creative journey towards publication. Wow, how things have changed since I first began writing, I never dreamt that I would wish to share my work - let alone have my sights on publication.

Have a great week, check out Rebecca’s story on Kindle and we’ll see what surprises I have for you next week. Enjoy!

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