Sunday 16 December 2007

I am back !!! For the very small group of readers I have, well I am am new and have been away for quite a while. I have been writing yes, busy with the partner yes and the children and cats.

But thats not the reason why I have been in absentia.

I ALMOST got an agent, yes almost. And not one of the best but thee best but it came to nothing
in the end. I have spent the past few weeks packaging and posting every last word out to the *AGENT*, sending emails back and forth and just generally walking around chewing my nails - only to be told no. A polite no but a no all the same.

I feel like shit.

So I have been spending the last couple of weeks in depression mode. Really, really unhappy. I would rather have been sent a stream of rejections than get a half baked interest, a lot of stress and only to be told no. My story isn't strong enough apparently. I feel like shit.

But heh, life goes on.

Monday 5 November 2007

Families

I would love to post some news that I have been absent writing away producing heavy, captivating chapters for my novel but no I have spending the last few days having back to back disagreements with family members over our 17 year feud that started with our great, great aunties and has now been passed down to our innocent little off spring. Like I said writing is something best done in a room by ones self with no other form of excitement, noise or entertainment.

Yeah like thats ever going to happen.

I should change my blog name ;

The writer who talks about writing but never does it


Wednesday 31 October 2007

Literary Agents .......

You know there are two theories when it comes to submitting work to
agents ;

1. Contact them once your masterpiece is completed, edited and you
can't bare to look at it no longer, or
2. Contact them mid-masterpiece as they can take as long as a whole
pregnancy to get back to you and by that time you may be finished (if your not me).

I sent out the first three chapters and a polite, captivating letter to agent number 1.
Three days (yes three !) later, I got a very quick response to say no. No explanation,
no feedback, not even a slight critique. I was horrified at his abrupt manner and
then politely sent a message to ask what was wrong so I could possibly shape my
work into something better (I had read many articles and books in which he was -
mentioned as a kind and helpful soul) but nothing. I won't lie it hurts and I am no
longer a fan of his (like he would care). But heh this week I have sent work off to
agent number 2, lets just hope they can at least say - It is shit because .............................

And I must say I am not a complete moron and I know they receive hundreds
of submissions every week and simply cannot send out a 5 page analysis of each
individual piece of work but a small, half meaningful, well constructed, 3 bullet point
paragraph of the main reasons why ?

Please agents, please.

Tuesday 30 October 2007

Motivation

I have a little more of it now, motivation I mean. I have been trawling through lots of writers
blogs and I am ashamed to admit that there are others out there with alot more responsibility
and they are bashing out anything from 1000 - 3000 words a day making for steady and fast
progress. "Won't writing a blog just slow you down?" the other half said, this evening spreading thick lashings of butter on piece of bread (after his dinner) leaving a trail of crumbs behind. So I
clean up the crumbs, wash the dishes, iron more clothes for tomorrow, feed the cats and pluck my eye brows as I want people to be able to tell us apart (I'm the beauty and he's the beast).

And my new conclusion - a small but significant one. If my eyes are going in all directions and I
have a thumping migraine I will write scenes of my novel in my notebook and then transfer them to the computer when I can. I know not a genius idea and thats why I work for the government as opposed to NASA. The main point is I feel I have a little support network now and I am wracking my brain now trying to find ways around my hectic life but still achieve my goals.

"At least you have a nice little hobby" one of my friends said whilst we drank wine and sloshed even more into the chicken I prepared.

AHHHHHH !!!!!

Monday 29 October 2007

I tried

I tried, really I did.

I got the children to sleep at a decent hour, left the other half watching Star Trek (yawn)
in the living room and I hoisted the lap top upto our bedroom.

I managed a measly 500 words. Don't curse me, I have been looking at a computer screen all
day at work. Work. Tired and dreary in the evenings, Busy at the weekend.

I need some major motivation. I need this novel finished by the new year and I have competitions to
enter. There are lots of great comps out there at the moment.

This time I won't burst into tears if I don't win.

Thank You

Thank you very much to bear, who left my very first comment. I am afraid I will be a little behind (for a short while) with comments, fonts, wordcounts and so on. I am a complete arse when it comes to anything technical, even at work I go all girly and shriek if there is something wrong
with my computer. So fellow writers, a big thank you in advance for any comments or support in advance.

I just received a phone call from lets call her 'The Mouth Queen' yes that definitely fits her
like Cinderella and her glass slipper. I have been trying for some time to back away but I am
no good at negative confrontation and I am hoping that one day she will eventually get the message. Don't get me wrong I am a real sociable and bubbly person (honest) but this woman
drives me mad. I used to see her standing outside the school with a crowd congregating around
her and watch her beaming smile and fresh rosy cheeks, drawing in all those around her.

WRONG !!! That was two years ago when I couldn't tell the difference between a pineapple and a papaya. She is really a gossiping, attention seeking, foul mouthed lady who forces herself on
people and then complains how they are bothering her ! "I think I am going to ask so and so if she would like to join me at my next AA meeting" she said, because they were sipping from a small glass of wine when she visited their home for lunch.

If she sniffs out a perfectly normal marital argument - your heading for divorce.
If your pet rabbit died - the whole community will think you neglected it and it died of starvation.

Do I really have to go on ? The woman is poison in the shape of a human female body.

"She never used to be like that" I said to my other half. "She was always that way, you just didn't know her properly" he replied.

Again, he has a point. Very clever my other half but he also whines alot so I tend not to
listen to most of his dribble. The last time I tried to escape her clutches, there she stood.
She had walked round, unlatched the gate and walked through our back door.

We may have to move.

A little more about moi

I have always had half completed stories, scripts and articles shoved in the bottom of
our ottoman but my passion was re-ignited when the 2007 Miss Write Competition was
announced. I sent off my first 3000 words of the opening pages of a novel and obsessively
checked my email every day until the winners were announced. Then I cried.

"What is this your new thing then?" my other half mocked, his piercing words suggesting that
I never stick to anything for longer than the honey period of a new relationship. He has a
small point I have had a fair few jobs over the years but lets face it no matter how you dress
it up a boring office job is just that - boring. Everybody seated at their desks all day pretending
to be official and energetic to clients needs over the telephone. The reality is they are sat there arguing over who will take the next call, planning their one hour lunch breaks from ten
in the morning whilst dropping biscuit crumbs on the oh so important financial report that has
to divert the attention away from the fact that half the budget has been spent on team away days in the local 5 star hotel and super soft, executive leather chairs for those claiming to have back problems.

Well I am fed up but I am still here because, quite frankly I have no other choice. Unless all the bloggers out there want to contribute generously for a collection that would allow me to stave off the debt collectors for the next year so I can really get to grips with my writing. Now that would make headline news. Since the competition I have tried to complete the novel ( I am 24 thousand words in and determined to finish ) but seriously I have a very demanding other
half who's voice is constantly whining in the background, a moody and equally demanding 9 year old daughter and a very naughty ( no seriously ) 14 month year old daughter. And did I mention the very important job with the government ( ha ha ) and our two cats, one of which is expecting. Maybe there is another blogger out there who has twice as many children and a small sanctuary of animals who managed to complete their book in three months. But me ? I am struggling and I am absolutely, positively sure that I want to write and nothing else.

I said I would book a Writers Holiday to help shape my talent and be in a more peaceful and
productive environment. "So you can run off with some fancy writer and never come back" the
other half said.

Sunday 28 October 2007

First post

As I sit here at midnight on Sunday starting to write my first blog post with my other
half asking me where the remote control is and my 14 month year old daughter shrieking
and fighting her sleep,the last thought of panic ( clothes to iron for work tomorrow and my
eldest returns to school from the dreaded half term ) emerges. I then think to myself if I
barely have time to do this, a simple blog post to vent out my frustrations on line.

How the fuck will I ever have time to complete a novel ?

Forget agents, publishers, wanna-be-novelist competitions and the fast growing news
that chick-lit is on its way out. What is a girl to do when the demands of bottle making,
tedious morning meetings, school plays and fast food serving barely leave enough time
for a daily count of 49 words, if that.