This Time Next Year…

Hey,

So I started this blog to diary my road to my publishing dreams. I have attempted flash fiction, joined a blog hop, moaned about my health, attempted some book reviewing and even attempted a 5 year journal (and failed)

At my last mentoring session at the weekend Rachel said by the end of the week I can start contacting publishers / agents!

And as this weekend the nominations for Crime novel of the year have come out from Theakston’s Festival. I felt that it was only right to mark this occasion by saying this time next year that will be me!!! I need to go on Davina’s tv programme

I have submitted already to two competitions and the third will go in also by the end of the week. I have my list of five agents and five publishers who I’m going to approach first.

Then I will begin the waiting game….

So hold tight….

365 Questions – Week one

Hey All,

A friend of mine, pointed me in the direction of this, Keep a 5 Year Journal

I am a bit confused as to where the five years come into it, but there is a question to be answered every day. Now because I don’t want to bore you with a question a day, I am going to attempt to do a week at a time….

What is your number one goal this year?

I would like to get somewhere closer to publication of my novel.

What are you most grateful for?

The National Health Service and the range of drugs I take / can take to keep me on track.

Are you Content?

Not really….

What is you best memory of last year?

Andrew qualifying as a fireman

What was the last major accomplishment you had?

Being chosen to be mentored by Rachel Burton (she’s amazing)

What possession could you not live without?

Does my bed count? Maybe my laptop

Can people change?

Yes if they want to, and make an effort to.

***

Doing something right?!

X

 

 

IWSG Day!

Hey All,

I hope everyone is doing okay! Today is the first Wednesday of the month so it’s IWSG Day! A day hosted by Alex Cavanaugh were we all come together to share our insecurities and take part in a blog hop. So hop hop along

Lot of positivities this month to share. I have been chosen my Rachel Burton to be mentored as part of the Womentoring project. I am currently patiently awaiting feed back on my work I sent her last week. A week is along time in the life of Claire.

Today I past my second insurance exam!!!!! So that is two down one to go, though I think I will be having a break before I take the module to concentrate on my novel writing.

We have also gained a dog Podrick…. So without further a do…

Have you ever slipped any of your personal information into your characters, either by accident or on purpose?

The first stories I wrote aka teen anx, I wrote about the people who had upset me as character’s so a couple of people I knew had staring roles. I would like to go back to this story one day and maybe add another dimension in. With the plans I have for my two main characters I could easily add them into that original story.

My creative writing teacher is always going on about D H Lawrence and how he upset the people in Eastwood (Nottingham UK) so all being well I wont make the same mistake again.

X

Good News

Hey,

So I started this blog to log my journey from starting a story about a year ago to publication. I’ve had some good news though : )

I applied for Womentoring a while back as I am sure some of you know, and I have been accepted! By an amazing author called Rachel Burton. So yesterday after ALOT of stressing I wrote a synopsis, trying to take Angela Clarkes advice and sent everything I have so far to Rachel.

I am pretty much shitting it! I am so scared she is going to be like this is rubbish, the 500 words I read originally doesn’t match up to the rest of this work!

My SIL read it before it was submitted it and she enjoyed it! But she could only critique the first two chapters and she made some suggestions. It is so hard though because she suggested some of the stuff that I had taken out from Scribophile. So by the time I submitted it I was mega stressed out!!!!!!

So I guess I am one step closer to publication! FUCK!

I have decided that I won’t do any writing on my story, till I hear back from Rachel.

I have also booked my next insurance exam for next Wednesday! So I guess I can go back to stressing about that now! : )

 

 

 

Why is Writing so Damn Expensive!?

So my wondering into the writing market isn’t going well! You’d of thought that when all you need is your laptop and your imagination you are on a roll, but no.

I joined a critique site after advice from someone and after the initial excitement and then again when people look at it again my 2nd draft has now faded as I attempt to post my third piece to be told, that unless I join and pay to be a member that’s it unless I delate something. Paying to join this site won’t get my work read any quicker and that seems to take at least 4 days to make it to the top of the queue. So thats $65 a year (£50 ish)

Then there are the writing courses, the current one I am attending is going to cost £70 per six week block. The Derby book festival I went to cost me £21.00 to see the three people I was most interested in seeing and the East Midlands writing thing cost me £50. While I write this I am a bit like I hope my hubby doesn’t read this 😛

Then it’s like being at uni there are a whole host of books people recommend you buy… But which one is the best so we will add about £10.00 onto here at least.

so thats £191 at least so far… Nevermind my the software I brought (Scrivner) the dictation package I’ve not really got on with cause my brain doesn’t work fast enough..

Sometimes I sit here and look at these £200 plus retreats and thing would this be a quicker and cheaper way to get success. Or do I just need to keep in my case paying out in hope I might get somewhere….

Then as we are always told at work time cost money! It also costs my heath and my children’s attention when I want to write, or upload something to a website in order to get feedback. But first I need to critique other people’s work… Then there is the networking, for me at the moment mine is all social media related. But then what happens when I need to go wider?

So thats travel and cars don’t run on fresh air.

Then I dread to think about the added cost that comes with trying to get published! I listen to other authors talk and I don’t have the confidence anymore to just go up to people and start talking to them. I need people to be aware of my existence first.

As you can tell I am a bit rumpy this morning well frustrated, having just had two weeks (three weeks) off sic which I could of spent writing the sun is out again and likely to zap. my energy as soon as I walk out the house. Plus the cat was moaning early this morning prior to six, but by the time I got up to sort her it was after and I concluded having to get up at 7, I am going to fell worse if I try and go back to sleep than I am if I get up! PLUS, I wouldn’t have slept properly anyway with knowing I had to get up in 45 minutes!

Anyway enough from me, time to get the little people up and go to work!!!! Hope everyone has a fun day!

But why is writing so expensive!?

 

 

 

1st Re Write

Hey,

So I went to an event on Saturday where four authors spoke about there work in crime fiction.

One of them Steven Dunne spoke about how his police officer is based out of a police station somewhere. (forgive me ignorance in not knowing where) As the stressing I have had is that Long Eaton fails under Derbyshire and it turns out Major Crimes is run from Nottingham (possibly opposite work). So that then got me thinking well my character might as well run out of Long Eaton police station so guess who is in for a re write at this early stage.

One thing they did say yesterday is not to get to caught upon police procedure in my writing as that is quite boring! So good news on both fronts really. So though I haven’t got to the end of my story and know where it is going I am off to start my 1st re write! Not sure how I feel about this….

Yesterday they also said alot of things that made me think, what are the faults in my characters, what can they overcome, I know my MC has up and left her family to investigate a murder but my DI seems worryingly normal…. hmmm

Anyways loads of love as always

Have you sponsored us yet?

 

C

PS: I have facebook Steven Dunne, so we shall see if he replies… EDIT I got a reply 🙂

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Book Two ;)

When a dead body is found washed up in the river Trent, DI Chris Jackson and his new partner DS Jennifer Garner are called to investigate. What seems like an open and shut suicide case, suddenly becomes more complex when the team are made aware of a boy who was found on the same night wondering the streets of Nottingham. The case becomes more complex and DS Garner begins to question one of her past cases and wonders if everything did end or did she miss a huge part of the jigsaw?

From the best seller author of New Beginnings comes a tale of murder, prostitution and the things we do for love.

IWSG – April 2017

Happy 5th April 2017

Undoubtedly my favorite time of the month!

My Insecurities are still present as ever, since this time last month I have written a total of 5,128 words, taken part in 5 Friday Fictioners Flash Fiction pieces, reviewed 2 books and moaned about my health….

I haven’t written much recently and even though I feel like I know where I am going to go with my novel, it’s getting there that is now becoming the issue. My creative writing class starts up again later this month but I am also kinda sulking about not being accepted for the WoMentoring project 😦 So doesn’t that mean my story is crap and my writing is rubbish? Hmm maybe I need to pick myself up and try a different author… Or just maybe give up? (on the project not my writing) I wish I had more positive stuff to share this month.

Anyways Have you taken advantage of the annual A to Z Challenge in terms of marketing, networking, publicity for your book? What were the results?

Simple answer no, I am not even sure what you are supposed to do in regards to marketing etc of my book. I have noticed a couple of the blogs I am following are doing an A-Z Challenge where they are writing a piece of flash fiction of every letter of the alphabet, I was going to “join” one of them but I generally just don’t have to time to wite something every day! and if I did have this amazing time thing maybe I should be writing my novel….

X

Flash Fiction – He Died

Image Rochelle Wisoff-Field

He died on a Friday morning as the sun was beginning to escape from behind the clouds; some said it was his wife checking whether he was joining her yet because he always kept her waiting and was never on time. Those he left behind never did feel the same again, they didn’t realise how much of a big part on their lives he was and the gap he would leave. After the tears had been poured and the pain dulled the memories would still live on they said, as they lowered my father and my hero into the ground.

‘He died’ Was written for Friday Fictioneers. A weekly 100 word story challenge inspired by a photo prompt. Hop over to Rochelle’s blog for instructions on how to join in. 

 

Signs…

Does anyone else believe in signs that the universe is telling you, you need to do something. I think this goes a bit along the lines of people come in and out your life for a reason and things happen for a reason….

When I was coming to the end of my last insurance module and I was thinking that I want to write again, the book man at work delivered a creative writing book! Though I looked at it and it was for kids, the creative writing group had also come up that I was attending.o

So fast forwarding a bit I recently learned that the care taker at Alex and Melanie’s school used to be a police officer, today I also learned that someone I know through scouting is also a police officer. So hang on a minute I could ask them for help on / in my story..?

Then I was talking to a girl about blogging when I was doing the chocolate research (which I’m still doing)

Today I went to an event at Mansfield library and heard three female authors talk about their books as in part of the “Killer Women” event. I am prudently a bit like hang on there are signs that I should continue with writing because maybe it was meant to be!?

Sitting there listening to these amazing women today, one of them Mel talked about children and the phycology around their behavior and I am sat thinking I wish I could learn about that. Erin Kelly talked about going along to rape cases to research for her latest book “he said she said” and I kinda wish I could research stuff but I generally have no idea where to start. Do I pluck up the courage to ask the two police officers I accidentally know, I don’t know how I can research the MI5 angle but still.

I also have another batch of authors I am interested in pursuing which doesn’t help my list of books I want to read.

There just seems to suddenly be all these signs, and though I am feeling regret (maybe not the right word) that I wish I could of studied child behavior or be a research assistant on a big study. There seems to be signs in my life that I should continue writing and though I didn’t get approached yesterday for this pitch thing, it’s only the beginning and maybe this is all worth something!?