This is a quick update to say that there are exciting things happening.
On Wed the13th I began work with an incredible Editor and although ripping my work apart is painful, the process of putting it back together turning it into something beautiful (how this all came about will be made clear in the future). As for now there is a lot of work ahead, but words cannot express my gratitude for the help I am receiving from many source.
Friday, 15 June 2012
Monday, 11 June 2012
The Struggle Within
It is clear that my blog
updates are becoming very infrequent and I feel bad because I haven’t been as committed
to it as I want to be. I would like to be able to say it is because I have been busy, or
distracted still, but I cannot. The distraction mentioned in the last update was awesome, but it did
not go as well as I thought it would, in fact it crashed and burned epically.
All is good now though and there is nothing I regret from my choices,
everything that has happened served to help me to grow the way I need to. I am
just so enthralled by every experience life gives me because I feel like I
learn more about myself, and life, every day as a result of these experiences (Sorry for the ambiguous statement but I try to keep this about writing and not about the dramas of my life but sometimes it just creeps in) .
That said
the reason I have not updated the blog, or written anything in a while, is
because I have lost a lot of the motivation for writing that I once had. The
struggle to be the best I can, and be good enough for readers, is far greater
than I ever imagined. I was so naïve at the start of this project to think that
by just having a good story it would be enough. I have learned I was an idiot
and so ignorant to the struggle that would occur, both within myself to keep
going, and to accept that I am not going to just get success over night.
This
inexperienced perspective has nearly faded and I am glad it has because now I
can focus a bit better on realistic goals and how to achieve them. I owe so
much to so many for gradually helping me see this perspective and especially to my friend, and fellow writer, Sammy HK Smith
(although she will always be known as Starbuck to me). I'm thankful to her for so many things but do not think that my
thanks is given because she plays to my ego, or gives me false hope. It is
because she sees the potential I know I have and because she can be amazingly
honest, yet always objective, which is what I need. Another reason I’m grateful
to her is because she is a much better at writing and therefore is teaching me so much,
and again this is what I need. It feels like she is my master and I her Padawan
J.
Ultimately I
feel strongly that the reason I stopped writing this blog, and writing in
general, was not really because I have not gained the success that I want, but
because I feel like I have improved as much as I can with out having someone to take me by the hand and guide me in the specific ways I need to improve. That is why I am so grateful to Starbuck. Her willingness to
help me and guide me is humbling, and is truly appreciated. The truth is she
could be doing a thousand other things (seriously she has so much going on her
life that I’m in awe daily of how she does it all). Obviously she is not a perfect
writer, but she is far better than I am, yet she is still doing everything she can
to improve and learn while helping others. This is one of the reasons writing is fantastic because those who do it will learn so much if they are willing to, just like in life. The key is that learning never stops if
we understand that it never stops.
All of this
said I now feel ready and able to take my writing to the next level and I know
with Starbucks help this will happen, as long as I work hard. I’m also excited for a small
project that she has asked me to write and I will update on this in the future, and
on other writing projects, obviously.
The
struggle for motivation, improvement etc, will still continue, but that’s the point, it has to be a struggle for us to
improve, other wise we would stagnate and not reach our potential. At least that's what I believe and have seen in my own life and in the life of many of the people around me.
Saturday, 7 April 2012
New Ideas/Distraction/Rejection... Again.
New Ideas
After vowing to take a break I got bored a few weeks ago and came up with an idea for a trilogy. Yet it will not get written for many years but I'm thankful for the continued inspiration for more stories.
Distraction
I spent a week or two constantly worry about how the latest book would do now it was sent away to an agent and it was very unhealthy. However a good distraction came a long and time has flown by.
Rejection... Again
So the agent Susan Armstrong said my ideas for the latest book were "fantastic" but my narrative and characterisation needed to be better. Therefore she felt she couldn't represent it.
I'm getting fed up of rejection. Mainly because I'm being told it's good, but not good enough. If I was told I was rubbish I'd give up. But if the ideas are "fantastic" then surely it's worth investing in. I know my writing isn't so bad that with a little bit of help it could be good enough.
Having said that I personally think it's good enough now, but only needs help with basic editing. I hate pointless narrative and feel the character information and development is adequate for the Young Adult audience. I'm not trying to write a technical master piece here. I just want to write a very interesting story with good characters and I feel this book does that, but what do I know?
I'm undecided what to do now.
Should I suck up my pride and try to give more narrative and character information and development?
Or should I stick to my guns and send this off to other agents and hope they don't feel the same as S.A?
I guess I'll decided at some point and update in the next post.
After vowing to take a break I got bored a few weeks ago and came up with an idea for a trilogy. Yet it will not get written for many years but I'm thankful for the continued inspiration for more stories.
Distraction
I spent a week or two constantly worry about how the latest book would do now it was sent away to an agent and it was very unhealthy. However a good distraction came a long and time has flown by.
Rejection... Again
So the agent Susan Armstrong said my ideas for the latest book were "fantastic" but my narrative and characterisation needed to be better. Therefore she felt she couldn't represent it.
I'm getting fed up of rejection. Mainly because I'm being told it's good, but not good enough. If I was told I was rubbish I'd give up. But if the ideas are "fantastic" then surely it's worth investing in. I know my writing isn't so bad that with a little bit of help it could be good enough.
Having said that I personally think it's good enough now, but only needs help with basic editing. I hate pointless narrative and feel the character information and development is adequate for the Young Adult audience. I'm not trying to write a technical master piece here. I just want to write a very interesting story with good characters and I feel this book does that, but what do I know?
I'm undecided what to do now.
Should I suck up my pride and try to give more narrative and character information and development?
Or should I stick to my guns and send this off to other agents and hope they don't feel the same as S.A?
I guess I'll decided at some point and update in the next post.
Saturday, 10 March 2012
Another One Bites The Dust!
Another book finished. 98,600 words.
Time Line:
Ideas in October, but busy with another book.
Finished other book and 20,000 words of the new one done by January 28th 2012
March 10th 2012 (today) 98,600 words done and book finished. Needs a good edit though so a lot of work still ahead.
I just can't believe it's done already. It has been a labour of love and hate, but I needed to just get it finished as quickly as possible. Now I can causally edit when I want, but more importantly I can focus more on my friends and family again.
I hope they can forgive my lack of effort in the last 6 weeks.
Once it's edited we shall see what happens but for now it's going to be good to work at a slower pace than at my max. It was like sprinting a marathon, and I'm exhausted. But I did it and I'm so happy that I did!! :)
Time Line:
Ideas in October, but busy with another book.
Finished other book and 20,000 words of the new one done by January 28th 2012
March 10th 2012 (today) 98,600 words done and book finished. Needs a good edit though so a lot of work still ahead.
I just can't believe it's done already. It has been a labour of love and hate, but I needed to just get it finished as quickly as possible. Now I can causally edit when I want, but more importantly I can focus more on my friends and family again.
I hope they can forgive my lack of effort in the last 6 weeks.
Once it's edited we shall see what happens but for now it's going to be good to work at a slower pace than at my max. It was like sprinting a marathon, and I'm exhausted. But I did it and I'm so happy that I did!! :)
Friday, 17 February 2012
What Genre? It Took Two Years To Find Out
This is just a quick update with a few thoughts and events that have taken place over the last few weeks.
What am I?
When the first draft of The Book of Prophecy, (The Journal of Fire at the time), was finished I really struggled to put it in a genre. Fantasy was close, but it never felt right because it's not magic, elves, orcs etc. It does have a tiny aspect of that type of fantasy, but it does not dominate the story, so I never felt it was right. I left it as the genre Fantasy because that was the closest one to what the story was about. Two years flew by...
... and it was only recently a friend I have made in a writing community told me about Metaphysical Fantasy, and what it is. When I researched what 'Metaphysics' actually covers, (good old wiki), I saw that this was exactly what my stories dealt with. I am so happy to know the genre it fits into and it feels like my books have found their place in the world. I would encourage you to go look at Metaphysics on wiki because it is very interesting.
The problem I think I'm going to have now is that Metaphysics sounds too smart. The whole point in my books is to take the ideas and simplify them as much as possible. It is just a fun story with those ideas fuelling it, and I'm worried if I label it with Metaphysics people will be put off thinking it's going to be complex. Metaphysical Fantasy is what it is though so I guess I shouldn't steer away from this, and only time will tell if labelling it as Metaphysical Fantasy is the right thing to do.
Other News
I have joined Authonomy.com and I'm loving it. The people on there have been so nice and helpful, so thank you to everyone on there. The problem is it's too addictive and I find myself on there when I should be writing. I'm getting better at prioritising though.
I can't remember what the last update was but I have finished the first draft of book two (sorry if that news is a repeat). I have put that on the shelf for now and I'm 55,000 words into the stand alone book I'm writing and that's evolving well. I think the best was to describe it is a hybrid of the film equilibrium and the book 1984. It was never the intention to be so political in the story but I'm enjoying that this is the path it is going down. The first draft should be done in six weeks and I'm happy with how quickly it is coming along, 2,000 words a day will do that.
I think that is the majority of the updates that are relevant so watch this space for more.
What am I?
When the first draft of The Book of Prophecy, (The Journal of Fire at the time), was finished I really struggled to put it in a genre. Fantasy was close, but it never felt right because it's not magic, elves, orcs etc. It does have a tiny aspect of that type of fantasy, but it does not dominate the story, so I never felt it was right. I left it as the genre Fantasy because that was the closest one to what the story was about. Two years flew by...
... and it was only recently a friend I have made in a writing community told me about Metaphysical Fantasy, and what it is. When I researched what 'Metaphysics' actually covers, (good old wiki), I saw that this was exactly what my stories dealt with. I am so happy to know the genre it fits into and it feels like my books have found their place in the world. I would encourage you to go look at Metaphysics on wiki because it is very interesting.
The problem I think I'm going to have now is that Metaphysics sounds too smart. The whole point in my books is to take the ideas and simplify them as much as possible. It is just a fun story with those ideas fuelling it, and I'm worried if I label it with Metaphysics people will be put off thinking it's going to be complex. Metaphysical Fantasy is what it is though so I guess I shouldn't steer away from this, and only time will tell if labelling it as Metaphysical Fantasy is the right thing to do.
Other News
I have joined Authonomy.com and I'm loving it. The people on there have been so nice and helpful, so thank you to everyone on there. The problem is it's too addictive and I find myself on there when I should be writing. I'm getting better at prioritising though.
I can't remember what the last update was but I have finished the first draft of book two (sorry if that news is a repeat). I have put that on the shelf for now and I'm 55,000 words into the stand alone book I'm writing and that's evolving well. I think the best was to describe it is a hybrid of the film equilibrium and the book 1984. It was never the intention to be so political in the story but I'm enjoying that this is the path it is going down. The first draft should be done in six weeks and I'm happy with how quickly it is coming along, 2,000 words a day will do that.
I think that is the majority of the updates that are relevant so watch this space for more.
Saturday, 28 January 2012
Two Years of Books, Marketing, One Year of Blogs (Counting the Cost).
Two Years of Books
It has been two years since I began this process and it has been a long, yet swift journey. I am always fascinated that a single moment can feel like eternity, and an eternity can feel like a single moment.
It has been a fun, but difficult journey, and I love that I'm still having new ideas all the time for other stories. This can be difficult because I have to write the book I'm on first before I can write the next one, and with all the ideas I find myself having to put up a wall to ignore them, or write them down and put them somewhere safe. If I didn't I would go a bit mental trying to juggle everything in my head. I am grateful for all the inspiration and creativity, but sometimes I wish I knew what it felt like to have a well of ideas that I can draw from when I chose, and not and ocean that requires a wall to block it. However there is a wall, and it is strong, so I am excited for the life I have, and the opportunity to keep creating with out any fear of running out of ideas.
The show goes on...
I have finally finished the first draft of the second book in The Chronicles of Elementary series. 'Nurture Fails, Nature Remains' is looking to be as good as I hoped, but it needs a lot of editing. This however is going to have to wait.
I am 20,000 words in to a stand alone book and want it done a.s.a.p. I will continue this project tomorrow and if I work hard, and all goes according to plan, I hope to have it fully finished and online by May (and then Nurture fails, Nature Remains complete and online by July). The art work is all done, and the cover and title are ready to be turned into a graphic, so all I have to do is write. I'm hoping to average 2000 words a day. This will require discipline and sacrifice for the short term, but it will be beneficial in the long term. I'm excited for this story and I cannot wait to have it finished. Let the hard work begin :).
Marketing
This is going well and I have had a few more 'likes' on the Facebook page. This is exiting because I am assuming these people have read my book, and I am so grateful they have taken a leap of faith and given my book a chance. (If any of those who have joined the Facebook page read this, I just want to say a huge thank you, and if you have any feedback, or comments, I would love to read them on the Facebook page).
I also put my book on Amazon kindle to try and get some more exposure, and time will tell if that is productive or not.
As always there is more marketing in the pipeline, and I will update when these go ahead.
One Year of Blogs
I have been bloging for almost a year now and it is fun to look back and see all the changes that have taken place. Looking back makes me realise how hard this process actually is, but also how rewarding too. I have learned so much because of it, and having the blog reminds me of those things.
Recently I have been thinking about the difficulties and I know that at the start of this process I didn't count the cost of what I would have to do to try and make my dreams come true. I was ignorant to a lot of things, but I have been blessed with a determination that has pushed me on, and the ability to adapt and turn negatives into positives has really helped.
I think about my dreams and aspirations, and how so many people have similar desires and have things they want to achieve, but often we don't count the cost of what it will take. I don't think people realise how much sacrifice is required (I know I didn't), and therefore when the difficult times come we struggle to keep going, and most seem to not start, or eventually give up.
Understanding the cost, having a willingness to pay it, and then adapting to either face the storm head on, or sit back and ride it, is the only beneficial way to achieve what we want. I'm glad I learned that on this process and even though at times I wanted to give up, I know one day it will all have been worth while.
I love this blog because it is fun and it allows me to write all the events surrounding my books. It also allows me to process and write about what I have learned on this journey and this is awesome because the blog is a story too. That's why I have copied and pasted it all into a word document and will convert it to a pdf, and put it on the website www.thechroniclesofelementary.com. This means if people want to have a record of all that has happened in the last year they can have it to browse at, without having to go through the archives on here.
Conclusion
I love this adventure!! and these two year of story writing have been amazing. I know it's only going to get better from here so I will keep updating and I'm so glad you are a part of this journey.
It has been two years since I began this process and it has been a long, yet swift journey. I am always fascinated that a single moment can feel like eternity, and an eternity can feel like a single moment.
It has been a fun, but difficult journey, and I love that I'm still having new ideas all the time for other stories. This can be difficult because I have to write the book I'm on first before I can write the next one, and with all the ideas I find myself having to put up a wall to ignore them, or write them down and put them somewhere safe. If I didn't I would go a bit mental trying to juggle everything in my head. I am grateful for all the inspiration and creativity, but sometimes I wish I knew what it felt like to have a well of ideas that I can draw from when I chose, and not and ocean that requires a wall to block it. However there is a wall, and it is strong, so I am excited for the life I have, and the opportunity to keep creating with out any fear of running out of ideas.
The show goes on...
I have finally finished the first draft of the second book in The Chronicles of Elementary series. 'Nurture Fails, Nature Remains' is looking to be as good as I hoped, but it needs a lot of editing. This however is going to have to wait.
I am 20,000 words in to a stand alone book and want it done a.s.a.p. I will continue this project tomorrow and if I work hard, and all goes according to plan, I hope to have it fully finished and online by May (and then Nurture fails, Nature Remains complete and online by July). The art work is all done, and the cover and title are ready to be turned into a graphic, so all I have to do is write. I'm hoping to average 2000 words a day. This will require discipline and sacrifice for the short term, but it will be beneficial in the long term. I'm excited for this story and I cannot wait to have it finished. Let the hard work begin :).
Marketing
This is going well and I have had a few more 'likes' on the Facebook page. This is exiting because I am assuming these people have read my book, and I am so grateful they have taken a leap of faith and given my book a chance. (If any of those who have joined the Facebook page read this, I just want to say a huge thank you, and if you have any feedback, or comments, I would love to read them on the Facebook page).
I also put my book on Amazon kindle to try and get some more exposure, and time will tell if that is productive or not.
As always there is more marketing in the pipeline, and I will update when these go ahead.
One Year of Blogs
I have been bloging for almost a year now and it is fun to look back and see all the changes that have taken place. Looking back makes me realise how hard this process actually is, but also how rewarding too. I have learned so much because of it, and having the blog reminds me of those things.
Recently I have been thinking about the difficulties and I know that at the start of this process I didn't count the cost of what I would have to do to try and make my dreams come true. I was ignorant to a lot of things, but I have been blessed with a determination that has pushed me on, and the ability to adapt and turn negatives into positives has really helped.
I think about my dreams and aspirations, and how so many people have similar desires and have things they want to achieve, but often we don't count the cost of what it will take. I don't think people realise how much sacrifice is required (I know I didn't), and therefore when the difficult times come we struggle to keep going, and most seem to not start, or eventually give up.
Understanding the cost, having a willingness to pay it, and then adapting to either face the storm head on, or sit back and ride it, is the only beneficial way to achieve what we want. I'm glad I learned that on this process and even though at times I wanted to give up, I know one day it will all have been worth while.
I love this blog because it is fun and it allows me to write all the events surrounding my books. It also allows me to process and write about what I have learned on this journey and this is awesome because the blog is a story too. That's why I have copied and pasted it all into a word document and will convert it to a pdf, and put it on the website www.thechroniclesofelementary.com. This means if people want to have a record of all that has happened in the last year they can have it to browse at, without having to go through the archives on here.
Conclusion
I love this adventure!! and these two year of story writing have been amazing. I know it's only going to get better from here so I will keep updating and I'm so glad you are a part of this journey.
Tuesday, 17 January 2012
A Few Words About Marketing
I dislike marketing!!... and that is all.
But seriously I'm not a fan of marketing, and I will explain why.
I think the root of my dislike comes from the fact I have been raised to be very polite and considerate towards others. I have been raised not to be intrusive, or get in peoples faces. However a problem occurs when marketing, because in some form or another, this is what marketing requires you to do. You have to get what you are trying to sell in front of people, and I find this very difficult because it feels like I'm being intrusive.
So why do I market?
Well because I love my stories and books!! I believe a lot of people will enjoy them and love them the way I do so I try and tell people about them. This is easy to do with friends because they have been so supportive and know me and know my intentions are good. Sometimes I think I have bored them to death with all my talk of my stories, so if I have I apologise to them, but I am thankful to them for their patience and it will never be forgotten.
The difficult part is marketing to strangers. This is the main focus because, as I said, I have asked a lot of my friends. They have always helped me, but I know I need to back off from book stuff with them.
As for strangers, the goal thus: Get my website link, where the book is free, to as many people as I can, with out coming across as intrusive.
I really hope I am achieving this. As mentioned in a previous blog update I have been leafleting and I think putting them through doors is probably the best way of doing this. I kind of enjoy leafleting because I feel like the work and effort I have to put in makes it okay (having done it in freezing conditions and very very wet conditions I feel it has been character building if nothing else). There is also the fact that for some reason I get really nervous when doing it, and have nearly had a couple of panic attacks when doing it, I don't know why this sets them off, but it does. However once I'm finished a leafleting run I feel really happy because I feel like I've achieved something and pushed myself, and faced a fear almost.
Another aspect to my marketing has been using Facebook and putting links to the webpage on Facebook pages that are things that I 'like,' such as bands, films etc. This one has felt like I'm spamming, but has been pretty productive so about once a week I put a link upon various pages and whoever happens to be on that page at that time, somewhere in the world, get's to see it. Despite it feeling like I'm spamming I know it is effective, and not really that intrusive a way of pointing people to my book.
There are a few other marketing methods in the pipeline and these will reach a lot of people, and hopefully people will go see my website and read the free book. When these new methods happen I'm sure I will mention them in a following update.
Ultimately all I'm trying to do is share something I love with people in the politest way possible, and I hope I am achieving this. I guess only time will tell.
Oh and marketing requires creativity too, so I do like it for that reason.
But seriously I'm not a fan of marketing, and I will explain why.
I think the root of my dislike comes from the fact I have been raised to be very polite and considerate towards others. I have been raised not to be intrusive, or get in peoples faces. However a problem occurs when marketing, because in some form or another, this is what marketing requires you to do. You have to get what you are trying to sell in front of people, and I find this very difficult because it feels like I'm being intrusive.
So why do I market?
Well because I love my stories and books!! I believe a lot of people will enjoy them and love them the way I do so I try and tell people about them. This is easy to do with friends because they have been so supportive and know me and know my intentions are good. Sometimes I think I have bored them to death with all my talk of my stories, so if I have I apologise to them, but I am thankful to them for their patience and it will never be forgotten.
The difficult part is marketing to strangers. This is the main focus because, as I said, I have asked a lot of my friends. They have always helped me, but I know I need to back off from book stuff with them.
As for strangers, the goal thus: Get my website link, where the book is free, to as many people as I can, with out coming across as intrusive.
I really hope I am achieving this. As mentioned in a previous blog update I have been leafleting and I think putting them through doors is probably the best way of doing this. I kind of enjoy leafleting because I feel like the work and effort I have to put in makes it okay (having done it in freezing conditions and very very wet conditions I feel it has been character building if nothing else). There is also the fact that for some reason I get really nervous when doing it, and have nearly had a couple of panic attacks when doing it, I don't know why this sets them off, but it does. However once I'm finished a leafleting run I feel really happy because I feel like I've achieved something and pushed myself, and faced a fear almost.
Another aspect to my marketing has been using Facebook and putting links to the webpage on Facebook pages that are things that I 'like,' such as bands, films etc. This one has felt like I'm spamming, but has been pretty productive so about once a week I put a link upon various pages and whoever happens to be on that page at that time, somewhere in the world, get's to see it. Despite it feeling like I'm spamming I know it is effective, and not really that intrusive a way of pointing people to my book.
There are a few other marketing methods in the pipeline and these will reach a lot of people, and hopefully people will go see my website and read the free book. When these new methods happen I'm sure I will mention them in a following update.
Ultimately all I'm trying to do is share something I love with people in the politest way possible, and I hope I am achieving this. I guess only time will tell.
Oh and marketing requires creativity too, so I do like it for that reason.
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