Alan Rain

I so agree that it’s useful to drill down into the actual function of a particular behaviour (e.g. scrolling on Twitter, ironing socks etc.)

It MAY be avoidant procrastination (i.e. continuously putting off something we’re for some reason afraid to face). Or that same behaviour could be a much-needed and healthy break from the keyboard / page -…[Read more]

@alanr that seems a doable timeline. I usually take about 6 months from starting to plan to end of first draft, although this one might be quicker thanks to NaNo. The six zillion edits are kind of scattered about in between other projects, beta readers etc, so I don’t really know how much actual time I spend on that. Plus it’s bloody endless anyway init?

Yay for plots resolving themselves @alanr! Always a good feeling. 🙂

HOw’re other NaNoers doing? I’m on 36k, struggling a bit with days being taken up with RL, but am hoping to make it early next week – before a family invasion!

@AlanR — it’s not often but it can happen Meg Hunter’s debut, The End We Start From” was only 17,000 or 18,000 words if I remember correctly.

Well done on the creative burst @alanr – that must feel good. And I really like that title.

@alanr — intriguing title! I like it.

That’s great, @alanr! Hope the flow keeps going. I am in the process of hauling myself over my 25k wall. Getting there, but oof.

Oh wow, @alanr, that is such exciting news about the request!!!! Amazing. Have you sent it off yet? Whatever happens, I am sure you’ll get some invaluable feedback. Congrats again!!

Oh, well done, @alanr! That’s fantastic. So which course are you going for?

That’s a fantastic achievement @alanr! Congratulations! What an exciting choice to be faced with …:-)

@richardb and @squidge – I don’t think there’s anything wrong in not wanting to use models like these! I have a penchance for graphs, which is probably ~60% of why I love it! No – I like the tie-in between internal and external, but it’s definitely not for everyone.

@athelstone, yeah you’re totally right, I agree it’s foolish to think that any…[Read more]

Ooh interesting list @raine. I also like the feel of The Girl and The Missing. And yes, I like the idea of exile too @alanr.

I sent a list of ideas to my agent before I left for India (below) and the one that jumped out for her was When Days Tilt – which I have to admit is one of my favourites, even though it’s a bit more aslant to the…[Read more]

You lot are fantastic! Thank you all so much for brainstorming for me 🙂

@seagreen and @janeshuff – I think you’re really onto something there with The Time Stealer/Snatcher’s… and using that to bundle the series together. Going to ponder that.

@jd73 that made me snort – Iron Maiden’s back catalogue 🙂 But I love them. And I’m leaning…[Read more]

@alanr – just saw that I basically suggested the same as you!

Hi @Alanr
Sounds like a plan. My understanding of the “read our books before you submit” guideline is to help prospective authors determine whether their own MS would be a good fit. I’m sure you’ll quickly work this out by consuming a few of their titles to see if your own seems similar in style and flavour. Good luck!

@Stevie – definitely sounds worth a shot

@alanr – no idea but thought it might warrant further exploration (and we may even have some US based people here anyway)

Hi @alanr,

Great! That makes sense. I think all of the points you make about how the manananggal operates within Galina could be turned into a great hook in your blurb, while also satisfactorily answering the agent’s burning question of ‘how does this possession thing work?’

A final couple of super-picky points.

I would be wary of ‘selling’…[Read more]

Thank you so much to everyone who entered the first Den of Writers monthly competition. We now have a whole new section of the forum just for the monthly comp, so all future versions will be held there. Here’s the link: https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/forum/den-of-writers/monthly-competition/

For those not familiar with the monthly c…[Read more]