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Squidge replied to the topic Multiple Den Success in the forum Podium 7 years, 1 month ago
Must get this…I’m a bit Pratchetted out at the mo, and this is going to be good!
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Daedalus started the topic Multiple Den Success in the forum Podium 7 years, 1 month ago
Hi all. First of all apologies for the absence, but things have been rather busy with writing and the puppy. I want to take time to mention this, though, as it’s a publication featuring no fewer than four Denizens – @woolleybeans, @jillybean, @madiguana and your servant.
Hell’s Empire – Tales of the Incursion
A unique anthology of two thr…[Read more]
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Squidge posted an update 7 years, 2 months ago
Dilemma:
Book 1 with publisher being edited. Waiting for their response to my responses.
Book 2 with publisher, waiting to see if they like it – though I know it needs work.
Book 3 story outlined in notebook.Question is, do I get stuck into writing up Book 3 properly on the computer, knowing I’ve got 1 & 2 to work on edit-wise; start…[Read more]
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Do whatever excites you the most? Or do something else entirely? If neither of those are the answer, then I’d crack on with Book 3. Having a better idea of what happens in it, will inform your edit of Books 1 and 2 when the time comes.
If ’twere me, I wouldn’t start yet another project (planning Book 4) as that’ll create more unfinished-ness and…[Read more] -
Take time out to write something completely different and come back to this with fresh eyes and unexpected directions?
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Personally, I’d get started with book 3, but that’s possibly not the wisest, knowing you’ll have to switch away from it again. BUt it’s not like you are having to enter an entirely new world, is it? (this is the next in series, isn’t it?). So perhaps it could even be good to keep you in the right place mentally and keep you enthused for the…[Read more]
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Thanks all… I actually went on to outline book 4 after all, but pretty loosely. Rather lost my writing mojo this week due to a bout of hormones… I tend to want to sit in a corner and shut the world out when that happens. Not helped by a few things going rather wrong this week that left me feeling disappointed with life. But hey ho, we get back…[Read more]
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@Raine – don’t worry re beta reading; as and when! I’ve begun to realise that book 2’s not as oven ready as I thought it might be…
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Boo to the hormones, but pleased you’ve found a way to keep things moving forwards nonetheless. It all has to be done at some point, so in a way it doesn’t matter in what order. Whatever helps keep the momentum flowing(ish)
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good for you, @squidge. Moving forward despite all that is a major achievement. My (belated) approach would be to move on with the next bit of the story, I think. especially if you’ve got exciting bits to look forward to writing! I also find that writing the future can often inform the ‘past’ in that you can tweak and foreshadow knowing what comes…[Read more]
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Raine posted an update 7 years, 2 months ago
Child goes away with school til friday.
Me: Yay, long days to write.
Husband: *comes home early wanting to chat*
Me: …-
Husbands…
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I KNOW!
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Er, wives…
(ducks and runs for cover.)
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No, hang on a minute. Why should I? Works both ways, dunnit?
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Totally applicable to any family member. They should undergo training for being partnered with a writer. Step one, don’t come home early without prior warning!
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Back in the days when I had a young family I used to do all my writing at dead of night when everyone else was in bed. I particularly remember one summer night when I got so carried away that dawn was breaking before I stopped.
I can’t do either anymore. Write in the small hours (brain turns to mush), or get carried away like that. Sigh…
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I know, right?
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Same here, I’m afraid: *I can’t concentrate so I’ve come to talk to you*
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It’s an outrage! And then I have to pretend to be interested in what happened at some meeting! 😱
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Mine just stomped out because I didn’t stop typing, which didn’t have anything to do with I want to get in with my WIP while interest is still being shown. No, it was ignorance.
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I have to answer inane questions about what we need from the shops while my MC is hanging off a crumbling cliff waiting for me to find an escape…
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Athelstone posted an update 7 years, 2 months ago
Have thoroughly enjoyed reading the monthly competition entries so far. Glad I’m not judging.
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Me too – an astonishingly varied and well-worked collection.
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Am just about to spend a week travelling round the UK visiting family (hello internet@sea) and am looking forward to reading them all!
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I’ve not looked, but I can’t wait!
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Go on, have a peek; you know you want to.
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Woolleybeans posted an update 7 years, 2 months ago
I decided to copy/paste a scene from an earlier draft of my ever-in-progress novel. What I found was at least two nearly full drafts (in terms of wordcount) that I have little memory of writing.
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I think that might be quite exciting WB! Maybe time to reread them.
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Wowser – stick ’em together and you might have THE finished article!
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I found a third one today. None of them are for the same plot.
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Awesome!! It’ll be like stringing your favourite beads onto a chain…
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Like finding a tenner down the back of the sofa.
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Raine started the topic MIR folktale festival short story comp. in the forum Competitions, Open calls and Writing Opportunities 7 years, 2 months ago
Just spotted this on twitter yesterday. Deadline end of May, so I’m not sure I can rustle up something in time, but if you have anything folky and summery, then it’s free to enter and MIR seem to be a lovely bunch.
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Squidge posted an update 7 years, 2 months ago
So… I’ve seen an advert for a ‘Write a book in an hour’ event run by a bookshop. To give the author credit, he has actually written a book that’s been well received.
But surely, ‘writing a book in an hour’ is a poor description? Surely, the most you can hope to achieve is the outline of your story? There is no way on earth you can write teh…[Read more]
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YEah, that would irritate me too. LIke one of those godawful gimmicky diets/fitness regimes/etc. It’s both deeply unrealistic and misleading, but also demeaning to the effort it takes to create worthwhile writing. If he means an hour to *plan* your novel, then, meh, perhaps, in the roughest of rough outlines. But *write*? At 80k for a book, that’s…[Read more]
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Yup. Irritating in the extreme. You might be able to have the glimpse of an idea in an hour if you were lucky…
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So glad to hear it’s not just me, then. Mind you, I don’t suppose it would have the same appeal if it was called ‘Write a book over the next few years that might never see the light of day.’ 😉
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No but it would be a lot truer! Which brings me to a serious question…. if you had known just how much work was involved in writing a passable book, would you have started in the first place?
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A single book, yeah I’d probably have still dived in. Being six zillion books in and still nowhere… I think I’d run a mile, screaming. Maybe I still will!!
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The “How to write a book in an hour” thing is a one hour course in how to write a book.
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In this case, I’ve been told it’s an hour with the author explaining how he wrote his book – hints and tips, kind of thing. Not even a course, more of an author talk.
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THAT IS MISLEADING ADVERTISING, SURELY! So funny that we all interpreted it the same way!!! “Grr, how can anyone claim to write book in an hour, grrr!!!!”
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I’ll come with you…
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Raine replied to the topic Unediting in the forum Blogs 7 years, 2 months ago
Because brilliant ideas might look like plot disasters in draft 2 but then turn out to be actually brilliant ideas in draft 3??
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Sandra posted an update 7 years, 2 months ago
For those that befriended Sally Hopgood on Jericho’s Townhouse – she is no more. Tried and found wanting.
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Just as she was growing on me.
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Oh, heavens! This means I have no friends 🙁
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Just looked for you (on t’house) to remedy this – but no Seagreens were available…
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I’m there as Jean Hunter, Gerry 🙂
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Aha, found yer!
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makes her sound like mould … 🙁
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Have just sought out Sally Hopgood (on t’house) and found she is not good at hopping-it. Still there it appears…
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Damn! I’ll have another go at offing her tomorrow. Thanks Gerry.
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Hey, don’t go – now I know it’s you. Stick around – something might happen. Y’never know…
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What happened was that the rigmarole of unrecognised password/user name has to be faced again … thanks but no thanks.
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Squidge replied to the topic Unediting in the forum Blogs 7 years, 2 months ago
Laughing @jonathan! Comes out publisher-ready… in our dreams!!
I understand what you mean about the ‘something bigger’s going on’ scenario. I had places where I could definitely see that happening and rewrote whole sections. And I also know what Jonathan means about being in a particular mood.
I think my rule of thumb is going to have to be…[Read more]
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Raine replied to the topic Unediting in the forum Blogs 7 years, 2 months ago
I’m with @philippaeast on this one. Often if I find myself fiddling back and forward with one thing, it’s because the issue with that bit is actually because of a different bit being wrong. If that makes sense.
But also, yes to @jd73, it can just be about mood & what aspects of the book are at the forefront of my mind during that edit on tha…[Read more]
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Sandra replied to the topic Unediting in the forum Blogs 7 years, 2 months ago
In general,Squidge, although I know exactly what you mean, I don’t. Partly because a lot of the time I am writing ‘badly’ to start with, so much needs to be improved (and the correct word substituted for the one I couldn’t remember – I’m grateful for Emma D’s suggestion of putting then in [ ] so as to later find.
At the moment, writing a…[Read more]
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Squidge started the topic Unediting in the forum Blogs 7 years, 2 months ago
I’m editing Book 1 of Tilda’s story series at the mo for Bink (good news – looking like it’ll be published earlier than I thought, in Sept. Yay!)
I was told that there weren’t many things to look at – all nit picky stuff. Woo-hoo!
Thing is, I had worked my way through half of the MS on paper, because I needed to get more into Tilda’s head (if…[Read more]
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Squidge replied to the topic On Submerging and Re-emerging in the forum Blogs 7 years, 2 months ago
I certainly blog less when I’m writing – or busy, generally. The Scribbles are sadly neglected at the moment…
I try to keep some level of engagement with the Den going, but when writing it can be either extreme; popping in to read but not comment, so I appear absent, or lots of posts asking for opinions or having a rant or despairing about the…[Read more]
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Sandra replied to the topic Writers & Artists short story comp in the forum Podium 7 years, 2 months ago
Excellent … your fame is spreading, and rightfully so.
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Raine replied to the topic Writers & Artists short story comp in the forum Podium 7 years, 2 months ago
This story has just been accepted into the Mechanics Institute Review. Randomly named journal, but I’m pleased it’s found a good home. 😊
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John S Alty posted an update 7 years, 2 months ago
Just back from Mallorca with lots of new writing ideas. Well, one.
I see we have a few more spammists – they’re getting smarter, using names and not anagrams!-
The registered @names are anagrams (sort of)
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Glad to hear Mallorca has spawned some ideas. 🙂 you were sailing, I think I saw on twitter? Lovely island for that, I’d imagine?
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Hi Raine,
No, stayed on dry land this time, but it is a special place.
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Raine posted an update 7 years, 2 months ago
Went to Stephanie Hutton’s ‘Psychology of Character’ workshop on Saturday. If she does one in your area, I’d recommend it. Really thought provoking and insightful for character development.
I have some work to do…-
Sounds fascinating, Raine. It was in Glasgow wasn’t it?
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It was, aye. Fascinating day & met some lovely writers. She’s planning more in London etc, so I’d keep an eye out in case you are in the UK for one.
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Raine replied to the topic Regular Den competition – where next? in the forum Monthly Competition 7 years, 2 months ago
Yeah, I’d agree, i think the comp works best as a pressure-free place for people to dip their toes in the water or play around a bit. Nice, encouraging comments are a great way of supporting that, but more critiquey comments, although a wonderful thing would perhaps be more useful in the critiquey Forum, or direct posting/messaging, and of course…[Read more]
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