Kate Hudson

Haha Odo the lurcher will always have a special place in my heart but I was talking of bishop Odo – who behaved exactly as a bishop was not supposed to both in going to war bearing arms and in other matters 🙂

Yes, when I first started on An Argument, I kept thinking ‘Who’s that?’ and ‘What’s going on here?’ I soon got into it, but a straight-through read would avoid those little glitches.

So what’s your last NF book? I’ve lost track. Flying to the Edge?

Thanks, Richard. I’m so glad you enjoyed the books. (Hopefully there will be future collaborations at some point 😉 ) I love Gallet, and I’m oddly partial to Odo too 🙂

As the frog said, ‘Read it.’ I’m not that big on historical fiction and it took me a while to get into An Argument of Blood (though it turned out to be worth it), but A Black Matter for the King is a corker and had me gripped from first to last.

Aelfgifa (can’t do the dipthong) is a really compelling character, which is all the more impressive…[Read more]

So would I.

‘We had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a saltshaker half-full of cocaine, and a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers… Also, a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of beer, a pint of raw ether, and two dozen amyls.’

Er, no…

He left out ‘Take the dope, take the dope, take the dope.’ Though i’m not sure what the equivalent would be for writers.

So glad to hear this, Claire. I don’t recall hearing anything from you since you blogged on the Cloud about your first meeting with your agent, and that seems ages ago (though yes, glacial pace is about it). I’ve been wondering what happened, so this is all the more welcome. Congratulations.

*air punch* Yes, publishing moves at a glacial pace but this is a fabulous stride forwards – at last. I saw your lovely agent at York, though we didn’t have a chance to chat. I do know how much she adores you though. (Don’t we all!) xx

Huge congratulations CJ. Faberoo

I am clearly stealing all my tips from people who can put them much better than I can!!

YAAAAS!! Actual real definite contracts are the best sort of contracts. SO much well done! Break out the cake! 🙂

Brilliant CJ. I’m so looking forward to reading it. And yes the legal wranglings always take a long time – especially with US, possibly the most letigious country in the wor;ld! Congratulations – really stoked for you 🙂

I believe Hemingway also gave that tip about stopping in the middle of a scene, Raine, so you’re in good company there.

Though as it happens I am at this moment taking a break (all right, procrastinating) from struggling to get back into the middle of a scene…

Good idea, Mad.
Umm. One I heard that I think made sense in terms of the editing process was ‘Write the first draft for yourself, edit for your readers.’

Also, Find the theme of your story. Themes tie characters, plots and subplots together.

Also (Although I am rubbish at doing this), when finishing for the day, stop in the middle of a scene,…[Read more]

This is brilliant, John. So much the opposite of where I expected it to go at the opening! I love her poise with the police – it adds such an element of shiver-factor.

I agree with others that a light dusting of other sensory details would help make the thing more potent, but I like the easy, matter of fact voice so don’t lose that.

One thing…[Read more]

THis is great Squidge, love the immediate dive into her PoV, her frustrations and doubts. My only two thoughts are …
– some of the descriptive paragraph (Tilda gritted her teeth…) might be worth trimming. It’s a chunk of … background I guess, that perhaps needs only a hint here, with more details as you go on?
– and, I think someone else…[Read more]

I write in 3rd person and if I’m struggling with getting the voice right in a scene, I try re-writing it in first person. It seems to create more intensity and immediacy. Then I keep the emotions when I revise it back to third person.
I discovered this effect in one of the exercises in the Self Editing course.
Twitter handle is @Julie_Cordiner.