Philippa East

Thanks @philippaeast, there’s some good stuff in there isn’t there? Considering printing out a copy for when I start to query (a while away yet)

Thanks @elle and @philippaeast
I sent it off within two hours. I just had to tailor the letter a little. Interestingly, I’d already sent it to CB, but that didn’t seem to make any difference (I did ask).
I think this has sparked me into starting my 2nd novel. This one will be easy to categorise. I’m going for supernatural horror, with a rather…[Read more]

Thanks @philippaeast @Daedalus @kazg @anna @hilary

I’m inclined to go for the finish and edit as by the time the course starts in January, I (should?) have made a start on another novel. I think not the pitching course, as I feel atm I’ve had my fill of cover letters and synopses.
Has anyone done these courses?

What a lot of clever things have been said on this thread! I have read through them all now and it’s all fascinating.

I love Dara Marks, @raine, and your summary is brilliant. I’m getting ready to do NaNoWriMo with book two now and I’m holding these ideas in my head (as opposed to an actual firm plan, which truly is beyond me at first draft…[Read more]

I think I do a bit of both tbh. I do plot out the character arcs at the start, but things change as I write (as they do, the wee buggers), so by the end I need to do it all again for my major edit. That’s when Julie Cohen’s post-it notes come into play! I’m basically a walking advert for Julie and Craig.

@daedalus re the tragic/heroic thing – it…[Read more]

Thanks for this @raine and @philippaeast.
I think there needs to be distinction in the character’s behaviours and internalisations during these phases.

@katemachon glad it makes some sense & hope it’s helpful! 🙂

@philippaeast that’s so interesting. The thing that’s always drawn me to this model is how it really explores the psychology of the character and how that drives their interactions with the external world. BUt I’d never made the comparison between that and things like the stages of…[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]

Pow to you, too @philippaeast!

Hi @philippaeast, I’m half-way through ‘Ice’ and yes, there are some similarities in how hallucinatory passages flow in and out of the reality.
What did you think of it?
I’m thinking it’s the result of a troubled mind. And the style – sentence fragments, arbitrary punctuation, vagueness – isn’t for me, tbh. Interesting that in my kindle version…[Read more]

Hi @philippaeast
Here’s my revised letter:

Dear xxxxx xxxx,
I’m pleased to submit the opening 10k words of my novel, AnGal, a 137,500 word supernatural / slipstream thriller. Set in the Philippines, its focus is the manananggal, a mythical, winged half-woman that grows within the one possessed.

I’m writing to you specifically because of the mat…[Read more]

Hi @philippaeast
I’m sure it hasn’t done any harm, and you’ve probably corrected it now, but it’s ‘elusive’, not ellusive’.

Is this the novel Sarah asked to be dual pov?

@Elle Yes, I’ve heard this, and that judges aren’t able to say who wrote any particular extract. Women writers just seem to be far more active than men. Certainly, at FOW18 on the day I was there, women clearly outnumbered men.

I wrote my own novel for a worldwide audience, for both genders, and for any age. My characters are of mixed ethnicity,…[Read more]

@Bellam @PhilippaEast @Squidge Thanks for your kind words, but it’s difficult for a self-driven person not to be harsh with himself.

@PhilippaEast That’s good to know. But I only recently took mine off, and fortunately before I sent my 50 pages off to agents.
When I started writing it, there was plenty of advice to include the “c”.

Just out of interest, at FOW18 (Sunday) did you have the chestnut hair? At one talk I sat behind a lady with vivid hair of that colour, and…[Read more]

@philippaeast Lovely to see you too! Was Cynthia the one I was chatting to with you? I’m pleased to have inspired her 🙂

@alanr Ha! Thank you very much, kind sir 😀

@squidge Indeed we do!! 😀

Thank-you so much for your comments, everyone. They are so helpful. Oh wait, I should tag, right, else you might not see it? @jd73, @daedalus and @sandradavies, you are ace. Thank-you. I love the word stochastic too!

@philippaeast – no this isn’t the one with pub/agents, it’s one of the next two and I’m trying to decide which one to throw out…[Read more]

@philippaeast we’ll be expecting a report as soon as you get back!