Project Three – First Draft

Tonight I’ve sat and gone through project three, my personal favourite for many reasons and I’m happy with the results so far.  Either tomorrow or in a few days I plan to go back to it and edit again, eliminate everything wrong with it etc.  As it’s a rhyming story it is somewhat harder to polish up as there are challenging restrictions but in two hours I’ve managed to do a significant rewrite on the original, so I’m going to leave it there and let the dust settle for now.

Currently, my google searches mostly consist of

• “What rhymes with …”
• “Synonyms for …”

They have helped massively.

If you’ve written a rhyming story, have you got any advice or tips you’d like to share?

 

 

 

 

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Publisher’s Help

After browsing for an agent to submit my work to, I came across Maverick.  I won’t be able to send my current manuscript to them as the story does not fit their requirements BUT I did find some helpful tips for those who could do with a bit of guidance.

 

I think project three will be suitable for Maverick though, so let’s see what happens once that is ready for submitting.

A Cold Writer

Unbelievably, in the hottest week of the year, I have somehow, miraculously come down with a cold. On the plus side, my hay fever has subsided dramatically, but I’m left with sore bones, a blocked nose and a general ill feeling. I wasn’t able to write last night but will more than make up for it tonight instead.

I was looking forward to project three for ages as well!

What do you do when illness strikes? Do you take some time off away from writing or do you plough on through?

P.S I use the word ‘miraculously’ in a negative way, as in, I don’t sit there and wish for illnesses to happen.

Writing Project Three

With Project Robot, I’ve previously mentioned that it needs a lot of reshuffling around and a lot of work put into it.  At the minute, I feel like I need to let it rest and let my brain do the thinking so will shelve this project for a later date.

Which means I’m moving straight to project three – my favourite! It’s the story I’ve had for years and is inspired by my eldest.  I’m very excited to be editing as it does need doing but I feel it’s closer to completion which encourages me to get a move on with it.

How are your projects coming along?

Writing For A Living -Article

I found this newspaper article regarding possible exploitation between publisher and writer. I thought you might like a read.

Publishers are paying writers a pittance, say bestselling authors

Publisher Tips

In one of the rejection emails received, I was given contacts and websites to visit to encourage me to keep on trying, polishing up the skill they call writing.

I’m going to share these websites with you because knowledge is power, power is pizza, and we all deserve some pizza right?

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Help with the manuscript; I recommend Blue Pencil Agency http://www.bluepencilagency.com/ for an in-depth editorial analysis of your work by industry professionals.

An

assessment report, we recommend Daniel Goldsmith Associates http://www.danielgoldsmith.co.uk. They give an honest, comprehensive and constructive review of fiction, non-fiction and children’s literature.

House of Editors is a group of award-winning and industry-leading editors, mentors and writers who have helped prize-winning writers polish their novels http://houseofeditors.com. I recommend them for anything from a manuscript assessment to mentorship.

There is also an online forum where authors can get in touch with each other and the writing world at http://writing-community.writersworkshop.co.uk/forum.htm

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The websites do work on a fee type basis but if it helps you in any way then excellent.

Publishing Stories

As you know, I’ve been sharing my process of finding a literary agent and so far I can confirm I have had two rejections. I haven’t feel deflated or defeated, but it has encouraged me to keep on going. Whether the manuscript gets published or not, I do believe I WILL get something published one day; If I keep writing, the determination will pay off. There’s no other option.

What stories, good or bad, can you share about looking for a publisher or agent?

#NationalWritingDay

As far as special days go, this is an excellent opportunity to get back to writing, if you’ve stopped. If you’ve got a lot of steam behind your current project then carry on going – you can do it.

Regardless of the ridiculous heat currently scorching the UK you should try and take a positive and instead of sitting in the sun, go in the shade, open the laptop and pour everything out of your brain into words and sentences.

You can do it!

Writing Rules

I found this little nugget earlier.

Writing Job

As my youngest is attending nursery, I have some free time during the week. As you know, I tend to drive up to Starbucks and sit and write there (I am there right now!), but I have been thinking.

If the right job came up, I would probably return to work.  Is it too much to ask for a job that:

• I could work on a Monday and Tuesday only?
• Starts at 9:30am and finishes at 3pm?
• Is a writing job? As in, do any local businesses or universities need a writer/ideas person?

Those would be the 3 critical requirements.  For too long I’ve applied for jobs that I’ve ALWAYS seen as a stop gap, and there’s no way I’m going back that sort of work life.  I want to write for a living.  As I’m trying to get published at the moment, I see myself as self-employed but without the pay! If I could start getting the pay for work in the same field then hurrah!