Category: Writing

My Fun Meet-up with Fellow Blogger, Vikki Thompson!

Vikki&Sarah

Last Thursday, I had a fantastic get-together with fellow writer and blogger, Vikki Thompson. She left home at seven in the morning for our meet-up in my home town on the south coast, and my first sight of Vikki was of a most industrious writer sat at a table outside a café on the seafront, her head bent over a notepad, scribbling away, with a latte to sustain her.

I’ve known Vikki for about a year, on-line, and really love the chatty style of her writing blog.  She’s such a focused and motivated person with regard to writing, although she’d probably argue with that! I always knew we’d gel if ever we met up, so it was a delight to discover that, on a global scale. we lived around the corner from each other.

Seated outside the café, we succeeded in talking to each other non-stop for about five hours. About three-quarters of our conversation was about writing — Vikki had some wonderful tales to share — and the rest of the time we chatted about other things we had in common.

I came away from our get-together feeling incredibly inspired and glad to have met someone travelling the same writing road with such dedication. We write different types of fiction, but our goals are the same.

For me, this is the start of a great friendship, including a shared passion for homemade cakes, especially coffee and walnut sponge.

coffee&walnutsponge

Vikki blogs at http://the-view-outside.com/

Time to Transform that First-draft Novel into my Magnum Opus

stepping outOn New Year’s Day, inspired by Novel Writing Winter, I leapt into the unknown and began writing my first  work of speculative fiction. Yes, I’d written four other novels before this one, but none of them quite made it to full publication despite a number of calls for full manuscripts from editors.

Studying feedback from publishers and agents is rather like gathering intelligence prior to action. Last December, I gave up footling with my first four manuscripts and shoved them in a drawer, classing them as learning exercises. At the same time, I decided to stop second-guessing the market, thus liberating myself to write the novel that burned within me and be damned if being experimental meant breaking rules.

The novel is character-driven, written from the viewpoint of six different characters in the first and second-person present, first-person past, as well as third-person past and present. It also includes poetry.

The working title, Eulogy to the Last Man was the name of the original piece of flash fiction upon which I based the story. However, as the novel progressed, new characters sprouted up alongside the original two and led me down unexpected paths, calling for me to change the title to Wightland.

In the first 81,000-word draft, I’ve concentrated primarily on characterisation and plot, but during its revision I might expand upon the story’s setting, turning it into a longer work. Whether I do this or not, depends upon my beta readers’ reaction to the approach I’ve used, which moves between minimalism and zooming in for bold, detailed close-ups.

I have total belief in this project and can’t wait for Monday to arrive, when the second draft begins.

A tanka in honour of my new literary muse

WillowTreeMother02WillowTreeMother03WillowTreeMother01

Serenity, peace,
a figurative sculpture
where quiet words float.
Writer’s literary muse
watching over her shoulder.

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My daughter, Vanessa, gave this beautiful sculpture to me as a Mother’s Day gift. She said it was my new literary muse to stand on my desk next to me while I’m writing.

Visit www.willowtree.info to find out more about Susan Lordi’s handcrafted figurative sculpture, which is designed to “speak in quiet ways to heal, comfort, protect and inspire”.

Novel Writing Winter (NWW) 2013 — What’s Next?

daffodil03

Novel Writing Winter (NWW) 2013 ended today with the advent of the Vernal Equinox (just couldn’t resist replacing the word Spring, with its posh relative Vernal). I’m not sure whether all the people who registered an interest in NWW are still on board, but I know of some who’ve stayed the course. From the feedback I’ve had, nobody has yet finished their project, which is why I’ve decided to start a new page titled “Novel Writing Spring, 2013 ( Forum)” — link below. On the NWS page, you’ll also find a new image to paste in your sidebar, to replace the NWW one.

For me, January 1st heralded a change in direction for my writing — different style, more literary than before, and speculative. At first, my head could only deal with writing 250-500 words per session, or I would end up with one of my “school algebra” headaches, which is my name for anything that taxes my head to exploding point. Once I’d written the first 10,000 words and sketched out a complicated family tree for my incestuous cast of characters, things started taking off for real, and it was time to throw away the paracetomol. This week, I’ve reached the point when I’m breathless with excitement, so it’s on to the tranquillizers (only joking!).

Yesterday, in anticipation of the Vernal happening, I wrote an explosive and passionate chapter that’s pivotal to my whole novel.  Approximately 20,000 words in, here’s a small tease of a paragraph. Publication of anything else from the chapter would require me to slap an adult rating on to this post, so anyone interested to read on will have to hope, with me, that the novel ends up published.

  • But there she is, standing there in the middle of the room, tears rolling down her speckled cheeks, her tawny irises swimming in a sea of pink. Alone. Adrift. And it’s my duty to rescue her before she runs aground, splinters, and drowns in her own desolation.

Does anyone else want to celebrate the start of spring, by sharing a paragraph of their Work in Progress?

https://sarahpotterwrites.wordpress.com/novel-writing-spring-2013-forum/

“Best Moment Award” for a Novel Writing Winter post!

Best Moment Award, web awards, blogging awards, winners, nominations

Awarding the people who live in the moment,
The noble who write and capture the best in life,
The bold who reminded us what really mattered –
Savoring the experience of quality time.

RULES:

Winners re-post this completely with their acceptance speech. This could be written or video recorded.

Winners have the privilege of awarding the next awardees! The re-post should include a NEW set of people/blogs worthy of the award; and winners notify them of the great news.

RESOURCES:

  • What makes a good acceptance speech?
    • Gratitude. Thank the people who helped you along the way
    • Humor. Keep us entertained and smiling
    • Inspiration. Make your story touch our lives
  • Get an idea from the great acceptance speeches, compiled in MomentMatters.com/Speech
  • Display the award’s badge on your blog/website, downloadable in MomentMatters.com/Award

ACCEPTANCE SPEECH

I’m overwhelmed. This is my eighth award, including my four stars for Blog of the Year Award, 2012. Before starting my blog in December 2011, I’d never received an award for anything other than one music medal at school for my piano playing, so I’m really touched by my fellow bloggers’ generosity.

This is my first speech ever, other than the ones delivered over the morning tea when my husband is too tired to knock me off my soap box. My areas of shyness are patchy. Yes, I can sing in front of people, but, no, I won’t talk to the audience about the music I’m performing. This is my husband’s job, as he loves giving speeches. In fact, the first time I saw him, he was giving an impromptu speech, and I thought, that man is really eccentric and funny. Little did I know he’d end up capturing my heart!

Although my biggest dream is to find a traditional publisher for my novels — especially my work-in-progress — sending out typescripts these days can be like casting them into a vacuüm. Publishers used to give feedback and encouragement. Nowadays, they send out standard rejections. This is most soul-destroying for a writer who’s had so many near misses in the past, with calls for full typescripts, followed by a 3-6 month wait, ending in rejection.  The wonderful thing about blogging is its community spirit and responsiveness. When you post something, there’s feedback within minutes. Everybody needs encouragement to follow their dream. So I thank all of you for the love, support, and recognition you’ve given me.

I have chosen to break the rules and nominate sixteen bloggers for their exceptional posts, rather than fifteen. Some of these wonderful pieces of writing are fresh off the blogging press, and others are older, but have stuck in my mind.

THE WINNERS OF THE BEST MOMENT AWARD ARE:

  1. Boneland for “Wind Chill“
  2. Charlotte’s Web for “7 Things That Make me Happy on International Women’s Day“
  3. Shannon A Thompson for “To My Mother“
  4. Shifting Shades for “Rest in Peace, Mama.”
  5. allaboutlemon – All Around, In And Out Of My Own Universe for “The Seasons of Love“
  6. Crowing Crone Joss for “Being a Woman“
  7. Lead.Learn.Live for “When it comes, I’ll be fine, calm.“
  8. Rescuing Little L for “my shattered voice mends slowly ….“
  9. the kitchens garden for “So lucky that my work is what I love to do the most!“
  10. TheWhyAboutThis for “Bloggaria – A fairy tale of bloggers! Introduction“
  11. Angel Manna for “The Great Yearning For Meaning“
  12. Call2Read for “Spain – The Land of Intrigue“
  13. Graphite Bunny for “A Girl Not Reading a Book“
  14. Jaycee68 for “Too many things“
  15. alarmingman for “Homeless 18“
  16. Writing between the lines for “Jack Shit: Just Say Yes“

Don’t forget to celebrate with your followers! Tweet your success with hashtag #MomentMatters. Congratulations, winners!

You can read the post that earned me my nomination at https://sarahpotterwrites.wordpress.com/2013/02/20/novel-writing-winter-nww-2013-one-month-to-go/