Speed writing

I used to write 1000 words an hour.  These days, the words take longer to come. I've not managed in the past to complete the NANO challenge, and with November upon us again, I doubt I will this year.  

But to everyone who does, or for those who simply want to write faster, I came across this excellent blog post by Jennifer Ellis which is full of helpful information and advice. A highly recommended blog!  Definitely made me think I need to be rather more productive.....

http://jenniferellis.ca/blog/2014/9/23/writing-faster-but-keeping-it-okay



Related post: http://janeayres.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/writing-for-success-writing-for-failure.html

Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award

So now Amazon e-books are also available in Brazil and Canada!  Publishing is certainly a dynamic industry - I wonder what 2013 will bring?

I also heard about the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award which will interest lots of writers. The link is 

http://www.amazon.com/Breakthrough-Novel-Award-Books/b?ie=UTF8&node=332264011

In a nutshell, it's an "incredible opportunity to win a publishing contract with Amazon Publishing. Now in its sixth year, this international contest promises to be the best yet. 

One Grand Prize winner will receive a publishing contract with an advance of $50,000, and four First Prize winners will each receive a publishing contract with an advance of $15,000. 

We’ve expanded the categories to include five popular genres: General Fiction, Romance, Mystery/Thriller, Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror and Young Adult Fiction."

Entries must be submitted between January 14, 2013 and January 27, 2013. The contest is limited to 10,000 entries, and they will stop accepting entries after they have received 10,000.  

Wow!  So for everyone who successfully completed Nanowrimo, this is a fantastic opportunity to edit those 50,000 words and push them even further. 

This gives me an incentive for completing Nano in 2013! 

London Writers' Cafe

Continuing the recent theme of cafes, I thought I would mention the London Writers' Cafe. My positive experience with the nanowrimo write-in has led me to explore more opportunities .  

The London Writers'cafe is described as "a group for fiction writers to read their work and get constructive feedback in a friendly, relaxed atmosphere. We welcome all creative writers seeking information, advice and encouragement on their writing projects. Most of our members are working on short stories, novels, poems, or scripts."

So if you want to find out more go to  

http://www.meetup.com/londonwriterscafe/

Black Beauty, past and present

I can’t actually remember the first time I read Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty.  I think it was over several sessions when I was staying with an aunt in Kent on a family holiday.  It was on the bookshelf along with other classics like Treasure Island and Little Women.   I was about eight years old, and got very upset about any kind of cruelty to animals.  I loved the illustrations in the book (and wish I could remember what edition it was).  I cried when I read about Ginger’s fate and got so angry I felt like tearing the pages out.  I wanted to attack the people who hurt Ginger.  I also felt like Ginger was being punished for being rebellious, whereas to some extent Black Beauty’s compliance and kind nature helped him to survive.

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell is a hugely influential and universally loved story.  The above extract is from a guest blog post I wrote recently, which can be found on Books, Mud and Compost

http://booksandmud.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/guest-post-jane-ayres-on-black-beauty.html

The story inspired me to create a novella that I began for Nanowrimo.  I've only managed 675 words so far but hope this will be be my Christmas holiday writing project...

Finding my Nano Creature

Today you'll find me over at the lovely Anushka's site Finding my Creature.......

Go to the link for the post:
http://findingmycreature.wordpress.com/2012/11/26/nanocreature-interview-5/

Writing environments and distractions

The environment in which you work as a writer can have a very direct impact on how you work.  When you write, you need to focus.  Writing at home, where you feel safe and comfortable, should be ideal in many respects.  But at home there are usually external distractions, such as the phone ringing, and those we allow ourselves to be side-tracked by, such as checking emails and web surfing, if we have internet access. Or simply busying ourselves with housework and little jobs that need doing. 

Recently, I experienced working on my netbook in Caffe Nero for almost 3 hours, along with other writers, as part for a Nanowrimo Write-in.  This was surprisingly productive for me and something I plan to try again. My netbook doesn’t connect to the internet (a major distraction) and there are no phones ringing.  (Mobile is tucked into my bag).  The coffee grinder can be very loud but that just becomes background noise and helps you feel part of the world around you.

Today I sat in the car with my lappie running off the battery while my partner was at the osteopaths.  I had an hour to work and it was a great environment, apart from sun glare on the laptop screen.  I was really focussed, but still felt connected to the outside world. 

Which kind of environment do you find the most productive? 

Horses, breathing and nanowrimo

A short post today.  More of a reflection really.  I'm shortly off to my first write in for Nanowrimo and so far my word count is zilch.  I'm supposed to have written 50,000 words by the end of November.  Right.   Still, I have the title of the story, finally.  

Anyway, all this frantic activity reminds me I should take time to stop and breathe and I recall a riding instructor who once told me that MY breathing affected the horse I was riding and that when I slowed my breathing and heart rate my horse would sense it and slow down.  It sounded unlikely to me but I thought I should at least try.  Could the horse hear my heartbeat or just sense it?  Or feel the vibrations? 

I was astonished when it worked. It's one of those special memories (and a special horse, I suspect).  Soames, a wise chestnut gelding who taught me tons.  He pops up in various guises throughout my later books.  

The power of breathing.   Slowly. Consciously. 

Calm. 

Carnival of the Indies features Lessons in Indie Publishing Part 1

Brevity is the order of the day.  So this is a short post.

Firstly, I'm totally thrilled that my blog post titled Backtracking: Lessons in Indie Publishing Part 1 is included in the Carnival of the Indies for October on Joel Friedlander's excellent site The Book Designer.  To see the post go to:

http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2012/10/self-publishing-carnival-of-the-indies-issue-25/

Secondly, inspired and encouraged by my guest blogger Vikki Thompson, I have today signed up for NaNoWriMo.  Panicking now!  Hoping to see some of you at some of the Kent events.  And if anyone else out there has signed up, I would love to hear from you.

Thirdly, I promise a more substantial post tomorrow.......

Guest post: Vikki Thompson: Write a novel in a month!

Today I'm really pleased to be doing a blog swap with Vikki Thompson, whose excellent blog is The View Outside, which I only recently discovered and would enthusiastically recommend. Next month is National Novel Writing Month (nanowrimo) and as Vikki has twice been a winner, I was delighted when she agreed to my request to write a post on the subject.  Over to Vikki.....

In 3 days time, over 300,000 people across the world will be taking part in Nanowrimo  http://www.nanowrimo.org (National Novel Writing month). Their aim? To write 50,000 words during the month of November.

Madness? Probably, but a great amount of fun and, who knows, you may just be the next Elizabeth Haynes! (Elizabeth Haynes is just about to publish her 3rd novel. All three worked on as projects for Nanowrimo - http://www.elizabeth-haynes.com/books_itdc.html )

So you've decided to join the madness and write a novel during November,  but you haven't got a clue where to start. Well, firstly, you need a story. Not an easy task for any writer, we all need inspiration, something to draw on for ideas. You may already have an idea, but if not, here are my top 10 places to look for inspiration:

1. Newspapers & Magazines: Flick through the pages and pick out stories you like. Make up your own endings. Read headlines, they may just inspire something.

2. Films: Borrow the storyline from a film you've seen recently. Every single story or plot has been done before. Do your own version of a well known favourite.

3. Problem Pages: The agony aunt section of a magazine. Do your own solution to the readers problem in story form.

4. Re-write a Fairytale: Do a modern day version of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, or how about Beauty and the Beast?

5. Photographs & Pictures: Search Flickr for something that catches your eye.

6. Songs & Song Titles: Most songs tell a story. I still can't figure out why no ones turned The Script's The Man Who Can't Be Moved into a rom com movie!

7. Book Titles: Scan the books on your shelves and use one of the titles to inspire your own story.

8. TV Programmes: Write some "fan fiction". If you don't like what the writers are doing to your favourite characters on TV, write your own version of your favourite soap. Remember, E L James started with "fan fiction" ;)

9. The Nanowrimo Forums: On the Nano site there is a forum called "Adoption Society" which is definitely worth a look. You'll find hundreds of story ideas.

10. Real Life: If nothing appeals, write a fictional version of your life story. It doesn't have to be your real life, try your fantasy one.

I think I might go for number 10 myself this year. I quite fancy the idea of being wined and dined on a yacht by Robert Downey Jnr ;)

About Vikki
Vikki lives in Medway with her husband, 3 adult children (who refuse to leave home) and 2 cats. She blogs, (or should that be rambles?) daily at The View Outside (http://www.the-view-outside.com) and spends her time fantasising about being the next EL James, but isn’t too keen on having to write Erotica to achieve that (unless Robert Downey Jnr is available for research). 2012 see’s her first year at being a Co-ML (Municipal Liaison) for Nanowrimo Kent.
http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/regions/europe-england-kent

Vikki Thompson    www.the-view-outside.com    @vikkithomp

Please pop over to Vikki's blog to read my guest post on Targets and Goal Setting
http://the-view-outside.com/2012/10/28/targets-and-goal-setting/