Wednesday 29 June 2011

Life, the universe and everything... GETTING IN THE WAY!

It's that time of year again when the days and weeks accelerate and I stand by in mute helplessness as my life whizzes past me with a cheery wave.  I'm talking about THE END OF TERM.  A time for winding down, you might think, but NO!  So much to do and so little time to do it in!  Shows to assist with, trips to go on, special projects to bring to fruition... and in the middle of all that a novel to write.

Basically, it ain't getting writ.  There, I've admitted it.  It's here in my head, nudging at me now and then as if to say "Don't forget me, Mummy!", but it's not making it onto the screen right now.

It IS going to get writ, though - just in very small quantities.  What I am really looking forward to is lying on the beach in Zakynthos in a few weeks time with a notebook and all the time in the world.  Bring it on!

Monday 13 June 2011

Poorly Writer Puts Unfinished Novel in Danger

And yes, the headline above (well, title really) refers to me and my WIP (Work in Progress to my lovely non-writing followers.)

Everybody except me probably knows about the dangers associated with reading what you've written after suffering from a chronic headache for four days and having to deal with a hypochondriac/needy MIL (Mother in Law to you lucky people without one...).

Let's just say it was a close thing.  I read it in disgust, wrote critical, blunt notes to self all over it and planned to abandon it.  I don't even know what stopped me deleting it then and there.

I'm glad to say it's survived and has been added to this weekend.  It's not exactly literature, but it just might be readable after a couple of years of working on it...  ;-)

Saturday 4 June 2011

First Person?

My mum always said she didn't like novels written in the first person - she didn't elaborate and now I wish I'd asked her why.

Obviously, there are pros and cons if you are writing in the first person:

The main pro is probably that it's much easier to 'show' rather than 'tell' as you are inside the character's mind...
and the main con is probably that, as the author, you are restricted to that one character's viewpoint, unless you break the rules - my teenage daughter has mentioned that one or two of the gothic teen-type novels she's read recently have...

I'd love to hear other people's thoughts on breaking the 'rule' on this!