In the beginning there was an idea…

I will be doing a series of blogs on getting started in your story writing process. The only 2 things you really need are an idea and something to write with*, everything else is optional.

However, it’s a bit like building a house. You have the land and the bricks but it would be a whole lot easier with a design and tools wouldn’t it?

So before we get to the writing part here is a couple of things I’d recommend;

Space

• It doesn’t have to be big or quiet (I like noise) but somewhere where you feel at comfortable in spending a few hours now and then. It would also help if the things you need are easily accessible…

Printer

• Unless you are writing everything by hand, in which case I’m very impressed, you will need a printer.

Library and/or Internet

• Where you research really depends on what you are researching. If your story needs a lot, the World Wide Web can be a bit of information overkill. Not to mention the fact that you can’t rely on it all being correct. In those cases, I’d recommend a good library and reference books. It’s worth checking your facts and if you are using the internet take the information from reputable sources and wherever possible check it again.
• The internet can be really useful to for quick and easy answers though

Time, Patience and a bit of Stubbornness
I think Jackson Pearce’s video illustrates my point best…

Writing the story is part one.
Re-writing and editing it is what will take the longest.

*in my case that will be a laptop

Boot Camp ½ weekly report

Ok, well it didn’t quite work out the way we planned, sadly my bestest writing buddy still had Thesis stuff to do so while she worked on that I’ve been busy revising my WIP. It’s been going well, only I’m rewriting so much that I’ve added over 10k just for part one… I haven’t finished part one yet!

On the plus side, it’s given me plenty of time to read Matched by Allyson Condie. BWB* had the ARC sitting here waiting for me. I liked it, the writing is great. I confess that I’m not dying for my own copy or needing to know what happens next. I actually like it as a stand alone.

Aren't they pretty?

Yesterday we worked on plot bunnies, by the end of it I had 9 (maybe 10) new projects on top of my current WIP… it was interesting to see how wide our genre’s stretched. While on first glance you would pick my BWB as a fantasy author and me more Paranormal YA, we’ve got Urban Fantasy, Contemporary, Dystopian, Steampunk, Fairy Tales, Ghost Stories, you name it it’s pretty much in there. I can’t wait to start.

Of course the other main feature of this week has been book shopping. My budget went pretty much out of the window, at some point I just went s#d it… but if it’s cereal for breakfast, lunch & dinner the next two weeks I don’t mind.

Below is the whole list (I might as well confess in style) of books I bought, in store and online – because if I’m in another country the books I order online don’t count. It’s my logic and I’m sticking to it *lol* – The green books are bargain bucket**

The Bride’s Farewell – Meg Rosoff

Of Bees and Mist – Erick Setiwan

The Forbidden Game – L.J. Smith

Linger – Maggie Stiefvater

The Line – Teri Hall

Prism – Faye & Aliza Kellerman

The Gardner – S.A. Bodeen

Voices of Dragons – Carrie Vaughn

Maximum Ride [The Final Warning] – James Patterson

The Runaway – Angela McAllister

Magic Under Glass – Jaclyn Dolamore

Daggerspell – Katharine Kerr

The Spinning City – Kate Forsyth

Squire – Tamora Pierce (I have to get the first 2 now )

Jellicoe Road – Melina Marchetta

13 Little Blue Envelopes – Maureen Johnson

The Little White Horse – Elizabeth Goudge

Sonnets and Other Poems – William Shakespeare

Fever Crumb -Philip Reeve

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief – Rick Riordan

Mockingjay – Suzanne Collins

Forbidden – Tabitha Suzuma

Brightly Woven – Alexandra Bracken

Newes from the Dead -Mary Hooper

The Sky is Everywhere – Jandy Nelson

The Mysterious Benedict Society -Trenton Lee Stewart

Looking for JJ – Anne Cassidy

No and Me – Delphine de Vigan

The Adoration of Jenna Fox – Mary E Pearson

Stardust – Neil Gaiman (long overdue!)

Living Dead Girl – Elizabeth Scott

Flyaway – Lucy Christopher

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon – Grace Lin

and finally, Room – Emma Donoghue

I’m not buying any more books for at least 3 months… ok I’ll try not to buy any more books for at least 3 months.

The eagle eyed amongst you will have noticed that despite my earlier claim, Finding Sky by Joss Stirling is not on the list. I’ve decided to wait for the paperback release…

The problem I have now is how to fit them all into my already overflowing bookcases and which one to start with! Suggestions? (Don’t say Mockingjay, I still haven’t read Catching Fire… yeah I know.)

In the near future I plan on doing a blog on online bookshops under the title: Amazon MAJOR FAIL, it’s an ongoing issue that I feel the need to vent about, so tune in.

.

* bestest writing buddy

** can I just say how much I ♥ bargain buckets

In 3s

There is this saying that be it good or bad, things tend to come in 3. That might be because people automatically try and group things in 3s, I know I do. This time, happily my 3s were all good.

1. I returned to work today* to find out I had won £100 in the company lottery pot. Hurray! It’s paying for my friend and my SYTYCD ticket in Vegas. I’ve been grinning at my desk for most of today.
2. I found an extra 10Euros in my holiday wallet which has gone straight into my book fund. Now that I now don’t have to save the money for my SYTYCD ticket I can add those funds as well. I am going to go absolutely book buying mad… 20? Hah, I think 30 should be my new minimum target.
3. I’m getting addicted to Twitter of late** and had #fangirl moment when Robin McKinley re-tweeted my comment about Sunshine. Which was that it’s something guaranteed to make me feel better, along with chocolate and Supernatural.

Finally, one of the many reasons I love dance

*I was off sick, which is not good but I’m better now.

**I resisted so long…

The countdown begins…

This time next week I’ll be checking boarding passes, packing that one extra book* and doing last minute revisions in time for boot camp. The closer it get’s the more excited I am about it. A whole week on writing, reading, and talking about writing and reading

My bestest writing buddy is on a mission to get her WIP finished in time for my arrival, that’s about 40k in one week but if anyone can do it she can**.

My mission is to get the revisions done for part one of my WIP, which I’ll be focusing on this weekend.

A visit to WriteOnCon, while much too brief (I was double booked so couldn’t spend a lot of time there), gave me some valuable input and meant there is another plot rethink. Not as major as previously but it will mean a few changes and a lot more research…

Apart from boot camp the other mission for my holiday is book shopping. I’ve been saving up for 2 months for the express purpose of getting lost for hours amongst shelves of wonderfulness.

The minimum purchase requirement is 20, which is think is a decent number (it should also keep me out of trouble for a month, maybe two) and the maximum is, well, however far I can stretch the budget.

Books I definitely want to get are: Newes from the Dead by Mary Hooper, The Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink, Magic under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore, Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma, The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson and Finding Sky by Joss Stirling…. I’m thinking Linger by Maggie Stiefvater also.

Anyone for further suggestions?

*ok, maybe more like third or fourth

** I have told her she doesn’t have to finish it but she promised and like me she never backs down on a promise. Hence, we only make very few…

I’m such a tease…

only in writing.*

Well I said the first teaser was going up this week and here it is.

I hope you guys enjoy it.

***

He sighs. At least, I think it’s a sigh. It’s an inhuman sound. He stands, dropping Carly like she’s nothing, and walks towards me.

My breath catches. I brace myself, ready to run.

Only I don’t.

I’m not moving at all. I’m screaming at my legs to go but there aren’t obeying. It’s like being weighted – I can’t move and I’m fighting for air. It’s like the stillness I felt earlier, only a hundred times worse.

I feel hot and my vision begins to swim. A force is pushing me towards him, drawing me in. I try to dig my heals into the grass but it does little to stop me. I’m almost through the hedge when he’s suddenly right in front of me.

We are so close our faces are almost touching. A few leaves between us, nothing more. He must see me, surely he has to see me.

I can feel his breath on my face. It feels thick, like a blanket cutting off the air. His smell is something I’ve never smelled before and it’s suffocating me. I whimper, I might be begging, I’m too drowsy to tell and then suddenly it’s all gone.

***

Even though I was going to give myself the week off I’ve dived head first into revisions, along with starting a couple of basic outlines for the WIPs. I love revisions, who knew? *lol*

*I think that’s important to note