tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60408414172503742462024-03-05T08:40:54.227+00:00Along The Write LinesWriting, freelancing and creativity. Contents may have moved during transit.DThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11803989273524731892noreply@blogger.comBlogger397125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040841417250374246.post-598835623114801672019-06-11T16:03:00.001+01:002019-06-11T16:03:37.133+01:00Cathy Shuter - Talking To Children About Death And Dying<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Many writers touch on ‘big themes’ in their fiction – life, death, loss, etc. – but it’s another thing entirely to write about them without characters to hide behind. Cathy Shuter has done just that with her latest book: </span><i><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial;">100 Free Ways To Happier Days! 'Talking To Children About Death And Dying.'</span></i><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">I caught up with her in cyberspace to talk about her work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Hi Cathy, thanks for joining me. I can see from your Amazon page that </span></b><b><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial;">your latest book is part of a wider series. What prompted you to write specifically about death and dying for children?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial;">I work with children and young people in my role as a Wellbeing Caseworker. </span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial;">Quite a number of them have experienced relatives and friends being very ill and dying. They find that their parents and carers avoid talking to them about what is happening and this often leads to them feeling anxious and afraid.</span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial;">Talking to parents and carers revealed that many know they really should talk to their children when their loved ones are seriously ill but they don’t know how to bring the subject up. They want to shield their children from being upset.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial;">I thought that a book offering tips on how to tackle this subject would be useful. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial;">Did you approach writing this book in a similar way to your previous works?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial;">Yes. My books offer 100 free or very inexpensive tips that people can use to help them tackle a variety of issues. Other themes my books have covered include: coping with anxiety, how to approach Menopause, how to feel happier working in schools, and how to deal with transition to college from school. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial;">Each book is designed to be quick and easy to read. People can try the tips that appeal to them and skip the ones that don’t. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial;">Were there any particular challenges in creating this book?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial;">One challenge was making the tips relevant to all ages and stages of development. Children develop at different rates so I wanted to ensure that the tips would be helpful to all ages. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial;">What are your goals for <i>100 Free Ways To Happier Days! 'Talking To Children About Death And Dying'</i>?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial;">When I wrote the book, I wanted my writing to be accessible, quick to read and the ideas easy to apply. My goal has been to create a book that is helpful to as many parents and carers as possible. I have produced it as cheaply as I can so that cost is not a barrier. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial;">Were there any influences or defining experiences that made you want to become a writer?</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial;">I love reading personal development books and have learnt a lot from them so I wanted to share what I have learnt with others. I have an informal writing style that can appeal to people that don’t usually read personal development books. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial;">What have been your highs and lows in independent publishing?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial;">For me, publishing my own books is thrilling. I love that a book can be created just from ideas that pop into my head. The thoughts and ideas get translated into sentences that I type using my laptop and the book is drafted. If someone buys my book it gets printed and sent out. My thoughts have become a thing!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial;">The lows are connected with marketing. I am not very good at selling myself! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial;">Reading your Amazon page I get a sense of a spiritual core or impetus to your work. Could you shed any light on that?</span></b><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial;">Yes, I would consider myself to be a spiritual person. I believe we are all connected and on this planet to learn from and help one another. My books are based around that core belief. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial;">You’ve written two books that have a connection to Autism Spectrum Disorder. What would you most like people to understand about ASD?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Arial;">I would like people to understand that no two people with ASD are the same. Each individual has their own unique challenges but they also have their own unique gifts to share with the world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">How important is a connection to Nature for you as a person and as a writer?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I find being in Nature very grounding. When I walk the dogs in a wood, I feel incredibly peaceful. I like wild places such as The New Forest. I believe that we all benefit from visiting wild places. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Many of my books touch upon the importance of using our senses, living in the moment and surrounding ourselves with Nature as often as possible. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">What book are you working on at the moment?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I am working on another ‘100 Free Ways To Happier Days’ type book. This one is intended to help children and young people to feel safe and benefit from being online.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Where can we find out more about you and your writing? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">My Trusty Life Coaching Facebook page features my writing and has some Facebook Live videos that talk about them:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/Trusty-Life-Coaching-614780095261862/" style="color: purple;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial;">https://www.facebook.com/Trusty-Life-Coaching-614780095261862/</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I also have a page called ‘Reading And Writing About Life’ that features all things book related:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/readingandwritingaboutlife/" style="color: purple;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial;">https://www.facebook.com/readingandwritingaboutlife/</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I have a blog that includes my Cloud Thoughts Blog. This has links to all my writing to date:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://my-cloud-thoughts.blogspot.com/" style="color: purple;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial;">http://my-cloud-thoughts.blogspot.com/</span></a><b><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">All my books can be found here:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cathy-Shuter/e/B071D3PZBK" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cathy-Shuter/e/B071D3PZBK</a> </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">What books and authors have inspired you?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The first personal development book I read inspired me so much. It was The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a>I find Sonia Choquette’s books inspiring too. The Book Of Joy by the 14<sup>th</sup>Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu stopped me in my tracks. It is simply beautiful. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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DThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11803989273524731892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040841417250374246.post-64778678729382177812019-02-12T16:43:00.002+00:002022-02-09T16:03:18.562+00:00Reflections on Writing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Writers create stories but those stories also reflect something back - sometimes it's insight; sometimes it's the fading outline of an event that really happened (give or take a few details like names, people, places and chronology). And sometimes, if we're really lucky and keep our minds still for long enough, stories suggest possibilities for other stories.</span><br />
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<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">I've rarely met a writer who sets off on a creative journey with a detailed plan for a series safely stored away, along with their compass and rations. I'm sure it must happen, statistically speaking, but the writers I am fortunate to know look forward to the unexpected - the character who talks back to the writer (it happens more than you might think), the unplanned plot twist that leaves an answered question (even after 'the end'), or a detail that comes to light and begs to be explored. <i>What do you mean, he has a sister?</i></span><br />
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<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">As it is on the page, so it is in life. The unanticipated is opportunity in disguise. Maybe not the one we wanted, or even deserved, but time and again we read about the tragedy or triumph that sintered someone to write <i>their</i> story (or someone else's!). Who hasn't;t read about the rejected novel that led - circuitously, perhaps - to the one that was accepted? No guarantees of course, other than that the surest way for a writer to block all opportunity is to stop writing.</span><br />
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<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">I've tended to pigeonhole myself as a writer, either by genre or whether it was, strictly speaking, creative writing at all. For example, you can tie yourself in knots over the creative merit of copywriting and still come out none the wiser. I spent years (I was tempted to put that word in bold) on a fantasy novel that then became a magical fantasy novel, and then struggled to see outside its bounds. There were short stories, hidden away in old exercise books and never shared, angst-ridden poetry that - regrettably - was shared and morphed into angst-ridden lyrics (I still know the tunes; I caught myself singing one of the songs last week), and some notes for a future transatlantic novel about real life. That novel is a story I'd never told because, frankly, I didn't think anyone would believe it. I didn't believe it and I was there when it happened. And then came one of those opportunities - a novel writing summer school that showed me how to unlearn my approach and miraculously unlocked new voices with their own stories to tell. Five novels later I'm not convinced their stories are complete, but that, as they say, is another story entirely.</span><br />
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<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">My new novel stalled for months, interrupted by life and death. Well, death mainly, but let's not dwell on that - other people's stories and all... My protagonists haven't learned to trust me yet. Who can blame them when they were neglected for so long. We are strangers in the same room, forced to make polite conversation until we either build up a rapport or at least one of us leaves. But the price of that is a life unlived and a story untold. </span><br />
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<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Meanwhile, the characters in that <i>other</i> novel, loosely based upon the past, look out across the mists of time and patiently their turn. I've done my part; now it's up to an agent.</span><br />
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<span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">I hope the writing journey continues to surprise me - success, or failure, or all points in between. No one ever really knows where anything will lead and that's part of the attraction. As I often quote myself: "The price of adventure is uncertainty." </span>DThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11803989273524731892noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040841417250374246.post-51626534413902193922019-01-20T12:03:00.000+00:002019-01-20T12:03:20.664+00:00The Armageddon Complex by Richard Godwin<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Close to the Bone's latest thriller, "The Armageddon Complex" by Richard Godwin, will be released January 29th, 2019. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The city is being taken over by an organisation so secretive that no one has heard of them. British secret services scramble for information and a biochemist protégé works on an antidote that will save Britain from the lethal pathogen that is sweeping its streets. I<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">In a post Brexit Britain, the UK is falling apart, and it takes one man to stop it – meet Mike Banks: MI6's top agent <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Amazon link: <span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;"><a href="https://www.bookgoodies.com/a/B07MDV31RL" target="_blank">https://www.bookgoodies.com/a/B07MDV31RL </a></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>About the author</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Visionary artist, multi genre novelist specialising in crime and noir, poet, playwright, narrator, and revolutionary thinker – Richard Godwin is the critically acclaimed author of over 20 books, and has stories published in numerous magazines and over 34 anthologies. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Born in London and lectured in English and American literature at the University of London, Richard is the founder of The Horus Club. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Follow him on Instagram: <a href="https://t.co/ii5bFUcHim" target="_blank"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">https://www.instagram.com/richardgodwin02/ …</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Books: Apostle Rising, Mr. Glamour, One Lost Summer, Noir City, Meaningful Conversations, Confessions Of A Hit Man, Paranoia And The Destiny Programme, Wrong Crowd, Savage Highway, Ersatz World, The Pure And The Hated, Disembodied, Buffalo And Sour Mash, Locked In Cages, Portrait of An Assassin, Android Love Human Skin, Insincerity, Confessions of a Gigolo, Twisted Love, and The Armageddon Complex.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Website: <a href="http://www.richardgodwin.net/" target="_blank"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">http://www.richardgodwin.net </span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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DThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11803989273524731892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040841417250374246.post-65413764410363550882018-10-18T20:06:00.002+01:002018-10-18T20:06:41.314+01:00Travelling in the Dark by Emma Timpany<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #217ca3; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">Emma Timpany </span><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">is the author of </span><i><span style="color: #217ca3; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">Travelling in the Dark</span></i><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">, a novella published by Fairlight Books. A local launch will be held at the Falmouth Bookseller, Church St, Falmouth on 23 October at 6pm. <b>All welcome.</b> Emma <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a>has previously published two short story collections and has recently co-edited C<i>ornish Short Stories: A Collection of Contemporary Cornish Writing. </i><a href="https://emmatimpany.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">https://emmatimpany.wordpress.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">How did you start writing?</span></b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I started writing a regular diary from the age of eleven. It was in those pages that I began experimenting with words. I mainly wrote poetry, as it was my first love, as well as bits of prose. I attended my first creative writing class, a summer school, while I was a student at the University of Otago. After graduating, I continued going to evening classes in London and Cornwall and eventually my first short story was published in 2010. So from the beginning to my first publication was a slow process which gradually unfolded over almost thirty years.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">Did you always want to be a writer? </span></b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yes, but for a long time I didn’t think that it was possible. There was so much I didn’t know and I had little time to put into it. When my children started school, I began to have regular time to write and joined a local writers’ group. All my life I’ve loved reading fiction; I feel it’s important for writers to be readers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">You have experience in editing other people’s work. Do you think this helps you in your own writing? </span></b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s something I’ve only started doing relatively recently, working as an editor on <i>Cornish </i><i>Short Stories: A Collection of Contemporary Cornish Writing</i>. I enjoyed it a great deal because it’s very collaborative. The writers I’ve worked with have been pleased to have close attention paid to their work and are happy to make changes they see as improvements. I feel the same way when my own work is sympathetically edited.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The general editing notes I make are always suggestions – there’s no onus on the writer to accept them if they don’t want to – and alongside these I pick up on any typos or unintended errors.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">How is editing someone else’s work different from editing your own writing? </span></b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s much easier to edit someone else’s work because the writing is new, fresh and unfamiliar to me. Even a relatively brief short story of my own of, say, 2,000 words, might go through as many as fifty drafts before it’s finished. By this time, when I read the work I will miss even obvious errors, seeing what I want or expect to be there rather than what actually <i>is </i>there. One challenge as an editor is trying to stay true to the writer’s unique voice and not to impose my own ideas and style too forcefully. I’d sum up my editorial approach as ‘a keen eye and a light touch’.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">You’ve previously written short stories. How do short story and novella genres compare to you as a writer?</span></b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ve been thinking about this a great deal lately and, in fact, have started to feel as though they share a great deal in common.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s something to do with their succinctness – they are both intense, concentrated forms which gain power from withholding information and not spelling everything out, leaving the reader to fill in the gaps and absences themselves. In both short stories and novellas, everything is pared down to its essence and sometimes becomes more than the sum of its parts.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another trait they share is that novellas and short stories can be read in one sitting and so it’s possible to hold them in your mind in their entirety.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">If you could describe <i>Travelling in the Dark </i>in one word what would it be? </span></b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Home.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">What inspired you to write <i>Travelling in the Dark</i>?</span></b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">The inspiration came after I travelled to New Zealand after an absence of seven years with my husband and two young children, a year after the devastating Christchurch earthquake of February 2011. As we went back to lots of places familiar to me, it occurred to me that </span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">– </span><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">while I was flooded with memories of the past </span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">– </span><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">my children had no idea what had happened in those places. So the journey we were making was happening on many different levels at the same time, in the visible present and the potent past.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It also struck me that whatever difficulties we go through as adults, parents of young children have no choice but to keep going and carry out many practical, repetitive and tedious tasks each day whether they feel like it or not. Some might consider this a terribly mundane and unimportant subject to write about, but in this story the love and care that Sarah can continue to give her child in the present day acts as a powerful antidote to both her present and past suffering. Some might even say it’s heroic.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">The nature descriptions in <i>Travelling in the Dark </i>are breath-taking. Did you choose New Zealand as a setting for this reason?</span></b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My home landscapes of Otago, Southland and Fiordland in southern New Zealand have always been the main inspiration for my writing. It’s a wild, unique and beautiful place but also threatening and intimidating. The immense power of the natural world dominates and makes human life seem small in comparison.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">The places mentioned in your novella are mostly fictional. Did you base the descriptions on any real places in New Zealand?</span></b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yes, all the fictional places are based on real places but most have been changed in some way, some merged, along with the possible routes Sarah can take. I wanted to do this as I’m aware it’s easy for people to assume that fiction is actually thinly disguised ‘fact’ or ‘the truth.’ I wanted to signal very strongly that these are fictional characters and fictional events occurring in a fictional place.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">You describe many different types of scenery in your novella (New Zealand, Greece, etc.) When you are writing these passages do you recall the places from your memory or does it help to have a picture of them in front of you?</span></b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Interesting question. I write from memory rather than from actual visual images. I feel as though I can ‘see’ these places just by thinking about them. It’s very important to me for not only memory but imagination to play its part in the creation of fiction and have free rein. Imagination and the creative process are powerfully transformative, changing what once had some basis in reality into new and interesting shapes and patterns. What I’m writing is not factual, and I find it fascinating to see the alterations and versions my imagination makes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">What’s the most surprising thing you’ve learned through your writing? </span></b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That writing is extremely hard work, but true freedom – which is incredibly rare in this world – is to be found there. In what other occupation can you become anyone or go anywhere?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The act of creation is powerful and addictive and, when it’s going well, can seem the best feeling in the world. The stakes feel very high to me between success and failure, what I want to achieve and the actual result. I spend most of my time rewriting, polishing, perfecting and cutting anything unnecessary out, whereas what I love best is writing new work.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I am happy with what I’ve written or, on the rare occasion, a story is gifted into my mind and flows out, as if something other than me is speaking through me, it’s an amazing feeling. It’s like being able to fly. But when things aren’t going well, it can be very bad. Light and dark, yet again, something I always come back to – the brighter the light, the darker its opposite. I try to be patient and realise that silence, frustration and rejection are all part of a writer’s life, even after publication.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">What has been the hardest part of <i>Travelling in the Dark </i>to write?</span></b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">I started this book six years ago and the first draft arrived fluidly and quickly. Since then it’s gone through dozens of drafts and countless transformations. The final rewrite I did </span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">– </span><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">with help from my mentor Clio Gray </span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">– </span><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">was the hardest as it meant rearranging the book (yet again). But I believe these final changes also made it publishable.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In this final stage I had to discard some scenes I was very fond of, and yet some parts of the writing have remained exactly as they were in the first draft. Beneath the surface of this book, I see so many other drafts and variations, rather like the layers of an archaeological dig. In a way, this is rather fitting and similar to the layering of time and memory in the story itself.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">Why did you choose <i>Travelling in the Dark </i>as the title of your story?</span></b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The title came to me very early on as I wrote the first draft, and never changed. It was inspired by something the New Zealand writer Robin Hyde wrote ‘…who travels with his dream travels with a dark torch.’<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For me, this really summed up the strange compulsion writers have to find their way to a story or finished piece of work, even to find out what they feel and think, out of thin air. More literally, the story opens with Sarah and her child on an aeroplane flying through the night sky. Another crucial scene in the novel takes place in the darkness as well.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">What do you hope people take away from reading <i>Travelling in the Dark</i>?</span></b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #363636;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">I hope that it gives people who have lived through challenging experiences a sense of not being alone with their difficulties. When I was growing up and trying to understand my own feelings, I was helped mostly by books because </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(54, 54, 54); font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.5333333611488342px;">no one</span><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"> ever spoke about those things.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We are all imperfect and have faults and flaws; Sarah’s fight is to face up to her past difficulties and help a friend in need, and her challenge is not to repeat the patterns of the past in her relationship with her child.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Many of the recent tributes to Stephen Hawking described him as a hero. In <i>Travelling in the Dark </i>I was trying to show that everyday bravery and kindness in the face of numerous setbacks is kind of an achievement in itself and might even be thought of as a difficult, quiet kind of heroism.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">What does writing mean to you? </span></b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s been my support and pleasure for thirty-seven years, and I hope that it continues to be so for the rest of my life. Every human being and every life is unique and immensely complex – at its best, writing can capture some of the strangeness and wonder of life and express what it is to be human.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">What inspires your writing? </span></b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Landscape, memory, trying to pin down complex feelings and emotions.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">Do you have a writing schedule? </span></b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My writing time falls between 8am to 3pm on weekdays during term time but is often interrupted for various reasons. Time and good health are gifts which can be lost at any moment. I try to remember that the time I have is limited and precious and to make the most of these hours.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">Where do you tend to write?</span></b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I write at an old oak desk that used to belong to Great Western Railways in the front room of my home in Cornwall. When I was younger and didn’t have a desk, I’d always sit on my bed in my tiny room in Macandrew Bay and write there, looking out the window at the ever-changing light on the hills of the Otago Peninsula and the water of the harbour.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">Who your favourite author? </span></b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Very difficult question to answer. I always come back to Katherine Mansfield’s long short story ‘At the Bay’ (which some might argue is actually a novella).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are so many books and authors I enjoy and learn from, as the stacks of books dotted around every room of my house will testify. Works I’ve enjoyed recently include Rachel Cusk’s <i>Outline</i>, Gwendoline Riley’s <i>First Love, </i>Elizabeth Strout’s <i>My Name is Lucy Barton, </i>Kent Haruf’s <i>Plainsong </i>and Sally Rooney’s <i>Conversations with Friends</i>. I love reading and rereading my favourite books, as I always find something new in them. I enjoy reading biography, memoir, poetry and creative non-fiction as well as fiction.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">Do you have a pet peeve when it comes to writing? Something you notice yourself doing or something you pick-up in other’s writing.</span></b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I always feel that fictional deaths, especially those of children, must be absolutely necessary and hard earned. In far too many novels horrible things happen to children and young people, especially if they are female. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My own children dying before I do is my greatest fear and so is something I never want to imagine for myself or for any of my characters. That said, far better writers than me have handled this subject with the utmost skill, grace and dignity – one example is found in James Baldwin’s brilliant work <i>Sonny’s Blues</i>, another in Kate Clanchy’s short story <i>The Not-Dead and the Saved</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">Do you have a writer’s habit that helps you ‘get in the zone’?</span></b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The quieter it is, the easier I find it to work. I get my best work done when it’s just me in the house and my cat is nearby asleep on the sofa.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">Do you feel like you writing style has changed over the years?</span></b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think my writing comes from the same place but I can see, looking at old work, how my writing has improved over the years simply from practice. I’ve learned a lot of techniques and got much better at editing my own work. But I still tend to say as little as possible, and to ‘write short’.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I thought I might be able to sustain longer narratives as I became more experienced. It still might happen. I learn most from reading the work of other writers and thinking hmmm…how did they manage to do that?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">What’s a piece of advice you can give to aspiring authors?</span></b><span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #363636; font-size: 10.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It sounds very basic but read in your genre. If you want to write contemporary short stories then read every contemporary short story collection you can get your hands on. There will be plenty in your local library and short stories are broadcast on the radio most days. Try and think about why you like some of the stories more than others. A combination of reading and learning creative writing techniques will improve your work and, most importantly, help you understand when things go wrong. There are a huge number of resources available online now. Keep trying and practising. As with any skill, it takes time to get better, and practice (everyday, if possible) is at the heart of this.</span></span></div>
DThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11803989273524731892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040841417250374246.post-15431082665866739352018-10-14T11:30:00.001+01:002018-10-14T11:30:46.644+01:00Should Fiction Keep It Real?<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt;">I planned to write about the balance between a writer’s life and their inner world, but this piece on the BBC website caught my eye and, frankly, it seemed more interesting to explore than to write about what I know best (me).</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-45803343" style="color: purple;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt;">https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-45803343</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt;">It’s well worth reading in full, but in essence author and screenwriter Daisy Goodwin questions whether having lots of strong female roles in prime time series, such as The Bodyguard and Killing Eve, gives girls and young woman false expectations of life even as it inspires them. Daisy refers to ‘airbrushing reality’, which begs the question: <i>What purpose does fiction best serve?</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt;">Unsurprisingly, I can see both sides here. In my Thomas Bladen novels, although the focus is primarily on Thomas and Karl at work, and Thomas and Miranda after hours, I have written in a number of what I hope are strong female roles. This isn’t tokenism. Throughout my working life, most of my managers have been women. In addition, I think that writing <i>different </i>characters from the author’s direct experience adds complexity and interest. Television though (and cinema) is more immediate, more visual, more in-your-face because the action all takes place in front of you, rather than inside your own head.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt;">A glance through the news headlines will tell you that sexism and racism are still formidable barriers to greater social change (and classism / social mobility is as well). How accurately should they be portrayed? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt;">I think that fiction isn’t reportage – it can mirror reality or it can diverge from it. For me, that’s driven by the story. And yes, of course <i>my</i>stories are an expression of my experience, my projections and imagination (which again are inevitably informed by my experience). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt;">Another point worth considering is that drama in fiction, television and cinema is usually about exception. The tension or conflict comes from something out of the ordinary, whether that’s an event or a realisation (which is really an inner event), and the consequences that follow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt;">Pixar’s storytelling structure is well known and here’s a great description of it: <a href="https://www.schoolplanner.co.uk/blog/teaching-the-pixar-story-structure/" style="color: purple;" target="_blank">https://www.schoolplanner.co.uk/blog/teaching-the-pixar-story-structure/</a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt;">In the end, even if it’s fiction for now, I want to see diversity in roles and characters. Whatever the present situation, the future is unwritten. And fiction can also inspire people to turn fiction into reality.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
DThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11803989273524731892noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040841417250374246.post-59604915141873490782018-10-10T20:39:00.001+01:002018-10-10T20:39:07.573+01:00B is for Brainstorming<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6uU7-1CwtxwmWUke-zEqO1ChkETwzy6tJhBzrSeK0nDXm59WXvjyLYEGkWD-3FjEjauQSAFGU6lLoRGYbHcCccIW-RKDrSBxG_OaYTxyImBLJ2ToDurq40kM8MeDXCLPAS6oKkjXpZHm9/s1600/Lamorna.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="901" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6uU7-1CwtxwmWUke-zEqO1ChkETwzy6tJhBzrSeK0nDXm59WXvjyLYEGkWD-3FjEjauQSAFGU6lLoRGYbHcCccIW-RKDrSBxG_OaYTxyImBLJ2ToDurq40kM8MeDXCLPAS6oKkjXpZHm9/s320/Lamorna.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Over the years I've heard many writers talk about the difficulty in coming up with ideas. I even attended a writing workshop once, where, during the introductions, someone declared, "Someday I really want to write a book - I just don't have any ideas for it yet." And then I really wanted to murder a wannabe writer - only I had plenty of ideas of how to go about it. But enough about me...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Every waking minute of every day, we are bombarded by stimuli - much of it, but not exclusively, external. TV, radio, magazines, advertising, overheard conversations, things we see, things we <i>think</i>we see - all these and more are constantly feeding the brain with information and interpretation. In parallel, our internal thought processes relate to the external stimuli based on what we have experienced before and our internal values or biases. Unless you're meditating, it doesn't stop. For a second. The only activity that keeps the noise down is <i>focus</i>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, you could cut up some magazines and go arrange some pretty pictures. That's a start; it's true. But why not take the information you've collected and do something else creative with it? Pretend you're a comedy writer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At first glance, comedy writing and other forms of creative writing are very different. Every genre has its rules and expectations, while comedy seems to be about one rule - being funny - right? Well, wrong actually. Comedy writing, in my experience, often relies on set formulae and techniques, and most of these can be applied to brainstorming.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These include:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Intermission - a few jokes to be going on with...</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the first Disney artists has died in California. Doctors say the colour just drained out of him.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Originally, brides were married in blue. It was a sign of both purity and substandard washing powder.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Scientists have confirmed that pig organs are completely safe for human beings. If only as a breakfast after the transplant operation.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A survey has shown that men pay more attention when they have a woman in the car...telling them how to drive.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">OK, where were we?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Brainstorming. So, it isn't just a slew of ideas that gets the brain changing up a gear, there also needs to be a context or a <i>dynamic tension</i>. What is it about two ideas / characters / subplots / ideologies that ignites our interest? I think it's the dynamic between them. Juxtapose two people with conflicting ideas, or strangers locked in a room, and you have the beginnings of something interesting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Still stuck for ideas? Get out your dictionary (remember those?) and use the power of <i>random</i>. For example, the finger of fate has selected <i>professor</i>, <i>puppet</i>and <i>sleep</i>:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A professor who performs sleep deprivation experiments on his students.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A professor obsessed with an antique puppet that he has to possess.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A professor being manipulated by someone else in the faculty.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Teachng people good sleep habits.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A puppet that comes alive in people's dreams.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A puppeteer who calls herself The Professor, but who is she really?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The tale of a disassociated child, whose parents dress him up as a puppet.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Enjoy your brainstorming - observe, play, and juxtapose, and see where it takes you!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Derek</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">@DerekWriteLines</span></div>
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</style>DThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11803989273524731892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040841417250374246.post-11225142941265509422018-09-16T11:35:00.002+01:002018-09-16T11:35:45.969+01:00A is for Altruism for Authors<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8_l_M9QCNT7pryH6VT8YFzwVXo0X2APkaHtO8_wK-D1wPovjRSoIjTgWKDtFkOXtfuUpV_bZGcXI4Imvbp1yW2LlI8tFaVw_jMSPoXZs1ET20nd8RvOlM5Rg23ePnCd31epntt1idhEUA/s1600/EmptyChair.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1308" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8_l_M9QCNT7pryH6VT8YFzwVXo0X2APkaHtO8_wK-D1wPovjRSoIjTgWKDtFkOXtfuUpV_bZGcXI4Imvbp1yW2LlI8tFaVw_jMSPoXZs1ET20nd8RvOlM5Rg23ePnCd31epntt1idhEUA/s320/EmptyChair.jpg" width="261" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sit down next to me.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">I’m a great believer in supporting the writing community wherever possible and whenever practicable. Of course, there is competition for representation, for publication, and for funding, but most of</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><i style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">that </i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">activity happens in the privacy of one’s outbox and those all-important decisions are beyond our control once we have pressed</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><b style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">send</b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">How can novel writers support one another, I hear you ask? (Don’t worry; I have a very active imagination.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Several ways come to mind for helping out your fellow authors:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Sharing on social media. It’s not so much that you’re expected to wield great influence, more that you are likely to know people (and communities) that the other writer doesn’t know.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Hosting a blog post. Often the author will provide something for you to host. If not, a simple Q&A format, with one or two quirky questions thrown in, helps the author talk about their work in a fresh way for a fresh audience.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Reading and reviewing. This can be controversial because there may be expectations of a shining review for a less than shiny book. Alternatively, it may not be your genre, or your thing. Sometimes authors will agree to mutual reviews, which can take on the nature of a poker game! Honesty is always the best review policy. Amazon has some baffling rules – which it doesn’t share – about reviews so don’t be surprised if a review suddenly ups and disappears.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Become a beta reader. You get to read the book first, sometimes as a work-in-progress, and other times it’s the pre-launch, basically good-to-go version. Here, the focus for feedback tends to be around grammar, formatting glitches, and consistency. You might even end up in the acknowledgements for services rendered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Making recommendations to your own readers’ list. And if you’re a published author and you don’t have one, you need to think seriously about creating your own list.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Why you ought to consider it</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">If the notion of good karma doesn’t light your inner flame, there are more tangible positives to author altruism: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">By participating in the community you are raising your profile, both to other authors (and possibly their agents / publishers) and to your own followers and readers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Interacting with other authors can be an education in other people’s creative process, which in turn informs yours.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">It is an opportunity to see how other authors market themselves and their work, and then consider what <i>you</i>do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">More diverse authors and posts on your blog and social media streams.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Frankly, it takes you out of your own ‘magnum opus’ centred universe. Sometimes we need a little perspective and visiting someone else’s universe can be a great way to do just that. It normalises what you might think of as your unique struggles, when you realise everyone goes through the same old crap!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Maybe, just maybe, other authors will go the extra mile for you. Who knows, you could start a trend!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Reservations</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">I know what you’re thinking (I did say my imagination was active): what about the downsides? Well, as long as you know why you’re doing what you’re doing, and you have realistic expectations…oh, okay then, here goes:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Other authors might be doing much better than me! In the words of an old friend from Staten Island, “Deal with it!” There will always be more successful (and with a better reach) and less successful writers than you. That’ the nature of the beast. But the ones ahead of you may have a bigger community for you, while the ones behind you may appreciate you all the more for your kindness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">What if people don’t help me back? Well, like the rest of life, sometimes that happens. Altruism is not a payback scheme.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Surely I should spend my time on my own writing? Yes, when you need to be writing. Only you know what time you can spare, but why not spare some of it to make a difference to someone else’s book / chances / day?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Isn’t altruism unrealistic, nay, self-defeating, in a competitive environment like the arts? If you see supporting others (and let’s face it we’re talking about small ways, not making a sandwich board and marching up and down Oxford Street for hours) as a drain on energy you’d rather devote to your own book, then this is not for you. I think it comes down to personal values. I’m not convinced that 20 minutes spent sharing the load of another author will be the decider between my success and my failure. I’d rather feel good about helping someone than see it as a winner takes all, rat race with pens.<span> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">I feel pressured / guilt tripped / manipulated to do something I really don’t want to do. Then it’s not for you. No sale; no drama! But maybe let the other writer know, so they’re not building up false expectations (or a grudge!).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Supporting your fellow authors may not advance your own agenda one iota; that’s not the point. It may, however, make you a more fulfilled human being, a more rounded author, and a much appreciated contributor to the writing community.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
DThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11803989273524731892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040841417250374246.post-40261899630102897592018-08-27T19:40:00.003+01:002018-08-27T19:40:42.296+01:00Harvesting your writing projects<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMZ95W2zLWomcYTtBN5xVfqxZ2mHIvMkfJDAyuTONKA-Z9milnRa9ZCtc_LotgQfhTiKukN3MSDaK5HLIVHUiJODgSdSSnVGUDFNZZHREQlICbqNN1GCUvT0GUaTYtoBTi0024d2F1Yo3k/s1600/Apples.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1227" data-original-width="1600" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMZ95W2zLWomcYTtBN5xVfqxZ2mHIvMkfJDAyuTONKA-Z9milnRa9ZCtc_LotgQfhTiKukN3MSDaK5HLIVHUiJODgSdSSnVGUDFNZZHREQlICbqNN1GCUvT0GUaTYtoBTi0024d2F1Yo3k/s320/Apples.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>I like 'em a great deal.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Creativity means different things to different people. For writers, that can include doing one thing brilliantly, or doing lots of different things to varying degrees of success. I tend to fall into the latter category, unless there’s a deadline on the horizon. Thus it is that I have two novels in the early stages of development, a whole range (literally) of greetings cards hopefully under consideration, a daily visit to <a href="http://www.comedywire.com/" target="_blank">www.comedywire.com</a> to top up my gag writing skills, a standalone completed novel on submission to a handful of agents and publishers, and the beginnings of an ebook anthology predominantly of short fiction that I gathered together from previous publications. It all looks great on paper – pardon the pun – but is this shotgun approach to creative writing a way of avoiding focus? Can less be more? And can my questions seem a little less like Carrie Bradshaw’s in Sex and the City?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">We bought a water filter at home to improve the taste of eau de tap. For longer than a care to remember you had to have a knack to fill the kettle without rinsing the work surface and the back of the kettle at the same time. This week, for no reason at all, I finally realised you can pop the lid on the spout, reducing the field of flow and also making it more controllable. Who knew?! Of course, that epiphany lasted for a couple of days before I got lazy and thought I could wing it. Rinse it, more like.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Maybe it’s not laziness as such, just an expectation that we can get away with stuff if it doesn’t seem to matter. And yet, if Dr Lister took that approach he’d never have discovered Yakult. Did I mention that science isn’t one of my strong suits? Unlike the Kevlar one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">The one area of writing where I buck my own trend is in editing a novel once it’s complete. Standpoint, my debut spy thriller, went through <i>seven </i>complete edits. I knew the tone I wanted and kept going back to make minor adjustments. Actually, there came a point where I had to force myself to stand back from it. Fortunately, Joffe Books ‘got it’ and helped refine the text so that it kept the Raymond Chandler and Len Deighton inspirations, but also elevated my emerging voice. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">We sometimes confuse the rush of inspiration with actual creativity because it <i>is</i>such a rush. When the Muse comes to call she usually brings a suitcase filled with presents, and it seems rude to ignore any in preference of any others. But, in the same way that our parents ‘made’ us play with a new Christmas present for a while before we opened the next one (my brother remembered it as an hour, but I’m not so sure), it is important to focus your time and attention so that you make real progress. Too much inspiration, in too many directions, is a distraction and the enemy of productivity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">In practice, I like to prioritise what needs to be done to meet the long-term objectives (e.g. I can realistically only write one novel at a time so something has to take second place) and balance that up with a few quick wins for when things seem so difficult that they grind to a halt. There is also a lot to be said for applying your bum to the seat and making yourself do <i>something </i>even if it runs the risk of becoming tomorrow’s chip paper.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">For me, this all plays out as:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Complete first draft of crime novel by the end of the year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;">Work on second batch of greeting card content. (This is more fun than work.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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DThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11803989273524731892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040841417250374246.post-10890121764157261672018-08-16T07:30:00.000+01:002018-08-16T07:30:06.793+01:00Stewart Giles - The Backpacker<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7zpAbZNlNpyqanvA3onf0ICwEqHuBxhWNkLkcp8Z1A8Lo7se1oXJUatBl7JgdZZw6sjAEX2WdA1hgk8lAANqp0_oG07jCsBZ-xl-KYYdNpWkGCdFTziuw3VtGxJ3-dP67iNnF0EA1niSd/s1600/Backpacker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="794" data-original-width="584" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7zpAbZNlNpyqanvA3onf0ICwEqHuBxhWNkLkcp8Z1A8Lo7se1oXJUatBl7JgdZZw6sjAEX2WdA1hgk8lAANqp0_oG07jCsBZ-xl-KYYdNpWkGCdFTziuw3VtGxJ3-dP67iNnF0EA1niSd/s320/Backpacker.jpg" width="235" /></a></div>
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Every writer hopes that their characters take on a life of their own, adding depth to the dialogue and plot as a book progresses. That old chestnut about characters answering back in the writing process, and sometimes even altering the course of the entire book, is true. So what happens if a successful author comes up with another compelling character, who then needs an entirely new book series?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Best-selling author, <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stewart-Giles/e/B00MLXPXZQ" target="_blank">Stewart Giles</a>, has overcome that challenge, and recently saw the publication of <i>The Backpacker</i>, his third DC Harriet Taylor novel in a series that still has a way to go to match his</span><span style="font-family: "arial";"> 8.5 novel series about DS Jason Smith. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "tahoma"; line-height: 14.266666412353516px;">DC HARRIET TAYLOR SERIES<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "tahoma";">Book 1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "tahoma";">The Beekeeper<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "tahoma";">Book 2<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "tahoma";">-<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "tahoma";">The Perfect Murder<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "tahoma";">Book 3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "tahoma";">The Backpacker<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "tahoma"; line-height: 14.266666412353516px;">DS JASON SMITH SERIES<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "tahoma";">Book 0.5<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "tahoma";">Phobia<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "tahoma";">Book 1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "tahoma";">Smith<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "tahoma";">Book 2<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "tahoma";">Boomerang<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "tahoma";">Book 3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "tahoma";">Ladybird<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "tahoma";">Book 4<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "tahoma";">Occam’s Razor<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "tahoma";">Book 5<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "tahoma";">Harlequin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "tahoma";">Book 6<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "tahoma";">Selene<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "tahoma";">Book 7<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "tahoma";">Horsemen<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "tahoma";">Book 8<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "tahoma";">Unworthy<span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Stewart has opted to self-publish The Backpacker and has set up a Reader Club to engage directly with his audience. </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px;">You can join the club by completing this form:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none;"><a href="https://goo.gl/forms/gtQ0gsNpzFP8WFHP2" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;" target="_blank">ttps://goo.gl/forms/gtQ0gsNpzFP8WFHP2</a> </span></div>
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<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><b>The Backpacker</b></b></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt;">WHAT IS THE SECRET AT LANDELL’S FARM? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.1200008392334px;"><br />A girl’s body is found hidden in a remote spot of a Cornish Farm. The same farm that a young girl ran towards to escape her pursuer many years before. Detective Harriet Taylor has to abandon her day out to investigate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.1200008392334px;">As Littlemore and the forensics team get to work they uncover another mystery hidden among the rocks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.1200008392334px;">Who would kill a young backpacker who hurt nobody? Is there a link between this and a mystery from many years ago?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.1200008392334px;">As Harriet and the team get to work they find more questions than answers. What secrets is the sleepy Cornish village hiding?<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.1200008392334px;">This is a fast-paced page-turner that has so many twists and turns it keeps the reader guessing right up to the shocking end.</span></div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Stewart Giles - in his own words</span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt;">After reading English & Drama at three different English Universities and graduating from none of them, I set off travelling and finally ended up in South Africa, where I still live. I enjoy the serene life running a boat shop on the banks of the Vaal Dam. I came up with the DS Jason Smith idea after my wife dropped a rather large speaker on my head. Whether it was intentional still remains a mystery. Smith, the first in the series was finished in September 2013 and was closely followed by Boomerang and Ladybird. Occam's Razor, Harlequin and Phobia (a series of short stories detailing Smith's early life) were all completed in one hazy 365 days and Selene was done and dusted a few months later. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.1200008392334px;"><b>Links</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.1200008392334px;">Website: <span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://www.stewartgiles.com/" target="_blank">www.stewartgiles.com</a> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.1200008392334px;">Twitter: @stewartgiles<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.1200008392334px;">Facebook: <span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/stewart.giles.33" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/stewart.giles.33</a> </span></span></div>
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DThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11803989273524731892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040841417250374246.post-36388861979224130232018-06-19T07:30:00.000+01:002018-06-19T07:30:03.227+01:00Credibility Counts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you're writing content that matters, it's always personal - not only to you; also to the client and to the audience. The subject may not rock your world initially, but you'll find a way in and suddenly 'Forgotten cleaning products of the 1950s' takes on a life of its own. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, if there's no part of you that's fired up by the premise or your angle, put down your pen my friend. Life is too short to create content that doesn't count for something (which is not to say that sometimes people won't want to burn your lovely words and then flush the ash down the toilet). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I maintain that without a connection to your own words, the chances are they'll be drier than ancient parchment. Or worse, you'll churn out something you think the client will care about that is hollow inside. You may even get away with it for a while but believe me, cleverness will only get you so far.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Starting out with a new subject can be daunting. Most writers suffer from 'imposter syndrome' from time to time, and convincing an editor that you're the best person to write about AI when, to date, the sum of your experience has been watching <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062622/" target="_blank">2001 A Space Odyssey</a> and playing computer chess is going to be a tall order. Fortunately, there's a lot you can do to help yourself.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Sit and Think</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm a great fan of sitting and thinking. I like to think the think of no-thinking and see what my free-associating comes up with. I'm essentially walking around the topic - a stage that's crucial to the way I work best. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Pen and Paper</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some people jump straight to playing with ideas on the page. AI, for example, means different things to different people. Robots from Boston Dynamics, the threat of job losses, understanding algorithms and how they underpin online advertising, the Internet of Things, the Internet of Everything, autonomous vehicles, machine learning, surveillance - just some of the random sparks in my brain while I'm typing this out. Any one of those ideas can be metaphorically lifted into the air and rotated to create a new perspective.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Refine your Research </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Before you rush off to a ubiquitous <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-43566751" target="_blank">internet search engine</a> or perhaps a <a href="http://www.wolframalpha.com/widgets/view.jsp?id=1a23efcb39da8db7ca95ea8085d096a1" target="_blank">more obscure one</a>, give some thought to where you'll get expert testimony. Typing in AI will produce a plethora of results that can eat up your time and your enthusiasm. Try narrowing your search parameters to AI magazines, or AI news, or AI scandal. With a refined focus you are more likely to identify expert and more relevant sources of information.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Make it Personal</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Having thought and played with ideas and scoured the web, remember to put yourself in the piece. And what I mean by that is think about - in the instance - what AI means to you and what it might mean to your client or readers. Are you optimistic, fearful, cynical or just plain confused when it comes to the impact of AI on your life now and in the future? Whatever the case, <i>good</i> - write it down.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Make it Relevant</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not so long ago I found myself in 'strange conversation' territory when someone asked me what I was doing for the weekend. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Writing content for a grief counsellor," I replied. As you do. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She peered at me for a moment. "And what do <i>you</i> know about grief?"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I hadn't expected to be challenged, so I went with my gut. "My brother and I lost both our parents in our 20s, and I lost my brother in my early 40s."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"So what?" she said. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was a bit gobsmacked to be honest. I added, "I've been writing about the funeral industry and bereavement for three years, and one of my friends is a bereavement counsellor."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She nodded and half-apologised for being abrupt. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although it wasn't a work conversation as such, it could easily have been. I've written on a whole range of topics from ageism to matchmaking to high-end property development. Establishing your credibility in your own mind is half the battle. But...you need to join the dots for clients so that they understand why your experience and expertise (whether it's personal or professional) is relevant to the job. Sometimes it can look a little like a simple formula:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"I haven't written about (A) but I know a lot / have written about (B) and that's relevant to (A) because of (C)."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Understanding (C) may also give you a fresh perspective on the whole topic. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Derek Thompson</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Freelance Columnist, Copywriter, Blogger, and Author.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.professional-writer.co.uk/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.professional-writer.co.uk</span></a> </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>DThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11803989273524731892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040841417250374246.post-90532366034481031572018-05-29T10:02:00.000+01:002018-05-29T10:02:20.740+01:00What I Did on My Bank Holiday<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCxoTkR4i25S5Xsm5aKpcz59QySa_dVtYZ_l-w44bcpdjzpPEZL16QLStLmfiHLEXrJLOgogoTAMB1B7u9RBwTNjCbhEOC7tNHVyjkrmUJLyO7g75KKol6PIEYpLyz81YOntURyUrXn4RI/s1600/Green+Buddha.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="901" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCxoTkR4i25S5Xsm5aKpcz59QySa_dVtYZ_l-w44bcpdjzpPEZL16QLStLmfiHLEXrJLOgogoTAMB1B7u9RBwTNjCbhEOC7tNHVyjkrmUJLyO7g75KKol6PIEYpLyz81YOntURyUrXn4RI/s320/Green+Buddha.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is no time for gardening!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Most of the freelancers I know have an <i>untraditional</i> attitude to holidays. It's either a case of 'if I don't work I don't eat' or that clients don't expect you to be available so you can use the time to catch up on other stuff behind the scenes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In my case that meant some morning yoga (don't be too impressed - we're only talking a few daily minutes here), a five-mile walk, and an unplanned meeting with a centenarian. He didn't say a lot but he was surprisingly spritely. He lives on a strict vegetarian diet and mostly sleeps in the wintertime. Okay, he's a tortoise. Apparently he was bought from Woolworth's in the 1920s.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After I'd got back and put aloe vera on my head (note to self: always take a hat with you; you can no longer remain in denial), I spent a little time reviewing my shiny website, beautifully reconstructed by Beth from <a href="https://lollipopsandrainbows.co.uk/" target="_blank">https://lollipopsandrainbows.co.uk</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Along with flitting in and out of <a href="http://www.p/">http://www.p</a></span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://rofessional-writer.co.uk/">rofessional-writer.co.uk</a> I also sifted through old blog posts to see which ones deserved to make the cut. It's interesting to read the early material and to see how much character I put into those posts. Back then, I think, I wanted the reader to know me and to empathise with / be amused by my situations. As the calendar rolled on a few years I can see more book postings - mine and other people's - and a few sponsored posts that paid for meals out and other treats. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I wonder what I'd say to that writer who, back then, was still writing novels and stories in the abyss where readers fear to tread. Obviously, if he hadn't kept plugging away I'd be stuffed now and my book shelf would be a little more <i>spacier</i>.<i> </i>Maybe I'd tell him to write <i>more</i> - more material, more depth and more honesty. But here's the thing. Writers have a whole internal process of which readers - and often the writers themselves - are completely unaware. As a mental health professional recently said to me in a conversation about dream symbolism: it's all about the self. So every character, every murder or treachery or triumph or failure, comes from somewhere inside us. We may mine your names, situations and snippets of dialogue but the heart and soul of whatever we're writing is torn from us like pulsing flesh. We can only write what we're ready to write, at least if we want the words to emerge authentically. That means writing the crud as well as the gems. It means revealing some small part of oneself (and often not so mall) in every scene. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm joining a webchat later this week with a group of readers who have just read Standpoint, my first Thomas Bladen spy thriller. I don't know how other authors do it but I plan to answer every question head on, ducking nothing, in an effort to be as honest with my readers off the page as on it. They've chosen to journey through the world of my imagination so it's the least I can do. If I can I'll post some of the questions and answers in a blog next month.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZZmeIONZ-lZQr2drgKkWcAHv8phyphenhyphenRw8wDXLkCtWco-CZTgLv2On0zcMTCz9zJEiIvIwq0cdfNPGkmyq8U2bG55fHoQro92LHtZqroRjZQR46u39pdaMUSTfxdJGBdr73gHMiiJD8RAW-c/s1600/SpyChaser+series+2018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="159" data-original-width="580" height="87" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZZmeIONZ-lZQr2drgKkWcAHv8phyphenhyphenRw8wDXLkCtWco-CZTgLv2On0zcMTCz9zJEiIvIwq0cdfNPGkmyq8U2bG55fHoQro92LHtZqroRjZQR46u39pdaMUSTfxdJGBdr73gHMiiJD8RAW-c/s320/SpyChaser+series+2018.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Take a look at my books!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Derek-Thompson/e/B0034ORY08" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.co.uk/Derek-Thompson/e/B0034ORY08</a></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>DThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11803989273524731892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040841417250374246.post-78048733395924677882018-03-06T11:33:00.000+00:002018-03-06T15:03:02.204+00:00Top Reasons to Harvest Your Rainwater<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A sponsored post on behalf of <a href="https://www.freeflush.co.uk/" target="_blank">Freeflush</a>.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZa9zRAv7Vk5XDyNyqLl7mDHZ7U3OQd9Mg29E6f27Pamr8_med3ha-962W06o4unxhwwcoAknVymSvoxRftwhgKyQbI3kqq8bUaluPj8nvLTxA54KqM3FFzgTD4wP2eGEUaFuoIyt6yqOf/s1600/Slimline_wall_hung_water_butts_large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="450" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZa9zRAv7Vk5XDyNyqLl7mDHZ7U3OQd9Mg29E6f27Pamr8_med3ha-962W06o4unxhwwcoAknVymSvoxRftwhgKyQbI3kqq8bUaluPj8nvLTxA54KqM3FFzgTD4wP2eGEUaFuoIyt6yqOf/s320/Slimline_wall_hung_water_butts_large.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>Top Reasons to Harvest Your Rainwater</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">RAINWATER IS FREE, BUT THE SUPPLY IS NOT DEPENDABLE!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">It
rains <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">a lot</i> in the UK. Despite
significant regional and seasonal variations there’s an average of 800 mm per
year in the east / southeast and typically more than twice that in western
parts of the UK. (Averaged over a 30-year period.) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Source: Those lovely people
at the </span><a href="https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/summaries/2017/annual"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Met Office</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial";">.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">IT”S
GREEN (NOT LITERALLY!) AND GOOD FOR YOUR GARDEN.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Rainwater
is naturally softer than tap water and hasn’t been treated with chlorine. You
could say it’s what Nature intended!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">WHY
PAY FOR SOMETHING WHEN YOU DON’T HAVE TO?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Once
your rainwater harvesting system is in place, it’s like someone’s putting money
into your pocket every time it rains, in perpetuity. Save mains water usage and
you save money – it’s as simple as that. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.freeflush.co.uk/pages/rainwater-harvesting-calculator" target="_blank">A nifty rainwater harvesting calculator</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">SMART
GARDENING<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">If
your garden is lower than your house (and your rainwater storage container),
you can emulate the Romans and have a gravity fed system that drought-proofs your lawn. Put a water butt anywhere
in the garden and connect it with a permanent hose. As long as there’s no air
in the system, it refills itself. No more unreeling / reeling to water the
garden – think of the time you’ll save and all the other garden jobs you can do
instead (sorry about that!). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">ECO
CREDENTIALS ARE GOOD FOR YOUR BUSINESS PROFILE <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Increasingly,
it’s not just about your product or service; it’s about your company’s values
as well. Whether or not your business has an environmental component, rainwater
harvesting demonstrates your commitment to sustainability and conserving
resources. Wearing kaftans and chanting are optional!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">CONTINGENCY
PLANNING<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Unfortunately, mains water supply <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43298773" target="_blank">l</a></span><span style="font-family: "arial";"><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43298773" target="_blank">eaks and disruptions happen</a>, affecting residential and business customers</span><span style="font-family: "arial";">. Harvesting water can ensure
you’re never caught short again! Rainwater can be used to flush toilets, can be filtered for drinking, and you can even wash the car for free with it. Not all
with the same water though – that would just be wrong.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Freeflush design and supply <a href="https://www.freeflush.co.uk/" target="_blank">rainwater harvesting systems</a>, helping businesses and consumers save water and the
environment. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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DThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11803989273524731892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040841417250374246.post-78307905442355705752018-02-06T12:30:00.002+00:002018-02-06T13:05:17.950+00:00Film Noir Feeds my Fiction<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKGes06p6i7NgYcgzDD5xby5eMFw0ONrZLK7osPYto9oxFDGn919U7DDIB3jxHXmMjDUc5kRv7lY5nHwaqcsptk7Qd0-n3-22F8dO6XYnprC3V9ZAq5cMEGbF_hyphenhyphenGJgg9ke7avwEfIgc0P/s1600/FLASHPOINTmini+2018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="610" data-original-width="380" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKGes06p6i7NgYcgzDD5xby5eMFw0ONrZLK7osPYto9oxFDGn919U7DDIB3jxHXmMjDUc5kRv7lY5nHwaqcsptk7Qd0-n3-22F8dO6XYnprC3V9ZAq5cMEGbF_hyphenhyphenGJgg9ke7avwEfIgc0P/s320/FLASHPOINTmini+2018.jpg" width="199" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The rules have changed.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I’ve made no secret of the fact that Raymond Chandler’s writing is one of the inspirations for my Thomas Bladen spy thrillers, but I also owe a huge debt to cinema. It’s my great pleasure now to introduce you to a back catalogue of films that remain classics of the spy / thriller genre. Many of them are derived from novels but for consistency I will only reference the films and I’ve added the IMDB links so you can read about the plot in more detail. I hope you find some old favourites here, as well as some ‘new’ classics to add to your own list.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We’ll come back to Raymond Chandler in a bit. First and foremost, I have to pay tribute to <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0026029/?ref_=nv_sr_1" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The 39 Steps</a>, a tale of a man unwittingly drawn into a murderous conspiracy, who goes on the run to prove his innocence. I favour the 1935 version with Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll, as well as <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1282016/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">a brilliant BBC version from 2008</a> (which includes elements from the novel that were left out of every other film). How much do I love The 39 Steps? Well, in Standpoint, Thomas watches the 1935 version with Miranda and comments on how Hitchcock changed the story from the novel. There’s also a homage to one of the film’s plot devices in Line of Sight, my follow-up to Standpoint. I put <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053125/?ref_=nv_sr_1" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">North by Northwest</a> (1959) alongside The 39 Steps as another great example of a mistaken identity driving the plot forward. How do you win through when you don’t know what you’re supposed to know? I think it helps to have other people looking out for you from time to time.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The films <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037101/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Farewell My Lovely</a> (1944), <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038355/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Big Sleep</a> (1946) and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037101/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Long Goodbye</a> (1973) allow Raymond Chandler’s world-weary private detective, Philip Marlowe, to fill the screen; much like Bogart’s performance as Sam Spade in the Dashiell Hammett co-scripted adaptation of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033870/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Maltese Falcon</a>. My original intention had been to write Thomas Bladen as a detective, only he arrived pretty much fully formed and had his own opinions about what he did for a living. What I love most about this batch of films is the dialogue and the characterisation. The plots are well-crafted but to me they are secondary. The ‘hero’ is flawed and his attitude is often more hindrance than help as he battles relentlessly against the tide. These films are gritty, sometimes sleazy and show the underbelly of society. Yet somehow, almost miraculously, the hero emerges with most of his honour intact. My fondness for this genre led to the creation of Leon Thurston, a West Indian private detective who plies his trade from an old minicab office in Dalston. East London. While we’re on the subject of Chandler, make time for <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038369/?ref_=nv_sr_1" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Blue Dahlia</a> (1947) – it’s an intriguing whodunit that apparently involved a controversial rewritten ending…but you can research that for yourself! Like Alan Ladd’s Johnny Morrison, Thomas Bladen is a little out of steps with the world around him, but the right woman makes all the difference.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Spies yet? Well, almost. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052695/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Vicious Circle</a> (1957) finds a humble doctor (humble but with a cravat!) drawn into a deadly game of blackmail and intrigue that leads him questioning who is out to get him – and why? I’d put this one in the same category as <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025452/?ref_=nv_sr_4" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Man Who Knew Too Much</a> (1934) and also (<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049470/?ref_=nv_sr_1" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">1956</a>). Ordinary people in extraordinary times, who dig deep when they find themselves pawns in a much bigger game – much like Robert Hannay in The 39 Steps.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Both <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071360/?ref_=nv_sr_1" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> (1974) and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120660/?ref_=nv_sr_1" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Enemy of the State</a> (1998) tackle surveillance, paranoia and ethics, along with the perennial question of who watches the watchers. It is perennial too, as that phrase is as old as the Romans. In Thomas Bladen’s world, a simple surveillance job often turns out to be far more complicated and it doesn’t pay to ask too many questions (not that it stops him). The observer may seem impartial but they cannot deny there are consequences to their work. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073802/?ref_=nv_sr_3" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Three Days of the Condor</a> (1975) pits one man against the ‘organisation’, by trying to stay one step ahead of everyone, in order to get to the truth and hold people in power accountable. By book five, Flashpoint, Thomas has learned that justice can take many forms and sometimes even a bitter compromise is the best option. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041959/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Third Man</a> (1949) involves a mystery, a disappearing act with a difference and a conspiracy – how do you find out the truth when everyone is telling you something different? Its cunning and amoral titular character (compelling played by Orson Welles) dominates the film despite not being the main role. This group of films demonstrate another element that I wanted to bring to my books: unresolved endings. The moviegoer is left wondering what could happen <i>afterwards</i>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I hope you’ll make time to watch all these films, even if you’ve seen them before. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For those who enjoy extra homework, make time for:</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Long Memory (1953)</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rear Window (1954) </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A Prize of Arms (1962)</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Gilda (1946)</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Build My Gallows High (1946)</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In a Lonely Place (1946)</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When not watching classic cinema, I write Thomas Bladen spy thrillers - intrigue, action and sardonic humour.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpG9wd0UQ6CSgzQqNC7XeHxAhuQVMZTgfvo_a8zgY_djb6A-PIuFIqyVKAzkKZvD6pVPeDRlO-46B_kk-AOnmdtzo9NJDHYSy1CcC6LeoFxaEijhkiWCJ5LABPjZqf84FkB1jJINnseZpJ/s1600/SpyChaser+series+2018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="159" data-original-width="580" height="108" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpG9wd0UQ6CSgzQqNC7XeHxAhuQVMZTgfvo_a8zgY_djb6A-PIuFIqyVKAzkKZvD6pVPeDRlO-46B_kk-AOnmdtzo9NJDHYSy1CcC6LeoFxaEijhkiWCJ5LABPjZqf84FkB1jJINnseZpJ/s400/SpyChaser+series+2018.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj48z0HDi51ZN6tjUSYQM8sL7wRbPO7eDjJSc3q5OLD8FQUdQMD4SDKSwJcftJofuDZqmUFLGsSqIMe0O53eHifrW0i_R9P_HUcX1906MzP2rBfudB_eO8p-2RoL32mpvkUHq_oB6Kk5Ckh/s1600/SpyChaser+series+2018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #2288bb; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">UK <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Derek-Thompson/e/B0034ORY08" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.co.uk/Derek-Thompson/e/B0034ORY08</a></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">US <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Derek-Thompson/e/B0034ORY08" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.com/Derek-Thompson/e/B0034ORY08</a></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial";">FLASHPOINT – Part Five of the Spy Chaser series</span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><b><i>After London suffers a coordinated terror attack, Thomas Bladen questions
everything – his future with Miranda, his Surveillance Support Unit job and
even his clandestine role as a Spy Chaser.</i></b></i></b></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic;"><br /></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "arial";">But
his troubles are just beginning. </span></i></b></b></div>
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</b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic;"><br /></span></div>
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<b><i><span style="font-family: "arial";">When the Unit comes under MI5’s control and two senior SSU staff disappear, his
search for answers is blocked at every turn. </span></i></b></div>
</i></b><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "arial";">A
missing handgun and the reappearance of old adversaries forces him into uneasy
alliances and hard choices.</span></i></b></b></div>
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</b><br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><i><span style="font-family: "arial";">- <b>Could there be a double agent in their
latest assignment?</b></span></i></i></div>
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">
</i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-family: "arial";">- <b>What is behind the rift between government
departments?</b></span></i></div>
</i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-family: "arial";">- <b>And what if he has got it wrong this time?</b></span></i></div>
</i><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Thomas
must face his deepest fears and what he discovers could change the rules
forever.</span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/FLASHPOINT-gripping-action-packed-espionage-thriller/dp/1912106280" style="color: #2288bb; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Amazon UK</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/FLASHPOINT-gripping-action-packed-espionage-thriller/dp/1912106280" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Amazon US</a></span></div>
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DThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11803989273524731892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040841417250374246.post-74653589123575339652018-01-09T12:52:00.000+00:002018-01-09T12:52:53.744+00:00How freelance writers can make a fresh start in January<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6pXLzYuP5_ndMd6voVDQTm6uNootptowyWqvT5AtBuAaL2X07xuaW__S6gp3YlfCIRLgJseoUtd7x7D1_BIjOeWMYcHDcApd2QHzqg0ucHry-lR7kEhvJme66xjFRX66pKS5DLAy29QZE/s1600/Begonia+bloom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1506" data-original-width="1128" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6pXLzYuP5_ndMd6voVDQTm6uNootptowyWqvT5AtBuAaL2X07xuaW__S6gp3YlfCIRLgJseoUtd7x7D1_BIjOeWMYcHDcApd2QHzqg0ucHry-lR7kEhvJme66xjFRX66pKS5DLAy29QZE/s320/Begonia+bloom.jpg" width="239" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's time to bloom.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We are all driven by deadlines, even if we don't always meet them - Christmas presents bought before the 24th of December (preferably), birthday cards posted to arrive neither too early nor too late, get into work before the boss, and finish that novel in your bottom drawer before you die, to name but a few. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Most deadlines are logical although some</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> run contrary to popular opinion, like my local supermarket's decision to start selling Easter eggs on the 7th of January. Good luck with that.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">January is that time of the year when we wipe the dust from our gym membership card, swear off biscuits (again) and promise ourselves that this time next year it'll all be different. I can't guarantee that, even for myself, but here are my suggestions for a freelance writer's To Do list in January.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Check your resume and portfolio</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1. Make sure all the links still work (websites may not last, or the website gets restructured) - nothing stinks like a dead link. You might want to consider storing your best links online through a site like <a href="https://ebyline.com/" target="_blank">https://ebyline.com</a>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2. Review the language and format of your resume. Does it focus on your strengths, convey your awesomeness, position you favourably for your target niches?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">3. Are your portfolio examples current and relevant? Does a one-off high value job from long ago help promote your business now?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Manage your money</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1. Speaking of deadlines, have you completed your tax return and paid up? If, you'd best get on with it!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2. Do you know which clients are your A listers, and which are, frankly, hard work before you even start writing? <a href="https://www.makealivingwriting.com/" target="_blank">Carol Tice</a> recommends periodically culling the lowest paying client and then making sure the next client comes in at a higher rate.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">3. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When did you last review your rates and is it time to raise them?</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> January is an excellent time to alert clients to a rate rise in the new financial year. It's also a great lead-in to scheduling work before then at the current rate.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">4. Do you have a folder of prewritten or second rights' material that never gets an airing? This could be the perfect time to review and repurpose for revenue!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">5. Are you on the best deals for a landline phone, broadband, and a mobile phone. Whether you're in contract or not, you could make savings by switching or negotiating a better deal.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Time</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1. Make regular time for pitching.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2. Keep set hours and limit distractions.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">3. Make time to keep your skills current and to look for new niches. For example, I wrote a piece about keeping chickens that developed into a Green Living column, which in turn helped me get some eco product pieces. All thanks to Sweet Pea and Pepperami.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>What do you do in January to make your writing year successful? </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>DThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11803989273524731892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040841417250374246.post-88220484883399905852017-12-23T17:31:00.000+00:002017-12-23T20:05:35.941+00:00Pull the Other One - Adventures with Cracker Jokes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNvqCiVodJwcELp7FMrSTICjuWdIRGJeV4i1jCja28l1HGSFMBt1-XKE83TtvHg0AiZKuXFCHnaXFbHaIAc-p2rl1rsNw_IiS4GCPsb_wBwaLD8V6BZwVaNDVcuaBqJEYrnyDgQimaurvC/s1600/Winter+Garden.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNvqCiVodJwcELp7FMrSTICjuWdIRGJeV4i1jCja28l1HGSFMBt1-XKE83TtvHg0AiZKuXFCHnaXFbHaIAc-p2rl1rsNw_IiS4GCPsb_wBwaLD8V6BZwVaNDVcuaBqJEYrnyDgQimaurvC/s320/Winter+Garden.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A ghost of Christmas past.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is the second year I've entered the Gold Channel cracker joke competition. The fact that I'm mentioning it at all should alert you to the prospect of a happy or unhappy ending. In this case, both!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The brief was for something topical and festive, perhaps with a twist on a traditional Christmas cracker groaner. I posted 15 on Twitter and my favourite is neither topical nor festive. Maybe that's why it failed to impress the audience.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<i style="color: #14171a; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">Who is Rudolf's favourite singer? Elkie Brooks! </i><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Anyway, one of my little crackers made the cut for the top 20. Sadly for me, only the top ten get a writer's mention and mine came in at number 11. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My <a href="https://www.comedy.co.uk/features/top_20_christmas_cracker_jokes_2017/" target="_blank">winning entry</a>.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWvsSa4FtBv-JBo16lJ2Ij6K38AIPEV9RZMHU_6q_I115gZfihDcpA3INoD9MACpiz1rimydreX29rmUi9qNgvO3mxE4kO5PpmBHxMcZlcjfJPe9JFC7PTmsAremoOph770GFKcei7Z7_A/s1600/cracker+joke.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="279" data-original-width="637" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWvsSa4FtBv-JBo16lJ2Ij6K38AIPEV9RZMHU_6q_I115gZfihDcpA3INoD9MACpiz1rimydreX29rmUi9qNgvO3mxE4kO5PpmBHxMcZlcjfJPe9JFC7PTmsAremoOph770GFKcei7Z7_A/s400/cracker+joke.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">Here are the
others:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><br /><i>
What do you give the man who has everything for Christmas? Amnesia.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><i><br />
Which Triumph model did Gabriel and Michael prefer? <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><i>Hark the Herald,
angels sing<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><i>Which monarch
drinks too much at Christmas? Good King Senseless.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><i><br />
How do Royal Mail staff run a strike ballot? First past the post.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><i><br />
What do you get if you use power tools to make the house more festive?
Double-decorations.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><i><br />
Where does Father Christmas go to the toilet? In an igloo.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><i><br />
What is the Christmas gift that money can't buy? Money, unless it's foreign
currency. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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How do Santa's elves decide what to wear? They suit themselves. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><i><br />
Where do armies fear to tread at Christmas? Snowman's Land.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><i><br />
What is Rudolf's favourite dessert? Chocolate moose.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><i><br />
Where does Father Christmas go for his holidays? Easter Island. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><i><br />
Why did the elves give Santa cranberry sauce and mustard? They wanted to pass
on the condiments of the season.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><i><br />
What do Santa's midnight feasts and London drivers have in common? They both pay
a heavy congestion charge.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><i><br />
What does Father Christmas eat on Boxing Day? Quiche la reindeer. </i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Merry Christmas, one and all – that’s my
festive motto!<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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DThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11803989273524731892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040841417250374246.post-5473843353496748392017-12-09T20:16:00.000+00:002017-12-10T08:25:39.448+00:00Today's Subject is Subjectivity<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sir Isaac Newton stated that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. For authors that gets translated into 'for everyone who likes your work, someone else will hate it'. There doesn't have to be any rhyme or reason about it; it's just a thing. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This state of affairs was brought back to me recently when I decided to seek out a publisher for superhero club, my mid-grade children's book about bullying, friendship, self-acceptance and transformation. Originally, it was published by Musa Publishing and when they folded I self-dubbed it to try and get a wider audience. It was also considered for use in a therapeutic / workshop setting for young people who may have experienced one or more of the issues touched upon in the book.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first publisher I contacted was quite enthusiastic and promised me a response within eight weeks. However, their actual response consisted of 'thanks, but we rarely take on new books right now'. And yes, of course I sent them a query first before submitting the manuscript.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The next publisher felt the book was... 'a little unfocused and didn't necessarily know which age group it was being aimed at. We need to make sure that we're directing the content specifically at a certain age group. Otherwise, the book simply doesn't work.'</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Having had it previously published (and edited and focused by Musa), I found this a tad surprising. Not that the other publisher is wrong, from their perspective, just that it differs from Musa's and the readers who were kind enough to leave reviews. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Interestingly, despite having four of my Spy Chaser novels published since 2005 by Joffe Books, the first part of the above feedback that caught my eye was the book simply doesn't work. All of which goes to show that:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Opinions vary (informed and otherwise). It's important to really believe in your work, even if other people do not, and use any feedback to improve your manuscript or perhaps your pitch. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Having your work published will not change you. Sure, there might be some money in the bank, and yes, you can see your work for sale. But any nagging insecurities will stick around like unwelcome guests unless change your perspective. See item 1 above for details!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. Sometimes it's time for new stories, not just on the page but also the ones we tell ourselves. Our fixed ideas about what a writer is and is not are, in fact, mere acts of imagination. And if you're going to start imagining, why not imagine some positive things!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. All writers have to start somewhere and are capable of developing their craft.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Superhero-Club-Derek-Thompson-ebook/dp/B00UM7QIIO/ref=la_B0034ORY08" target="_blank">Amazon UK</a></span></div>
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<a href="about:invalid#zClosurez" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="16" id="2kcb4rwg11s9" src="data:image/gif;base64,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" width="16" /></a><span style="font-family: "arialmt";"><br /></span><br />
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DThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11803989273524731892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040841417250374246.post-34755049137893482912017-09-05T14:36:00.001+01:002017-10-27T23:32:57.271+01:00Authors & Books - Being Krystyna<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrviSBCCdSeMBbXkNL9LM5QgfCex7u5Mv76LhewcpMhN-YpGcuiXqPAWPi0H62ks8iHCBWWxXxPqfBUUaozsw4LBFydrtZEmMm7Q_P7vi0uOOu7cNFlnQUe8PjC_N_Ji1YQohBbgywU-vu/s1600/BK+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="776" data-original-width="481" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrviSBCCdSeMBbXkNL9LM5QgfCex7u5Mv76LhewcpMhN-YpGcuiXqPAWPi0H62ks8iHCBWWxXxPqfBUUaozsw4LBFydrtZEmMm7Q_P7vi0uOOu7cNFlnQUe8PjC_N_Ji1YQohBbgywU-vu/s320/BK+cover.jpg" width="198" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Most authors will tell you that the fictional world of their books comes from a real world inspiration. - a news item, an overheard conversation, or perhaps a personal experience that sparks off a chain of inspiration. There is another purpose of storytelling - to memorialise a true story so that friends, family and future generations can see history through the eyes of those who lived through it (and often those who did not).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I'm grateful to Carol Browne for making time to discuss her work on </span><i style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;">Being Krystyna - A Story of Survival in WWII.</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>1. What was it that drew you to
the project?<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I volunteered to write the life
story of local woman Krystyna Porsz after a chance meeting with her son in a
Polish restaurant in 2011; but I was a very reluctant biographer. I did it
because no-one else could be found who was either able or willing to take it on
and that was my only reason. I thought, “If I don’t do it, no-one will.” It
seemed far too big a responsibility to me but I told Krystyna’s son I’d give it
a go, even though I was convinced I wasn’t up to the job. I write fiction. I
make stuff up. I assumed non-fiction would be completely different.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>2. Did your approach differ from
writing fiction?<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I discovered that non-fiction and
fiction aren’t so different after all because the author still needs to provide
the reader with a compelling read. It can’t be written as a chronological
series of events or it will be very dull. In the case of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Being Krystyna - A Story of Survival in WWII</i>, although I had the
facts of Krystyna’s life, they amounted to a few sheets of A4 paper, hardly
enough material for a book. So I had to build a structure to hang those facts
on, very much like creating a plot for a work of fiction. A young Polish friend
of mine had visited Krystyna on two occasions and I used her as a narrative
device, so we see the story unfold through her eyes. This gave me much more
opportunity to expand the text while still being true to the available facts.
It also added another dimension to the story, comparing the very different life
experiences of two Polish women.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Additional challenges, however,
present themselves when you remember you are dealing with someone’s actual
life. Writers of fiction know that characters are apt to take on a life of
their own. They seem real to their creators and as authors we want to portray
them in their best light. When you are writing a real person’s story, this
becomes vitally important. The sense of responsibility the author feels is
magnified. For me, writing about Krystyna, it was off the scale; here was a
very old lady whose ability to communicate was seriously hampered by dementia.
There wouldn’t be any chance of being able to discuss the book with her. There
wouldn’t be any feedback. While I was writing the book, I kept thinking, “If
this were my life story, would I be happy with how it’s being handled?” That
was my benchmark all the time and I’m confident I kept to it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>3. How did the experience change
you?<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Writing a real person’s story is
a challenge. It’s hard work. But I recommend it, especially if that person’s
life is drastically different from your own. It’s an enlightening experience.
It will broaden your mind and test your ability as a writer. It will give you
the opportunity to write something that really deserves to be written. I only
met Krystyna once but I made a point of shaking her hand before I left. I
needed to physically touch someone who had survived the Holocaust, who had
lived a history I had only read about or seen on black and white newsreels.
Krystyna Porsz is a truly brave person. A survivor. I’m grateful not only to
have met her, but to have had the honour of telling her story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>4. Where can we find out more
about <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Being Krystyna</i>?</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Being Krystyna is available in
Kindle format on Amazon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Being
Krystyna (UK): </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://tinyurl.com/hanoycg" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/hanoycg</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Being Krystyna (US): </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://tinyurl.com/ya6gn7c5" target="_blank">https://tinyurl.com/ya6gn7c5</a></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">You can visit the website of
my publisher, Dilliebooks:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="https://www.dilliebooks.com/" target="_blank">https://www.dilliebooks.com/</a> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I also write other books and you can find my blog at <a href="https://authorcarolbrowne.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">https://authorcarolbrowne.wordpress.com</a></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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DThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11803989273524731892noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040841417250374246.post-3584915797395286342017-08-12T16:41:00.001+01:002017-08-12T16:41:33.033+01:00This Old Thing - why writers shouldn't hide their light<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFsYtOMKua8q0H_qmxOnl0OGGeqksOHI0TGUFN7IoafmgLc8vMRR8ubzMbq9szmUXDu9uBwoKuRxTisuZHIdH0mrlA26Yst0sXirE7abAxz4HdSazA_ndkBR_RrlQHsqwZSIC5MbzujQ0A/s1600/spy+chaser.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFsYtOMKua8q0H_qmxOnl0OGGeqksOHI0TGUFN7IoafmgLc8vMRR8ubzMbq9szmUXDu9uBwoKuRxTisuZHIdH0mrlA26Yst0sXirE7abAxz4HdSazA_ndkBR_RrlQHsqwZSIC5MbzujQ0A/s320/spy+chaser.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial";">I'm fortunate to know many writers, each at different stages of their craft, and I've yet to find one who really celebrates their talent. True, there is the social media 'woot' when a chapter is completed or a word count is reached, but ask them to take a bow and you can practically hear footsteps receding into the distance. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial";">I think our US cousins have a more expensive approach to their moment in the spotlight, although even there I've seen proud pen smiths become shrinking violets. So this is pep talk for all writers, only with a difference. I'd like to remind them - and readers - about the perils, pitfalls, and dark clouds we weather as part of our literary obsession.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>1. </b>Writing is an amazing, imaginative
and, on occasions, transformative process, but it is not without its shadow
side. Despite the tropes of a four-hour typing flourish with words
streaming perfectly on to the page, entire and cohesive book plots arriving in
your consciousness like the morning post, and characters introducing themselves
fully formed with back story (although this one has happened to me a few
times), the elephant in the writing room is that it’s bloody hard work. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>2. </b>Maybe it’s changed now but
when I was at school, creative writing was simply about telling a story and
playing with ideas. Nuance, style and technique were prizes of serendipity and
not hard-won achievements. Now, when you write to be read you can’t help but be
aware that someone will (hopefully) sit down with your book and a cup of tea
(other beverages are available), eager to get their entertainment quotient for
the cover price. When you disappoint them you also feel that you've disappointed yourself and your craft. (Sometimes you can also hear the muse crying or ranting in a corner!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>3. </b>The creative process is a
solitary one and it has to be. You can’t enter fully into your own inner world
if you’re still being pulled by the outer one. To misquote from my
yet-to-be-contracted US novel, it’s a little like building castles in the air
and then choosing the furniture.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>4.</b> Once you have written your
book and gone through the seven levels of hell that are editing, deciding along
the way that you<i> love / hate / love / hate / are indifferent to</i> your opus,
you then put your baby on the stage and start contacting agents and publishers
or prepare for self-publication (where you are responsible for everything). If
you are successful you will attract the praise, wonder and ire of your peers
- most of whom you’re never likely to meet except online. But hey, you’ve
climbed a rung and those who have not are entitled to their own take on the
situation. Well, as long as your editor or agent isn’t a family friend or a
member of your family. That state of affairs is never going to win you friends
and will dog you like a bad smell – irrespective of the actual artistic merit
of your book. There is no entitlement in writing, but heaven help any writer who appears to have been given a side door into the magical world of publishing!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>5. </b>Let’s move the calendar
forward. You are officially a published writer. Now you can call yourself an
author and everyone will want to know what you write (insert genre prejudices
here!), who is publishing you (and who has heard of them), whether it’s going
to be out in paperback or ebook (e-sniffiness is an allergy affecting many
writers), and the $64,000 question – will you be receiving $64,000? </span><span style="font-family: arial;">The
question is a strange one since, in my limited experience, no answer is a happy
one. Explaining that there was no advance will earn you the pitying look one
gives an old Labrador Retriever that’s in its dotage, while a modest advance
merits a nod of condolence. A large advance, meanwhile, earns you an
enthusiastic response that translates as ‘you lucky (and probably undeserving)
bastard’. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>6. </b>The calendar skips along and
your book is out there for all the world to see. Your greatest challenges
are now, in no particular order:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial";">a) Promoting your book without abusing the hospitality of your fellow writers,
sounding like a cracked record, and spending so long on social media that you
stop doing any further writing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial";">b) Not checking for book reviews like an addict. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial";">c) Finding new angles to promote your work.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial";">d) Not oversharing your happiness about your success, or – worse in my opinion –
underplaying your success. I’ve seen it several times where writers have really
gone through the mill and put their lives on hold to finish a book and then
take on an attitude of ‘what, this old thing – it’s just a story really’. <b>No</b>.
<b>Bad writer.</b> You jolly well stand there and take the credit for your efforts. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial";">To do otherwise is disingenuous at best and self-sabotage at worst. And it absolutely won’t help
you sell books, which is part and parcel of your role as an author.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>7.</b> As bright at your star is,
and as well received as your book will hopefully be, you will meet critics
along the way. Some will have valid observations, some will have chosen your
book unwisely, some will feel their expectations have not been met, and some…well…some
people enjoy finding fault. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Your star will usually fade – I won’t say
inevitably as some authors buck the trend. Often though, sales decrease, other writers come
along to steal your thunder and friends of yours who were behind
you on the trail catch up and may surpass you. Celebrate their success with
them and give them all the support you can because you know, from experience, the rocky path they’ve travelled.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b><i>Derek</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Amazon UK <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Derek-Thompson/e/B0034ORY08" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.co.uk/Derek-Thompson/e/B0034ORY08</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Amazon UK <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Derek-Thompson/e/B0034ORY08" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.com/Derek-Thompson/e/B0034ORY08</a></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNjQOsACwr83t99uWx-lhY0OrxWquQ04oV7d6JSOX-LJAk8tL1NPaRY65mhHR2G7sT7V4IkKFKVp_Y3Q7xI0cS8ZZVoAwhw3y0sooFhRiNV6J3FwX3kw6br5n0PtVUGxNfKQMbHg5grzQ0/s1600/5books.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="197" data-original-width="572" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNjQOsACwr83t99uWx-lhY0OrxWquQ04oV7d6JSOX-LJAk8tL1NPaRY65mhHR2G7sT7V4IkKFKVp_Y3Q7xI0cS8ZZVoAwhw3y0sooFhRiNV6J3FwX3kw6br5n0PtVUGxNfKQMbHg5grzQ0/s400/5books.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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DThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11803989273524731892noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040841417250374246.post-13691869530896865532017-08-06T12:51:00.001+01:002017-08-06T12:51:40.063+01:00To write or not to write?<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ3IuTb35qd4wkcW35nr52DaNosWWQ_t6BtGYHH76lNBdOtR2mzJnn2T5TSB8kPPVUfjbeKH_Vpd37err1B17vSSYj1qT1hKLu013h-rKefs4RQQzmjNS1cqtdhqO6oXrwEt88L5398Cin/s1600/Love.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1556" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ3IuTb35qd4wkcW35nr52DaNosWWQ_t6BtGYHH76lNBdOtR2mzJnn2T5TSB8kPPVUfjbeKH_Vpd37err1B17vSSYj1qT1hKLu013h-rKefs4RQQzmjNS1cqtdhqO6oXrwEt88L5398Cin/s320/Love.jpg" width="311" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The hidden ingredient in every piece of writing.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ask most writers, whether they are starting out, seasoned, or overcooked, and they all tell you the same thing - they write because it's a compulsion. It's the nagging internal voice when you read someone else's below par writing that whispers, "You could do better than this." It's that same voice when you're amongst other people that nudges you and mutters, "Write that line down." It's also the barely heard wraith of a voice through the fog of your self-doubt that reminds you to keep going.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It can be so, so easy to fall out of love with writing. There are more challenges thrown at you than Romeo and Juliet had to contend with. They could have simply eloped, although it would have made for a much shorter play.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Reasons to doubt yourself as a writer:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. The first draft is awful. On a par with a two-month old piece of cheese left at the back of the fridge.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Unlike a rather <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037800/" target="_blank">lovely 1945 film</a>, you frequently have no idea where you're going. And sometimes you'll need to turn back or head off through the thicket.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. Countless writers do it better than you and are <i>doing</i> better than you. And you can read about them online, in newspapers or in bookshops.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. It can be a hard slog to grab the attention of an agent or a publisher, and even then there is no guarantee of a contract. And even a contract is no guarantee of sales.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. Everyone is a critic, and those who are the most critical are not shy about it. They will vilify your paper / electronic children and in so doing humiliate you. They will insist that they have 'found you out' and unmasked you as a pretend writer. In fact, they are often so busy doing this that they have no time to write their own masterpieces. Now that's what I call sacrifice and public service.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6. Talent, plaudits and sales are not the same thing. Let's not forget that even J<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reception_history_of_Jane_Austen" target="_blank">ane Austen was a slow burner</a>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7. You rarely feel your final version <i>is</i> the final version. However, over-edit at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mdwAkWvWMw" target="_blank">your peril</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Reasons to stick with it:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. You have absolute freedom to write absolutely anything. How brilliant is that?!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. You and your writing develop simultaneously. The more you understand about yourself and life, the more you can pour that into your writing. Conversely, reading other people's work and examining your own creative process can enrich your life. [The one non-writers jokingly refer to as 'the real world' (whatever that is).]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. Sometimes, when you write there can be moments of magic - unexpected insights, characters talking back to you and guiding the pen, or the threads of a book converging like the final note in The Beatles' A Day in the Life. Who wouldn't welcome a little magic into their lives?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. You could finish a book. A book. By you. That book can then be read by other people, giving them a visitor's ticket to your inner world.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. You can connect with a worldwide community of writers who understand your challenges on the page and can sometimes help you through them. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6. Your writing can lead you to interesting and unimaginable places. Not just publication, but opportunities you've never even dreamed of. I wrote 100 funny slogans about socks, co-wrote a magazine for a while, and also scripted a short comedy film script because I stuck with writing and gained the confidence to put myself out there. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7. Your stories are unique to you. An individual perspective that no one else can replicate. Think about that. Little me or little you, staring at our screens and creating something from our own experience and imaginings. Giving form to ideas and emotions that the people can then experience for themselves.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, what are you waiting for?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Derek</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Derek-%E2%80%A6" target="_blank">My books live here. Not everyone likes them and that's okay too!</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwFwZTG2gu-wLlQO8vsLTXD_7JxB7xJk0bAFgz7XbOZyiW2FAVf1_AosTZ8iy5RHKtOTf3eM9TtJuc2EnITCRQf1e4r7Xo_mvxM70D_Yt1DUMsTtMq5GCKOced3II_K0Ui67ScXmgvm99Q/s1600/Covenant+image+sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="437" data-original-width="288" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwFwZTG2gu-wLlQO8vsLTXD_7JxB7xJk0bAFgz7XbOZyiW2FAVf1_AosTZ8iy5RHKtOTf3eM9TtJuc2EnITCRQf1e4r7Xo_mvxM70D_Yt1DUMsTtMq5GCKOced3II_K0Ui67ScXmgvm99Q/s320/Covenant+image+sm.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<br />DThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11803989273524731892noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040841417250374246.post-43902782406843516942017-07-22T14:00:00.000+01:002017-07-22T14:00:13.867+01:00Give Your Freelancing a Reboot<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgylopzmE0Apdk-PKFFdjn55w6iumx3nSyVRE6slh49hIb8eeuqQuXysQl8vsuUhRy6vFUpLYtcRBsoJP_hiI-SWcgt0-RQ2l3sgUQFPbdSbMSNg90d9WSSoEJEQ-0yVxfeOoUhZIK2B_V4/s1600/Old+Boots2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1586" data-original-width="1474" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgylopzmE0Apdk-PKFFdjn55w6iumx3nSyVRE6slh49hIb8eeuqQuXysQl8vsuUhRy6vFUpLYtcRBsoJP_hiI-SWcgt0-RQ2l3sgUQFPbdSbMSNg90d9WSSoEJEQ-0yVxfeOoUhZIK2B_V4/s320/Old+Boots2.jpg" width="296" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Are you worn down by the well-travelled path?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">How many times have you
found yourself following a familiar working pattern, even though it no longer
delivers the same level of positive results? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">The routine runs like
clockwork – set-up, prospecting, emails, social media, yadda yadda. If you’re
not paying careful attention to your business you can fail to spot the trends
for a gradual decline in individual revenue streams, the increase in wasted
time, and a lack of meaningful growth (more one-off gigs that took an hour to
prospect are not growth unless they lead directly to a significantly better
rate or a better class of referral).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">The first challenge is to <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">stop</b>. Shut down the monkey mind that
equates multiple activities with progress, switch off the self-doubting monologue
about your limitations (education, location, time constraints, take your pick…)
and take a breath.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Einstein nailed it in 1951<span style="color: blue;"><b>* </b></span>when he wrote: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Insanity is doing the
same thing over and over again and expecting different results.</i> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">As readers of this blog will
know, I rely on my trusty spreadsheet – not the graphs, but I could if I wanted
to. I can see what work I’ve completed for which clients, when, and the value
to my business. It's one of the means I use to prioritise my time. There is an interesting correlation between that value and my enjoyment of the work, but this may just be a quirk of mine. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">A few tips<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial";">If you use freelance sites
such as People Per Hour, regularly review your profile. Look for best practice
by checking out the profiles of freelancers who won the jobs that you didn’t.
Perhaps they are presenting similar skills in a better way or targeting their
clients better?</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial";">If you’ve been writing
regularly for a client, check whether the way you present </span><i style="font-family: Arial;">your</i><span style="font-family: "arial";"> business aligns with </span><i style="font-family: Arial;">their</i><span style="font-family: "arial";">
business.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial";">Go back through your profile
/ business resume and weed out any information or links that are no longer
relevant. This can include dead links (for dead websites), content that - for
whatever reason - doesn’t convey the impression you need to attract the clients
you want, and vague terminology. For example, a seasoned writer of </span><i style="font-family: Arial;">what</i><span style="font-family: "arial";">?</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial";">Experiment with different
styles of communication. Try on different personalities for your business and
see which ones fit, and whether you might benefit from varying your style
according to which businesses you approach.</span><span style="font-family: "arial";"> </span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial";">Mix things up. Try varying
your start and break times (you have breaks, right?). Disrupt your working
pattern and introduce more creativity into your thinking and your approach. New
ideas are the lifeblood of writing and you are more likely to encounter them if
you’re not fixated on the familiar.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">What can you do today to make a difference to your freelancing
business? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><i>Derek</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "arial";">Freelancer and author</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Derek-Thompson/e/B0034ORY08" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.co.uk/Derek-Thompson/e/B0034ORY08</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="color: blue;"><b>* </b></span>Albeit not definitely attributed to him as the author, despite the power of the Internet!</span></div>
DThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11803989273524731892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040841417250374246.post-44054271186845234092017-07-14T17:14:00.002+01:002017-07-14T17:14:40.655+01:00A slice of homily pie<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSYEMZgCEkLVgf55cNtbL38pcyLKhL2sgB3dsdAxZ90vvWVfTvhmdZHNTAeOSA7n1HxbMGENlaxWh1lpVOI9ECEwLSY6iMuvA2TGNtLbT18K-ly39IXuPwTTA7ex0PcToZphX9alOh_NKw/s1600/Freaked+Out%2521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="277" data-original-width="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSYEMZgCEkLVgf55cNtbL38pcyLKhL2sgB3dsdAxZ90vvWVfTvhmdZHNTAeOSA7n1HxbMGENlaxWh1lpVOI9ECEwLSY6iMuvA2TGNtLbT18K-ly39IXuPwTTA7ex0PcToZphX9alOh_NKw/s1600/Freaked+Out%2521.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You write...WHAT?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There is a school of thought that business blogs equate to online marketing, and that all information should be carefully managed to 'champion the brand'. If your <a href="https://emojipedia.org/face-with-rolling-eyes/" target="_blank">eyes are rolling</a> at this point you're not alone. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm all for promoting one's business - this blog has worked well for me </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">on that score</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">over the years - but if you're not careful it can all get a little ...corporate. Again, if that </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">is</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> your brand, all well and good, but I suspect a lot of niche businesses lose their way and end up trying to be something they're not. I should know - I write for some of them.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It matters because any customer engagement, be it on social media or outside of it, tells people more than what your business does. It also gives them cues about the way you do business, how you communicate, and a flavour of your business's personality.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You might think that could potentially drive away business rather than find / secure it, and in both cases you'd be right. The alternative is to try to be all things to all people, and risk setting yourself and your customer up for disappointment.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">True story time.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Recently, a client approached me, based upon geography, around teatime, with an urgent online job that involved proofreading, editing and rewriting. The document arrived around 21.30 that night with an agreed turnaround over the weekend. The only issuette being that the client wouldn't not be available until <i>after</i> the weekend. No biggie, these things happen and I was willing to work for the rate offered. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Those of you with better spider senses than I employed might have already spotted a few pitfalls. For example...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1. I wasn't selected on the basis of my portfolio or experience with that particular business.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2. A tight deadline and no client availability does not allow for expectations to be managed on either side of the arrangement.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">3. Anyone with a thinking head on might have surmised that a rush job for an important document with financial implications might have required closer collaboration not less.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Anyhow, I took the job and I worked on the document over the weekend, marking up only the key changes and adding comments and queries for feedback for subsequent changes (based upon client feedback).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Readers, it did not go well. And let me state for the record that the client was - and is - a good client. Just, perhaps, not the best client for me and vice versa. He felt I hadn't delivered to his requirements or met his needs, and after some soul-searching I felt that too to some extent. We were like a blind date that hadn't quite worked out. The upshot is that I've invited him to review and consider my weekend work and come up with a partial payment. It's not ideal and no one goes away entirely happy, but I think it represents our best chance of an equitable resolution.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My key learning points from this?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1. Know your business's strengths (both skills and subjects), and where you add value. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2. It's great to work with great clients - and I maintain, for someone who already understood this client's business, he could have been one.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">3. Respect your own time and expertise, and price accordingly. And know when to say so.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">4. Be the writer you are and manage your business in line with your vision. Or, as a friend of mine put it: <i>A giraffe does not apologise to a jellyfish for having a long neck. Each is perfectly adapted to its own environment and thrives there.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">5. Always get a detailed brief and plan for contingencies. Our old friends Time Cost, Quality and Scope are the cornerstones of any project. Squeeze one or more and you affect the others too.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Interestingly, not that long afterwards I was approached by a previous client to do some branding work. It called for a mix of creativity, humour, quirkiness and non-directed research. It won't surprise you to learn that the work was completed over fewer hours, to a delighted client (her words, honest), and for a higher rate. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here endeth my lesson.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But before I go, have you had any freelance lessons recently? I'd love to hear about them below.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Derek</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>DThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11803989273524731892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040841417250374246.post-50134546829193006462017-06-30T20:27:00.007+01:002017-06-30T20:27:55.842+01:00When Words Collide<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUWIx0qQGENSo3pdP1ZEcDScy_-9uyiG-v1zlW0nFIvaMhS-Agqkbm6FUuUKvz_mPQ8_Uq55auZGSEIvl4KC7ssnCvek05N5Hc1ChMaWHoj_uaroJQhLE8Cm4bxbzaDol_ePmOJUddyuQP/s1600/DTC-c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="415" data-original-width="360" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUWIx0qQGENSo3pdP1ZEcDScy_-9uyiG-v1zlW0nFIvaMhS-Agqkbm6FUuUKvz_mPQ8_Uq55auZGSEIvl4KC7ssnCvek05N5Hc1ChMaWHoj_uaroJQhLE8Cm4bxbzaDol_ePmOJUddyuQP/s320/DTC-c.jpg" width="276" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No sense sitting on the offence.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I progress with my fifth thriller and tie myself in knots with middle class angst about some my working class characters' attitudes, I'm quite attuned to our propensity to get things wrong. Getting it wrong doesn't mean you're necessarily prejudiced or bigoted. You could just be thoughtless. On the one hand, your characters need to speak and act freely to fulfil their literary destiny. You could even argue that the point where you cringe as you're writing is also the cut-off point where you step outside your boundaries and start to inhabit their perspective. On the other hand, frankly, you may need to think about where you're being authentic or just trying to be clever. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I write jokes that occasionally find their way into live performance (and even less occasionally - like almost never - onto radio). It's so easy to offend a section of the populace without even meaning to. Not just bucking the trend or subverting the form but out and out pissing people off.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And speaking of 'out', something really interesting happened recently that illustrates not only how easy it is to get it wrong, but how that misfortune can occur even when it's a cause that matters dearly to you.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pride in London went for 'humour' in its Love Happens Here marketing for London's Pride Festival (now running until 9th July). It missed the target by a wide margin and managed to offend the LGBTI community. In particular, the use of the word 'gay' as irony (that's my take on their motive) was subsequently considered misjudged after being interpreted as a pejorative term. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can read about it here:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40446096" target="_blank">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40446096</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's a reminder that words have power. Forget all that 'sticks and stones' nonsense. As an example, ask any child or adult who has been bullied and they will be able to vividly recount what was said and how it made them feel. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We all have a responsibility for what we communicate and how we do it. Writers can and do walk that line between expression and censorship, and sometimes we cross it. It's our freedom to do that, but we have to accept that others may see that as a step too far. Unlike fiction, life can be messy and remain unresolved. In the above case, there's an added dimension, which is the impact on other people who might go on to use the words.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Have any writers out there ever misread the mood with a piece of writing? And if so how did you recover the situation, or did you let it stand?</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Derek</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Author of the Spy Chaser series, which so far has only managed to offend a few readers.<span style="color: blue;">*</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">UK: <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Derek-Thompson/e/B0034ORY08" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.co.uk/Derek-Thompson/e/B0034ORY08</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">US: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Derek-Thompson/e/B0034ORY08" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.com/Derek-Thompson/e/B0034ORY08</a></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">* Swearing, a shower scene, violence, and - bizarrely - a lead character expressing too much emotion. </span>DThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11803989273524731892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040841417250374246.post-68000419533961653422017-06-25T17:19:00.002+01:002017-06-25T17:19:48.514+01:00Music for Writing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can hear music. Not just a brilliant track by The Beach Boys (and also nicely covered by The Ronettes), but also a statement of fact. Why? Because generally I write fiction to a musical backdrop. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I work on a novel I use different types of music to get into the mood of a scene. Classical music and jazz (especially Chet Baker) are favourites but sometimes an individual track will capture the essence of a moment, or complement a section of dialogue. As my Spy Chaser owes a </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">debt to Raymond Chandler, I find anything with a </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">noir</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> feel to it opens that magic door to the active imagination. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>A haze of smoke lingers and I see shadows beyond it where Thomas Bladen is waiting for me, leant against a faded brick wall, looking at his watch. He glances over and nods to Karl McNeill who is standing by the opposite wall and eating a bag of crisps. A haunting bassoon lends a melancholy tone to the steamy night air... And then Miranda Wright strolls along the alleyway, doing her slinky walk for Thomas's benefit even though her eyes are fixed on that doorway where I listen to her approaching steps. She pauses, just ahead of Thomas and Karl, facing me down. Her lips part, breaking the streetlight glint, and then she takes a breath. I hold mine in anticipation and she smiles momentarily before bestowing her wisdom. "Maybe if you stopped pissing about so much you'd get the book finished?" She raises an eyebrow and then turns, her heels tapping out a sensuous beat that recedes into the night. Thomas and Karl follow in her wake.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Miranda has a point.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's been a funny old year. An illness and then a death in the family, bloodshed on Britain's streets and a seemingly never-ending conveyor belt of tragedy, politics and other bad news. Oh yeah, and I took a short holiday for the first time in two years. Sometimes the page reflects with near perfect clarity, even if no one else can see it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But the thing is, writing doesn't always have to change the world, or make things better - even for ourselves. Writing is about the story - the characters, the dialogue and the pulsing heart of it. So I'm back now, cocooned by music to dissuade me from leaving the confines of my writing desk. Well, I say <i>confines</i> but really it's the stepping off point. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And speaking of music...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Before Standpoint was published I put together a soundtrack of the book, selecting music to accompany the film. Now that it <i>is</i> published, I'm still rather fond of those original choices.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'll keep this as spoiler-free as possible!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'd open with </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I Specialise by Christine Collister & Clive Gregson. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Who couldn't love
Christine's powerful voice, conveying cynicism and indifference. Another option would be Someone's Looking At You by the Boomtown Rats.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have several tunes for Thomas and Miranda, depending on how things are between them: </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I Can Hear Music by The Beach Boys, </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Will You by Hazel
O'Connor, </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here with Me by Dido</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and Kiss the Rain by Billie Myers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One song always make me think of Thomas and his trips to Whitehall is </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Queen and the
Soldier by Suzanne Vega. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When it comes to Thomas being back amongst his family in Yorkshire (and confronting his father) it has to be The Story of the Blues
Pt 1 byThe Mighty Wah. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's Bridge of Spies by T'Pau when </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thomas is alone, on the
North Yorkshire moors, heading off to confront the bad guys.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And the final tracking shot, as
the dead are counted along with the cost? </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I Saved the World Today by Eurythmics.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Readers of the sequel, Line of Sight, will know that Karl has a theme song, sort of, which is another story altogether!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Do you write books and what importance does music play in the process?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>DThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11803989273524731892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040841417250374246.post-21387102650360813132017-05-21T13:10:00.000+01:002017-05-21T13:10:10.277+01:00Do writers need boundaries?<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vive la difference!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm at a really interesting point in the novel I'm writing. And I know that because it's making me uncomfortable. It's not violence or sex or swearing; no, it's more subtle than that. It's about religion and culture. More specifically, religion and culture that aren't mine. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've recently had some brilliant email conversations with <a href="http://linen-press.com/authors/lynn-michell/" target="_blank">Lynn Michell</a>, founder of <a href="http://linen-press.com/" target="_blank">Linen Press</a>, and it's been fascinating to see where our thinking aligns and where it diverges, when it comes to books. We've chatted about the tropes in genre fiction and how, for example, some of the archetypal characters in noir don't play so well out of context, or in a more modern one. It all got me thinking about the boundaries writers place upon themselves and how that can either be a blessing or a curse.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sometimes when you create a character with a walk on role there is something about them that makes you want to spend more time with them. In Line of Sight that spotlight fell on Thurston Leon, a West Indian private detective based in Dalston. Then (same book) there's Stuart Fraser, the Scottish bloke working for Special Branch over in Belfast. And let's not forget the two cops from Shadow State, Karen Edwards and Jun Wen - a black Brummie and a British Born Chinese detective. You see where I'm going with this now?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The BBC website ran a piece recently about how prolific author and TV writer, Anthony Horowittz, was <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-39988992" target="_blank">cautioned to not create a black lead character because he is white</a>. I don't anticipate having a profile that high any time soon (!) so it's a moot point for me, but one that I have considered anyway. Sometimes ethnicity, religion and culture are entirely secondary to a character because they either aren't relevant to the story (and let's face it, I'm talking about <i>my</i> stories here), and sometimes there isn't space for that secondary character to get more than her five minutes on the page. And sometimes, for a whole heap of reasons, I don't feel I have the skill to do it well enough.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But when a fear of being labelled patronising or concerns of allegations of tokenism prevent literature (or any aspect of the arts) being diverse and, well...<i>imaginative...</i>I think we have a problem.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My fifth book in the Thomas Bladen <i>Spy Chaser</i> series stumbles into that maze because it takes place during the 2005 London Bombings. There are a few changes to the team and an assignment that forces people to confront their values and prejudices. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As writers we're so used to Mark Twain's 'write what you know' advice. (Or Hemingway's, if you prefer.) And you've probably heard my own updated version, which is 'know what you're writing about'. When it comes to diversity and inclusivity, I think it's more important to just get out of the village of our own experience. We need to be able to write about people we don't know, so that some of our readers can meet new people too. And not merely perfect, politically correct and sanitised stereotypes, but <i>real</i>, flawed and surprising people. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyone who has read the series so far will know that I like to bring characters back from other books - Jack Langton, Sheryl, Sir Peter, and even Bob Peterson (I have a soft spot for Uncle Bob!). This time, MI5 operative Rupee Tagore also returns to Thomas and Karl's world. She was always there, on the floor below.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Writers need boundaries to see how far we've come and then how far we're willing or able to go. Beyond that, we're into the wastelands of taste and the quicksand of <i>appropriateness.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's a sad fact of our interconnected world that whatever you write, pretty much, someone will take issue or offence with. That's lesson one from social media! I believe, as writers, we have to be true to the muse and to how faithfully we can express our imagination on the page. It's a process, a continual momentum against that formless boundary made up of our own preconceptions and society's mores. When we lose that momentum we become static, trapped in the confines of our own experience, culture and identity. It's not that we <i>have</i> to continually push and risk offending or challenging; it's that we need to feel free to explore the <i>other</i> when the muse takes us. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Derek-Thompson/e/B0034ORY08" target="_blank">My books live here</a></span>!</div>
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<br />DThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11803989273524731892noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040841417250374246.post-39629283894202790052017-05-07T12:48:00.000+01:002017-11-05T19:35:25.607+00:00Is Social Media the Writer's Friend?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Recently, The Guardian carried a piece about author Joanna Trollope's criticism of fellow author JK Rowling. Specifically, JT thinks JKR spends far too much time being far too vocal on social media. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You can read about it here: </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/may/05/jk-rowling-driven-by-ego-like-kim-kardashian-joanna-trollope" target="_blank">https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/may/05/jk-rowling-driven-by-ego-like-kim-kardashian-joanna-trollope</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The part that really piqued my interest was JT's suggestion that aspiring authors will look at JKR's interactions online, with her legions of fans, and assume that's what authors need to do these days.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Firstly, of course, getting even half a legion of fans online that aren't bots, retweeter services or purveyors of webcams is quite an achievement. Perhaps a few <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/romans/the_roman_army/" target="_blank">cohorts </a>is more realistic.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Secondly, social media and online interaction is part of the game now, especially for anyone who is self-published, independently published, or who just wants to engage with their audience outside of their books.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thirdly, and this is the thing that struck me most, there is no single (or proper) way for writers to behave. Surely that's part of what being a writer is all about? You make it up! Why would it be any different off the page than on it?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There will never be another JK Rowling. Aspire as we may, that ship has sailed. All writers need to balance time spent online with actual writing, which can be problematic because social media activity can feel a bit like writing in that it's creative and engaging. It's also often more fun - a never-ending source of inspiration, validation and connection. It won't get your books written though and may actually cloud your judgment by overloading you with shiny examples of how other people do it. But that too is part of the game. You have to figure out who you are as a writer and how you plan to go about your writing business.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I've seen many people reach overload and declare on line that they're taking a break, as if they have a relationship with social media or the people they're connected with online. Maybe there's some truth in that. I have also spoken with writers who allocate specific time to Retweet, Share, Like and all the other satisfying button clicks. That can work too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Personally, I think social media can be useful, especially when you are reaching out to discover your audience, and also to interact with other authors. The same goes for writing blogposts (I couldn't not mention them) or your own tweets and posts. Social media plugs us into what's going on, even if that happens to be a bunch of cat videos from time to time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But please don't mistake it for creative writing. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>What is your relationship with social media?</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Derek</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>DThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11803989273524731892noreply@blogger.com0