Hey you, what’s happening?
I’ve just put one of my short stories up on Wattpad. It’s a fun little story that I wrote after seeing a photo of an anglo-saxon woman doing some spinning and wondering what her life might be like. The story doesn’t end quite how you think it will at first…
My NaNo novel will follow on Wattpad soon. I’ll let you know when we have lift off!
After listening to a Writing Excuses episode about protagonists who aren’t sympathetic, I reread this book for the first time in years.
Donaldson has created a world in which fans of Tolkien will feel at home: there are elf and orc-like creatures, the protagonist and his companions wander over the map given at the front of the book and there is an object which they need to retrieve.
I had forgotten just how unlikeable Thomas Covenant is, although, to be fair to him, he does have some excuses for acting in this manner which I won’t give away. The things that got me through being in the company of this miserable, self-centred character are the way that other (much more sympathetic) characters behave and the events that unfold during the story. I also discovered a bunch of new words such as: blazonry, anile and threnody. I love learning new words and having access to an online thesaurus while reading. By the end of the book I didn’t feel a lot of sympathy for Thomas Covenant. I wonder whether there will be a redemption for him at the end, but I’m not sure that I could manage to read my way through the ten whole book series to find out.
I do feel that Donaldson did an amazing job of creating such a complex character and a compelling world for Thomas to occupy that he was able to write ten books about him. You do feel that you want to grab hold of Thomas, give him a good shake and tell him to get on with life, though!
Yeah, yeah. Maybe I’m a little behind the times, but I’ve just read ‘The Girl with all the Gifts’ by M.R. Carey after listening to this episode of the Best Seller Experiment.
You should definitely read this if you would like to know what it might be like to be a zombie (or hungry as they are called in the book).
The humanity that comes through in the book is what makes it for me. Mike, his wife, Linda, and his daughter, Louise, each take the voice of a different character and the book is told through the three viewpoints.
I have just one word to say about this: awesome.
I will definitely be getting the follow up which is ‘The Boy on the Bridge’.
Hello my lovelies!
After a good break it’s time to get down to editing the second draft of the NaNo novel. I’ve had time to lots for thinking and planning over the holiday season and I’m ready to add lots of twists and surprises.
How did you spend your holidays?
It’s now over the 65K word mark. I’m writing much more slowly than I did in November, but I’ve been spending a lot of time refining details in the plot and establishing how the characters are growing and changing.
I’d love to tell you about all the things that happen, but I don’t want to spoil the surprise. All I can tell you at the moment is that the more I write the more I discover there is to write! I’m so looking forward to getting it ready to share with you all.
Anni X
I love Philip Pullman’s ‘His Dark Materials’ trilogy and ‘Sally Lockhart’ quartet and I’m sure I’m going to pick up some brilliant tips from this series of essays on storytelling. I’ll add more posts as I make my way through the book.
The first essay ‘Magic Carpets’ is about a writer’s responsibilities. These take many forms: responsibility to the story to make it the best it can be; responsibility to yourself so that you have time to write the story; financial responsibility to your family so that they get fed and responsibility to your fans by making sure that you satisfy their desire for a good story and that you don’t cheat them by going back on the promise you made to them when they started the story, e.g. that you won’t include a deus ex machina.
Lots of points there to keep in mind as I write!
Anni X
50,879 words in thirty days. What a ride it’s been!
This has been my first ever NanoWriMo and although it’s been hard work, it has definitely been an experience I am going to repeat.
In these thirty days I have written around two-thirds of the first draft of a novel I have given the working title of ‘Witch Woman’.
I have enjoyed letting the story tumble out of my brain and straight onto the page, but the hard work starts now. Lots and lots of editing and more drafts to come. I’ll be posting some of the opening chapters onto Wattpad to let other people enjoy them, so look for them there if you are interested in seeing what 1,667 words a day in November can produce!
I’m so excited to be starting on my first NaNoWriMo!
I have an idea that has been wandering around inside my head looking for a chance to escape and make itself known to the world for the last couple of years and now is its chance.
Can I manage 1,667 words a day for the whole of next month? It seems a tough thing to do, but I’m going to give it my best shot. Tune in for updates throughout the month…
Anni X
I thought I would share some of my favourite podcasts with you today. I love to get inspiration and information while I am driving or cooking especially. We all have to do things that keep your hands and only a tiny part of your mind busy, so it makes sense to learn something useful while you have this ‘spare’ time.
I listen to these podcasts most weeks:
I hope these give you some ideas. You can listen to the podcasts on their websites or download them onto your podcast app.
Anni X
I wonder how many of you have discovered BookCrossing?
It’s an amazing social network for books and book lovers. If you have never found a BookCrossing book then just head over to their site at BookCrossing.com now and take a look and see where you can find some.
The basic idea is that you donate a book to BookCrossing, register it and put a sticker in it with a BookCrossing id. You then place it somewhere to be found (you can hide nearby and watch what happens if you are nosey!). When somebody picks it up and discovers it is a free book, they can take it away with them. This is known as a ‘controlled release‘. Hopefully the finder will set up an account, if they don’t already have one, and add your book to their journal by quoting the id from your sticker. This way you can see who has found your book and where it travels to. The finder can also rate and review the book.
It is free to join and use BookCrossing. If you want to support them you can make a donation or buy supplies, such as stickers for your books. You can, of course, print your own stickers to add to the books you ‘release‘.
You can also find and set up BookCrossing zones. Two or three cafes near to where I live have shelves where you can leave and take books. Members arrange social gatherings at these zones to swap books and chat.
I recently went to a BookCrossing Unconvention and met so many people, from different countries, who loved books and reading, and were also generous to pass their books along to others when they had finished with them. I can’t think of a nicer bunch of people to spend time with and have made lots of new friends.
Give it a try, free books and new friends. What’s not to like?
