York Talk 3

I got through breakfast without dribbling coffee down my chin or growling.  Result in itself.

Then it was off to hear Katie Fforde's keynote address.   She gave 10 pieces of advice that were not only sensible and practical, but also very entertaining.

Show, not tell - so here are some examples of the wisdom of Katie:

Finding your voice is a bit like having an orgasm.  Before you have one, you don't really know what it is.  Once you do, you have no problem identiifying it - and enjoying it.

You have to want it enough.  I want to be size 10 - but I obviously don't want that enough.

I am a bit bored by my voice.  I'm also a bit bored by my face.  But I can't change either.

Follow that, eh?  But I had to cos then it was straight into my POV workshop. Initially I'd wondered how to fill an hour on that one subject.  In the event, I could have continued for far longer given the chance. 

And I got another round of applause at the end so I must have got something right I guess.

Then zoom - off to my first session of 1-1s.  6 authors and their work - 10 minutes each for feedback.  This was immensely gratifying.  Having read and absorbed all the submissions in advance, I felt I had useful things to say.  Writers are so vulnerable and of course all of those of us who are authors as well as editors know that from the inside.  Being in a position to encourage and point out strengths (cos everyone has them) as well as weaknesses and practical suggestions for dealing with them felt really constructive. 

I feel privileged to be in that position, especially when you can clearly see how something can be improved (eg you're starting in the wrong place ... or you're over relying on dialogue to impart info ... or can you justify this timeline  distortion?) and you see the person's face as they see how much better their work could be with some tweaks ... wonderful stuff.

And one submission I immediately pitched to the organisers and they have hooked him up with an agent.  I've no doubt whatsoever  that his book will be on the shelves at some point.  How amazing to have been a prt of that process.

I crossed over the lake (did I mention the lake?  the omnipresent swans, geese, ducks? the lovely setting?) in the company of Katie Fforde, Adele Geras (longtime hero of mine) and Emma Darwin, thinking - ooh look at me ...

I've had lunch (during which I read and discussed 2 new people's writing) and have  decided to miss the next session so I can blog.  While I've been sitting here, a woman drifted past in a dreamlike state saying she's had a very positive reaction from her agent pitches and it looks like she's on her way to being represented.

I need to rush now, so once again don't have time to add the photos.  Patience, peeps.  I'll get there eventually.

York Talk 2

OMG.  I can't believe I'm sitting here blogging at this time of the morning.
The York air is positively crackling with creative energy.

Back to last night.  Shelley Harris won the Authonomy Live session with her beautiful and evocative story set during the Silver Jubilee.  I have a photo of Shelley with her bottle of champers - haven't got round to uploading the pix yet.  Patience, my dear blogmates.

It took real guts to those who took  part in this session.  Can't be easy to stand up and read to an assembled throng of hundreds as well as a panel of experts.  Kudos to all.

I went to bed midnightish to read some late submissions.  And I don't suppose you'll be surprised to hear sleep was elusive.  So many brain cells jostling for space and bouncing off the walls of my skull.

I'm so not a morning person, yet there I was at breakfast at some ungodly hour, desperate for a cloak of invisibility until I get some caffeine.  No cloak.  Must remember to pack that next time. 

I keep meeting people.  Ah there's G - she came on one of my London courses.  And there's R - I've been editing his books for years and now have the face to fit to the name.  Oh look.  There's H from my writers' group.  And F, who I met at a London book launch ... 

I've sneaked out to write this post and there are all these people coming up to chat.  How is it possible to have approx 400 people all in one place and for them all to be so fab?  What are the odds against that?  I haven't met a single person who's been negative in any way.

Right.  Off now for Katie Fforde's keynote address.  Then my POV workshop.  Then ...

Well, catch up later.

York Talk 1

Yeesh - what a ride.  What a buzz. 

Teething problems for some at check in sorted and straight into the mini course: Debi and Emma double act.  In spite of large numbers, it turned out to be quite interactive.  Intense?  You bet.  A huge amount to get through in 4 hrs. 

Hard to interpret those expressions. 


Were those frowns of concentration/discontent/confusion/boredom?

Feedback was good.  We got applause!  That has to be good, eh?

Whoosh.  Straight into the literary speed dating aka organised chaos but a good way to meet a large number of people fast.

And what an amazing bunch of people.  All those writers, all that creativity and enthusiasm.  All in one place.

Hardly enough time to appreciate the food.  It was good though.  As far as I can tell because I wanted to talk and to listen, not eat.

Barely enough time to digest the grub and certainly not enough time to digest all the wonderful words coming at you from every angle.

Because - whoosh again.  Authonomy Live.  Brave writers reading their work to the assembled throng and the panel, Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole and ...

... oh hang on.  Wrong bunch. 

I'm sitting here, listening to the writers' words and the panel's feedback and thinking how lucky I am to be here.  And blogging for all of you who can't be here.

Apologies for the lack of links. I've taken some pix but haven't got round to uploading them yet.  Will try again tomorrow.

Debi's deafisms

Part 3 in an occasional series giving an insight into my muffled world.

FB:  Is it true that Hong Kong is a country?
Me:  Well, I don't think you could really say that.  Hogwarts is a school, not a country as such.  Though metaphysically speaking ...

Closerer and closerer to York

Right.

Mini course and workshop: prepped
Submissions for Book Doctor slots: received and ready
Hair: Cut and dyed
Teeth: tobacco and coffee stains scrubbed off by dentist
Minor surgery to remove cyst on spine: gulp ...

... tomorrow morning

Oooer ...

Me, him and some books (and a rogue Sainsbury's carrier bag)

Just rec'd this pic from the Magnificent Meloney, featuring yours truly, the legendary Dan Maitland and some of them there book things.

Hoovering the Roof - the East Dulwich Writers' Group anthology published in November -has gone into its 2nd print.  Yippee!

More events planned.

Oh my aching sides ...

We're all familiar with the spam emails offering to make us rich quick involving  movements of vast quantities of dubious currency around the globe for which they *ahem* need your bank account details.

Does anyone ever get caught by these emails?
Presumably some people must be sufficiently gullible, otherwise what's the point of sending them in the first place?

Sometimes though, I do wonder if the spammers are losing heart and just going through the motions.

Otherwise, what possible justification could they have for sending this email I received today?

Hello  I am Mrs.Yengeni from south African a Parliamentarian Wife i contacted you to be my project partner and stand as my Husband foreign partner for transfer of US$15 million into your account for investment  You maybe familiar with the news about my husband legal position. endeavor to read the website :   Mrs.Lumka


Could this be the most lacklustre attempt at fraud yet?

Literary balls

I'm referring to the number of lit-related balls I'm juggling at the moment.

I've just finished reading and critiquing one book and have another MS waiting.

***

A week from today I will be in York for the Festival of Writing.

By this time next Friday, I'll be part of the way through the mini-course I'm running with Emma Darwin - Self Edit Your Work for Market.
With over 60 participants booked, we won't be able to give individual feedback but are working hard to ensure the course will give aspiring authors the tools they need to edit their own writing and learn the requirements of the market.

The following morning, my workshop on POV has been shifted to a giant amphitheatre as a result of 90+ bookings.

My one-to-one Book Doctor slots on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning are also booked out.

In between, there's a veritable feast of stuff going on and there had better be plenty of coffee available to keep me going when the adrenalin runs out.

I'm grabbing a few days after that to go away with the family.  (Remember me, guys?  I'm your mother.)

 ***

At some point, I really hope to be able to make my own WIP a priority.  I've typed up the revisions and now just need to go through the 2nd draft for the final polish.

***

I've completed my short story set in Croydon for 33 and it's been accepted by Glasshouse Books.
The launch is scheduled for 6th July and there are plans afoot for lots of events.

***

Blimey, but there are a lot of people writing their hearts out in this world ...
I've just received an email from The Brit Awards.  (I'm one of their 'high profile' sic judges.)
The response to the competition has been overwhelming and they've had to postpone the process.
The Awards ceremony will now be happening on 15th July.
Meanwhile, the first layer of judging is taking place with over 21,000 submissions being sifted through by the first layer judges.

***

I could go on.  I have more workshops booked in central London coming up soon, for example ...

***

And on and ...
There's plenty more where that came from but I really should be getting on and doing it rather than talking about it.

I'm considering live blogging the Festival, so I shouldn't be gone too long.

Meanwhile, I need another coffee.

Debi's Deafisms

Part 2 in an occasional series giving an insight into my muffled world.

Two for you today - to make up for my absence recently due to pressure of work.

1)
Emma:  I'll talk to my next door neighbours, Sam and Alan.
Me:  Your next door neighbours have salmonella?

2)
Ring at doorbell.  I open door to see 5 small children, aged 5-7.
Guliz (spokesperson):  Hello, Debi.  Sorry to disturb you.  We were wondering if you could possibly let us have one very small potato.
Me:  Oh.  Sure.  Just hang on there a minute.
Thinks:  potato prints?  Potato gun?  Sweet.
Me:  Here you go, guys.  The smallest potato I could find.
Children:  Sideways glances at each other.  Feet shuffling.  Obvious discomfort.
Me:  Is there a problem?
Guliz:  Um, well that's very kind of you, Debi.  Thank you.  Only what we wanted was a small container.
Marie-Lise:  Can I have the potato anyway?
 
 

Anyone else feel a draft in here?

I'm in the process of working through the first draft of Identity Flawed. 

I love this craft of reshaping and adding flesh to the bones of a story.
It's a time for crazy mood swings though.
One minute I'm thinking it's pretty damn good and might even be the best thing I've ever written.
The next I'm convinced it's crap and I'll never be able to write another publishable book again.

Anyway, Emma Darwin has posted recently about the importance of this stage and I thought I'd say how I approach it.  There as many different ways of writing as there are writers, but this is what works for me.

Draft 1.
This is where I'm chucking the story out.  I rarely plan ahead (though at some point in the writing I will probably have a vague idea of the story's trajectory) and I don't read back through until I've finished.  I let the story unfold as I write by placing my characters in situations and watching to see how they react and what happens as a result and where that leads onto next.  In this way, I find out what's happening at the same time as the protagonists - and the reader.  At some point, the story will grow wings and the characters will take me in unsuspected directions.  (I've blogged about this before here.)

As the story develops, inevitably adjustments will be need to be made in previous chapters to fit into what is revealed by later developments.  I usually write in longhand.  When I type up a chapter I print it out and mark the MS with any issues I know I'll have to return to later.  At the end of the 1st draft, I'll have a complete MS covered in scrawl relating to those issues and any others that come from feedback from my writers' group.

Draft 2.
This is just as crucial a stage in the crafting of a novel as the 1st draft and can't be skipped over.  I start by making the changes I was already aware of and then begin reading through to see how the whole thing hangs together.  I look for inconsistencies in character and plot.  Structural issues like unnecessary timeline distortions.  There may be scenes and even whole chapters which are superfluous and need to be deleted, where I was just writing to continue the flow.  If the section has no role in driving the narrative forwards it has to go.  There will also be sections that are vital to the plot but which I have skated over in my rush to splurge out the story.  I'll check that any sub plots are properly woven into the main narrative and that there are no irrelevant threads or characters.  I'll look out for POV shifts and any areas where I should be showing not telling (or the reverse!).

NB:  This stage is vital, whether you're submitting your MS to an existing agent (as I am) or pitching to a new one.  It's just as crucial if you're submitting the book for an editorial critique.  You should never let anyone see your MS until you have ensured you have made it as good as it possibly can be yourself.  Don't expect anyone to accept your novel because they can see it's a hidden gem.  If it's a gem, it needs to be so bright and sparkly they can't avoid noticing it.  

Even if you're submitting the MS for a critique, it makes sense to polish it as best you can before sending it to an editor, in order to get the best value from the feedback.  Ironically, the longest reports I've written have been for books with the greatest potential.  That's because it doesn't take many words to say things like 'You're using far too many adverbs throughout' or 'Stick to a linear chronological narrative whenever possible' or 'Watch out for confusing POV shifts' etc.

Draft 3.
Ah, the final stage.  This is the polish and is also essential.  With this last read through, I make sure I've always used the right word/phrase/image, that there's no clunky prose and that every word earns its keep.

And that's it.  You've completed a book.  It's no longer your WIP and it's time to launch it into the world.
Good luck!

Forward to the Festival

Less than a month to go to the Festival of Writing in York.
And, yes, I'm really excited about it.

Imagine - a whole weekend spent in the company of other writers, being surrounded by the full literary experience of talking about the crafting (and selling) of words.
Bliss.

I'm going to be the there for the full weekend.
On Friday, Emma Darwin and I are running the Self Edit Your Work for Market mini course.
Saturday morning, I'm running a workshop concentrating on how to deal with the thorny problem of handling POVs.
Then, on Saturday afternoon, I'll be doing an hour of 1-1 sessions, meeting with writers (who will have submitted writing in advance) and discussing their book.
Saturday night, there's a gala dinner.  (What to wear???)
Then on Sunday, I have another session of 1-1s.

In between, I'm going to have to decide whether to explore York, gatecrash some of the other workshops, hang out and chat with anyone around, or (and this is my fantasy) sit and work on my own WIP, inspired by the atmosphere.

Oh and there will be lots of people there I'm really looking forward to seeing.  Some I already know - either through my writers' group or because they've attended workshops I've run in the past.  Others I know through blogging or Facebook.  And I can't wait to put faces to authors whose books I have worked on but who I've never met in Real Life.

Bookings close on 25th March, so if you'd like to join us all, you'd better act fast.

Happy World Book Day!

Here's a way to celebrate this auspicious day ...

Buy a copy of 100 Stories for Haiti.

 

It contains stories by some wonderful authors, it was put together with awesome speed and efficiency, it's for a cause that cannot have failed to move you over these past weeks, it's a symbol of how writers and the internet can make a real difference and ...

... it's a book, and everyone should buy at least one of them there things today if they possibly can.

Enjoy!

In Bed with Debi

Did that get your attention?

Probably not.  And definitely not, I suspect, when you hear the list of things I found in my bed when I woke up this morning:

• A pair of swimming goggles
• An unidentified green cotton pouchy thing
• 11p in change
• A (used) blood glucose test strip

But sadly no car keys.  They've been lost since Friday and replaced this morning at a cost of £130.  I can think of an awful lot of things I'd've preferred to spend that kind of money on ...

Adapt or die

This day should have been spent working on my WIP - except my printer had other ideas ...

I managed (only just) to avoid my initial instinct to crawl under the duvet and stay there until someone made things work (which would be a l-o-o-o-n-g time).

Instead, I finally got round to creating a separate blog for the Revo posts published on this blog in 2008/9.
I've been promising myself I'd do it for ages.  I wanted the posts to all be in one place for ease of use for anyone doing research - or just curious.

For those of you who weren't hanging out here back then, the posts are about my time living in Grenada during the revolution, coup, US invasion and aftermath 1982-1983.

For some ridiculous reason, I can't seem to add links in the sidebar, and some of the photos seem to have gone AWOL so it's still a work in progress, but it's there and it's real. 

Comments are disabled on the new blog, but feedback will always be welcome here. 

There is much spitting and gnashing of teeth chez Alper today

Look. I'm not difficult. I don't ask for much. I do believe I give more than I take in life.

So why oh why, when all I want to do is print my own sodding MS, has my printer chosen today to act up? I print other people's MSes all the time without any trouble.

I spent yesterday working on the 1st draft of Book 6 online for the things I already knew about.
Next stage is to print a hard copy and work through to produce a 2nd draft.

I have the time (which is rare in itself).
I certainly have the inclination ...

What I also have is a malevolent printer who's squatting next to my desk chuckling to itself as I sweat and swear over its inner workings.
It is, I tell you.

I'm held in thrall by a useless piece of crap technology that has worked fine(ish) for all the years that I've had it and has chosen today of all days to act out the part of a recalcitrant gremlin.

The way I see it, I now have 3 choices:

1) I can take to my bed and refuse to get up until the world goes away.
2) I can get the saw out of the cupboard and spend a pleasant day hacking bits off the printer.
3) I can go for a walk and attempt to breathe while I do so.

Right. I'll try for option 3. But I tell you this, if when I get back there's no change in the attitude of hpdeskjet 990cxi, you'd better lock your doors and stay away from the windows 'til I tell you it's safe to come back out.

Me and my mates are on the warpath. Shit technology is in our sights and its days are numbered.
Be afraid ... be very afraid ...

The Long List

I've just sent my regular 'what I'm up to' email to my agent. It's always good to take a step back and remind myself exactly how it is I spend my time, so I thought I'd reproduce it here.

• I've been approached by a new publisher, Glasshouse Books, and asked to contribute a short story to an anthology with a story set in each of London's 33 boroughs. Mine is set in Croydon.
• I've been doing an enormous amount of editing, mostly through Writers' Workshop, but some also direct to me. I've also been mentoring an unpublished writer, which has been very rewarding.
• I've been hosting creative writing workshops, some alone and some in tandem with Emma Darwin.
• I've been asked to be one of the 'high profile' (their words) judges for the Brit Writers' Awards.
• I'm participating in the Festival of Writing in York in April: co-hosting the mini course, running a workshop and taking part in Book Doctor one-to-one sessions.
• my writers' group has set up its own imprint and published an anthology - the first print run of which has sold out. My contribution is a tighter version of the first chapter of Me, John and a Bomb (largely due to the local link)

As far as I'm concerned though, the most important piece of news is that I've finished the 1st draft of Identity Flawed and I'm very excited by it. My top priority now is to work on this whenever I have time. I hope to get the final draft to you within the next few months.

So you want to be a writer?

Are you sure? Are you really sure?
Even after reading this?

Puff the Magic Dragon

I'm under no illusions. I know perfectly well that the one thing that could make a difference to my ears as well as my general health would be to stop smoking.

I assumed all smokers knew that. Surely there are none of us left still in denial ...

Check this conversation I had yesterday while huddled in the cold with a fellow addict.

Her: I've got a hole in my lung.
Me: Oh dear. Shouldn't imagine smoking is a good idea ...
Her: Aha! That's where you're wrong. my doctor told me on no account should I give up smoking.
Me: Really?
Her: Yep. Apparently, the tar is blocking up the hole. If I stop, the tar would go and the hole would open up and get bigger.
Me: And the doctor told you this?
Her: (rolling another fag) Yep. I've got asthma too. I've only got about 60% lung function. D'you know what the doctor told me to do if I have an asthma attack?
Me: Let me guess. He told you to smoke a fag.
Her: Yep. He said that way I'm concentrating on taking deep breaths in.
Me: Was this by any chance the same doctor who told you about the tar ...?

Now, like I said, I'm not in denial about the health-giving properties of tobacco, but any activity that has the upside of giving you insights like the above conversation has to have something going for it ...

I got the power!

It's like this.
My bionic ears, aka Desdemona and Hortense, are callibrated to my maximum hearing loss (approx 70%).

But here's the thing: my hearing fluctuates.
So when it's not too bad, D & H amplify every sound so that I can hear worms turning the earth. In Australia.
The volume control is not sufficently adjustable to turn it down to a more normal level.

I don't mind really. It makes life ... interesting.
Yesterday, for example, I was sitting on the bus and found I could hear both sides of other people's mobile conversations. Which was even more remarkable as I can't hear my own phone.

Like I say, interesting. It would have been even more so if the conversation I was eavesdropping on had been in English, but you can't have everything.

Anyway, I'm thinking about auditioning for Heroes if only I can convince them my power isn't dependant on digital devices. Please don't shop me ...

Brace yourself

The orthodontist has told First Born he's a borderline case but will probably be able to get braces on the NHS. But here's the thing ... his teeth really aren't bad. The incisors are very slightly out of line but that's it.

So he needs to decide whether he wants to have a mouthful of heavy metal train track braces for a year followed by several years wearing retainers at night to correct a very slight misalignment that would have no health consequences.
'Top and bottom?' I asked. 'Because his bottom ones look perfect to me.'
'Yes, we'd do both,' she replied. (Her own teeth were very white and very straight.) 'We want him to have a perfect smile, don't we?'

Do we? Perfection. Are any of us perfect? Can we be possibly be so without painful corrective measures? Should we even want to be? Aren't imperfections what make us unique and distinct from each other? If we have the attitude that every small 'imperfection' has to be dealt with, is there not a risk we could all end up as bland anodyne versions of the same template?

What is a 'perfect smile' anyway? I'd've thought that has to come from within, not be the result of straight teeth.

What do I know ... if he wants them, of course I'll support him and I have urged him to think carefully.

Anyway, while I'm talking teeth I thought I'd share this story my mum once told me about her mother.

Apparently, the whole family made a rare trip to the seaside and my grandmother went for a paddle. Don't ask me how, but somehow she managed to lose her false teeth in the sea. Gallantly, the men set up a search party.

No chance, you'd think. Yet some time later one of my uncles emerged from the sea, proudly holding up a set of gnashers.
What are the odds against that, would you reckon?

But if you want real improbability, wait for the punchline.

They weren't hers.