Please come and talk to me. Just for some general writing chat and support...

[BiglyBadgers]

I am about a third of the way through editing my stupidly long book (this'll teach me for writing epic fantasy) and need some chat!

I really loved the chat and support on the nano thread, but now novel writing month is long gone and I am alone! There must be other people out there bumbling along needing a friend to chat to...surely....I can provide coffee, cake and excellent free WiFi

How many words are you at, Bigly? A new subplot is fantastic if you're got space for it.

toss I subscribe to mslexia, so I'm sure I'll have read your story.

Thanks Tippetty. It is confidence boosting to some extent, yes. But the proposal and sample chapter I wrote was over 2 years ago, and my life has changed a lot since then, so when I first sat down to write this I felt very much out of the zone I was in back then. It's got easier as I've gone along.

Anyone interested in writing non-fic (and it may also be helpful for fiction), a really key thing is to get out there and make publishing contacts. This project was sold by an agent who was sent something else I wrote by a writer friend who I met when I volunteered with a literary festival some time back. Sitting at a desk getting the words down on paper is clearly the key thing, by secondary to that getting involved in the amazing bookish community in this country is helpful.

The joy of writing epic fantasy Somerville is that there is always more space. It leans to multiple book series with each book often coming in at a 2-300k words (quite a few are over 400k). My current book, which would be the first in a series was a mere 100k at last count. I've done a lot of cutting in the rewrite so I think even with new bits it's probably still around the 100k mark. Saying that I am thinking I might move the end of this book to later in the overall narrative so it might end up nearer 150-200k in the end.

From what I have been reading about getting published it does seem to help if you are part of the community and active online these days. Personally this is a mainly just a somewhat obsessive hobby right now. I'm in the first year of a nursing degree and wouldn't even consider sending things out until I have finished that. Mainly because if I earn any money it would seriously muck up my student loan and also because I don't feel I am in a position to commit to delivering the rest of the books in the series by set deadlines. I'll probably just noodle along for a couple of years and then think about it once I have the brain space.

It was a long, long time ago, Somerville

Hi Toss...Welcome to this thread.

I'm currently procrastinating (a word I use a lot) because I have a particularly difficult couple of paragraphs to write (emotionally unsettling) but I know I need to write them...I'll get on with it soon...just psyching myself up for it!

ok, so I am currently plotting out one last story before I get into doing some work on the novel. Procrastination via fanfic.

I wrote something in first person that was quick and dirty (in every sense of the word), but feel in love with the concept and my plucky female character, so going to go back and write it in 3rd, and properly this time, with extra angst and actually try and give it a good shot. Wish me luck!

Did you finish your space ginger story honey boo?

I've been writing on my phone the last few days (just in emails which I send to myself) as I'm not managing to find a solid hour or two to sit down with my laptop in the evening. I've ended up going off piste a bit and writing scenes I hadn't planned too. I guess I feel more liberated on the phone. It doesn't feel as official as typing into my scrivener document. These scenes feel more whimsical and dreamlike, lots of reminiscing by my protagonist ... though I have to admit they're not doing much in terms of moving the plot forward so I'm not sure how much I'll keep. But interesting anyway to see what comes out.

Afternoon all,

Good to see you here Toss. I subscribe to MsLexia too - are you going to give us a hint as to which issue your story was in...?

I've finally finished my edits and sent them back to my agent so that he can pin the editor who wants to buy the novel down to actually putting it in writing and telling what she's offering. As always, it was two days work that I procrastinated about for a month!

And I've spent this morning reading the first draft of the next book up to the point I had to put it aside because I couldn't avoid those edits any longer. I should have known better than to re-read anything in first draft because I'm now convinced it is dull and derivative beyond belief and that my writing is utterly leaden. So that's cheering!

Evil space ginger got his girl, or she got him...

I got some nice comments about my writing and about the characterizations as I did it with two POV, and since it's fanfic EPG already has a known 'voice' to try and work with.

I found it a useful exercise, so going back to one more fanfic story to try and work on my scene construction

Hurrah for evil space ginger...I think

I had to make a spreadsheet yesterday to map out my timelines as I realised I had some people talking about something that didn't happen until the next chapter and it had all got a bit of a mess. Gah! Also had to sit in a dark room and try and work out how to get two characters to meet up at just the right time without resorting to completely eye rolling coincidence. This is what happens. You do one little edit and suddenly the whole thing is a mess.

Sorry if you've already said and I missed it, but can I ask how you got your agent, burning? (And congrats too!) Lots of the success stories I hear people have started by winning competitions or doing courses, or as somer said by making contacts. I wonder how many people get an agent solely through the usual submission process? I guess I'm thinking ahead. First I need to write a book I actually have some faith in. I do worry though about the whole making writerly contacts thing when I'm riddled with social anxiety. And I don't know how I'd ever get the confidence to actually push a book and take rejections and criticism. It seems writing well is only half the game. And I don't exactly have that half figured out yet. It's easier when I treat it just as a hobby, but then I don't push myself... I've been writing for over fifteen years and I'm not sure if I'm any better than when I started. Just writing in a vacuum... as evidenced by this sort of rambling...

It seems writing well is only half the game. And I don't exactly have that half figured out yet. It's easier when I treat it just as a hobby, but then I don't push myself...

I feel the same quite a bit Tippety. I'm just chugging along because I can't seem to stop now. I'll worry about the rest another time.

I've gone back to my normal approach of just writing the darn book and worrying about everything else later. I've got to get this draft finished before I can do anything else so I may as well just crack on. Though I have just signed up for a course at the local uni on a subject related to the idea I have for my next book. Which is perhaps a sign to myself that I'm starting to take this writing thing more seriously!

Signing up to uni courses sounds pretty hardcore Tippety.

I'm not sure I'm in the right place (resisted the urge to put write as I remembered just in time I'm not 12) but you all seem a lovely bunch and my girl crush is on here so I'll risk it. After much pressure from dh I am writing the story of my life. I'm doing it purely for him, it will never be published for sale and probably never read by anyone but him, but I would like it made into a proper book and I know there are self publishing options. Can anyone recommend a good one to use please?

Welcome year! Have you finished the book? Are you wanting to publish online or just get a few printed copies made? It sounds like a lovely thing to do even if it's just for yourself and family. My mum died a few years ago and I wish she had written her life. There are so many things I would like to know about, but just didn't find the right time to ask. ... Sorry, that wasn't meant to take such a depressing turn

I want to know who your crush is now as well

Thank you *Bigoy.^. No, I haven't finished it, barely started! Have been writing for about a week. I'd only want one copy made I guess, not sure who else I'd want reading it tbh but potentially a couple more.

I don't have parents and it really upsets me that I know so little true facts about my life. There is a huge file on me but it's not the same. Doesn't tell me my first word or favourite toy etc. I gave my grandmother a book to fill in so I could learn about her life but I never got it before she died and no one could find it. I've also given one to my PIL to do but that isn't happening either.

Sorry to make you sad.

The crush is not reciprocated so best not say .

Don't worry, you aren't making me sad! It is such a shame we lose so much of people close to us and in doing so we lose a bit of ourselves or our potential to understand ourselves a bit better. Maybe you should interview your PiL and write it for them once you have done yours

I've seen quite a few places online that do copies and and I know there is a local publishers near me that does self publishing, so they are about if you want a face to talk to rather than an online thing. I'm afraid I haven't done it myself though, so can't recommend.

Thank you. I'll have to keep researching.

My PIL are not ones to agree to that but good idea for someone else.

How's everyone doing?

I'm in the middle of rewriting one of my storylines and just love the new take on it. All I want to do is go home and write, but have mil round tonight so can't. Blooming real people getting in the way of hanging out with my imaginary people

ok, so I have a story mapped out, 12 chapters, 4 POV written in 3rd person. Yup it's fanfic again... but I want to focus on getting the character voices and the quality of the descriptive writing up.

Already stressing that I can't do it, I can't write the scenes I need to. ARGH.

I'm coming back from Panto now. Only a bit of washing still to do. So I'm now beginning to look at editing.

I'm at 54k now, aiming for about 90k, so I'm more than half done. Doesn't quite feel like it! No idea how my revised midpoint plot will read but I'm scared to go back and read through in case I give up in despair. Think I'll just slog on until the end. I find this second half the scariest bit of the pantsing approach to writing a book. It's generally the bit I have no clue what happens, I just know I have to get all my characters to end point Z in Xk words.

And yes to real life getting in the way of imaginary... I spend most of the day counting down to writing time and calculating how to maximise it. Currently writing this while rocking a Moses basket with my other hand. Sleep, baby, sleep...

Sorry if you've already said and I missed it, but can I ask how you got your agent, burning? (And congrats too!)

TippetyTapWriter, I mîssed your post...

It wasn't terribly conventional, I suppose. We followed each other on Twitter anyway and I'd been a bookseller for years. I sold the bookshop and started writing seriously although I told hardly anyone. I "came out" as a writer by taking part in a pitching competition at a literary festival and was one of the winners.

I carried in writing and was about halfway through the second draft when Lovely Agent posted a link in Twitter to a blog post he'd written about the sort of books he was looking for. I retweeted it and said that although my book wasn't what he was after I hoped he found something wonderful. He asked what my book was and I played hard to get, assuring him it wasn't what was looking for and then we took our discussion to DM and he persuaded me to send him the first few chapters.

Then he came back with some helpful suggestions, I finished the second draft and he read the whole thing, he came back and suggested I take another pass at the editing and concentrate on certain things. So I did and he loved it.

I think the fact that we knew who each other was helped a little, although we'd never actually spoken directly online or IRL, and I had enough confidence having already pitched my book at that event. And I suppose the fact that he'd asked to see it meant that it went to the top of his reading pile.

On my imposter syndrome-ridden days, I'm convinced he only took me on to be nice but while he's lovely, he's not fluffy and he's pointed out that he doesn't waste time being nice for no reason. Out of around 4,000 submissions last year, he took two of us on. Those stats are terrifying - even if you rule out the deluded and the incompetent, there are a lot of great writers not being offered representation.

I'm not sure how useful my experience is but I would advise takin part in pitching competitions, and not necessarily the Twitter ones as I don't know of anyone who was actually offered publication or representation as a result of that. I think it's sometimes people's egos offering false hope...

But do find some competitions and do those. Nothing focuses your mind on the essence of what you're writing like having to stand up and talk about it in front of an audience! If you want to know which I took part in do DM me as this feels outing enough!

And good luck. x

Gosh - that was excessively long! Sorry to anyone who ploughed through that essay!

Well, I finished and submitted another short story yesterday, so that's four 'live' pieces I've got out there now.

Is anyone else finding the read aloud feature on Word 2016 useful? I think it's great for weeding out errors, unintentional repetition, etc.