Writing Career » HearWriteNow

How to Revise Your Novel – Open Again

Advertisement, Writing Career 3 Responses »

Mar 092010

The How to Revise Your Novel online workshop is open to new students again. You may remember it opened for only a very brief window in January. This is probably a more relevant course to more advanced writers than How to Think Sideways.

Update: The How to Think Sideways Writing Career Development course has also been opened to new students. This is a comprehensive writing course suitable for beginning and intermediate writers, advanced writers who are thoroughly stuck in a rut, or those after indepth examples of queries and proposals that have sold.

Both classes can be taken in your own time and commense as soon as you’ve signed up.

Writing Career – Quarter Mark Update

My Fictional Life Blog, Writing Career No Responses »

Oct 022009

I’m finally a quarter of the way through the writing career course I’m taking. Yes, only.

The course is huge. I’ve now downloaded everything and have been able to hop around a bit and look at what is coming up. Potentially the most interesting and useful part of the course for me is the bonus course at the end, which I have naturally already skipped to. This is a three-part additional course (6 videos) called How Not to Write a Series and Why You Don’t Want To. This is exactly what I needed to learn and has made me rethink my two series’ I had on the cards and made me realise that I can do both, better, as stand-alone books. Strangely enough, this is an exciting, motivating realisation.

The beginning sections of the course that I have done were quite interesting but really just a recap of stuff I already know, already do, or have already tried and tossed out as methods that don’t work well for me. But though I am happy with my established methods it is good to revisit these issues once in a while. This is ideal for a beginner/intermediate writer as it is in depth stuff that can really help you set your writing up to produce results early on and avoid a lot of frustration. I know two people who pulled out of the course because it was too much “how to write” and not enough “how to get published”.

I really took the course more for the later sections on pitching to agents and publishers and how to work with the publishing industry, and to see what an author had done that worked or didn’t work and why. So far I’ve seen one of the in depth agent pitches with the agent’s extensive comments and I do think it will be useful for me to see the others together with the “trial and error” analyses. It is very handy to see what someone has done wrong, and this part is good for intermediate/advanced writers who can study another writer’s approach with understanding of the process involved.

If you’re thinking of taking this course yourself don’t sign up for the twelve month course; take the six month course. I spent extra money for no reason at all. I would have been just as far behind in the six month course as I am now. Spacing the lessons out gives you no advantage; you can space your own lessons out and take as long as you like to complete the course. If I keep going at the pace I’ve set so far, it will take me four years to finish (but I do have more time coming up to devote to this course).

Writing Career Development
How to Revise Your Novel

Worldbuilding

My Fictional Life Blog, Worldbuilding, Writing Career 3 Responses »

Jun 122009

Despite all the planning I do for my books, I don’t tend to do much worldbuilding up front. This is one aspect of planning that I leave for the writing process. I’m not sure why I take this approach; I know of some writers who do extensive worldbuilding before even beginning any planning, and even some who enjoy worldbuilding but don’t plan their plot at all.

A lot of my worldbuilding takes place in my head as a way of absorbing the atmosphere of the world of my story. I get an essence of the place; a scent of it, rather than an absolute definition of its boundaries and content. Perhaps this is why I am so vague at writing descriptively. I forget details but remember impressions; how a place (real or imagined) makes me feel, what it reminds me of. These daydreams that I have of my characters simply being in a place may or may not make it into the final story, and I won’t know until I write the scene whether I need to include details that may first require a detour into worldbuilding.

More about the writing career course I’m taking.

Comments (2)

Selma -
I tend to keep it in my head too. I have found in the past that extensive worldbuilding takes all of the fun out of things for me. It’s a case of too much planning being a bad thing. Great to see you blogging again!

Posted 13 June 2009

Elle -
It’s nice to be back. I’m going to attempt to give this site a facelift which will hopefully make it easier to keep blogging.

Posted 13 June 2009

Cranking Up the Grey Matter

Ideas, My Fictional Life Blog, Writing Career 1 Response »

Jan 302009

It’s been a busy couple of months. I put my fiction on hold in order to work on a project for my father-in-law, who turned 70 this month. I’m still not sure how I managed to keep it a semi-surprise, or how I managed to get it done in time, but somehow I converted several dinner time conversations, some sneaky questions, an incomplete six-page memoir, and dozens of photographs into a printed book. It is a continuing biography that our whole family can enjoy as a reference and celebration.

So I’m getting back into my novel now and really looking forward to spending some time with my characters. They’ve been neglected for too long.

An interesting exercise I’m working on at the moment is to come up with a couple of story ideas “on demand”. This may seem contrary to what I need (ie, I have far too many ideas noted down and not enough time and energy to get to work on them. But it is not about how many ideas you do or don’t have, but rather a case of developing the ability to grab any opportunity that might arise (a great contest, a sudden request from a publisher, an offer of a lifetime – that sort of thing). Keeping the brain sharp and the feet thinking. Too many years of curbing my inspiration while I first finish the ideas I have committed to has left my brain tapping her fingers on the desk in a state of stupor. Inspiration does still arrive, but inspiration on demand?… not as simple as it used to be.

Comments (2)

Selma -
I thought you must have had some project on the go. Glad to hear you’re getting back into your novel. Inspiration on demand? Not easy at all!!

Posted 2 February 2009