As someone who effectively spends my whole life presenting ideas to classes, and who is more than accustomed to reading aloud, you wouldn't think the prospect of doing a public event for my novel would be daunting. But it is. Oh, how daunting it is. The thing is, in this day and age, authors (especially … Continue reading Preparing for my first public event
Today is the first day of my part-time teaching hours. Which officially means it's the first day of my working as a writer. It's requiring quite a shift in mentality, from writing being something I do in a spare hour between this and that, to being an actual job that I sit down and do … Continue reading And so it begins…
So, the moment has arrived and I've actually finished writing my first draft of my first novel. It's a pretty exciting moment for me. I woke up one morning, determined that today was the day, and bashed out 9000 words before teatime - focus! I've learned some important things though that I thought might be … Continue reading Five things I’ve learned about finishing a book
Yesterday I worked my last full-time day as a teacher. From September, I'll be part-time. I love teaching. There's so much I love about it: sharing my love of reading and writing; working with amazing colleagues and often even more amazing students; planning schemes of work designed to educate and illuminate and entertain; and building … Continue reading One step in the future
First off, I admit that this analogy probably applies to anything that you've ever had to wait for, but as I'm currently waiting to hear back from a couple of agents, it's an analogy that is sitting strong with me right now. As you all know, the idea of Schrödinger's Cat is that there is a … Continue reading The Schrödinger’s Cat of Being a Writer
Yesterday was our last residential day on the MA. Just over two years ago, I'd just heard that I'd been offered a place and I thought that all my dreams had come true - two years later and dreams I'd never even really contemplated have come true. It's been an amazing time that has just … Continue reading So long, farewell… for now
I've written before about the struggle between confidence and wanting to burn what I've done and run screaming through the streets - it's odd that a career choice that is actually quite insular is driven so much by external validation. As a writer just starting out, it can be really hard to find the kind … Continue reading What a difference some external validation makes!
Welcome to 2018 everyone. How exciting! A new year! I always love New Year for the possibilities that it brings. Is there any other time of year that holds so much possibility and hope for the future? Last year was pretty good for me in terms of my writing. Sometimes when you're in the middle … Continue reading Happy New Year – Let’s make 2018 the Year of the Writer
I've been giving some thought recently to the crippling self-doubt that seems to afflict many writers (and although I'm still in the almost- camp, I can definitely relate to that almost paralysing fear that what you've written is maybe, possibly, almost certainly utter rubbish) and wondering how I can benchmark my career as a writer. … Continue reading My writing bucketlist… or how will I know if I’ve made it?
I've just read the excellent Deadfall, by Linda Fairstein (one of my regular favourites) and it struck me that there are some books that go beyond merely setting a story in a specific place; the very tentacles of the story worm their way through the whole location. There's some extra special about that kind of … Continue reading Making more of your setting
I've been really quiet lately - a combination of ill health and the fact I suddenly had 20,000 words of various essays to be completed and handed in for the MA - but I'm back to wellness now and have met all my deadlines so yay me! When I first got accepted to the MA … Continue reading A year in the life of a Crime Writing MA
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