Five Things for the Fall

1. Ugh, the weather is horrible. I can already feel my winter gloom coming on. On the bright side, however, there are still bits and pieces that remind me of how pretty autumn can really be.

2. Revisions and more revisions! It's busy editing season for me. I'm smack bang in the middle of a round right now - which I realise is a mysterious thing to say when you don't actually know what I'm working on - but I will share details soon, I promise!

3. Downton Abbey. I am so late to the party, but I finally started watching it during a gap between revision rounds and then had to keep watching. Literally caught up to the current series in three days and now I watch them week by week. I think that equates to about eight episodes or so per day during the frenzy. Yep. When I get obsessed, I get obsessed. Anyone else develop obsessions like this?

4. Steampunk. I've always loved it, but I've recently started making stuff (like the necklace below). It started out as something of a whim, but I really like it and it's one of those brilliant things that helps me think about bookish conundrums while I'm doing it.

5. Books! I don't think I could list every book I've read and loved recently, but here are a couple of new releases that I completely recommend: 

Perfect Ruin by Lauren DeStefano
Frost Hollow Hall by Emma Carroll
Red Rock by Kate Kelly

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Dry Spell

I seem to be trapped in some kind of writing drought. I start things, then decide the idea is rubbish and abandon it. It's been months since I've had the kind of spark that makes me go YES! I WILL DIE IF I DON'T WRITE THIS STORY NOW!

So how do you fix a dry spell, writing or otherwise? I wish I knew. But here are a few things I've tried in the past, and they've worked, so I'm hoping they'll work again!

Take a break. Just forgetting about it for a few hours, or days, or even weeks could be just the thing.

Stop putting so much pressure on yourself to do it. Nothing kills enthusiasm quicker than feeling like you have to do something or else.

Try something completely new. Instead of trying to generate the same kind/genre/style of ideas, try doing something completely different. So if you write YA, try writing a fluffy romance for a few days and see what happens.

Just push through. If taking a break doesn't work, maybe just sitting down and making yourself write will. Who knows what a bit of forced scribbling will inspire? (This is always my last resort. Forcing myself just seems to take a lot of pleasure out of it, though it does pay off if I find a shiny new idea I can latch on to!)

Remember why you do it. I write because I love to. Because I need to. And sometimes, in the throes of deadlines and revisions and businessy things like getting a disaster-prone website up and running, I forget that. If you step back and remember why you do something, maybe you'll also remember something even simpler: if you love it so much, you’ll do it again. It'll always come back.

Any other tips or suggestions? How do you deal with a dry spell?

Sigh

RIDICULOUSLY CHATTY LADY ON THE BUS WHO ALSO HAPPENS TO POSSESS A BRIDGET JONES-ESQUE LACK OF TACT:

So what do you do?

ME:

Erm, I'm a writer.

RCLOTBWAHTPABJLOT:

Oh how lovely! Do you work for a newspaper?

ME:

No, I write novels.

RCLOTBWAHTPABJLOT:

For a living? Oh you poor dear. Haven't you been able to find a real job?

ME:

...

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times"

...and I'm not even a Dickens fan.

This somewhat dramatic turn for quoting springs from my present state of affairs: I am trapped somewhere between far too many things to do, far too many things to wait for, and far too many other things to be stressed out about. This is what comes from trying to sort out doctor's appointments, enjoy your last (hectic) week of university life, and move into a new house at the very end of that last (hectic) week (with all the innumerable exciting and stressful things moving house involves) - all at the same time.

As a result of which, I'm very sad to say that blogging is going to have to take a backseat for a couple weeks, until I can find some breathing space and hunt down my elusive creativity again.

It really hit me this weekend how much time blogging really involves. I love to do it, so I didn't really notice it before. But when you're swamped, it's so much easier to tweet from your phone, browse the internet for something quick, or send someone an email, than it is to sit down at a laptop for over an hour and enter the alternate reality of the blogosphere.

I'm hoping to be able to write up a couple of posts over the next fortnight (but let's face it, I'll probably be too immersed in packing to even think), and I really hope I can pop in to all the wonderful blogs I follow now and then. Reading a blog post isn't too hard to do from your phone - it's just commenting that's nearly impossible!

Still, mustn't knock the marvels of technology.

So, I hope you all have a fantastic week(s), and do try not to forget me because I will be back, a la the Terminator!

Blogfests, Wednesday Blues, and Salty Crisps

It's finale season on the telly, and it's obviously blogfest season online. I've just decided to host one (please do sign up in the sidebar if you like the sound of it!), but I'm also participating in a few others. Namely the Logline/Hook Line Blogfest, hosted by Bryan, on the 22nd of May; the Beach Scene Blogfest, hosted by Rachel Bateman, on the 5th of June; and the Bad Boy Blogfest, hosted by Tina Lynn, on the 20th of June. If any of these sound good to you, mosey on over and sign up! Woo!

I've done absolutely nothing this week, writing-wise, which is making me very sad. It's always worst on Wednesdays, I find, just because I feel like I've wasted half the week and now have to make the most of the other half. I don't know about the rest of you, but when I don't or can't write for a stretch of time, I start getting very restless and feel that all's not quite right in the world. 

That said, this has been a crazy week so far, so I suppose I should be paying more attention to other things! And by 'other things', I mean general craziness, the last scraps of university, and watching the finales of my favourite shows while eating salt and vinegar chip-sticks. Ah, crisps.

I tweeted this yesterday, but it must be said again. Writing and editing a novel should count as exercise. It's not fair that all this work does little calorie-burning.

If you've managed to get this far in this rambling and somewhat incoherent post, here's your reward (if you can call it that). The opening of ECHOES, my YA urban fantasy that's currently out on submission to agents.


But first, a couple of definitions from the ECHOES dictionary;


Echo (n.) flesh and blood individual, stitched from mysterious materials by a Weaver. Sole purpose is to mimic his/her other in every way, and ultimately replace them if necessary. They are raised in isolation far away from their others. They are not considered human.

Other (n.) real person in the world, often the child of familiars. When others die, echoes replace them, if they're wanted. It's a very controversial idea and many people don't like it one bit.

Familiar (n.) the person or persons who pay for and ask the Weavers to make an echo for somebody they love.

Weaver (n.) two men and a woman who stitch echoes at their Loom in London. While familiars (almost) always have the final word on an echo, the Weavers own and govern every echo.

Hunter (n.) person who has sworn to hunt down and rid the world of echoes.


Enjoy!


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(Text from the novel removed. Sorry!)

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