My Writing Tips

I have read many writing tips over the past few years. I am always looking for good advice from those in the know. Only recently did it occur to me that I might be able to provide some tips of my own. So from my own experience, these are a few things that helped me:

1 - Make sure your day-job is compatible with writing. If you need to work to pay the bills, and who doesn’t, make sure it is a job that doesn’t leave you physically or emotionally drained at the end of the day. I thought I had obtained the perfect job working in a bookshop – it seemed a no-brainer for a book obsessed person like myself. However, anyone in retail will confirm that being on your feet for seven hours a day leaves you fit for nothing but the sofa and a glass of wine at the end of the day. Likewise, try to avoid a job that keeps you chained to a PC. You are less likely to want to sit at one to do your own work later on. The best kind of job is one that you enjoy, and that brings you into contact with people. You need social contact to keep you buzzing with ideas.

2 – Try to avoid sharing your computer with anyone else in the family. If you can afford to, buy your own laptop and refuse to lend it to anyone. Sounds mean, I know, but there is nothing more irritating than getting stuck into your work than being interrupted by someone who wants to see the cricket results, or to update their status on Facebook.

3 – Take your characters everywhere with you. At the start of your work when you are in the process of creating new people in your head, keep them close to you. Take them for a walk; to the beach; to the shops; to a football match or even out to dinner. Take them to work with you and let them sit next to you while you are busy. OK, if you are reading this and think I'm mad, perhaps I should explain. Your new characters need to become your imaginary friends. In order to get to know them well you need to spend time with them. So try having imaginary conversations with them (in your head please!). You will probably find you have more spare time than you thought possible, if you make it all count. When you are travelling, do some active daydreaming. When you can’t sleep, ditto. When there is nothing on TV, ditto. You get the picture right? Keep a notebook close by to jot down anything useful.

4 – Get stuck into your research. You may not think you need to research much if you are writing a novel. After all, it’s all in your head, isn’t it? Maybe so, but it pays to keep up with what is going on in the landscape of your novel. Make sure you don’t introduce a song in the book that wasn’t available at that point in time. Keep up to date with local news and gossip. It might be useful to know if something major happens in the town you are setting your story in. Try and avoid writing about a place you have never visited. It often shows – at least to the locals, so if you have to use a place you are unlikely to visit – the moon, for example, or Mogadishu, then make sure you do tons of research to get a feel for the place and the people.

5 – When you are still in the writing process, don’t get too hung up on editing it while you work. As the novel grows in length you will waste too much time if you try to go over what you have already written, in order to get stuck in to the story again. In all probability the editing process will take as long as the writing process. In my case it took longer. Editing is a tricky business, and it is not simply about weeding out typos. It is about making sure your structure works, and that the story starts in the right place. When I had finished my novel I was given the advice to cut the first three chapters. Being a novice I ignored this for a while, as so much hard work had gone into those chapters. But Carl MacDougall was right. A belated thanks here!

6 – Equally, don’t get too hung up on the publishing process. Everything takes a long time. You need to let your work settle in any case. Don’t be in a rush to get it out to the wide world, unless of course you are lucky enough to have got an agent and a book deal already. Put your manuscript away and don’t look at it for ages. Do something else instead. Read, redecorate, go on holiday, and pay attention to the family and friends you have neglected. Anything but pick away at your novel. When you think you have forgotten it, pick it up and read it again. If you have a Kindle you could try saving your manuscript into a PDF and emailing it to your Kindle account. Before you do, change the font size into something huge – 20 or 22, big enough so that there are only about two paragraphs to the page. That way it will fit on your screen in a way that you can read. There is no better way to pick holes in your work than to read it in the way that other people might. As you do, write notes about the plot, structure, characters etc. This is not the time to sort out the typos. That is a long job to be done with a printed version and a highlighter.

7 – Find a writing buddy. This could even be someone you have never met. One of my best writing buddies is someone I met online through my MA course. She is also writing a novel, so I can return the favour when it comes to getting a critical appraisal of my work. And you do need someone who is brave enough to offer serious criticism without fear of being crossed off your Christmas card list. It is lovely to get feedback from your friends and relatives, but they are very unlikely to give you anything other than a boost to your ego. What you need is the cold hard truth about your adverbs!

8 – Get into social networking. It has many purposes. You can find out what’s going on in the big wide world outside your writing room, and you can make virtual friends with other writers and readers. And once you have expanded your platform of social connections you will be in a good place to launch your book upon people who just might be interested enough to read it. Now if that sounds too much like jumping up and down and shrieking “look at me” then rest assured unless you are tweeting all day long about your book it won’t be seen as attention seeking. If you don’t believe me take some time to study twitter and the like. The chances are your attention will be drawn to some new film, book, or recording artist that you had never heard of before, and that you like the sound of.

Don’t you just love being given the name of a new author or book to read? Yeah, me too!

View from the Shop Floor

Jimmy Buchan - this week's must read

As someone who has spent a vast amount of time in bookshops – real and virtual - I thought I had a good idea of what kinds of books people liked to read. However, there is nothing like working in a bookshop to open your eyes to the purchasing decisions people make.

I always thought it would be great to work in a bookshop – and it is. It is absolutely fascinating to watch people browsing the shelves. They pick up books, read the blurb, put them back and reach for another. And then they make a decision.

To buy or not to buy – as a writer with my own novel to sell I would love to know what the magic formula is. I know what kinds of book cover get my interest, but everyone has different tastes. And in the past I have never spent much time in the Crime section or Horror, so I am now learning just how popular some genres are. It is interesting to observe that the fantasy/vampire genre is not so in demand here as it is elsewhere.

Crime novels are really popular in Shetland, so much so that I wish I could change my name to Jo Nesbo. Mr Nesbo’s bookcovers have a strong distinctive style that demands attention, and obviously he writes a good story too, as they fly off the shelves.

Another popular book this week was Trawlerman by Jimmy Buchan, a spinoff from the television series, that seemed to be top of everyone’s father’s day shopping list. It made me wonder what it would be like to have the type of job that inspires dramas, documentaries and bestselling books. Somehow I can’t see some of the job titles on my CV such as Bookseller, Internal Auditor or Civil Servant generating such interest.

Coming back home

The beach - just a short walk from our new house.

It is just over a month since we left Ireland and what a busy crazy month it has been. We spent our last night in Ireland staying with friends in Wexford. Friends that I hadn’t seen in over 13 years, so it was great to catch up and meet new children, and be amazed at how unchanged everyone is.

Then we caught the ferry over to Pembroke and had a quick explore around Tenby. We will be returning there in September when Kevin does his Ironman triathlon. Tenby has an amazing beach and it was a lovely sunny day, so we were able to walk along the shoreline and paddle in the freezing water. Hope it warms up a bit by September!

Then we visited my sister and her family in Newport. It was great to chill out for a couple of days and see Cardiff Bay for the first time since it was redeveloped. I lived in Newport many years ago and it has changed so much since then. It brought back quite a few memories – all good!

Then it was up to Peterborough to see my son’s Grandma which was lovely. Then up to Yorkshire to stay with my mother in law and then finally the long drive to Aberdeen to catch the boat to Shetland. By which time we were, quite frankly, exhausted. Not least because we were driving all the way accompanied by Tiger who complained bitterly in his own unique Siamese way all the way. You did not need a translator to know it was the cat equivalent of “are we there yet?”

We drove off the boat into a rather grey Shetland day and for a moment I felt a sense of anti-climax. But this did not last long. We drove straight to our new house where my first task was to get ready for a job interview at a bookshop.

Much to my amazement I got the job. Perhaps I shouldn’t have been too amazed given my qualifications, but after a year of getting nowhere with my job search in Ireland, my confidence was lower than usual. Much lower! And then an hour or so later I was offered another job. And a few days later I got invited to more job interviews. All of which I have turned down in favour of the bookshop.

Now as most people will realise, retail does not pay well. In fact I nearly fell off my chair in the interview when I was told how much (or rather how little) I would get paid. But working in a bookshop is one of those aspirations I have harboured for many years so I decided to give it a try.

And I am glad I did. It is rather fabulous to be surrounded by books all day. And because it was a bookshop that I have spent a lot of time in as a customer I didn’t exactly need much in the way of induction into where everything was.

The best thing about it is that it is only part-time, three days a week, so plenty of time to get on with my writing and my dissertation.

Reader – it is good to be back home. I can't tell you how fantastic it is to be surrounded by so many good friends. I realise now that I missed it all more than I ever thought possible.

Relative Success

One of the hardest things a writer has to do is to allow someone else to read their work. You are already your own worst critic, but even so you fear the reaction from other people, who might hate your creation. And if they do, how do you bounce back?

In the beginning though, it is normally only friends and relatives that you trust with your manuscript. As a result any criticisms will be softened with tact and diplomacy; if you're lucky.

However, when you launch your work onto the public, it is another matter altogether. You have no idea what people might say; that is if they even bother to buy it in the first place. And then you realise, that this is really the crux of the matter. Suppose it just sits there on the bookshelf (virtual or actual).

This week has been rather strange for me. After a fairly good start on Amazon I issued the novel on smashwords.com an independent e-publisher, and it is fairly flying off the virtual bookshelf. As I write, it is in fourth position in the bestsellers list. I know that the buyers are most likely to be in the US, due to the time of day when most of the sales take place. So I have now moved passed the situation where I am selling mainly to friends and family and casual acquaintances.

It is both scary and exhilarating at the same time. I wonder what an American audience make of the novel. But at least I am helping to put Shetland on the map.

Yesterday was census day in Ireland and I have duly done my bit for the country by filling in my form. It feels very much like the bureaucratic equivalent of saying I woz here; and all the more poignant for the fact that I won’t be here for very much longer. Well in Ireland anyway, I do hope to be residing on this planet for a few more decades.

Ireland is in a state of great turmoil. There is a constant stream of newspaper headlines and radio debates about unemployment and the rise in emigration. Apparently over 40,000 young people have already left since Christmas. It is a sad time for many people.

But it is also a time of opportunity. I firmly believe that good things happen in the wake of disaster. The new emigrants will undoubtedly go off and change their lives, probably for the better. They will meet new people, find new careers, start new relationships and will return to their homeland with great stories to tell.

I can’t help but wonder how this period in history will be reflected in literature. I am sure that there are writers all over the world that are already dreaming up stories about the demise of the Celtic Tiger. It has certainly influenced the novel I am currently working on.

A Kind(le) Review

One of the better books on Kindle

Having recently bought a Kindle my reading has been opened up to a whole new world of books written by other writers. And there is such a diverse range of quality out there. Anyone who has a Kindle will be aware that there are loads of books available to download that are free or perhaps just a few pence/cents. Some of them are very good indeed. I would thoroughly recommend Mousetrapped – a year and a bit in Orlando, Florida by Catherine Ryan Howard. (see above)

However, some of them are absolutely dire, and would make excellent examples of how not to write a book for any creative writing lecturer. I realise that everyone has their own opinion about what makes a good book, so I am fascinated by what people have to say in their reviews. I am especially interested now that I am in competition with some of these writers. I have spent the last hour or so ploughing through the list of books available on Kindle and reading some of the reviews. Some of them are so harsh that if I received such a bad review I would instantly withdraw my book, and probably take up another hobby. However, quite a few of the reviews reveal that most of the problems are created by poor editing. There has recently been quite a brouhaha in the world of self-published authors, with a reviewer getting slated for a justifiably bad review. If ever there was a lesson to learn about publishing your own book on Kindle (or similar) it is to make sure you really have ironed out all the faults.

In the meantime I have only received good reviews to date. That may be because most of the people who have purchased the novel are amongst my circle of friends and family. But I am biting what are left of my nails in anticipation of the first critical review.

My Irish Sabbatical

Time Out in Ireland - Just the book you need for a sabbatical in Ireland

I wish that everyone could get the opportunity to take some serious time out from work. And by this I don’t mean a few months off to have a baby, or time off because of an involuntary redundancy. But real time off that was planned for – a sabbatical in other words.

I didn’t quite plan to have so much time off work myself. It has been the accidental by-product of relocating to Ireland at precisely the worst moment in history to do so. However, my unemployed status has not been without its benefits. I have had time to really think about what I want to achieve in life, and what is important to me.

I always knew that I wanted to be a writer, and this little journey started long before I moved to Ireland. But it is here that my quiet ambition has been allowed to mature into something more tangible. I have now published a novel, albeit just on Kindle at this moment in time. However, this small act is enough to make me feel like a published writer. I even have an email from Amazon congratulating me on this achievement. The novel is selling, and I have even had my first review – five stars no less. However, what gave me the most satisfaction were the emails and text messages from people who have read my novel and loved it. Now that feels like an achievement!

This year of unemployment has been tough for me. I have spent over 30 years in paid employment and I love working. I have made some of my best friends (and worst husbands at work) and it feels good to be busy and an active member of society. The constant rejection, or even blank silences, in response to the hundreds of job applications I have made since I moved to Ireland has threatened to drain all my reserves of confidence. So my little Kindle experiment has at least helped to balance this out.

But this past year has been good for something else. I want to be a writer; but since that won’t pay all the bills I have decided that I would like to do something a little more meaningful than work in an office for the rest of my life. I need to have more balance in my life. I don’t want to spend all day at a computer and then spend all my spare time on my laptop, writing. I want to do something that makes a difference to people’s lives. I also know that as much as I love Ireland, my heart really belongs in Shetland and therefore, we are probably going to move back there before too long.

So I had better finish my “Irish” novel pretty quick while I still have time to do so.