Following on from my last post about writing styles, plot and structure, I have been wrestling with my next novel. I am 6,000 words into the manuscript but last week I hit a wall. The story refuses to be written in a linear style. It refuses. I have several key scenes in my mind and have … Continue reading Permission To Not Write In A Linear Fashion?
Tag: novel
Step away from the vehicle - and put your novel in a drawer This is the final piece of advice I wanted to share with you from Zadie Smith in this series on writing wisdom. When you finish your novel put it in a drawer for as long as possible. A year or more is … Continue reading Step Away From The Vehicle
To continue with Zadie Smith's words on writing, I'd like to look at her breakdown of writers into two categories. They are a little over-simplistic but give a good idea of how differently people plan their writing. Macro Planners You will recognise a Macro Planner from his Post-its and notebooks. A Macro Planner organises material, … Continue reading Zadie Smith on Macro Planners and Micro Managers as Writers
This video was filmed at the New York Public Library. Author Zadie Smith begins with this quote: 'In the middle of a novel, a kind of magical thinking takes over. To clarify, the middle of the novel may not happen in the actual geographical centre of the novel. By middle of the novel I mean … Continue reading Zadie Smith – Middle-of-the-Novel Magical Thinking
A very HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you and every blessing for 2013. I thought I would kick off the year with a look back at what I have learned through the process of writing, editing, publishing and marketing my book. Thank you to those of you who have downloaded or ordered a copy. … Continue reading What I Learned In 2012 About A Book Release, Time Management, and Keeping Your Head (in the words of Kipling).