I am such a Harry Potter nerd!

My baby girl (soon to turn 19) was bored while waiting to driver herself off to work today, and being in a super chatty mood having just returned from having spent nearly a month away house sitting caught me up to date on 'everything' that's been happening in her life that she hasn't already told me about.

To pass the time, she asked if I would like to play a game of 'Head's Up' (or, more accurately a similar app to Head's Up).  She knew I watch the Ellen Degeneres show sometimes and that I knew about the app, and even though I did have plenty of things I could have been doing instead, figured taking half hour out of my busy day isn't going to hurt me.

The first few games were fun, but nothing spectacular, and then babygirl found the category Harry Potter and she 'had' to have a game before she left. She held her phone to her head, I called out clues without giving it away and she tried to guess the answer. I shouted out things like "He is the main character!" and she guessed "Harry Potter", "the spell that Lupin tells Harry not to let become his signature spell" and she (correctly) guessed "Expelliarmus!"  That type of thing.

But our real fun began when we swapped 'goes' - with HER giving ME the clues, and my having to guess.  I got things like "damn, I forgot what this spell does - so just pass and we'll go to the next one".

I correctly answered every clue given to me, but received less clues than instructions to pass so we could move onto the next one - which caused us both to get a fit of the giggles.

It got closer and closer to baby girl having to leave to go to work, but she kept on insisting on playing 'one more game' because 1. we were having so much fun, laughing and giggling and trying to beat the clock, and 2. because she had to try super hard to be able to give me each clue so I could try to guess the answer.

So, even though we have both read the series many, many times, this morning I proved once and for that I am the biggest Harry Potter nerd than she is - so I'll wear this Title with pride :-)

The Cuckoo's Calling: RobertGalbraith = JK Rowling. Should we have guessed earlier?

Last Tuesday, I randomly check Mugglenet website, as I often do, and discovered a new post announcing that J.K. Rowling had been unearthed as having published a crime novel under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.




The article gave sketchy basics about how the discovery had been made, and quoted J.K Rowling as having expressed disappointment that her secret had been discovered so quickly.  The same article mentioned that twenty two genuine reviews of the book had been published on Amazon while the secret remained unknown, and expression of disappointment in that now that her secret is out, readers will deliberately trash the books merits and ratings simply because of who the true author is publishing.

I hastened to read the genuine reviews, and was as equally amazed as the writer of the article or quotes from other articles cited in-text that the first review stated something to the effect that the reviewer wouldn't be surprised if this new crime author was actually an experienced, published author writing under a pseudonym.

At quick glance, each of the genuine reviews - there were even more by the time I viewed the page - gave favourable opinions about the story and author. Without hesitation, I downloaded the ebook version (not even considering that I may experience difficulties in purchasing a hardback copy) because I wanted to start reading immediately.  Although I am a fan of the Harry Potter stories, I am probably more accurately a fan of J.K Rowling's writing.  She definitely has had an influence over my own, as I have admired her skill with layering clues, and generating reader engagement long after readers have finished the completed works.




I was not a great fan of The Casual Vacancy. I pre-ordered the book the moment I learned she was publishing her first book since Harry Potter, and I like others truly wanted to enjoy the tale. Unfortunately, it is all too easy to compare anything else J.K Rowling writes to that of Harry Potter - as loved and detested as that series was, I don't think anything compares to the trashing and criticism The Casual Vacancy generated - which is sad, because a lot of that story's strengths were overlooked in favour of simple criticism. I disliked it for different reasons to other readers - it had no excitement or build up to its climax, and nothing 'changed', so I was left wondering 'what was the point in telling that tale then?'

Other people criticised - not without reason...

Head-hopping, yes it is jarring to the reader the first time they are yanked out of the point of view the reader has come to expect they will remain in, so fair criticism that J.K Rowling adopted a style in narrating the storyline that head hops multiple times within each chapter - all rules of good novel writing seem to point to 'only change point of view at the end of a scene or chapter, or after some indicated break'; but writers are also advised to know the rules before choosing to break them, and from my perspective J.K Rowling fully understood the rule she was breaking, and used it as a particular style and executed it with utmost consistency throughout the remainder of the book. And, as a reader, once I realised after the second or third time that this was going to happen quite consistently and with great frequency, I ceased being yanked out of my fictive state, and actually looked forward to gaining each of the other characters perspectives.

Yes, there was foul language... in an adult book - oh, the horror for so many people: "Harry Potter never used foul language like that" - No, it didn't. But folks, the book was not Harry Potter.The book was dealing with some pretty seedy side of life. I work with some of my area's most long-term jobless, and on a daily basis witness the language and poor behaviour; foul language much cruder and more frequent than J.K Rowling limited the pages to.

I haven't read a crime novel in a number of years.  I don't know why, I've always enjoyed them, but I have favoured fantasy and paranormal fiction probably because that's the type of novels I have a few different storylines for.

My only expectation in reading The Cuckoo's Calling, was to enjoy the words of J.K Rowling (now that I knew it was her) and to read a mystery 'whodunit' story.

I don't know if it is just me, or even if it is just my imagination, or having the benefit of hindsight, but as I read the story, I was curious as to just how many times I felt that J.K Rowling's personal writing style is so very present within the pages as the story progresses, while simultaneously understanding that great lengths had been gone into to disguise the true identity of the writer.

What do I mean by that?  Well, I'm not going to spoil the storyline for any reader, yet I feel I can say that there are certain 'key words' and 'key features' that appear within the storyline that had me thinking "How does this not point as strong clues that the writer is J.K Rowling?"  Stag, doe, pallid, loquacious, and a few other words that will forever be attached to J.K Rowling and Harry Potter in my mind (at the very least).  What a strange combination to appear in the works of someone completely different. Stag and doe, for example, such strong symbols identifying Harry Potters departed parents somehow make it into a crime novel that does not have animals or forests within its descriptions.

Firstly, the poems at the beginning of chapters.  J.K Rowling has included poems in the beginnings of her previous books before: Deathly Hallows, where readers are given passages from Aeschylus, The Libation Bearers, and William Penn, Move Fruits of Solitude; details explaining the term The Casual Vacancy, Charles Arnold-Baker Local Council Administration, Seventh Edition

And then there are those specific words...

Pallid... is there any scene or description of Professor Snape that does not include this word to describe his skin?  And here it appears within The Cuckoo's Calling.  Yes, I have seen this word used by other authors, but -- it is one of those words that J.K Rowling uses -  almost as a trademark - to describe characters.  If I recall correctly, I remember her using that word within the pages of The Casual Vacancy as well (but I'd have to fact check to be certain).

Loquacious... I mean, this one feels like an anvil sized clue.  Most writers use the simpler word 'talkative', but not J.K Rowling.  She has Hermione Granger describe to Harry that Victor Krum is 'not particularly loquacious' when Harry forms the opinion that Hermione and Krum spend more time 'snogging' than getting to know one another.  And loquacious appears in The Cuckoo's Calling. When it appears, the word 'talkative' could easily have been used, but the author has consistently uses higher educated words than what most of the books readers would have - J.K Rowling was no different in using these higher educated words within the Harry Potter books and The Casual Vacancy.

But J.K Rowling (and perhaps her publisher/editor) have gone to great lengths to remove all traces of her renown writing weaknesses that would have had readers guessing her identity long before actually occurred too: criticised immensely for the use of 'adverbs', namely during dialogue tags, such as 'Harry said angrily', such and such said 'whatever-ly'. I don't think I found even one example within The Cuckoo's Calling, yet, they were present (very minorly) within The Casual Vacancy.

But it was J.K Rowlings rich descriptions that truly would have made me curious, if I hadn't already known the true identity of the author...

The wonderful descriptions of both poverty and wealth could only have come from a writer who has experienced both.  Same with the experiences of paparazzi light-bulbs flashing in one's eyes.  There was an element of authenticity to the writer having lived and breathed through this on multiple occasions, the weariness and dislike of relentless invasion oozed onto the page.  I know I am no great writer, but I feel I can get emotion and mood across the page to my beta readers; and I can tell you now, not having experienced this, I could never have achieved this within my own writing.  And I have read a few other novels that follow the lives of the wealthy and famous, and in hindsight, even though I thoroughly enjoyed those light reads, none of them ringed that bell of 'the writer has been through this', they haven't even come close to depicting what it is really like to suffer at the hands of the paparazzi on its pages. I guess what I'm trying to say here is that other authors have seized upon the glamour side of being within the scrutinising unwanted spotlight within their stories; The Cuckoo's Calling truly reveals the inconvenience and intrusiveness of everyone wanting a piece of you, relentlessly, and going to sneaky and extreme lengths to gain a lecherous scoop.

Now consider for a moment that while releasing the later books within the Harry Potter series, J.K Rowling became known for desiring to 'play fair' with her readers. Harry Potter was 'at heart' a 'Whodunit' mystery.

So, what wouldn't be fair about J.K Rowling publishing a Mystery novel - which is her passion and forte - under a pseudonym when the very fact that the writer's name IS a pseudonym appears on the books jacket, as a subtle clue that 'all is not as it seems'?

And, in fairness to readers placing a few well-chosen clues that hint at her true identity to the clueiest of readers: mystery story + clues for the reader to work out = eventual reveal.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think there was any mis-intent like I am sure J.K Rowling will be meanly accused of; I think J K Rowling always intended for readers to find out - eventually - that she authored this book and its intended sequel(s). I think J. K Rowling truly understands how to engage with readers, and she genuinely enjoys the interaction from a distance. I truly believe that she craved getting honest and unbiased reader opinion about her story's merits.  The Casual Vacancy, published under her own name, was never going to achieve this. The comparison's to Harry Potter were always going to exist right from the release date.

I know that if I ever become a successfully published author (I'm still working on it), I'm not in it for the fame or recognition. I fully intend on writing under a pen name, with the very high hopes that I remain keeping my true identity unrevealed for all to invade. I, like J.K Rowling, love writing... if only I possessed even half her talent, I'd be in heaven if I could earn a decent living from doing something I truly love.  But I certainly don't envy or want the fame or the invasion to her privacy that J.K Rowling gained.

So I read this new book, and, I can honestly say that I enjoyed The Cuckoo's Calling for what it is: a mystery story.  It was an enjoyable read, possessed great descriptions (doesn't all her works), and all the clues were perfectly layered so that it was simultaneously not a - and also a delightful - surprise when the Whodunit was eventually revealed. (I was wrong in my guess, but not too far astray from reaching that conclusion my own self.)

I liked the character of Cormoran Strike, he came across more real than some other Private Investigators of other books. I loved that he was not cliche in any way. I'm glad Robin came to temp for him, they made a great team.  I loved Strike's thoroughness and skill in investigating where the Police had long since dismissed. I loved that J.K Rowling created a character of good motivation, and had him use his intellect.

And, I will conclude by saying, that I most certainly would have enjoyed the book even if I hadn't known that it was J.K Rowling writing it - I almost wish I had discovered the book before her secret came out.

Novel writing: I think in terms of 'moments' now

Last weekend, while I was home sick with the flu, I saw in Google Plus newsfeed someone had written a blog on the topic of overcoming writer's block with the solution being to write your novel in 'scenes' rather than face the prospect of starting an ambitiously large project.

I was sick and didn't read the article, and now that I'm better, the article is too far down for me to go back to.

But, earlier this week I also checked Mugglenet website and saw an article that mentioned that the final instalment of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban pages will be available in a few weeks time.



The two topics have come together in my mind.

Relaxed from four weekdays away from all the stress and tension at work, and feeling significantly better on the weekend than the days preceding them, I sat down to work on my novel work in progress.

I use a combination of typing up manuscript or story notes and using a paper based notebook and pen to record my ideas; it is not always possible to fire up my laptop computer to record new thoughts and ideas; and at other times, I fair better because I am able to get more done by typing than is possible when I hand write, because I type around 70 words per minute, but can only write at half that speed.

Last weekend, after months of zero progress to this particular work I thought up yet another new starting point for the novel which works better than my previous efforts.  I know the middle and ending of this storyline rather intimately, but until now, I have struggled to find the right starting point.  I've experimented with starting the storyline when my main character is eighteen and having just left formal schooling, I've experimented with her having a loving parent, an abusive one, and other background motivations - and although some of those beginnings resulted in ten thousand, twenty thousand, even sixty thousand words of novel manuscript being produced, eventually those false starting points ended up causing me to come to a grinding halt as I faced my story having taken off into directions I didn't want it heading or couldn't connect it to where I knew the storyline intimately - each of my prior starts  were 'just not right' despite my initial enthusiasm or belief that I was on the right track when I started from that point.

I'll have to go through this computer's and my previous computers files to work out how many different times I have started this story... I think this might be the eighth, or ninth... I really would have to check to be certain.  And I'm scared to go through all my files to work out how many thousands of words I have written in story notes and manuscript as my character has undergone name and personal situation changes.

And, I think the reason I have made so much progress over the last two weekends - with approximately fifteen thousand words committed to electronic file or paper - is because I thought back to how I successfully achieved completing a one hundred and twenty thousand word story, and considered how I succeeded in getting the story out of my head and into a fully completed draft that with a few rounds of editing, was satisfactory enough for me to pitch it to a publisher in the hopes of getting a publishing deal.

Yes... I had a very strong idea of the story from start to finish. I knew the sequence of scenes, always knew what was coming next. So, each writing session - I did some of it as an unregistered, one month in arrears NaNoWriMo participant, meaning I tried to complete fifty thousand words across four weeks in December/January - I got into the flow of the story I was telling by starting at the beginning and reading the story to myself, fixing up sentences and words here and there as I went, and then boldly moved forward in telling the story, even if I only managed to add one or two paragraphs in new storyline (I often increased my story's word count more than reducing it just from adding and deleting sentences to skeletal paragraphs and scenes -- oh, I haven't anchored the reader to knowing what time of day it is, so I'd slot a word or sentence into an appropriate spot so each of the essential elements within the scene were present).

Being that I had given myself a huge challenge, and I didn't have paid employment, I was able to successfully reach my word count target, and the momentum to continue became quite consuming - my housework and sleep routine suffered, but I had the luxury to indulge in doing this.

But with further thought, I have also realised -- in connection with the Pottermore update -- that I did my best writing by adding moments to my scenes and chapters rather than thinking in scenes, which leads to having to think of sequels, or worrying about the novel as a whole.  Isn't it strange that Pottermore call them moments, not scenes like most writers talk about.

Last weekend, after months of not making forward progress, my creative muse revisited and I imagined a new 'moment' my main character found herself in... and this moment turned out to be a really good 'ordinary life just before the inciting incident occurs' for the character that I had been wanting, and leads directly to the middle and ending that I have long had in mind. So inspired anew, I typed and wrote while the ideas were flowing.  Even a busy and hectic week since then hasn't stiffled new ideas that are still flowing (not as thick and fast as previously, but still coming) as they presented themself to me while I got dressed or drove to work. And, feeling less stressed and more refreshed from almost an entire week lazying at home sick between coughing and sneezing and using up two boxes of tissues, I even wrote a few words in the evenings too once I did reluctantly return.

And I can happily report that I have made great progress towards my goal to finish the first draft of my manuscript by the end of the year. Suddenly realising that I think progress when I work in moments rather than writing scenes or chapters has helped unblock me.

So my advice to anyone who is feeling overwhelmed or blocked as they work on their novel manuscript is not to think in scenes, but take it to an even smaller level and write in moments - even if, like me, those moments come to you out of order. 

My solution to that, developed over a lot of novel writing at an unpublished level, is to have three electronic documents open as you work on your storyline at any given time: the draft manuscript for which you are writing your great novel; a 'scenes and moments' file - where you add text using numbered paragraphs to record the moments and scenes of your storyline in as little or great details as it first comes to you - and a blank document, always on standby, where you quickly record the new ideas before you then transfer into order in your scenes and moments file as soon as you have finished recording the details of that idea - so that this electronic file becomes a sort of story outline, sort of half-written scenes for you to use relevant details to build the next scene or chapter you are working on.

I know this system won't work for everyone, but let's face it, when you are struggling with your novel, which writer isn't looking for useful tidbits to try out to get their creativity moving forward again.

The other way I make writing progress these days, is to work on small writing projects in between - for me it is writing blog posts, or rewriting scenes taken from favourite books that I could take into a different direction, and if I changed the original characters names, could possibly be there own story.

Anyway, back to it.  I plan on adding at least two thousand words to my manuscript or scenes and moments files before I head for work on Monday.

Invaluable Writer's Resource

Did you know that J.K Rowling had 'secret' words to alert her (cluey-er readers) that she was about to reveal subtle clues?  No, neither did until well after the seventh book had been published and no longer talked about.



In December 2011, I downloaded one of my first Kindle purchases: A Writer's Guide to Harry Potter by S.P Sipal. I took the risk on purchasing this $4.99 ebook because as a writer I was looking for a useful resource to assist me with my novel writing, and because I am a huge fan of the Harry Potter books - so this ebook combined two of my most favourite things.

And I have always been pleased that I bought it. 

A Writer's Guide to Harry Potter is a workshop on improving your own writing skills and techniques by using some of the 'neat' and 'unique' and 'fun' ways that other authors haven't really used, or they do but haven't handled anywhere near as well as J.K. Rowling.  It doesn't matter what genre the writer is writing for, this ebook is packed with analysis and examples so that you can apply what you have learned within your own stories, your own genre.

Many well established authors tout Steven King's "On Writing" as one of the best resources a writer can have in their writing arsenal, and I fully agree; I purchased it from my local bookstore and benefit from it with each rereading.  But, I have to also say that I personally gain a lot more though out of rereading a Writer's Guide to Harry Potter. Probably because I am so familiar with the Harry Potter books, and admire J.K Rowling's literary accomplishments and find J.K Rowling's writing voice and style so easy to read.

I enjoyed this invaluable writing resource so much, that I did my first ever book review on Amazon.com.  With over 500 Kindle book downloads and about fifty print books purchased over the past two years, and having only taken the time to review perhaps a handful (under ten, at least) reviews of my purchases, it is a strong testament to my praise for this resource that compelled me to give credit where credit is due.

Since downloading the ebook, I became a regular reader and occasional commenter on the author's website/blog.

And the good news is, that a Writer's Guide to Harry Potter is finally going to be published in print form, as it has been 'acquired' by Fuzzbom Publishing!

I can't wait for the release date (in Spring, which is probably American seasons, so that makes it Autumn here in Australia, so that means, later this year - around August/September)!  So many times I have wished I could print the ebook out, so I could thumb through pages instead of developing eye-strain from reading from electronic devices.

Anyway, until the print version is released later in 2013, if you want to get a head start on improving your writing skills, then I highly recommend novelists of any genre purchase the very reasonably priced ebook.  There are much higher priced courses and published books out there that provide way less value for money.  You can purchase a Writer's Guide to Harry Potter by clicking the link HERE or the image below:

Just Like Ron Weasley, she is. Or Voldemort?

I should rename my youngest daughter to Ron Weasley at the moment!

In Deathly Hallows, Ron Weasley became grouchy and snappy whenever he got hungry. I think there was probably a bit of tiredness in there too, along with wearing the Horcrux locket around his neck.

Well, my youngest daughter is behaving (uncharacteristically) in a very similar likeness at the moment. She recently started her big adventure to university.  Each day this week, she has had to wake up earlier than the sun, and she is getting back in at home in the evenings around dinner time. After months of lazying her days away waiting between her early sign out from school to commencing her post-school education, sleeping in until lunchtime, staying up socialising to very late hours each week night, the sudden change in routine must be getting to her; last night, oh my goodness, boy did my son and I need to stay out of Miss Bite-Your-Head-Off's way.

I got the death stare for asking her to take her empty poppa-drink carton into the kitchen and throw it into the garbage bag as she forced herself off the lounge after eating to drag herself off to bed for an early night. Earlier, she snapped and grouched waiting for her meal to reheat in the microwave that had my son and me looking at each other in wide-eyed, silent communication pretty much unanimously agreeing that in our own best interests neither of us better utter so much as a single word to this Monster in Waiting, else she might (verbally) unleash her (bitchy) beast on the innocents with nowhere else to flee.

Tonight, I just got in and washed and wiped up after dinner without even so much as one minute subtle hint at suggesting she should grab a tea towel and start wiping up. I feared seeing those beautiful grey-blue eyes suddenly flash red, like Voldemort's!

At this stage, I'm hoping a good decent sleep in on Saturday morning will return the beast that keeps threatening to rear to lie dormant once again.  May she become accustomed to her new early morning schedule sooner rather than later, and the beast possessing her body, mind and spirit be vanquished, permanently..

Wish me luck at getting through the week without being torn to shreds!

Novel Writing: The Seven Potters

As I was writing my ebook on story ideas today, I quickly reread a section of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, in search of a quote I needed to use for one of my points.

In my search for the sentence, I ended up re-reading the full chapter The Seven Potters (because I like reading that scene) when a curiosity struck me that I have never considered previously: why did J.K Rowling have all the characters take polyjuice potion and turn themselves into Harry Potters?

Wouldn't it be more logical - seeing as the Order believed that Voldemort had fallen for their false trail that they were shifting Harry at a later date (yeah right, as if anyone would believe that), that in their misguided belief that they could fool Voldemort and the Death Eaters using decoys - that they would actually achieve a better result and not risk as many lives if they instead polyjuiced Harry into someone else, someone not worthy of the Death Eaters and Voldemorts consideration?  I mean, immediately, Arabella Figg, Harry's neighbour comes to my mind because she is conveniently located, a squib (who Voldemort would overlook but is capable of seeing Dementor's, unlike Muggles), and is a member of the Order of the Phoenix (sort of).

Why have so many Order members turning themselves into Harry - whose face is so recognizable to his enemy and is guaranteed to cause an attempt on his or his imitator's life - in order to effect his escape?

I've never had reason to criticize the Harry Potter books previously, but now that I've considered there was a much better way of getting him out of there, it has sort of dampened my enjoyment a little (but only a little).

In my mind's view, I see this alternative as a good way of tricking Voldemort and the Death Eaters, and that the Order's deception of doing a Barty-Crouch style switcharoo with an insignificant (to the Death Eaters) decoy could be implemented any time prior to Harry turning seventeen (up to the hour before).

Imagine, Mad-Eye Moody, Kingsley and Mr Weasley enlist Arabella Figg to pose as Harry for a day or two, and on the day the Dursley's leave, Harry to could escape without detection at all by simply leaving before or after the Dursley's disguised in plain sight as his batty old neighbour.  While the Death Eaters patiently keep up their watch (from their distance because of the spell keeping them from getting any closer), they see Arabella Figg, Hestia, Dedalus, Mad-Eye, Kingsley and Mr Weasley enter the house, they later see each of those people plus the three Dursley's leave, and are confident the real Harry alone inside, available for them to still attack the moment the charm breaks the instant Harry becomes seventeen or the Order come back to try to relocate him beforehand.  Meanwhile, the polyjuice-disguised Harry returns to his neighbours house, where he is then able to be taken by side-along Apparation to his safe house by whoever has been entrusted to get him there (I would suggest Moody or Kingsley would be most likely to have this responsibility - so whichever one it is wouldn't enter the Dursley house).

No, or much less, risk to his best friends or the Order members.

Given that polyjuice potion needs to be taken on the hour every hour in order to remain disguised, both Harry and Arabella could have resumed their normal appearances just as, from their Disapparation points, they knowingly and willingly break the charm protecting Harry and the Dursleys from Voldemort.

I seriously loved the Seven Potters concept - until now.

I loved the 'chase scene' and that J.K Rowling ruthlessly killed off Hedwig (who my daughter absolutely sobbed uncontrollably about the first time she read it) and Moody.  George losing his ear, Snape secretly protecting him, but for a long time everyone that was there that night believing he was the one casting the horrible Sectumsempra spell that caused George to lose his ear because Lupin pointed the finger Snape's way saying, "He lost his hood during the chase.  Sectumsempra was always a speciality of Snape's.  I wish I could say I'd paid him back in kind, but it was all I could to keep George on the broom after he was injured, he was losing so much blood."

I guess my more logical Order member escape planning would have ruined too many parts of the rest of the story - Snape being revealed as not such the villain at the end, removing Hedwig whose snowy-white appearance would give Harry's location not matter where he safe-housed away, and killing off the next Order leader following Dumbledore's passing.

Writer's are often advised to Kill your Darlings, meaning, not to be come so attached to your own ideas and words that you don't cut scenes and words that should be cut.

Do you think J.K Rowling seized at a great concept of having seven Harry Potters that she didn't kill her darlings, at the expense of lacking logic and good reasoning by some key characters?  Would love to read your comments!

Update  5 May 2013  I'm still working on writing this alternative scene to post as a free read...am making progress (slower than wanted, but better than no progress).

Write what you love to read: great novel writing advice

I was going through my electronic Story Notes folder on the computer the other day looking for specific notes I created for one of my fantasy storyline work-in-progress, and got to thinking when I saw my rather large list of temporary and or permanently abandoned manuscripts why I have lost enthusiasm for them.

I have spent a large part of my time on each of those stories, so I wondered what was it about them that made me not feel as enthusiastic about them as I originally was - one of the story's I have consistently worked on for over three years or nearing half a million words in manuscript, outlines and story notes before abandoning that writing project. Why, after so many words, and prolonged enthusiasm, could I possibly have abandoned it?

And I think I have now stumbled upon the reason.

When I was growing up, I loved stories that were light, easy to read, had strange and quirky characters who I loved instantly, and often included magic in some form.  And, when I read back over the stories I had written, I found some of the scenes were 'heavy', clunky to read in places, and some of my characters could be 'anyone', there was nothing special about them.  The only element that is in three of my four 'serious' manuscripts is the magic, which has always appealed to me, so was the starting point (genre) I decided to try first in my novel writing aspirations.

As a child, I was strange and quirky (actually, people still think of me as 'eccentric' compared to others so maybe I didn't grow out of that after all).  For example, after reading a book (pick any Enid Blyton here, I think) that had fairies living in the back garden, or in nearby woods, I went looking to find if my own backyard had them too - or if that was just something they had in England (remember, I live in Australia, and our whole country is surrounded by ocean, so little tiny fairies would never be able to cross violent seas without human assistance!), of which case I would want my parents to come home and tell us we were going to visit England.

If I read a story that had witches or wizards performing spells, or creating elixirs, then I made sure my teddy bear wouldn't come alive at night to go and dob me in to those witches or wizards who could overpower you with one simple spell that only they could cast - I got in enough trouble with my parents as it was, I didn't need these other authorities stepping in to force me to behave.

As a child of around, ooh probably eight to ten years of age, I remember seeing a lady who looked exactly like the horrible queen dressed as an old beggar offering Snow White the poisonous apple while I was at the supermarket (Walt Disney's cartoon version, I might clarify!).  Unfortunately, she was at the display of apples and I was convinced she was looking to poison someone else! I glared at her with pure hatred until she returned the apples and moved on once she realised that frowning back at me wasn't going to stop my intense dislike or scruitinising staring. And me, well I felt quite the heroine for having just (temporarily) saved some intended victim from their terrible fate, now that she knew I was on to her. I think I might have told her as we were staring each other down that 'I live next door to a policeman, you know.'

I lived near a creek, and often went and explored it until my teenage years when my sister came home and told me she had seen a red-belly black snake and I freaked out because I never previously considered that such slithery beasts might frequent my favourite spots! I couldn't return after that.

These childhood stories of magic and adventure held me captivated, so no wonder I loved the Harry Potter books and one day while filling out an application form, genuinely, accidentally, wrote that I attended Hogwarts as my High School - though, I guess the overall storyline became darker as the series progressed - because I was distracted and trying to rush to complete it.  A mistake that any normal forty plus years person can make! (And to much amusement of my late teenage children who pointed out my error and thought I had done this deliberately).

So, I think at some stage I am going to revise some of those works-in-progress to make them lighter, funnier, easier to read, and, allow each of the strange and quirky characters eccentricities shine for all to see (without making them caricature). Maybe then, I will not lose enthusiasm after the initial writing fever abates.

Are you a writer?  Do you write in the genre of the books you love reading?  I'd love to have your thoughts on this, so please add your comments below.

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Novel Writing: How I got started

Back in my cigarette smoking days, at some point I stopped smoking inside the house and went outside and sat under the pergola no matter how hot or cold the weather.  When I decided to quit smoking for good, I wanted to continue to enjoy my (hourly) frequent small breaks away from the kids and TV and housework by sitting at the round table I had outside.

So, when I first quit, I needed something else to do instead of sitting down and smoking which I strongly associated with sitting in my favourite chair facing the front gate which was closest to the front door. I had learned too, that I needed to keep my hands busy, it is amazing how used to holding a cigarette gives you something to do.

I took up writing to 'kill both birds'. At the time, I was having a lot of drama in my life, and there were many frustrations that were bogging me down no matter how often I whinged to my closest family and friends.  Somehow, complaining still wasn't enough. I don't remember when I stopped writing at the table outside and started writing in my study, or on the lounge, or while I am in bed, or at the dining table instead - it was probably a really hot, or really cold, summer or winter's day, and I just ran with it from there.

I received the advise that writing can be cathartic, so I wrote multi-page letters explaining how I felt about the situation for a range of situations all happening within my life.

At some point, a single person was annoying me so profusely, I decided to write a novel. I would be the main character (protagonist, of course), and the other person would naturally become the evil antagonist villain who readers would learn to hate. I wrote a story from start to happy ever after ending (the ending I craved, not true to life). I highlighted my virtues, downplayed my flaws, and did the reverse of this for my villain, showcasing every flaw, every fault, and only begrudgingly included irrelevant virtues because no-one relates to a pure-evil villain. Then, once I had satisfyingly released the poison from inside me I did something I am still really proud of myself for: I deleted the file and destroyed every back up and printed out copy.  I was NOT going to seek publication for this novelised story after all.

Can you believe it?  I knowingly deleted a one-hundred thousand word manuscript that had taken up approximately two months of my life to write almost non-stop! That's about the equivalent of a full published book about the size of J.K Rowling's Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban for anyone who doesn't understand the significance of that word count. One hundred thousand words is a lot!

I had disguised each of the characters, so I could have published and not been sued for defamation.  But I would know that I had publicly trashed a person.  And other people who knew me would be able to work out who each of the characters were.  They would work out that the story was not a work of fiction, it was all based on real people and real situations.  The silly thing is, it was probably good enough to be published - and that is not a claim I can make about other manuscripts I have written.  I think it was because the emotions were real. I knew the people, I knew the events, I knew the message I was trying to get other people to understand that just wasn't happening via voicing my opinion/beliefs aloud.

I don't regret not publishing that story, but I do have a small regret in relation to deleting the manuscript completely.  I would never want other people to read that story now, and I wouldn't want to re-read it my own self, because I destroyed it as my final act of letting the past go, but still, I got rid of something that I had worked really hard on, I no longer have proof of my own efforts to use as motivation to spur me on during times I struggle to write my next work-in-progress.

That story inspired me to continue writing though, and always, with the view of one day writing a story good enough to be traditionally published.  I have a couple of works-in-progress on my computer twelve to fifteen years later and many more abandoned efforts, but I am still unpublished - for good reason.  I still haven't completed a storyline worthy of submitting to publishers, to be accepted. And none of my stories are completed to consider self-publishing either.

I do have a full one hundred and twenty thousand word fantasy story that I submitted once.  I received positive feedback from the editor who stated repeatedly on the company website that he/she does not give personal feedback on rejected submissions, who provided me with personal feedback bluntly encouraging me to learn how to write a synopsis properly before submitting another story to him/her in the future because he/she is not interested in the storyline I submitted despite my writing showing 'a lot of credit'. Oh how I cherished those harsh words once I saw the encouragement more than the criticism.

The trouble is, that particular storyline blew up out of all proportions: what started out as a single book, following my uncontrolled imagination, ended up fitting in as Book 3 of a five book series. With such an ambitiously large project, it was hard to keep up with all the characters, twists and turns in the story, and, I still didn't have any idea how I could successfully end the story. I don't know how J.K Rowling managed the planning of seven books! I finally set the project aside craving something simpler to write.

I've read some author blogs to know that many struggle to come up with ideas.  I don't have this problem.  After deleting my 'My Life is Shit' manuscript (I only just came up with that title, finally it has a name!) I struggled for a while to come up with an idea for a couple of months, as I waited for fantastic blockbuster plot ideas to strike me while I sat on a train and didn't have pen or paper to write it down (yes, that is Jo Rowling's Harry Potter idea story not mine). I tried to force ideas to become story lines but that didn't work either.  Then one night, while I was sleeping, after months of saying to myself 'I wish I could come up with a good story idea', an idea that I considered rather good did come to me. I woke up, and raced to find pen and paper and jot the idea down before I forgot what it was.

This started a pattern of waking up in the middle of the night to record ideas for me, and it also caused me to develop a habit of keeping pen and paper beside me in bed so I could get back to sleep as quickly as possible.  It has taken almost ten years to break the Insomnia I developed because I wanted story ideas.  And my mind delivered:  not just the one story line, but heaps.  I can honestly say at the rate I am going I will never have time to write all of the books that I would like to write.  I have at least eight different story lines going at the moment that I could write from start to finish - if I had the time to write.

I started writing a single book fantasy story early last year which I was keen on - still am. But then, I came up with a Young Adult book story at the end of last year, which made me more excited to write than my fantasy storyline.  But the trouble for me at the moment is, I work full time in a demanding role, which leaves me exhausted at the end of the week. So I've been sleeping in on weekends in order to relax and unwind and build up the stamina to face the week ahead, and writing for me can be energy depleting, especially emotional moments in scenes. But this year, I aim to build up my writing habits.  A couple of times last year I looked into the idea of blogging, but although I visited blog websites to learn about how to sign and set up and account, I just didn't take the step I wanted until this week.

My sister mentioned that she had her own blog now, and surprised, because everyone in my family know I love writing and aspire to aim for publishing and she has turned her nose up at that despite being a much better writer than me, I confessed to her that I had been considering doing that myself for some time now.  She encouraged me to just do it, so I did.  And for that, I thank her.  She has unleashed my beast!  Sorry readers, but now that I have started, I will probably keep going.  Hopefully, I don't let expressing my thoughts and opinions distract me too much from working on my manuscript (this weekend aside, seeing I'm new and having fun writing posts that I've wanted to write for months now).

In an upcoming post, I will share how I have finished writing two full (lengthy) manuscripts because I've always liked learning other writers processes. And once I have reviewed my current work in progress, I'll share details on how I am progressing.

But for now, I will just leave you with the advice that if you want to write a novel: just do it. You don't need to aim for publication to begin with. But just do it.  Gain the personal satisfaction for having achieved finishing a large project like I have twice experienced.  Horrible first drafts can be polished up into something publishable later, so just do it: write your novel.

The Rock Star's Daughter

I never know how to answer the question, "Are you a reader?"

                                                                    


Compared to my sister who always seems to be reading a book, I am a long way off from being able to say I am a book-lover. But, compared to other people, they would find ME to be the book-lover.

I loved, actually still do love, the Harry Potter series.  JK Rowling has long been my favourite writer of all time. It has been hard for me to find other stories that hold my interest the way the Harry Potter books captivated me.

Last Friday night, my grown up children were all off doing their own thing, and after a very long, tiring week at work, I was in the mood to put my writing aside for the weekend to just kick back and relax. I really wished I had a book to read, but even though I sometimes visit my local library and more frequently visit local bookstores, I haven't found any title that compelled me to part with cash enough to buy one. (I'm a little on the broke side as a result of a few larger than expected bills, spending more to eat a healthier diet, and supporting my children through some of their financial woes at the moment - hopefully, I'll recover from all this now that Christmas is over and my car rego and insurance is almost out of the way!)

Every now and again, I scout Amazon.com in search of free Kindle books, but, to be perfectly honest, I am sick of only getting Romance, Erotica and non-interesting non-fiction titles, of self-publishing authors who have not perfected even basic punctuation. (I'm not against self-publishing, being an aspiring novelist myself, but please, proofread your manuscripts and put a bit of time distance between the best thing you ever wrote and submitting it for self-publishing: you'll be amazed how many errors you can catch a month, three months, six months later when you re-read your supposedly error-free manuscript!)

So, last Friday night, I scrolled through my iPhone apps, and remembered I have iBooks, and better still, six months ago I put $30 credit into my iTunes account because I was going to purchase something and then forgot about it (ah, the days before my son lost his job around the same time my middle child decided she could start asking me to pay for things to suit her high needs lifestyle despite the fact she no longer lives with us).  I found iBooks/Tunes/whatever free books rather quickly, and scrolled through its small selection.  Yes, there was a few that Amazon have had in their Top 100 list for the last few months, but there was one or two that I had never seen before.

The Rock Star's Daughter caught my eye.  Yes, I could do with a light story about the rich and famous, and enjoy being swept away into their exorbitant wealthy lifestyles for the weekend. I downloaded the book, along with a couple of other titles.

Now, I digress for a moment.  My youngest daughter, a book-lover, almost to the degree of that of my sister, tried for months to get me to read The Hunger Games which she fell in love with, but I resisted because, as I kept telling her, 'I'm not fussed on first-person stories'.  I haven't changed my stance on this (until now.  But it will remain temporarily changed, exclusively for the Treadwell series).

After my downloads, and getting dinner over with, I retired to my air-conditioned room, opened iBooks, and clicked on the first of about ten downloads.  My aim was to start trying to read each of the books, and, knowing that they probably won't end up 'my cup of tea', delete them off the list as soon as I had eliminated the book as being 'not my cup of tea'.

The first book I opened was The Rock Star's Daughter.  I really didn't expect to like the book.  I liked the title. Yeah, I was in the mood to become absorbed in a life so unlike my own...

Now, I did increase the size of the font because my failing eyesight demands this of me the last couple of years (my middle child never ceases to crack up laughing when she sees the size of print I have to read text messages and apps!), so I have to give a story a bit more of a chance than just reading the first page.  On iBooks, my first page sometimes isn't even the full first paragraph, to give you an idea of how large the text needs to be for me to see it properly.

I groaned, or exhaled with disappointed resignation, when I first realised, "Oh, it's in first-person" but being a spoiled rock star's daughter and having wealth must have been more appealing than my disdain for first-person stories, because I kept reading... and reading, and reading.

Before I knew it, it was after midnight.  I still hadn't changed out of my work clothes, and I had arrived home at 5.30pm. The kids weren't asking me to take them here, pick them up from there, and you need to do this tomorrow, so I continued reading about Taylor Beauforte, Chase Atwood's daughter, who just lost her mother and now has to go and live with her famous rock star father who she has only met twice in her life but who pays for her to attend her rich girl boarding school.

                                                                         


The author, Caitlyn Duffy, although she is writing each of the books of the Treadwell Series as independent stories written in the first-person, has such an easy-to-read writing style, and she wrote such engaging characters that after the inciting incident that shakes -- oops, almost wrote 'rocks' -- Taylor's world doesn't NEED any further 'big dramatic climatic moment' to see you through to the end... and leave you wanting more.

As soon as I finished the last few chapters on Saturday morning, actually make that afternoon because I slept in, I immediately went back to the iBook Store and purchased the next two books that have already been published, at $0.99 each. Bargain!

I justified, not that I have anyone that I have to justify the purchase to, that at $2 if I didn't like the next two books, it was still worth having paid the money.

Book two is Believer's Daughter.  Book Three is Viscount Daughter.

                                                                     


I am not religious.  So, when I started reading book two, I soon realised that religion would be a very strong theme in the book, and I struggled with the first chapter to the point I didn't finish it.

I abandoned Book Two, and decided to try Book Three.  I spent the rest of my afternoon and evening reading book three.  I even read while I left the comfort of my air-conditioned bedroom to walk down the hallway and into the lounge room in this sweltering summer heat to grab food and drinks and take them back to my blissfully cold room.

I finished the second book - Book Three - around 9 pm.  By this time, I had just read two books back to back that had captured - and held -  my reading attention as much as Harry Potter!

So, wanting more of the Treadwell series, I decided to re-attempt Book Two. Believer's Daughter.  Yes, I struggled slightly to get through the first chapter, but then it got better and I settled in to the storyline.  By the end, which I finished at some point on Sunday afternoon, I knew Believer's Daughter was the best in the series so far.

So, if you are looking for a story that is easy to read, doesn't cost much, and you don't mind being an adult reading what turns out to be a Young Adult category series of novels, then download Caitlyn Duffy's Treadwell Series.

The author, on her website, states that the next book will be published 'soon', and posts over the last four months repeatedly state this.  I am now stalking her webpage weekly, eagerly awaiting The Tycoon's Daughter release, or the other title she is working on in the series whose title eludes me as I write this post but I will happily pay to download too.

To Caitlyn Duffy: you can afford to charge more.  Your stories are worth it!