Happy New Year to everyone. Thank you for following and commenting on my blog over the past twelve months. I hope that some of my ramblings have been of use to you.
Monday, 31 December 2012
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year to everyone. Thank you for following and commenting on my blog over the past twelve months. I hope that some of my ramblings have been of use to you.
Monday, 24 December 2012
Very Inspired Blogger Award
Thanks to Tracey Fells (The Literary Pig: http://tracyfells.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/inspired-to-write.html) for passing on the Very Inspiring Blogger Award to me. I found her 7 random facts that inspired her to write, quite intriguing! Actually, it’s quite a good time of year to reflect back on what our motives were that first encouraged us to write. Here are 7 random facts that inspire me to pick up a pen.
1. At the age of 14, I wrote to three famous writers asking for their advice. Playwright Alan Bleasdale told me to become a brain surgeon instead. It would be far quicker. He was right: it took me another 18 years before my first book was published, whereas, I believe, learning to undertake brain surgery takes about seven years … plus a little practise. (I’ve always assumed that to do brain surgery, one must have a brain int he first place.)
2. I was an avid reader of books from an early age, spending most of Saturday morning in the library choosing eight books, and then the rest of the weekend reading them. It’s always good to vary your reading matter. I’m currently reading The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer. Not my usual reading matter, but I am enjoying it. It was reading other writers’ work that inspired me to want to write my own books.
3. After A levels, I opted to go to work, rather than University. (Creative Writing degrees weren’t as numerous back then, and if I had gone I would probably have studied my strongest subject at O and A level - economics. Eeeuurrgghh! Economics! How boring!) So, I joined Barclays Bank. (How boring, too!) I soon realised that banking wasn’t enjoyable either, which encouraged me to write in my spare time. Looking back, it also demonstrated that nothing in a writer’s life is wasted. Where do you think I drew inspiration for The Bluffer’s Guide to Banking, that was published twenty years after I’d left the bank? (Yes, I really am that old.)
4. I won a writing competition in 1998. Despite being drawn towards writing non-fiction, I had a go at writing a short story, and in April 1998, came first in the David Thomas Charitable Trust Writing Awards run by Writers’ News magazine, in their foggy morning competition. There’s nothing like winning a competition to spur you on! You can read it here: http://www.simonwhaley.co.uk/short-stories/blindingly-foggy/
5. You never know where this writing world will take you. After my first book was published Hodder & Stoughton invited me to London for the classic ‘author lunch’, which was truly amazing. (It was where they commissioned the second book, too.) Regular readers will remember that earlier this year I was a magazine model for Country Walking magazine. It was only by sitting down and writing something in the first place that these experiences were possible. This encourages me to write more.
6. The writer David Croft (Dad’s Army, Allo Allo, Hi De Hi) once said in a letter to me that an episode of Allo Allo took a couple of days to write and then months to get write. It’s a vital lesson we all have to learn an accept: just write any old rubbish - you can turn rubbish into a thing of beauty later. That’s why writing is a craft. So if you have an idea, write it down. Only then can you create something beautiful from it.
7. The most unusual place I’ve been commissioned to do some work is in the street. (I really shouldn’t offer my services on street corners!) I was walking along the High Street and a passerby stopped me and said, “You’re that writer, aren’t you?” which is awkward because you never know which writer they’re referring to. But, she commissioned me to write a short story for some one’s birthday. And that’s what I love about this writing lark. You never know where the next job is coming from!
I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. If you’re looking for a book to get your writing off to a good start in 2013, then may I be so bold as to suggest my very own The Positively Productive Writer. (http://www.simonwhaley.co.uk/non-fiction-books/the-positively-productive-writer/) If you want to know even more, then check out Radio Warrington on Thursday 27th December between 6pm and 8pm, when the book will be reviewed. (For those not in the area, listen live via the Internet at http://radiowarrington.co.uk)
I’m passing this onto the following bloggers: Alex Gazzola (http://mistakeswritersmake.blogspot.co.uk), Lynne Hackles (http://lynnehackles.blogspot.co.uk) and Julie Phillips (http://jlpwritersquest.blogspot.co.uk).
Monday, 17 December 2012
Happy Anniversary!
Monday, 10 December 2012
Rubbish is Okay
There's an excellent article in the January 2013 issue of Writing magazine, where Michael Madden admits to writing rubbish. He demonstrates that it is okay to write rubbish.
I'm writing rubbish at the moment. (Hopefully not this blog posting!) I've been commissioned to write a project and my deadline is looming. At this moment in time, I still have 3,000 words to go, and they're doing my head in. They just don't seem to be coming out in the right style, or voice.
Despite this, I am still writing something. In amongst the other writing projects on this week, I know I will get those last 3,000 words written. In my opinion, along with the other 17,000 words, they'll be 3,000 words of rubbish. But, at least I'll have written some words. Then the real work will begin: turning the rubbish into gold.
There are many phrases and quotes in the writing world that echo this:
"Get it writ, then get it right."
"Books aren't written, they're re-written."
"Writing is 20% writing and 80% re-writing."
As the novelist Jodi Picoult once said, "You can't edit a blank page." But once you've got something down on paper (or on the screen), then you can begin to craft and hone it. A craftsman takes a raw material and chips away, making little tweaks and changes, eventually revealing the masterpiece that they've created.
So next time you find yourself stuck, and the words won't flow, or they don't seem to want to come out in the way you'd like them to, don't panic. Give yourself permission to write rubbish. Writing rubbish is okay, because you're still writing something. Something is better than nothing. It's possible to perfect something. With nothing, you have ... nothing.
So, go on. Write some rubbish this week. Who knows what you might be able to do with it.
Good luck.
I'm writing rubbish at the moment. (Hopefully not this blog posting!) I've been commissioned to write a project and my deadline is looming. At this moment in time, I still have 3,000 words to go, and they're doing my head in. They just don't seem to be coming out in the right style, or voice.
Despite this, I am still writing something. In amongst the other writing projects on this week, I know I will get those last 3,000 words written. In my opinion, along with the other 17,000 words, they'll be 3,000 words of rubbish. But, at least I'll have written some words. Then the real work will begin: turning the rubbish into gold.
There are many phrases and quotes in the writing world that echo this:
"Get it writ, then get it right."
"Books aren't written, they're re-written."
"Writing is 20% writing and 80% re-writing."
As the novelist Jodi Picoult once said, "You can't edit a blank page." But once you've got something down on paper (or on the screen), then you can begin to craft and hone it. A craftsman takes a raw material and chips away, making little tweaks and changes, eventually revealing the masterpiece that they've created.
So next time you find yourself stuck, and the words won't flow, or they don't seem to want to come out in the way you'd like them to, don't panic. Give yourself permission to write rubbish. Writing rubbish is okay, because you're still writing something. Something is better than nothing. It's possible to perfect something. With nothing, you have ... nothing.
So, go on. Write some rubbish this week. Who knows what you might be able to do with it.
Good luck.
Monday, 3 December 2012
A Little Speculation ...
On the afternoon of 9th February 2012, I sat down at my desk and spent a couple of hours doing a bit of speculative work. As the saying goes, it’s necessary to speculate in order to accumulate. Speculation can help you broaden your markets.
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