tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post6387756101397056186..comments2023-10-30T15:13:22.680+00:00Comments on Strictly Writing: Guest Blog by Jenn Ashworth - Second Novel SyndromeDThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11803989273524731892noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post-84274565949960375162010-03-26T20:58:03.838+00:002010-03-26T20:58:03.838+00:00Great post, Jenn.Great post, Jenn.Colinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15825910314726097048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post-1915173524945814252010-03-26T11:13:58.856+00:002010-03-26T11:13:58.856+00:00Thank you everyone - I'm really glad you found...Thank you everyone - I'm really glad you found it useful.<br /><br />Derek - I think what you said about 'realistic expectations' hit the nail on the head - it is very personal, but I think part of my trouble was that being a full time published writer wasn't any easier or more exciting than being an unpublished hopeful writer who squeezed it in around a job.... that sounds like terrible moaning, I know, but it's what it felt like for me some of the time. <br /><br />Sam - no tips at all, except for the secret that A Kind of Intimacy was not my first novel, but my third... I reckon it takes lots of people a few practice goes to get it 'right' (whatever 'right' means). Keep on keeping on!<br /><br />Karen - thank you so much. I'm glad you enjoyed a Kind of Intimacy. Seven books in? I'm kind of resigned to the fact that the things I find difficult about this job (the rejection, the hard work, the 'I don't know how to do this' feeling) are things I will always find hard...<br /><br />Susie - I'd love to say more about mentoring. I keep wanting to gather my thoughts together about it in a blog post, which I will do soon, I think. Vanessa Gebbie is also being mentored, and is blogging about it, so her blog might be handy for you if you haven't discovered it already.<br /><br />Emma - thank god book three is easier. I don't know if it will be easier, easier, or if it will be easier because I know it's going to be just as difficult. Kind of like labour the second or third time around... I'll pop back in a couple of years once I've finished three, and let you know :)<br /><br />CarolineG - thank you so much. I love it when people like A Kind of Intimacy.And yes, tricking yourself into getting the work done isn't always a last resort, but a big part of my process. My writing self is a recalcitrant toddler that needs managing, a lot of the time :)<br /><br />Gillian - see, I'm a bit jealous. Maybe book three will be the one I breeze through, or maybe they will all be tough for me. Do you have a secret?Jennhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10347219783395836620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post-86151632158930552572010-03-25T17:56:46.598+00:002010-03-25T17:56:46.598+00:00An interesting and revealing post. And,congratulat...An interesting and revealing post. And,congratulations on completing Book 2!Essie Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04611324005960689918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post-68507621762556261442010-03-25T17:03:08.844+00:002010-03-25T17:03:08.844+00:00Just happened by, and as I read, I felt myself nod...Just happened by, and as I read, I felt myself nodding. And nodding. Having just finished my second, which I was sure was more difficult than my first, I realize the writing was the same, but the expectations made that writing seem daunting.<br /><br />So much good truth in your post.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post-1722749789218652010-03-25T14:10:16.980+00:002010-03-25T14:10:16.980+00:00Great post, Jenn - 'A Kind of Intimacy' is...Great post, Jenn - 'A Kind of Intimacy' is in my Reading pile and now I'll be imagining you writing it with a bag of satusmas on your lap! (am sure others have had far weirder things on their laps whilst they write). Love your brutal honesty - esp the 'cba' thing - which just sums it all up, doesn't it? Who else (but us) really gives a sh*t whether we write the thing or not? It's the self-discipline/belief that's the bugger! Well done with No.2.Here's to No.3.Debs Ricciohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10837598374947020855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post-6697155700846217472010-03-25T12:55:41.375+00:002010-03-25T12:55:41.375+00:00Top post, Jenn.
Best of luck with number 3!
NikTop post, Jenn.<br /><br />Best of luck with number 3!<br /><br />NikNik Perringhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07426321804560400335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post-37512242456542806572010-03-25T10:23:56.438+00:002010-03-25T10:23:56.438+00:00Hi
Great that you've finished your second boo...Hi<br /><br />Great that you've finished your second book and are now on your third. I think that if each one is heart-wrenchingly written - then it's all for the good of the reader!<br /><br />Good luck with your third novel!<br /><br />Take care<br />xOld Kittyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13185547869183611159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post-1992287861230319592010-03-25T09:58:46.584+00:002010-03-25T09:58:46.584+00:00Enlightening post, Jenn. I'm sure many people ...Enlightening post, Jenn. I'm sure many people will identify with SNS, as it's such a common problem. I must admit though, happily, I had few symptoms of SNS. In fact, I breezed through my second, writing the first draft in a matter of nine months.<br /><br />Congrats on your success so far - And I'm sure being a prison librarian must have been such a rewarding job!<br />Gillian xGillian McDadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02758782108258244355noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post-90399359218982693992010-03-25T09:57:21.906+00:002010-03-25T09:57:21.906+00:00Hey, no pressure Jenn, but AKOI was one of my favo...Hey, no pressure Jenn, but AKOI was one of my favourite books around that time. So I've got high hopes of you, OK? ;) ;)<br /><br />I like the strategy of saying, 'Don't bother then..see who cares.' I have the kind of brain that would work on too and am going to give it a try.<br />Can't wait to read the new one.Caroline Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04708248040141519582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post-15358971022848910212010-03-25T09:51:45.562+00:002010-03-25T09:51:45.562+00:00Great post, Jenn. Second Book Syndrome is such a m...Great post, Jenn. Second Book Syndrome is such a muddle of different things, to do with your writing self, to do with the book trade, and to do with your changed relationship to ordinary (real?) life. Best of luck with it!<br /><br />I have found Book Three much easier to write in all those external ways, if it's any comfort. Which has made it easier to write in internal ways too. Don't know if it's any good (I'm doing major surgery at the moment) mind you, but then that's the nature of the beast, I think.Emma Darwinhttp://emmadarwin.typepad.com/thisitchofwriting/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post-28638780794011000902010-03-25T09:40:23.255+00:002010-03-25T09:40:23.255+00:00A brilliantly revealing post, Jenn - thanks. So g...A brilliantly revealing post, Jenn - thanks. So glad you have ideas for the next one.<br />I was wondering if you could say a bit more about the mentoring - who it was with, for how long and what happened? But maybe that's another post in itself!<br />SusiexSusie Nott-Bowerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08428000582406338267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post-14082432553340824832010-03-25T09:32:49.916+00:002010-03-25T09:32:49.916+00:00I absolutely loved A Kind of Intimacy - I remember...I absolutely loved A Kind of Intimacy - I remember reviewing it for my local paper - and am delighted you conquered your SNS and have written another one :o)<br /><br />I think what you're describing sounds fairly common - I was talking to a writer friend recently who still feels like that 7 books in :oO <br /><br />Actually, that wasn't much help ...Karenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05986874444030474719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post-6436344557739040072010-03-25T09:29:10.713+00:002010-03-25T09:29:10.713+00:00Good luck with the third book, Jen.
Any tips for ...Good luck with the third book, Jen.<br /><br />Any tips for coping with 5th unpublished book syndrome??:):)<br /><br />SamAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2725342624231517088.post-84073494341576494542010-03-25T08:54:53.020+00:002010-03-25T08:54:53.020+00:00Hi Jenn and congratulations on your writing succes...Hi Jenn and congratulations on your writing success so far. It sounds like the moral of this story - and every writer's story - is that often it's just bloody hard work! I find that strangely reassuring because, if I can cope with that state of affairs before my novels are published (3 and counting!) then I'll have realistic expectations of the writing process once my work is on a book shelf. And it helps to know that other writers feel the same way.DThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11803989273524731892noreply@blogger.com