A whole lot of stuff

There's nowhere to hide on the page.

Forgive me if I appear a little distracted. It's been a busy time. In the last month I've become the proud parent of two ebooks (one a home delivery) and there's a paperback on the way from the Lightning Source stork. And, as if that isn't enough to keep me occupied, I decided to re-travel The Artist's Way.

It's what some writers long for - an opportunity to talk about your books and, hopefully, generate some sales, amid a whirlwind of social media and marketing activity. Alongside all of that, The Artist's Way is pulling me inwards, giving me a gentle nudge to look at what makes me tick creatively. It's an interesting tug-of-war between the outer and the inner, and I'm starting to see things in a slightly different light.

Firstly, when you write a book and it's published, there's a sense of losing control over it. It's no longer just your book. It's there for all to see and some will take it to their hearts while others will take it to the charity shop (I know that gag doesn't quite work with ebooks, but work with me here). There's no more time for edits and you start to notice those little tweaks and polishes you wish you'd seen - and acted upon - earlier. Little things, like commas or adverb assassination.

Perhaps, most importantly, your book becomes a product. The artistic aspect of the journey is over to all intents and purposes. You'll still talk about the themes and metaphors, of course, but you'll start to judge the book's success by its sales figures. And although you need to be on the ball to show the book in its best light, and network-network-network, what you'll really want to do is find a comfortable space and start writing again.

Add to this, in my case, the voyage of discovery that is Julia Cameron's Artist's Way and you can soon start to feel that it's all one big obligation. 

However, as I've aways said, feelings aren't real. They're a perspective - a take on reality. Not even a map of the territory, more a set of glasses. 

When I step back from it all I realise a number of important things:

1. This is the other side of writing. It's not talked about a great deal because writers can be very private people. And no one wants to be seen to be complaining about the trials of having a book published.

2. Writing and completing a book is an exercise in risk and hope and ambition. There's so much stuff tied up in the act of reaching The End, and then putting it out to public scrutiny, that we underestimate how much it impacts upon us as writers.

3. The notion that there's a divide between the writer when she or he is writing and when they are doing something else (e.g. earning a living) is a construct. We're the same person and that same intensity of thought, and curiosity, is ever present. I'm even watching me type this and wondering what I could do with this experience in a piece of fiction.

4. Creating anything draws upon a whole set of issues and perspectives that may not have anything to do with the created work itself. Writers may wrestle with their self-esteem, ego, competitiveness and even fear. Having the work out there isn't a happy ever after in itself - not always, anyway. And certainly not since Amazon rankings came about!

So I guess what I'm saying is that I'm pleased to have brought some of my writing into being; to have dared, and nurtured it, and edited it (honest), and walked with it every step of the way to the finishing line (whatever they tell you, it's very rarely a sprint). And I've remembered the obvious truth that every writer goes through a version of this. 

Every book we see and laud or lambast, every Harry Potter or Fifty Shades or every shade of literature in between and beyond, they've all come from the fertile mind of some individual who wondered, 'How would this work as a story?' 

And whether I love a piece of work, or hate it, or (that greatest of reader crimes) feel indifferent towards it, I know that someone took the time and effort to make it available for me to read. And for that, writers everywhere, I thank you.  

For the journey...

We writers need all the support we can get on what can be a lonely journey. No wonder we join writing communities and writing groups, sign up for writing classes and follow writer’s blogs. It helps to know that others like ourselves are out there, rooting for us, encouraging us, teaching us and supporting us. The tribe of writers is a vast one, spanning the globe and almost every age-group and circumstance.

So as we embark on this new year, I thought I’d write about the resources which have been most helpful on my own writer’s journey. Perhaps you’d like to add your own.

FOR EARLY INSPIRATION

The Artist’s Way – Julia Cameron
This is the most brilliant resource to really help you focus on your creativity. Especially good if you like a structure. Its combination of a 12-week plan, daily Morning Pages and walking and a weekly Artist’s Date are excellent for restoring your own confidence in yourself as a creative person.

Becoming A Writer – Dorothea Brande
Written many decades ago, this is still seen as a definitive guide to becoming a writer.

The Way We Write – Barbara Baker
A collection of fascinating essays by writers in many different genres about their writing practices.

WHILST WRITING

I love The Complete Book of Novel Writing (everything you need to know about creating and selling your work) - Writers Digest – a vast tome which is made up of essays by writers, each focussing on a different angle of the novel-writing process. Really good on the craft of writing.

Stein on Writing - Sol Stein is fabulous. Stein is both an editor and a successful novelist and he Talks Sense. His other book on growing a novel is also great.

EDITING

This one’s a bit controversial. Self-Editing For Fiction Writers - Browne and King is the Marmite of the editing guides. I found it helpful. Judge for yourself.

FOR THE LOWS: REJECTION, EXHAUSTION ETC.

The Resilient Writer (tales of rejection and triumph from 23 writers) – Catherine Wald
This cheered me up during the hard times.

The Writer’s Book of Hope – Ralph Keyes
Ditto

The Sound of Paper and The Right to Write – Julia Cameron
In these, Cameron is very open about her own writerly rocky patches and how she copes with the hard times.

SUBMITTING

From Pitch to Publication – Carole Blake
Written by the founder of literary agents Blake Friedmann. Gives a good overview of the process of submitting from an agent’s point of view. Not sure about her advice about long synopses, but if you’re subbing to her, you know what you need to do!

MARKETING AND PUBLICITY

Marketing Your Book – Alison Baverstock
Wanna Be A Writer We’ve Heard Of? – Jane Wenham-Jones

ONLINE COMMUNITY

WriteWords Writing Community
A great online resource where writers can get together, let off steam, learn, be critiqued and where several well-published authors are experts and are extremely generous with their time and advice. Free for a month’s trial, then £20/35 per year.
http://writewords.org.uk/

EDITORIAL REPORTS

The Hilary Johnson Author’s Advisory Service
I sent off my first three chapters, synopsis and cover letter and received a very helpful and encouraging report.
http://www.hilaryjohnson.demon.co.uk/

Cornerstones
Have heard good things about them. They also occasionally have competitions which are well worth entering.
http://www.cornerstones.co.uk/

The Writer’s Workshop
Again, heard good things. And they will look at your cover letter by email for free, or at least they used to.
http://www.writersworkshop.co.uk/literary-agents.html

COURSES AND OPPORTUNITIES

NAWE (National Association of Writers in Education, aka The Writers Compass)
Used to be called Literature Training. An excellent, free guide to opportunities for writers – courses, classes, jobs etc. You only need to sign up with them and they’ll email you updates every couple of weeks.
http://www.nawe.co.uk/the-writers-compass/about-the-writers-compass.html

Arvon Foundation
I’ve never been on an Arvon course myself, but pretty much everyone I know who has has returned singing their praises. Expensive, yes, but they have the very best tutors and also offer bursaries.
http://www.arvonfoundation.org/p1.html

AND FINALLY...

A friend was kind enough to post me the Guardian Masterclass supplement on How To Write Fiction – a really, really excellent publication which is now available as an e-book for less than £3: definitely worth it.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/info/2011/oct/14/how-to-write-fiction-ebook

So that’s my personal list of resources. Would love to hear yours.

And wishing you all a creative, productive and successful writing year from all of us at Strictly.

Very Superstitious...

Every year, the Great British Public carry out a strange ritual. For two precious, sunny (hah!) weeks in summer, we secrete ourselves in our living-rooms in front of the box to experience, vicariously, the pleasures and pains of Wimbledon. If we’re really keen, we may even buy strawberries and cream, or wear a silly tartan hat with built-in red hair. Under extreme pressure (atmospheric, usually) we may even stoop to sing-a-long-a-Cliff.

On the courts, the players, too, are behaving oddly. They devote almost more time to a frenzy of superstitious and illogical actions than they do to their game: blowing on their palms, adjusting their bra straps or their sweatbands, refusing to let go of the ball that won them the previous point and, in Andy Murray’s case, pumping his fist in a rather lewd manner and pointing vehemently into space in a strange gesture of victory. Djokovic bounces his balls (steady) up to 25 times before serving. Nadal is obsessive about the positioning of his drink bottle, clearing the court lines with his shoe and adjusting the rear of his shorts.

Which brings me to the power of the ritual, and to wonder what exactly the difference is between a ritual and a habit, particularly where it applies to us writers?

I guess the difference, for me, is that a ritual is something which is a) consciously chosen and b) is carried out in order to enhance the spirit of an experience - whilst a habit is something one feels driven to do, is mainly unconscious, and can be detrimental to the project in hand. My worst habits are: reaching for chocolate or crisps when things get tricky – or, indeed, when they’re going well; and surfing the internet between sentences. My best rituals? Applying the seat of my pants to the seat of a chair and writing regularly in the mornings, sandwiched between a stretch routine and a brisk walk.

Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way, writes that, under pressure, she returns to using an old-fashioned electric typewriter. She finds the rolling-in of the paper, the return of the carriage, a soothing and affirming ritual. Most of us get obsessive about word-counts. 2,000 words a day, or four hours in front of the computer? Some insist on only using moleskine notebooks, whilst others must write in longhand, (or in cafes). I know writers who prefer to light a candle or play certain music in order to evoke a suitable atmosphere. Some of us even have particular outfits for writing (these may include pyjamas). Our writing times are particularly ritualistic: for some, it’s a matter of getting up before the family and using the quiet, early morning hours. Night-owls prefer, well, night-time, while others choose a scattergun approach, tapping out a few sentences between checking emails, jumping up to answer the phone, making a cup of coffee, or cleaning the kitchen floor.

We writers are sensitive souls. Perhaps we value ritual so much because it provides a safe ‘container’ for our ranging imaginations. And for those of us who don’t have ‘a proper job’ (a whole other blogpost), we need to create some kind of schedule or boundary in our day. Within such limits, our creativity feels nurtured and protected. And however weird or outlandish such rituals may be, they’re as vital to our output as Djokovic’s bouncing, Murray’s pointing and Raffa’s shorts.

Anything else wouldn’t be – well, tennis.

In loo of an idea for a post...

...I'm going to write about my time on the toilet this morning.

Eeeew, you're no doubt thinking (especially if you're from Across The Water), too much information. I've been accused of setting too many of my scenes in various conveniences, so why not go the whole hog (bog?) and set a blog post in the bathroom too? A Bog Post. :)

Sorry.

Do you do Loo-Lit? Where else can you sit comfortably for as long as you like, undisturbed save for the odd dripping tap, with the book of your choice? Loos are particularly suited to the reading of essays which set one up for the day. For me, something spiritual often fits the bill. OK, perching on the loo may seem an odd way to commune with the Higher Realms. But since my present choice of Loo-Lit is Finding Water by Julia Cameron, it's all very apt. I only need press the flush or turn on the tap to achieve the goal of the title. Fortunately, there's a sub-title: The Art of Perseverence. (Also apt, when not enough fibre has been consumed.)

All dreadful puns aside, I cannot recommend a book more highly. For anyone who's finding the writing journey a tough one - and who doesn't? - Cameron's been there. She knows what it's like to get up after a sleepless night and go to the page in spite of of exhaustion, crippling fear, inertia and the sniping inner critic. Less upbeat and gung-ho than The Artist's Way, Finding Water goes to the heart of the dark places a writer encounters, and offers wise guidance for working towards the light.

One of the most resonant things for me has been the realisation that writing keeps me sane. In spite of all the prevalent myths about writers being divas, alcoholics, depressives, drama-queens/kings and neurotics, the act of writing actually keeps one 'regular' (get the ongoing theme, here?) It's the not-writing, the writerly constipation, that causes the problems. We writers are dramatic people, in the sense that we're lucky enough to have a magic, scenic, exciting inner life. And we work best when that excitement translates to the page on a regular basis. I notice that when I'm writing regularly, just a bit every day, I'm happier, healthier and more human than when I exclude myself from my writing. When I'm not writing, I'm on the lookout for drama. I can make a crisis out of a missed bus or a burnt piece of toast. My moods shift dramatically. I pace around with the back of my hand glued to my forehead in an oh-woe-is-me kind of way. When, as Cameron puts it, one keeps the drama on the page, life becomes more centred, more fluid and more fulfilling.

So try to go (to the keyboard or the pen) at least once a day, whatever the inner (or outer) weather. Apply the seat of your pants to the seat. Sometimes you'll have the urge, sometimes not. But if you sit there long enough, often enough, something will emerge...

Keeping regular isn't always easy. But three pages a day is do-able. Three pages a day grows a novel, chapter by chapter. Three pages a day...

... and who knows, you might end up with a wonderfully Shitty First Draft.

Our Top Writing Reference Books

Below are our top writing reference books that you can refer to if you're hoping to learn a bit more about the craft or how to submit work, or just to find some inspiration.

It would be great if you had any books to recommend yourselves, in the comments section!

ROD: How Fiction Works by James Wood isn't a manual for writers, so you won't find all the stock appeals to "show don't tell" or "avoid adverbs". Instead it's a searching anatomy of literature by one of the most insightful critics in the business. It follows the tradition of E. M. Forster's Aspects of the Novel and Milan Kundera's The Art of the Novel, but I found it more readable and more fun and more insightful than either of those. The discussion of the case for and against realism was the part that struck me most. Let James Wood guide you towards a deeper understanding of what you are trying to do when you sit down to write.

CAROLINE R: On Writing by Stephen King. Although I've read and enjoyed a few of King's books, I wouldn't consider myself a big fan. On Writing, however, is a hugely enjoyable read for which you don't need any prior knowledge of King's work. The book's autobiographical sections are very funny, and the writing advice is given in an amusingly no-nonsense tone. The advice itself is nothing earth-shattering – it's the kind of stuff you can easily find on the internet – but King is not out to boss anyone around. He says what works for him and the reader can take it or leave it – a refreshingly non-patronising book.

GERALDINE: Becoming A Writer. Way back in 1934 Dorothea Brande showed us the way. Brande realised the importance of psychology in the writer's make up and taught me, for one, the importance of separating my sensitive writerly self from my editing self which would sooner tell me I'm rubbish than praise me. She also came up with the idea of morning pages way before any other author of "How-To-Write" manuals. DB is the Elizabeth David of creative writing. Everyone else is just an imitator.

CAROLINE G: Julia Cameron: The Right to Write
I’d never heard of Cameron’s more famous book, The Artist’s Way, when I came across this title, which focuses on writing rather than other art forms. Some of Cameron’s language is a little happy clappy for my taste but I will always be grateful to her for introducing me to the idea of ‘Morning Pages’, where you write any old rubbish you feel like every day without fail. I don’t manage to do it every day and I don’t do it in the morning, but I have found my unselfconscious private witterings to be hugely therapeutic. She also suggests taking time out to do things that inspire you creatively - a great way to recharge those batteries.

SUSIE: You may never have heard of my favourite - I only came across it by chance myself. It's 'The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing' from the editors of Writer's Digest. A vast, 452-word tome, it addresses every aspect of writing a novel. The joy of it is that every section, every chapter is written by a different writer, yet it is superbly focused and really well constructed into sections which make complete sense. Part I is called The Craft and has chapters on plot, dialogue, point of view, character and 'The Fifty-Page Dash (on hooking your readers from the start). Part II is about The Art: now we move into the finer details, including - theme, detail, using the senses, emotion, depicting character through place. Part III focuses on The Process, including a brilliant chapter by Sue Grafton on the use of the journal in writing a novel, breaking through writer's block, pumping up your creativity, murdering your darlings, a four-step plan for revision and dealing with criticism. Part IV looks at The Genres, including Literary vs Commercial, Fantasy, Horror, Crime, Suspense and Romance. Part V explores The Marketplace with excellent chapters on writing a synopsis, approaching agents and marketing. And Part VI (The Interviews) consists of fourteen brilliant interviews with authors including Margaret Atwood, Joyce Carol Oates, John Updike, Tom Clancy, Maeve Binchy and Kurt Vonnegut on topics as diverse as research, portraying different cultures, finding creativity, writing ordinary lives and breaking rules. This is a book you can return to again and again. I'd say that it's aimed at writers who have learned the basics of their craft and want to be stretched. It's a very, very intelligent and inspiring read.

GILLIAN: The Writers' and Artists' Yearbook is an invaluable tool for any aspiring novelist. It was the first item I bought when I decided to take the plunge and ahem.... 'write a book.' As well as being packed with articles and advice for the aspiring writer, there is an up-to-date list of literary agents which is my most leafed-through section. It's not only for novelists though; short story creators and scriptwriters can all benefit from its wisdom. The yearbook is also revised and updated annually and in that respect, I have four copies festering under my bed! There is also a website which is worth a browse. I would recommend it to any writer starting out.

HELEN: I would recommend that any writer read From Pitch To Publication from cover to cover as it is such a telling insight into how the publishing industry works from a consummate insider.
The chapter on securing an agent is searing and blows out of the water many myths and urban legends. That an author must prove him or herself , not merely a good writer, but a dedicated professional with some understanding of the market, is made plain from the start.
A no-nonsense approach for the career author.

FIONNUALA: “Will Write For Shoes – How To Write A Chick Lit Novel” by Cathy Yardley
This gem of a book, though aimed at women writing ‘chick lit,’ (a much maligned genre) is also helpful for anyone interested in writing.
Cathy Yardley introduces the book covering the beginnings of chick lit, how it’s evolved and new trends within the genre. The book is divided into the must haves to begin the story telling process, for example - characters, main and secondary, their motivations, protagonists, plot, structure, the highs and lows of story telling, point of view and voice. She then goes on to the submission process (although because she is American mainly writing for the American market – this does have more of a US flavour) finally covering how authors nowadays must also know how to sell – themselves and their product.
I love her succinct advice ‘Read, read, read. Write, write, write. Revise, revise, Revise.’
This is an informative book, hugely and effectively defensive of the genre and a must for the bookshelf of any women writing for women.

SAMANTHA: Wannabe a Writer by Jane Wenham-Jones.
I can't tell you how often I have picked up this book. It is my writing bible and doubles as a reference book and light read. The pages are packed with Jane's witticisms and full of laughter, but also take us on her journey to publication, at the same time advising us on everything we need to know, from plotting to how to approach an agent.
I particularly like the chapters headed under the title 'Occupational Hazards'. These include 'Writer's Bottom', 'Top Diets for Fat Scribes', and 'On Being Vile to Live With'.
Go on! Treat yourself! I find this book a great read when I am seeking both comfort and inspiration.