Change in my writing goals

If you have been reading my recent FB posts, you will see that my writing goals have changed over the last week. One of my new year goals was to write pocket novels for My Weekly, and I have now decided that this isn't what I really want to do and what I can't really write, after all. Here is why:

Earlier this year I finished the pocket novel I had been writing and had sent a partial of to the RNA's New writing scheme for feedback. I sent it to my editor, who I know is v honest and truthful about my writing. It came back last week via email with lots of comments in the email itself. I've not read the actual edits yet. What the email said was that the ms was too flimsy and not good enough for a pocket novel, which I knew deep down myself. I emailed my editor to ask this of her, and she replied, yes, it's not good enough, but don't waste it. It made me realise that I can't write proper romance, only magical realism with a hint of romance. So, that writing goal has been deleted from my plans. I am going to continue writing the Geraldine's Gems and Singleton stories which are all magical realism with a touch of romance in, as I feel I can write those and I enjoy writing them. Just writing those last few words has also made me realise that I didn't really enjoy writing the romantic part of the pocket novel but I did enjoy writing the mystery bit.

I am continuing writing short stories for womags as I enjoy writing those. My main writing goal now is to be known as an indie children's author, esp about hope and Asperger's.

So, that is the change in my writing goals. The mss I still have upstairs in the cupboards I am keeping and will read them at a later time to see if they can be either made into children's books or serials for womags. So, not wasted.

My motto now is: write what you enjoy doing and what you know you can do.

My Pocket Novel has been critiqued

The book I had been working on as a Pocket Novel is now back with me. I had sent it to the Romantic Novelists' Association's New Writers' Scheme for their feedback in August, and got it last week. Most of it was in draft because I knew I didn't have enough time to complete it all properly before the deadline. I am pleased I did that now. There is a lot to think about and work on. Plus a subplot to add in, as well as making more of the romance and making the family drama more of a mystery (not reveal something too soon). The reader did like the title and thought the whole story was suitable for a My Weekly Pocket Novel, so I am definitely going to send it to them once I have almost finished all the rewrites etc. I hope that will be the start of next year. I have made a revision plan for the novel as there is a lot to do with it to get it to the 50K that is required. Here it is:

1. To go through the whole ms and work on the reader's pencilled comments on the script itself. I have started this process already and am on Chapter Six.
2. To work on the reader's comments at the back of her feedback.
3. Might add the new subplot, which is related to something said by the hero. This will mean adding another character's viewpoint.
4. This will then mean adding scenes where the hero works in his job.
5. Describe the heroine's work place more.
6. Make more of the romance
7. Make the family drama more of a mystery. Will mean to take out scenes and work out if I can put them later on in the story.
8. Hopefully, all revisions will have been done, so will go through the reader's comments and check that I have done them.
9. Revise the synopsis.

I am looking forward to doing these revisions, esp adding another pov, which I had thought about before, anyway. It means more family drama to the story.

Receiving this feedback for it, and esp reading that they think it is suitable for my intended market, has made me want to write Pocket Novels now.

Think I will print this out to remind me what I intending doing. lol.

Do you have a theme in all your books?

Sorry I've not been here a lot, but been helping my mum round the house and garden, and then went down with a cold. Still have the cold, but much better now.

Anyway, do you have a theme running through all your books? I do. Mine is hope and second chances. I shall explain more.

With my Guardian Angels series, there is hope for the teen angels, Lizzie and Danny, for redemption by helping other teens on Earth from risking their lives and death, like they did. They give hope to the teens they help by showing them what they can do with their lives if they just try and not give in to boredom. I'm currently writing the fifth and final of the series, where Lizzie and Danny have their last mission to pass and graduate from the school. It doesn't all go to plan like they hoped.

In Geraldine's Gems adult romance series, Geraldine has gone to Heaven after dying and given the chance to redeem herself (she was not nice when alive) by first getting her ex love to be nice again, then going down to Earth to help her relatives get their lives and love back on track. As she is told, One good turn deserves another. So her relatives are given hope and second chance at love.

Then in my dark magical romance series 'Secrets of Singleton' some of the residents whom are single, are given the hope of romance by certain objects who have magical powers given by their descendants.

So there you have my theme of Hope and Second Chances.

I plan to put this theme in non-fiction soon, too. I plan to write and publish a series of short ebooks to help new authors with their writing. The first one is going to be full of writing exercises for all genres, the second one will be more exercises, but will use words and verbs that often get mixed up and confused eg practice/se. (One which I used to get confused with).

You can buy any of the above ebooks at http://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B0034P09WW

'The Cameo Brooch' cover reveal

Next week I, hopefully, plan to publish my next ebook, 'The Cameo Brooch'. It is Archie's story how he got together with the love of his life, Gabrielle, thanks to a family heirloom of a cameo brooch. Here is the cover:

Archie's great-great aunt Beatrice is mentioned in this story, and it inspired me to write her own romance later on. Need to research the 19th century more to do this, but am looking forward to it, even though I've not written historical romance before.

I'm no longer a tortoise

Bet that got your attention? Well, it beats saying, 'I've come out of my shell.' Get it now? lol So, what do I actually mean when I have come out of my shell? I shall explain with what a friend said to me last Saturday at a writer's talk.

As you all know by now I have Asperger's Syndrome, so I find it hard to communicate in groups and with new people. Well, my friend Marjorie, a fellow romance author, who I've known for years since I joined the RNA said this to me. She was pleased that I have come out of my shell. She said that when she first met me, it was really hard to get me to talk. She described it as trying to get blood out of a stone. I had to laugh. I knew what she meant. Now that we have been friends for years, I can chat to her without a prompt. I said it was down to my AS. When I meet people for the first time, I find it hard to talk to them. Once I start getting to know them, and do so over time, I find it easier to talk, and esp if they are writers - like-minded people. I find it easier to talk to people after I've known them for a time, and if they do and enjoy the same things I do, mainly writing.

So, I have come out of my shell, and no longer a tortoise or turtle.

Why I want to write Pocket Novels

I mentioned in my post about my goals for this year that I want to write a My Weekly Pocket Novel. I now want to say that I do want to write for them and not just one, but continuously as a regular writer for them. Here are my reasons why.

1. As I mentioned in my goals, if I write one and send it in to the Romantic Novelist's Association (RNA) New Writer's Scheme and get accepted, then I can go on to become a full member. I've been in the NWS now for over 13 years.

2. I like their stories. They are my kind of gentle romance and family stories, and can include romance with intrigue, that I often read and write myself. They are the right length for me to write, too, at 50K.

3. I can be traditionally published if I get one published. This will make me a hybrid author.

4.As well as getting a flat fee for being published by them, I can offer the book to a large print publisher, who sends it to libraries, so therefore, I will be eligible for PLR.

5. Finally, I will get to see my name in print in the shops.

So, my new plan is to finish rewriting the book I am working on now and send it to the RNA. Once I've done that, I will rewrite a scene in my Asperkids first book and get that edited so I can self-publish it. Then I will rewrite another ms that I wrote years ago and is currently in my wardrobe ready to work on again, and that will become another pocket novel.

Inspiration behind 'A friend in need'.

I have just published on Amazon my latest adult romance ebook in the Geraldine's Gems series. It is book 6 called 'A Friend in Need'. There are two inspirations behind the idea of the book and why I put bullying and counselling in the book.

The idea of the story was for Faith, who is bullied and suffers abuse from her boyfriend, to find someone else who was the opposite and she falls for him. The idea for a bullying boyfriend came from both agony aunt letters in newspapers and an article in a girl's magazine about someone being bullied by her partner and how she got out of it. Faith has a bit of help from her late Aunt Geraldine, and a colleague, Jenny. In the book, Faith is a teacher but with encouragement from Jenny and Ben, whom she falls for, she decides a change of career and wants to become a counsellor. There is a scene where a pupil is locked in the outdoor girls' toilet and Faith helps her out. This scene was inspired by a true experience of mine when I was at primary school. Two girls, whom I thought were my friends, did lock me in the toilets, but they let me out in the end.

So, that was what inspired me to write the story idea and that particular scene.

'A friend in need' is available from Amazon UK at http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00T3ET0OG
Amazon US at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00T3ET0OG

Step 4 - Your goals for the year

So, here is the final step to your plan and the most important one I feel - writing down your goals for this year. To motivate you, here are mine:

1. To complete my YA fantasy series 'The Guardian Angels'
2. To complete my mermaid trilogy
3. To complete my adult romance series 'Geraldine's Gems'
4. To write 1 or 2 more of my Singleton village series (working on that now)
5. To maybe write another of my Asperkids series
6. To publish my first Asperkids books about Boring Billy
7. To get at least 5 short stories accepted and published by women's magazines
8. To earn at least £500 from no 7
9. To break even with my writing expenses this year. I've been working at a loss the last few years.#
10. The main one I feel is... to graduate from the RNA's New Writer's Scheme, hopefully with a Pocket Novel script. Working on this now. Am rewriting a script that I submitted a few years ago and did nothing with.

So there you have my ten goals for this year. I've been working on numbers 4, 7, 8 and 10 so far. Will give you an update on how I'm going with these in a few months time. So, what goals have you made for this year? Let me know how you are going with them.

Another goal for this year and an update on current ones

I have decided to have another goal for this year, but will give you an update on my current ones.

1. Still getting there with my 7+ children's book. Decided to change a scene and put in one that goes with the rest of the book.

2. Still getting there with my next Angel ebook, and should finish current draft by next goal-setting brunch end of this month.

3. Bird articles - have found a few children's magazines in the US that I can submit to. Have one already to post next week.  I have decided to expand my freelance writing and write about famous people with disabilities and submit to those magazines, too, and write about places in London as travel pieces. We shall see how it goes.

Now for my new goal. I was going to stay as an indie author, but after a friend of mine recently got her first book published by a publisher and going to the RNA workshop last weekend, I have now decided to be a hybrid author. I want to try and get published in adult romance with either a trad publisher (not one of the big 6) but a smaller one or a digital publisher like my friend. When I have finished Charlie, the 7+ book, I will then work on a story to send to Woman's Weekly, then I will start rewriting a novel I sent to the NWS a few years ago and make it more romantic, concentrating on the relationship between the girl and boy. I shall either send it to the NWS or straight to a publisher, depending on when I finish it as the NWS closes end of August. I still have lots of indie projects to work on. The rest of the Angel series, the last 2 Geraldine stories, 2 more mermaid stories, and the rest of the Secrets of Singleton village short stories, which should take me into next year.

So, there you have it. My goals and how they are doing, and my new one to work towards. How are you getting on?

If you want help with goal-setting and keeping them, I now have a template for goal-setting, much like the SCBWI Brunch one I get. Let me know if you want one in the comments below, and I can email it to you.

RNA workshop/retreat day on 15 Feb 2014 - and what I learnt

Last Saturday I made my way on bus to Holborn to go to the RNA London/SE workshop/retreat day. I passed where that car was smashed in by falling bricks from a building. Horrible. Feel so sorry for her family. Anyway, I got there in time to get a good seat.

It started at 10.15 with Julie Cohen and her talk about learning structure with Pixar films. I've not seen it before and thought it was great. We watched the beginning of Wall-E, and I got a new take on it. It's about a lonely robot who finds love in a deserted world of rubbish. I liked the underlying message about recycling more or the world can be like this. We also watched a clip of Finding Nemo, where the main plot and the subplot meets. This is what I learnt: plot structure is structure of the emotional arc. We were given the three act structure of the film Cars. Backstory at the start of the story can be used in the setting as in Wall-E, where we see papers on the ground about trash covering Earth. Pixar starts their films with emotional arc. They have repeated motifs eg in Wall-E, holding hands means love. The subplot - thematic plot. More plot and add to character. Cars has a circular structure where the ending reflects the start of the film - the main character is in a car race, which is how he began the story.

After Julie came Laura Longrigg and Laura Gerrard, Jean Fullerton's agent and editor. They both said that it is the voice and USP being great is what they look for. If you are a member of the NWS, you can mention this in a query letter to them. Also, add a section about you. Your background, why you wrote the story, what you like to read etc.

Then came the '10 Common Mistakes that authors make' and this is where I learnt a lot and came to a decision.
Plotting - know your characters inside and out. Never forget your readers are interested in relationships. Start at a critical point in the story. Work in any backstory subtly. Don't put in mundale details such as making cups of tea. Know your market and readership. Know your publisher requirements (I will check the few publishers I have in mind for a romance I will shortly be working on). If it has a saggy middle then the story hasn't been thought through properly. Have a satisfying ending. Make your characters likeable. The reader has to ID with them, so the story has to be believable. The hero - the reader has to desire him, and want the heroine to want him too. Understand where you want the story to go before starting or the characters won't progress. Don't make the plot entirely driven. In an edit, you can highlight the external and internal conflicts to work this out).
POV - don't head hop unless you're Nora Roberts. Tell not show. Get POV right and experience what your character is feeling. Use emotion and feeling not reportage. And get your punctuation right for speech.

What I learned from that last talk by Melanie Hilton, the NWS organiser, was to make your story believable. In the romance novel that I plan to work on later this year, I was going to have a ghost in it, but I now feel that won't be believable so what the ghost was going to do will be done by the young male neighbour, who falls in love with a librarian, who happens to be the granddaughter. I can't wait to rewrite the book now, but have two projects to work and complete before that.

Me, Asperger's and Creativity

In my quest to write about and inform others about living with Asperger's Syndrome, I have discovered that people with AS come in two groups: arts and science.  I definitely fall into the former being a writer. Looking back over the years since I was a child, I was always interested in different arts. I remember when I was little, I used to love colouring in colouring books and making the pictures come alive with colour. As I got older, those books turned into pattern books with spirals and swirls, and I loved colouring them in too. In one of my last years of primary school, I got interested in tapestries, the cross stitch ones, and the first one I did was of a simple man and woman. Later on, they changed to more intricate ones of animals and cute characters. I still have a few I've finished in my mum's wardrobe to put up after my bedroom was redecorated. I also have a few that I've not done yet, and might in the later years of life.

But all through that, there was writing. I remember writing a true story in primary school which the teacher read out for me. My AS kicked in, and I was too shy to read it out myself. I also wrote short stories about different things, I can't remember what though. It has always been there, writing. When I started work, I wrote a short romance story about me having a crush on a man I once knew. Embarrassing. I don't have it anymore, thank goodness. Then way back in the 90s, when I ended up having to go to lunch on my own (one of the co-heads of dept, a nasty person) didn't like us all going together and said they had to go without me. I began writing then. That turned into my first romance novel, which is now in my wardrobe waiting to be rewritten. Since then I have written several novels, mainly romance for adults and  few for children. I can't think what to do if I didn't have my writing. It takes me out of my normal world and lets me forget about who I am and the hassles I have to live with.

So, that is how creativity has become part of my AS. Let me know if you have autism and are creative too. Be interested to know more people who are.

What Geraldine would say to Mandy in More Fish in the Sea

Welcome back to my Geraldine's sayings blog. I have just perused my PInterest board for sayings and here are two things that Geraldine would say to her favourite niece, Mandy, who has just been betrayed by her mother and boyfriend and should find 'More Fish in the Sea'.

So the story is that Mandy was getting over the betrayal of her mother going with her boyfriend, which makes her lose the baby she was going to have. Geraldine tells her that there are plenty more fish in the sea and to think of other men that she knows. She tells Mandy this:

She has to take out the negatives in her life and forget about her ex and move on. Mandy does.

The next thing she has to do is:

Then she can truly move on and find the right man for her. Mandy does. She finds Russ who is a work colleague. To find out what happens between Mandy and Russ you have to buy the ebook, available on all digital platforms.

Now for things that Geraldine or Mandy might use in every day life. Mandy or Geraldine might use this coaster to put hot mugs on. Available from my Zazzle store www.zazzle.co.uk/julieangels/gifts

Then she might use this magnet to put on her fridge in Heaven to remind her to go and visit another sad relative. Also from my Zazzle store.

What Geraldine would say in One Good Turn

Welcome to the first of new blogs about what Geraldine would say to her love, Keith, and her relatives she visits back down on Earth. So, in One Good Turn she reunites with her ex love and soulmate, Keith. When she finds she still loves him, this is what she says to him:

As the week goes on, she falls more in love with Keith and gets him to love her too. This changes her for a better person. She then realises:

 

 

 

Don't you just love these sayings? I do.

Up in Heaven with Keith, Geraldine does the washing-up and uses this tea towel:

And on her travels to and from Heaven to visit her relatives, Geraldine would need a drink. So she could use this water bottle:

The tea towel and the water bottle are available from my Zazzle store - www.zazzle.co.uk/julieangels/gifts.