Another story!

A couple of weeks ago, I had a clear plan for writing another story. I knew what I wanted to happen, but the whole thing hinges on being able to do something in secret, yet leave no trace. I didn't think that what I wanted to do was so tricky!

After a bit of help from Jenna, and some research of my own, I have a possible solution, although not exactly the one I was looking for.

The dreaded writers' block has descended upon me now. I can't keep to my original story-line using this solution, and my reluctance to change it is preventing me from writing. Perhaps more research is required...

Reading the Proof

Having read through the proof I was shocked to find so many errors as it looked perfect on screen. The formatting errors stand out better in the printed medium than on screen and I've managed to confuse the rules for writing numbers in fiction. Sometimes I have written 'he took 2 tablets' and at others I have used 'he took two tablets'. I have done a bit of research and discovered that generally, numbers 0-100 are spelled out and anything over 100 is written in numerals. But there are of course exceptions...

Today has been spent reading the printed version and making corrections, which I'm happy to report is now done. The next step is to redesign the book cover to include my new logo.

I am learning a lot about writing and self-publishing and I have to say that it's been very interesting and enjoyable. And of course, I am another step closer to calling myself an author and publisher!

The proof has arrived!

My proof has arrived!

I requested that it be sent using the cheapest postal option and was advised it would arrive by 3rd October.

According to the docket it was dispatched from Columbia, South Carolina on 28th August. That's 10 days by my reckoning. I am absolutely delighted and can now settle down to read the book and make any final corrections before publication.

Copy to proof ordered

The book has met the technical specifications at CreateSpace so I've been able to review the digital proof and downloaded a PDF copy. These both look good, so I've ordered a physical copy of the book to proof. I have chosen the standard shipping, rather than pay more to have it delivered sooner. The confirmation states it will arrive by Friday 13th October 2017. I'm not superstitious... fingers crossed :)

Proof-reading complete

Well, my husband has finished proof-reading my novel and it has been uploaded to CreateSpace.

I am now in the process of reformatting the file to upload to KDP to convert to an ebook. I discovered that the file I uploaded to CreateSpace, when uploaded to KDP, does not convert properly to an ebook, so I am having to tweak the formatting to get it to look the same as the book.

This is all a steep learning curve for me but I hope that what I have learned this time stands me in good stead for next time.

My Time

Having brought up my family and looked after countless international students over the years, I am finally making time for the things I want to do in life.

I have always been keen on self-improvement and I believe that we all learn something new every day of our lives. It doesn't have to be monumental, it can be something quite simple, like understanding a new word, folding a napkin, cooking an egg, but it all counts as learning. 

It was while taking a FutureLearn writing course that I stumbled across the book that everyone is supposed to have inside them. I wasn't really planning on writing a novel, it just happened. What started out as a character description, turned into short, but incomplete story about that character. In order to complete the story, I expanded it to include a host of other characters and tell their stories too. Suddenly, it was 54000 words and a novel.

Now that it is finished, it needs proof-reading before being published. I have opted to publish it myself and will then be able to call myself an Indie Author!

The 3rd Draft

2 weeks ago I was faced with rewriting my ending following helpful feedback from one of my reviewers. I have since heard from 4 more; one did not think there was a hook in the first couple of chapters so has not read any further; two thought it worked well as it was; and the fourth said the writing was of the same quality as published authors on her bookshelf.

So it looks like the story appeals to some. What do I need to do to make it better?

I was told that I had a plausibility issue in the first draft, and it was suggested that I frighten a character into having a heart attack rather than using my chosen method to bring it about. The only way I felt I could do this was for one character to threaten the other in such a vile manner that it would cause a heart attack. I dreamed up a way of doing this and happily wrote it down, tying it up with the existing story-line quite nicely.

The following day, as I was reading it back, I decided that the threat I had used would cause me to react quite differently, so I scrapped the second version and rewrote the whole thing.

I then tried to work on another piece of advice received, but did not think I could write something interesting and entertaining about the characters' feelings for an inanimate object... so I brought the object to life, gave 'her' a gender and a voice. I think it works well and that the third draft is the best to date. One reviewer, so far, thinks V3 works well. Let's see what the others think.

Oh! I bumped into another friend online today, who has also agreed to review it.

So, now to work on the book layout, while I wait for a few more of my wonderful team of unpaid readers to tell me if this version works better than the last. It should do... there's an additional murder to add to the tally!

 

Back to the story

Yesterday I sat down to write the concluding chapter of my novel. I had the plan clearly set out in my head and started to write. The plan was to kill some more people, and for the killer's family to make a discovery which should have made them wonder about the killer's involvement in all of the other deaths.

Could I do that? No I could not! Instead I have accidentally introduced a new character, who is going to have to ask questions which may lead to him working it all out. I feel that now I have created this new character that I have to explain his relevance in the story and provide the reader with a conclusion to his subplot.  A subplot I haven't fully formed myself yet!

Does it matter if the reader does not have all the loose ends tidily tied up at the end of the story. Is it OK to leave one or more of the subplots without a conclusion, leaving the reader to imagine their own ending? Will the reader feel cheated? I think I would.

Throughout the story, I have provided endings for my subplots, in so far as would be known. For example, where I might have said that two people got in their car and headed off to their new home in Wales, that is where I have ended their subplot. Whether they actually made it there in one piece, or had the mother of all rows in the car which led to him killing her or divorce proceedings later on, was not relevant to my story, so it has not been told. My problem at present is that this new character is trampling all over the crime scene and I feel obliged to tell the reader that either he missed all the clues or he pieced it all together.

I may have to end the killer-character and come back to the new character to see how much he needs to tell the reader for the conclusion to be satisfactory.

This is where I wish I had drafted a story plan, detailing exactly what happens and when, before I started to write. My imagination is running away with itself and bringing in a new character this late into the story is not helping me to take the story where I want it to go.

Oh well, tomorrow is another day...

 

 

 

A kick up the proverbial

We all need a bit of a push sometimes, to get on and do something, and last week I met up with Cathy Shuter who reignited my enthusiasm to write.

Cathy has published several books herself, and I wanted her to sign a couple of copies of "Oh Ollie",  which I bought to give as Christmas presents this year - yes I am organised!  I also wanted to know about her experience of writing and publishing and told her that I was also writing. Within a few minutes, Cathy had me believing in myself, motivated me to get on with my novel and consider self-publishing.

She also kindly offered to help me by reviewing my work and show me how to set up an account to self-publish; which reminds me, I must send her a link to read the story so far.

My daughter has, to date, not had time to read it, but I am hopeful that she will be able to soon, as she has a week's holiday coming up and usually tears through a couple of books while she is away.

Another source of encouragement: In conversation with a cousin recently, I learned that he enjoys writing short stories and he gave me one of his to read. It was really very good and I asked him to read my story and critique it. I saw him yesterday and was delighted that he had made time to read it. He said he thought the story line was good, and encouraged me to carry on with it. He talked me through the plot of his latest story, as far as he has got, but says he has now hit a brick wall. I told him that I had my plot mapped out but I am being influenced by people and things around me as to how I write my story. As an example, a conversation about my parents' wedding led to a description of the bridesmaids' attire. The hats, I was told, were 'Dutch caps'. That caused a bit of hilarity and it was confirmed that that was also the name of a contraceptive device. The phrase opened up a train of thought which helped me write a particular character and bring her to her untimely end. JC, something or someone will provide the inspiration you need to break down that brick wall.

And Finally...

This morning, despite my broadband doing the Hokey Cokey, I have set up an account with CreateSpace - which was as easy as Cathy said it would be - in readiness for when I finish my novel. Now to crack on and finish it...

 

Chapter 13 and beyond

Well, I have finished Chapter 13. The subplot seems plausible and I think I can tie it up with the main story. It's been sitting in draft-form for a couple of weeks and I now need to go through and check the timeline, grammar and punctuation. Other mundane stuff has come up these last few weeks and prevented me from finalising this chapter and moving on, but hopefully this week will see me do just that.

I've also  had trouble this last week with my broadband connection and spent a lot of time trying to sort that out with the help of the provider. As far as I'm concerned, it is still not right and the connection is dropping every few minutes, but they tell me that there is nothing wrong with it.

I've signed up to Fibre which should come on in the next fortnight, and I am hoping that will provide a better experience. It's odd that it's just happened and really annoying that I cannot stay connected for more than 10 minutes at a time. It cannot be the number of users as I've been the only one using it since 4.30am today and it is still not stable.

To further complicate my life, I have a new computer running Windows 10 and the transition from Vista to Windows 10 has left me a little frustrated. No, I lie... not a little...a lot.  I think I've got everything I need installed now, and my online storage is syncing (or not, depending on the broadband connection), so I'm more or less ready to go now. Fingers crossed this week will see Chapter 13 completed and Chapter 14 started...

Chapter 13...

Last week I re-read my story to put me in the mindset to re-work chapter 13. It was a good thing I did. I picked up a couple of minor typing mistakes. Not big problems really. However, reading through chapter 12, I discovered I'd told readers that the boy was 14 years old, two years before his eighteenth birthday. I'd similarly messed up the girls ages. I know how that happened. I'd amended the story-line in one paragraph but had not followed through in a later one which also talked about their ages.

The problem I was having with Chapter 13 may have been resolved. I scrapped the first draft, although I did use some of the original ideas in the second draft. This time though, I moved away from the idea that it was the man's business dealings that was his downfall and came up with a more suitable, I think, solution.

I'm still writing it, but I'm more confident that this idea will take the story in the direction it needs to go - to tie up with the present day events discussed in chapters 1 and 2.

Also last week, my husband made some time to go through my work and checked the grammar and punctuation. To my surprise, there were not as many suggested corrections as I'd expected. I've now sent the first 12 chapters to my eldest daughter asking for her opinion on the story rather than grammar and punctuation checking. I hope she will come back with constructive criticism about where the story is weak and needs rewriting and which bits she thinks work well.

Postcards Home

Now our family holidays have never exactly 'gone to plan' and rather than send something which reads - wish you were here - instead of me! - I report events in a light-hearted, 'it would only happen to us' kind of way.