On The Tourist Trail at Easter

The Easter School Holidays and Bank Holiday arrived, for a busy family that meant four days of day trips and touring around doing as much as possible together as we could.

Daily picnics, cycling, walking, sightseeing, two days of National Trust properties and Easter Egg Trails ensued, across Counties Antrim, Down and Londonderry.

One of the spots we recently visited was the Springhill Estate in County Londonderry which has an interesting costume museum and a good ghost story. One particular bedroom is believed to be haunted by a previous lady of the house. The story as we heard it is that the woman's husband was considered to have committed suicide in the bedroom. A later visitor to the house reported a noise from behind the bed and an apparition in the room. Many years later the bed moved was moved to a different spot and the room stripped for redecoration. A secret door was discovered. The door led to a staircase and at the bottom of the staircase a sachet of gunpowder and a pair of gloves with the initials of the lady of the house. Is our ghost mourning the death of her husband or visiting the spot of a more sinister event she was involved in? I will leave that to your sleuthing skills and imagine. It is a genteel house, not as grand as the large mansion houses but has a homely feel to it whilst imitating some features of the larger estates. You can read more about it on the National Trust website and I found this blog post about the ghost stories.

We also enjoyed a visit along the Antrim Coast, which will be appearing in the new novel I am working on (Thread of Life) and across the Glens to Coleraine.

A few pictures from our travels, including the Dark Hedges which took quite a few detours through the village of Stranocum to find, but was appreciated by the avid Game of Thrones members of the family.

We also visited Castle Ward and Tullymore Forest over the Easter break, two other sites used to film Game of Thrones. For anyone interested in the locations which have been used for the series you may like this link from Discover NI.

Springhill Estate

Tullymore

Shimna River, Tullymore

Mount Stewart

Mount Stewart

Dark Hedges (or King's Road)

Coleraine from Mountsandel

Castlewellan Forest Park

Castlewellan Forest

Are You A Career Writer?

I retweeted a post on Twitter today from Jonny Geller, joint CEO of literary agency Curtis Brown. He has been in the agency business for almost twenty years and has a senior role in a very successful, well-known agency so he is someone to sit up and take notice off if you have any interest in the world of writing.

The post on Twitter linked to a BBC article giving his top-ten tips for being a literary agent.

I have no aspirations to be a literary agent, although a job that requires the reading of fictional novels sounds very appealing. The article is still pertinent to a writer and would-be published author as it provides some insight into the type of writer he is looking for.

I can appreciate top tip number 2: Be Prepared To Start At The Bottom. As a solicitor and someone who worked their way up from a paralegal, through a training contract to become a qualified solicitor, I know that perseverance and dedication with a good dash of ambition can push you towards achieving your goals. I also know that it can take a long time, a tough skin and an ability to absorb disappointments, learn from them and move on. Jonny Geller's tip is about the agency business and I have experienced it in the legal profession but I think it equally applies to writing.

There are plenty of discussions on writing sites about what it takes to make a successful writer and how you measure success. It will always mean different things to different writers, for some it will be the act of getting the words out of their head and into print, for others it will be seeing a story through to completion, some will be happy to know that anyone enjoys what they write and for others it will mean getting that elusive publishing contract, making a fortune through massive sales, getting accolades or being a bestseller.  What you consider success may depend on what you foresaw when you first felt compelled to write. For me it was a very secret ambition I held for most of my life. I daydreamed about writing a novel but I was always too busy with my life and pursuing my "proper" job. I was too full of doubt about myself; this idea stopped me - who am I too write a book? I quite literally woke up one day with the idea in my head and, when I got an empty house, seized the opportunity; I lifted the laptop and started writing. Within a day it became an obsession but I told no-one. I even took my laptop on holiday in the hope I would steal some time to keep going with the story. At that point I had to confess to my husband that I was writing a novel. I had such a sense of achievement and happiness when I completed it, but I still did not tell anyone I had done it. In other parts of my life that sense of achievement would have been accompanied with an element of pride but it so personal creating something and then finding the courage to share it with the world.

I slowly ventured into the virtual world and started to share my story. What I found was, people liked it but technically I had a lot to learn. I have accepted criticism, compliments, read and read more, absorbed as much as I can about the writing world and the technique of writing and continue to do so. I have found the quick high of writing flash fiction and short stories, the slow burning passion of writing a novel. I have managed to complete two novels (although that first one is going through a rewrite of the whole story) and I am currently writing a third. Due to the writing, I participate in more social media than I ever have before. Where has all of that led me?

One of my novels, The Glass House, was chosen as a One to Watch in March by the editors of the HarperCollins owned Authonomy blog but I have not self-published, I have not won any writing competition awards, I have not got an agent or a publisher. So, am I a writer?

I have the confidence now to say I am a writer but I see that as being different from an author. I think of an author as someone who has published. I write under a pen name and I do not talk about it much in my real life. That leads me to one of the top-tips from Jonny Geller that I found most interesting. Top tip number 5: Look For Career Writers.

To quote from the article: We get around 13,000 manuscripts a year and I'm looking for someone who is a career writer. There was a statistic recently about self-publishing that 75% of those asked said it was a hobby for them. I'm interested in the other 25%.

I'm interested in people who are obsessed with writing, who cannot not write. It's a very peculiar and distinct little group of people who will make their living as a writer.

My job really is to identify somebody who can write a story in a way that only that person could have written it. If I can identify that voice then I'm half way there. It is easier to help someone with a story if they can write, than the other way around.

My career is a solicitor. That is what I studied, trained, worked and pushed for to qualify as. When I  admit to people that I write I say, 'it's just a hobby.' I feel like that because, whilst I love it and would be thrilled to find an agent and publisher, the realist in me recognises how difficult that is and just how many unknown, undiscovered writers there are out there dreaming the same dream I am and never making it a reality. Does that mean I should give up and it will never happen? Not a hope. I get far too much pleasure from writing. I had to take a hiatus from writing, including this blog due to my full-time work commitments. I found room for it all again and know how much I missed it. The characters and story ideas were still with me and I needed to find time to express them. That is the compulsion that drives me to keep writing.

I can understand the description Jonny Geller applies to his vision of a career writer when he says they are obsessed with writing and cannot not write. I have been there and felt that compulsion, the need to get the story that I could watch in my mind into words, despite a lack of sleep and stinging, sore eyes from spending too long in front of the laptop. So, maybe I do have it in me. Perhaps one day I will be that career writer but to achieve that I believe it is important to be able to write in the first place and that is what I am still trying to discover about myself; do I have the talent to make it? In the meantime,  I will continue to love this crazy, emotional obsessive hobby.

My favourite tip is number 10: don't take the job or yourself too seriously.

It's important to remind yourself that you are not really in control of anything and learn from your experiences. 

Advice I could apply to just about every aspect of my life and that we could all do with remembering.

You can read the full BBC article here.

Wattpad

I have been quite dire at keeping up with the writing and the social sites for too long but I have kick started it all again and am remembering how much I enjoy this writing lark. I forgot to find time for it in my busy work and family schedules but getting back into it has reminded me how relaxing it is and the sense of achievement it gives me.

As part of the re-invigoration, I have started using Wattpad. I joined a year ago but did not get involved with it prior to getting distracted with the rest of my life. I have a few chapters from The Glass House and Finding Us available but I have also been posting chapters from Thread of Life as I work on it.

So, if you'd like to read and comment I would be very glad of the feedback and you can find me here.

Thread of Life - Chapter One

I have the start of a new novel. It's early days so there is a very long way and lots of editing to do but the idea is taking some shape. The current working title is Thread of Life. This is chapter one - what do you think?

Chapter One

Evie watched them clump around her house. She wanted them to leave, could hear the scream rattle round her head but she couldn't force the sounds out. Who they hell did they think they were? She needed Nick to come home. Tell them they were idiots, throw them out and make them swear never to scare his wife again.

'Mrs Wright, can I make you a cup of sweet tea? Call someone to come over?'

Evie stared past her, looked out the window, and wished Nick would hurry up. He promised her he would be home early.

Left alone, Evie could hear the woman opening and closing cupboard doors in her kitchen, the sounds of water running. Every day noises in a world of chaos.

Beeping noises sounded in her hallway; they'd given up on getting through to her. Evie wondered which lucky person would get the call. She was surprised when she heard him speak. 'I'm calling on behalf of Mrs Wright. My name is PC Griffin. Am I speaking to Mrs Wright's mother?' His voice was high-pitched. Somehow she expected it to be deep and sombre. It made it all seem even more ridiculous. 'I'm afraid we've delivered some bad news to your daughter. Her husband was killed in a road traffic accident this morning.'

Evie could guess how her mother is fussing, asking how her daughter is and promising to get there straight away.

He didn't look at her when he came back into the lounge. Kept his head high and his eyes straight ahead as he walked past her into the kitchen.

Evie could hear hushed voices, whispering. Bet he's complaining about having to wait with me. The voices stop and she's the first to return. Stupid woman. Doesn't she know that's Nick's cup and he hates tea. He's a black coffee man and nothing else will do. She tried to force the mug into Evie's hand. He hovered near the door and Evie noticed how soft and unblemished his skin was. It occurred to her she might be his first. First road death, first time to comfort the widow, first time to screw up and identify the wrong person because there was no way Nick would leave her, especially not now.

'Here's a nice cup of sweet tea, you need to take a drink. We've called your mum and she'll be here soon.'

Evie didn't reply but inside her head the voice still screamed, GET OUT.

*

 

Watching the dust motes float through a chink of light, Evie lay curled on her bed, arms wrapped around her stomach, recalling the moment when she had told Nick the news. Had that really only been the night before? It seemed impossible that her life could have changed so much in such a short space of time. She remembered the stillness as he digested the news, the moment reality hit and he ran towards her, scooping her into his arms before setting her down and placing a hand on her stomach. How he questioned her over and over. Was she really sure? She'd had to retrieve all three of the little, plastic sticks from the bathroom, each one proclaiming PREGNANT, to convince him they had succeeded at last. He wanted to tell everyone straight away but she begged him not to. Just in case. It could be their secret, at least until the twelve week scan. All they had to do was hide it for six weeks.

A quiet rap on the bedroom door broke her thoughts. She pulled the duvet up to her neck and hugged it to her, as her mother came into the room.

'Evie, I've brought you a wee cup of tea.'

Evie rolled over, turning away from the proffered cup.

'C'mon now dear. I know this is hard but a cup of tea and a piece of toast won't do you any harm and...well, there are arrangements to make. Things we can't decide without you.'

The sound of heels clacked on the wooden staircase and Evie pulled the duvet over her head.

The door squeaked, like it always did when it was pushed open too far. Nick kept saying he'd take a look at that hinge, but he never did find the time to sort it.

'Mum, leave it on the bedside table. She'll have it when she's ready,' Zoe said, sitting on the edge of the bed. 'I've left some tea and cake out on the coffee table for you and dad.'

Evie heard the exhale, the plate and cup being set on the table. Another squeak as the door was closed. Then a hand on her shoulder, the mattress shifting as her sister climbed onto the bed behind her and lay down behind her. Zoe pulled the duvet down, tucked strands of hair behind Evie's ear and rubbed her shoulder. 'I'm sorry Sis. Wish I could say something that would make it better but I don't even know where to start.'

What could anyone say?

Character Shaping and Personality

I attended a course at work this week about management skills but thought one element of it was interesting from a writer's point of view.

We answered some questions to work out our personality types and then discussed that in the context of how we interact with others but also to be able to recognise other personality types and shape how we deal with them according to that type. 

I thought the four personality types might be a useful tool in shaping characters. When I map out a story I try to work out a skeleton of who my characters are, with details like their age, date of birth, what they look like. I have an idea of how I want them to act and develop but I love it when they take on their own life and do something that surprises me. Ellie, in The Glass House has been one of my favourite characters so far in my novel writing because when I started the book she was only going to have a small part but she became as pivotal as the two sisters and is the one who grew the most. 

This personality recognition may help in that character shaping (but hopefully won't take away that element of surprise as people can flex their personality to take on other traits or mask their basic personality). The idea is that people can be separated into four groups, each one recognised by a bird. They are: eagles, peacocks, owls and doves. 

The eagles are fast paced, fact orientated people. They are active, easily bored, want the point of a story and snappy decisions. 

The peacocks are fast paced and people oriented. The like to be involved in events, know what their role is and are the exuberant life-and-sole of the party. 

The owl is a slower paced person who likes time to research and work out all the angles. They like preparation and are fact orientated. The read the manual, create the list and spreadsheet before you act type.

The dove is also slower paced but is people orientated so will want time to think about the wider impact of situations on the people around them. They like to way up the pros and cons.

That is a very brief summary and you can find plenty more information on the internet if you would like to research it further, or test yourself. It is the DOPE 4 Bird Personality Test and here is a link to another blogger talking about it.

And if you are interested: I am a dove, but have elements of owl and eagle.

Juggling

I made a blog post at writing.ie today which I would like to share on this blog. My question to new and seasoned writers was, how they manage to find time for the all consuming obsession that writing can be. I'd love to hear from anyone out there who has struggled to schedule their writing into a hectic life and how you overcame it.

http://www.writing.ie/members_blog/life-juggling/

One To Watch

My manuscript, The Glass House, has been chosen by the Authonomy Editors at the Harper Collins Authonomy website as this week's One to Watch. I'm so thrilled that it was chosen and at the comments they left on their blog about it.

If I didn't already have an incentive to get back to something I love, this has provided the nudge I needed.

I've been saying I feel like framing it...

And if that wasn't shameless enough, here's a link to the full blog post.