When to Write?

Well, school holidays are here. As always, things get a little pear-shaped once the holidays are upon us. Finding time to write becomes harder than ever...

Anyone got any other ideas?

My Excuse Monday

Poking fun at the but in all of us...

Printed with permission of Sam Morrison.

Synopsis Writing Workshop

This is my follow up post to a previous blog "RWA Group Grant Success".

If you are like me, the thought of writing a synopsis will have you scrubbing the toilet in no time *grin*. To try and overcome this hatred of synopsis writing my writing group, WIKS, invited Denise Rossetti to present a 'synopsis writing workshop'.

Three intensive hours focussing on the dreaded synopsis. Wow. Denise covered a series of topics, including:

• why write a synopsis
• what to include in a synopsis
• what to leave out
• some examples

Of course, we were required to write elements of our own as we went along, and then swap with a neighbour or share with the group - nothing like pressure to make you perform *grin*.

We started with an elevator pitch, then we wrote the main emotional steps our hero and heroine take throughout their journey. From these points we started to develop our synopsis.

For me, some of the key points from the session were:

• summary of the plot and a synopsis are very different
• you can't overdo the emotion
• do not hide the ending from the editor (no cliffhangers)
• tell not show
• language is your ally

Now I just have to put the theory into practice!

My Excuse Monday

Poking fun at the but in all of us...

Printed with permission of Sam Morrison.

Goals for another year...

Last week I reviewed the goals for the past year. This week I'm setting my goals for the next 12 months.

This upcoming year has been the hardest yet for setting goals, in fact, the list below is my third version - things keep happening to make me change them. But because I know setting goals always ensures I achieve more than I would otherwise, I've persisted.

Goals 2010/11:

1. Finish two manuscripts
2. Enter High 5 (two mss)
3. Enter Selling Synopsis (one ms)
4. Enter Emerald (one ms)
5. Enter First Kiss (two mss)
6. Enter VPA (two mss)
7. Submit to agent
8. Attend conference and pitch

Might as well aim high, right? Fingers crossed I can do this!

My Excuse Monday

Poking fun at the but in all of us...

Printed with permission of Sam Morrison.

Writing Goals - How did I go?

It's that time of year again where I look back over my goals for the last year. Making myself accountable sure helps with the incentive of meeting them. So here goes:

1. Sub partial - Done, rejected.
2. Finish revised ms - Done, rewrote ending a third time, now in metaphorical bin.
3. Enter High 5 - Done.

4. Enter Emerald - Done.

5. Apply 5DI - Applied, accepted and participated.

6. Enter First Kiss - Done.

7. Write next ms - Started but on hold due to 5DI mentoring.
8. Enter VPA with 2 mss - Only entered 1, but second ms started.
9. Enter an American contest - Entered The Gotcha! contest.
10. Attend and pitch at conference - Attended conference, didn't pitch because of my change in direction post-5DI (although ended up doing a pitch I didn't even know I was doing - but that's for another blog post).

Reviewing my goals I'm quite proud of what I have achieved. Okay, so it isn't perfect, but I think I've done really well in meeting what I had set. And I can honestly say, every point on my goal list has helped improve my writing and move me along my writing journey - what more do you want?

Now to set my goals for this year (check out next week's blog to see my 2010/11 list).

My Excuse Monday

Poking fun at the but in all of us...

Printed with permission of Sam Morrison.

Plot Ideas

My CP recently discovered there is a book 'out there' with a very similar plot to her current work in progress (check out her blog post here). It can be really disheartening when that happens - you think you've got this great idea, and someone's beaten you to it. Of course, there isn't such a thing as an original plot - just your spin on it, mixed with your unique voice. So you need to ignore what everyone else has done and just go for it.

When I discovered this very relevant strip from Inky Girl, I had to share.

Mon, this post is for you (((hugs))).

It's Here!!

I know this isn't a normal posting day for me, but it is such an auspicious day I felt it should be honoured with a special post.

Spring is finally here!!!