After a busy week at work writing reports and battling to restock the office fridge with Diet Coke, I now have five days off to recharge. There will be training runs as my next marathon is just over three weeks away and we are also planning a few family outings, including a trip to Belfast Zoo. Rebecca will be reunited with all the other cheeky monkeys there and Hannah will be whizzing up and down the hills in her new motorised wheelchair.
I also intend to devote some time to the third draft of my first and possibly only novel – The Kirkwood Scott Chronicles – Skelly’s Square. I’m currently at the stage where I am plugging some plot gaps and fine tuning the structure. Some chapters are being moved around, others trimmed down and others again chucked into the reject bin. It’s a slow and painful process but every day I know I’m inching a step closer towards the finished product.
I’m hoping to be in a position that by the end of September I will be in a position to start drip feeding a draft to my beta readers. I know it’s difficult to set a date in stone to finish a book as the creative process is so hard to channel and contain. Often I see it as a roaring line as I stand shaking before it with a chair and whip, fearing I’m about to be tossed about like a rag doll.
I will continue to blog over this period as I know you would all be devastated without your daily dose of Stephen but they will be shorter posts with a less heavy content. Perhaps another flash fiction challenge and certainly some photos from our trip to the zoo. I also have letters to respond to all those lovely people who took the time to write to us. Feel free to keep in touch by dropping a line below. I’m also happy to answer any questions you have about the book or my writing journey.
Laters….
Black Thoughts 
have fun at the zoo! the book seems to be comingn along! well done on continuing with it. xxx
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Thank you very much 🙂
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Enjoy a well earned rest, and some precious family time. I am looking forward to your next flash fiction challenge!
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Thank you. I’m looking forward to reading your next piece 🙂
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Enjoy your family day out at the zoo
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Thank you 😊
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You often post about the novel you’re writing. I wondered if you had considered putting up a sample chapter of it onto WordPress? I’m quite intrigued by what you’re writing and I would love to see what it’s like. That said, it’s ok if you don’t want to do this. 🙂
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I know I bore people silly on here about it so apologies. I was told not to share any of it because of theft and potential problems down the line with publishers and copyright. Thoughts?
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Fair enough. As a writer I like getting my work out there, so at least people are seeing it. I regard as self-promotion. But we all have different tastes.
Just a question: you say you were told not to do it, By whom?
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By friends. And I also read it in a guide to getting published. Are you planning to publish the Sky Pirates series or is it just for WordPress?
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Possibly, but what is up on WordPress is very much a first draft. That said, finding a publisher is not easy, usually they only tend to accept submissions from literary agents. Novels that are just sent to them are very unlikely to be published. If you have a track record it helps. I’ve had a number of poems and other work published in journals and magazines around the world, as well as a collection of poetry published, so I have that in my favour, but even then I’m not confident I would find publisher, which is why I quite happily put it up on WordPress, so at least other people get to see it. Also the reason why I have still kept on with it is because people are waiting to read the next installment, which keeps me writing it.
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That said I’ve seen some recent published fantasy fiction and it’s writing quality is pretty shocking, as well as it’s storyline. I like to think my stuff is a step above that at least…
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Oh it is. And I agree.
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Your logic makes perfect sense. I think part of me is nervous as well about letting other people read it.
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I sort of wondered if that as an issue. Hell if someone had told me I was putting up short stories and a serialised story a year ago I would have looked at them strangely. In the past I’ve always been into showing people the final product only, which was usually poetry, but with this blog I seem to be ok now publishing stuff tht’s still a little rough around the edges. If it’s any good I can always make it better later on. Nothing is written in stone. You can always make changes to work. A lot of the poems of mine I’ve shared have been published elsewhere, but that doesn’t stop from making changes to them when I put them up here. Sometimes I wonder if revising work never ends.
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You do seem quite prolific. What’s your secret?
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I guess not having a partner or kids helps. I have bit more time to write than others.
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Your letter was mailed either yesterday or today! So it’s finally on its way. And yes, I would be devastated without my daily dose of Stephen. 😉😂
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Oh I’ve something to look forward to next week then. Ha Ha. I’m sure devastated is a little extreme but thank you anyway ma’am *bows*
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I hope you enjoy reading it! No seriously though, I would really miss your posts and comments.
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As we would miss yours 🙂
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Thanks for the invitation. I have a couple of questions as it turns out: was writing a novel a project you had “itched” to do for a long time and then finally sat down and began? If so, what finally pushed you over the edge? Did you draw up a detailed outline first, or just start writing and let the muse carry you wherever she wanted? Hats off, by the way, for your remarkable perseverance.
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Yes it’s always been rattling around the back of my head. I’ve always loved writing but neglected it for many years. I only got the idea for the book last August and started writing it in November. I just started writing which probably flies in the face of what you are supposed to do. I seem to only be able to generate ideas as I write. If I attempt to draw up a plan first then I find myself staring at a blank page for hours on end. Thanks for the questions.
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Enjoy your family time! Family is so important! 🙂
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Thanks Leigh 🙂
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Enjoy the zoo! And may that lion be toothless!!!
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Thank you. Let’s hope so 😂
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Keep up the great work! I can’t wait to read the final product!!
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Thank you very much 😬
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Thank you for writing this. I’m currently writing a book myself. Great info and insight for an inexperienced as myself.
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You’re welcome. Hope your book is coming along well.
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I’m along way from being done. I need to become more proactive in it again.
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Blogging is a good start. Keep at it 😊
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Thank you for the encouragement.
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Keep plugging away…and enjoy some rest too. Goodness knows words do have a way of merging into nothingness the more you keep staring at them and working with them. No, I have never written a book but my imagination says it would be so. 🙂 Can’t wait to see a little sample of it. You’ve got this!
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Thank you very much. I’m getting there slowly 😊
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Every step forward is a step toward the finish line 🙂
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Indeed 🙂
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