The Blank Page

07/08/2012

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The most difficult thing for many writers is the blank page. It taunts you, dares you to put some mark on it. If those marks are words then so much the better. If those words make a sentence then you might just be onto a winner.

To overcome this I have often written to prompt. I use a site call Duotrope that lists the calls for submissions from publishers. It states what they want - approximate word counts and themes. I find that a great help to overcome the dreaded writer's block.

But I have things that I want to write. I want to write the things I would like to read. I have started and put aside novels on more than one occasion. The first of these was hideously self-indulgent (and semi-autobiographical) and following the recent big things on the literary scene, I'm glad I didn't pursue it further. 

The novel I am (sort of) working on  is already annoying me. I am writing it like me but that is not the book I want to read...  I will need to change my style to do it justice. It'll be fun to see if I can do that.

Recently I read an interview with Will Self where he states that he does not write for readers. I think I might need to take a leaf out of that book. I am going to write for myself, much as I read.

In that spirit I have begun the fourth Blue Jackets instalment. As yet untitled it carries on the tale that has been established in Induction, Growth Spurt and Thursday's Child but is going to take it in a darker direction as originally planned for the series.

I have expressed doubts about the series and at one point decided to discontinue it. But I want to write it. I want to read it. I want to do this so it will happen.

If I can overcome my second thoughts then I can surely overcome the fear of the blank page. Onwards and upwards!

Follow me on Twitter @GeordieWriter
Join the Blue Jackets on Facebook
Read The Fallen each week for free

Olverston Grange on Amazon UK, USA

Blue Jackets on Amazon
Thursday's Child: Blue Jackets Part 3 UK, USA
Growth Spurt: Blue Jackets Part 2 UK, USA 
Induction: Blue Jackets Part 1 UK, USA         
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Now for something completely different

06/08/2012

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First of all - thanks to everyone (that's more than 100 of you!) who took the offer of the free promotion of Olverston Grange ...and Other Stories. It is really gratifying that my words will be read by so many people in the UK, US, Germany and Spain! Makes me feel so happy!

Now for something I've been wanting to post for a while...

How to enjoy a party (for the English)

So. You've been invited to a party. How do you prepare?

1) What to wear? If you're a woman then you will need to acquire a cheap copy of whatever your favourite actress was wearing in a magazine a couple of months ago. That is not important. What is important is you buy shoes that will cripple you inside of two hours. Without this important accessory you will not have a reason to complain about spilled beer and broken glass on the dancefloor when you remove said shoes. If you're a man you will, of course, wear what your wife/girlfriend has prepared for you. If you're single then whatever smells clean(ish) will do.  

2) Arrive "fashionably late". It makes no difference that your appearance (or lack thereof) is of no difference to just about everyone in the room. You heard the phrase with regards to movie stars once, so it must be de rigeur, right? Unfortunately everybody else is applying the same tactic with the result that the first 45 minutes the host feels foolish and unloved but that's a good thing! We're English and no-one can enjoy their moment in the spotlight.

3) Complain about the beer. You have a local pub and drinking anywhere else feels like cheating on your partner. Worse, really. If that girl in accounts would look at you twice then you would cheat far more happily than enjoying a pint somewhere other than your regular haunt.

4) Dancing. On no uncertain terms dance before the buffet.

5) Buffet. After a hesitant and insincere speech that begins with "I'd like to thank everyone for coming...." and ends with "the buffet is now open" food will be served. Irrespective of whether it's a few sweaty cheese sandwiches or a feast of Bacchanalian standards you MUST NOT leave your seat unless any of the following conditions are met:
a) A minute passes without anyone approaching the food
b) A queue so long that you have to wait over five minutes to reach the vol-au-vents has formed.
c) There is no food left. This is an excellent opportunity to complain.

6) Dancing. You have been fed so dancing is now obligatory but only when two conditions are met:
a) You are so drunk that the very concept of rhythm and co-ordination is beyond you.
b) The DJ plays YMCA.

7) The DJ. It is your duty as an Englishman to belittle and annoy the poor sap playing the music all night then act like they're your best friend when you want 'the best song ever' played. Your choice, of course, is NOT the best song ever - it is the B-side to a one hit wonder from the 1970s that no-one in the room knows. Well, we can't have all that dancing can we?

8) Last orders. Despite drinking enough to sink a small flotilla you would like another (possibly two) pints. It it therefore VITAL you ignore the call for last orders at the bar.

9) Time at the bar. When time is called and the bar staff begin to clear down for the night, this is the time to order more alcohol. This provides another excellent opportunity for complaining when service is refused.

10) You've survived the night. As you leave the building with a stolen helium balloon and your necktie around your head, you can be sure that you will NEVER go to another party.*

You have survived a party. You will have earned bonus points if you have sat all night with your arms folded, ignoring your partner with stoic indifference.

*Until next time...

Follow me on Twitter @GeordieWriter
Join the Blue Jackets on Facebook
Read The Fallen each week for free

Olverston Grange on Amazon UK, USA

Blue Jackets on Amazon
Thursday's Child: Blue Jackets Part 3 UK, USA
Growth Spurt: Blue Jackets Part 2 UK, USA 
Induction: Blue Jackets Part 1 UK, USA        
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Black Dogs and pirates...

02/08/2012

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I find myself wondering from time to time about this blog. What is it for? Is it a promotional tool? A diary? A confessional?


What I had hoped was that I would find my readership and be able to talk with them. Being able to talk to authors has always given me a buzz but maybe that's just me. Even if it is I'm still going to tweet @neilgaiman!

One thing I do know about the site is that I am not going to hide behind a fiction. I'll save that for my stories, thank you very much. I have been upfront and honest about my medical conditions and as such I have no shame in telling you that my depression reared its head and mixed me quite badly for a few days.

I found myself in a bleak place, one I thought I had left behind for good. It just goes to show - if you're not vigilant, the black dog can bite.

I started pulling out of the gloom yesterday afternoon and by early evening I was looking through Duotrope for open anthologies that I could write something for. I found one that was to a first line prompt and began to write without an idea or plan as to what I was going to create.

It wasn't until I was about three paragraphs into the (as yet untitled) story that I realised what I was writing. I finished it off in about 45mins (only 1000 words) and it is currently in my 'cooling down' folder before I go back to correct/rewrite as necessary. I felt good - on a high. It has been some time since I have written to prompt and the feeling was both familiar and exciting.

Then I opened Facebook and things took a downward turn.

Lorrie Struiff (a fellow author - check her stuff out) had posted about a site that was offering to 'lend' eBooks for free. I decided to check to see if my material was available on the site and sure enough it was. I was angry to say the least.

I have made my books available to lend through Amazon. I am all for the lending of books and have been since the tender age of 8 when my Dad's friend entrusted his copies of Lord of the Rings trilogy to me while he was working abroad. So the concept of loaning a book out is very natural to me. What the site does, however, is circumvent Amazon's (and presumably Barnes&Noble's) lending system. This has several effects on me. I would hope to be able to turn writing into a full time career but the actions of sites like this one make that less likely.

There is a sense that if a book is available on a digital format it is somehow worth less than a paper copy of the same words. People cite the costs of producing a book as a justification for the higher price of a physical book and use that as an argument that electronic books should be very cheap or indeed free!

Does the author not deserve payment because of the chosen delivery medium? Does the proof reader not deserve a wage for going through the manuscript letter by letter? Does the publisher not deserve an income for taking the initial risk of putting the book out there in the first place? How about the cover artist? Do they have to draw for free?

Of course they do! is the only sensible answer. The manufacturing costs of a book reach far wider than the price of pulped wood and some ink.

Please support authors by buying from an outlet that does their part in supporting them (or go find a great second hand shop - I'm all for that too ;) )


But now the pirates are being handled, the black dog is in its kennel and I am back on an even keel I think I'll make a cuppa and put some words down on paper (well... LCD screen but you know what I mean!)

Follow me on Twitter @GeordieWriter
Join the Blue Jackets on Facebook
Read The Fallen each week for free

Olverston Grange on Amazon

Blue Jackets on Amazon
Thursday's Child: Blue Jackets Part 3 UK, USA
Growth Spurt: Blue Jackets Part 2 UK, USA 
Induction: Blue Jackets Part 1 UK, USA           

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