My Writing Ramblings: Keeping a Writing Journal
I can’t believe how quickly this week has gone. I can’t believe we’re already into the second week of March. Time seems to be going doubly fast at the moment. My shifts at work have had a little bit of a say in that I guess. Five, twelve hour shifts in a row does have a tendency to suck my time away. As a result, I have not got as much done this week as I had hoped but no matter. It’s a new week and a new to-do list.
Due to work, I’ve only managed to do a couple of days on preparation and planning of my novel. Going by the fact that I wasn’t managing anything previously, it’s a large step. I am seeing it as a positive. One thing I have been enjoying this week is my writing journal. I have always tried to jot down my ideas for things when I think about them. I do this mostly because I don’t trust myself to remember it (and that has happened more times than I care to admit.)
About a year ago, I did a writing course who encouraged the students to keep a writing journal. It was one of the elements of the course that I most enjoyed (and another excuse to go out and buy a new notebook.) Once I had finished the course though, I got out of the habit of keeping one.
by 
Writing Room: Working on Plot
Tuesday 8th March 2016: Working on Plot.
For today’s writing room, write down eight major plot points on your current work in progress, (you can use a published novel if you prefer,) onto individual cards and lay them in the current order.
Once you’ve put them in order, spend five minutes moving them around and putting them in different orders.
Has this improved the plot sequence of your novel/story? Is there anything you need to add or take away?
by Author Interview: Alison May
I’m very pleased to be welcoming author, Alison May to Novel Kicks today. Hello Alison. Thank you for joining me.. For people who are new to your books, can you tell me a little about your novels and writing style?
I write romantic comedies. When I’m being flippant I say I write books about twenty and thirty-somethings getting drunk and making bad life choices. When I’m not being flippant I try to make it sound more serious and important than that, but really it’s mainly drinking and bad decisions.
What is your typical writing day like?
Morning: Get up. Wonder about putting proper clothes on. Eat toast in pyjamas. Accidentally get sucked into watching episodes of The Gilmore Girls I’ve seen about eighteen times before. Get cross with self and actually turn laptop on. Answer email and look at social media (which is totally definitely work and not procrastinating at all). Realise it’s lunchtime and resolve to definitely do better in the afternoon.
Afternoon: Much like the morning, but hopefully ending up with a phase of frantic writing of words which will almost certainly turn out to be terrible.
Where do you normally like to write? Do you normally like to write in silence or surrounded by noise?
I mostly write at home in my tiny purple office, but I try to mix things up, so I’ll turn music on and off over the course of the day, or I’ll move with my laptop and write in bed or on the dining table for a bit. I do that because I’m a huge procrastinator, and I find that changing the environment can trick my brain out of faffing and get it to refocus on whatever it’s supposed to be doing. For the same reason I sometimes drag myself to the local library (The Hive in Worcester – it’s very big and very gold). I usually go to the library if I’ve got one big task that I’m procrastinating at home, and set myself a rule about when I’m allowed to leave the library eg. ‘You can’t go home until you’ve drafted that short story’ or ‘You can’t go home until you’ve finished reading that draft.’
What is your process like in regard to planning, daily word count and editing?
It’s different for every book to be honest. For my first novel I just wrote 2000 words a day with no planning at all until I had a first draft. It was an awful first draft, but it had the right number of words at least. Now it varies – I plan more than I used to, but I invariably abandon the plan as soon as I start writing. I sometimes find notes I made at the start of a book and I can barely recognise which book they were supposed to relate to.
by Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: Genie in a Bottle
Friday 4th March 2016: Genie in a Bottle.
Fiction Friday is our weekly writing prompt. The aim is to write for a minimum of five minutes and then keep going for as long as you can. Once you’ve finished, don’t edit, just post in the comments box below.
Today’s Prompt: Your character finds a genie in a bottle. He is granted the usual three wishes. He can only spend the wishes on himself and he must make them. He can’t just decide to change his mind and put the genie back in the bottle. However, there is also a further catch. For every piece of fortune your character bestows upon himself, it means misfortune for someone else.
by Blog Tour: Review and Win a Signed Copy of The Choice by Nicholas Sparks
READ IT BEFORE YOU SEE IT: WIN A SIGNED COPY OF THE CHOICE BY NICHOLAS SPARKS…THIS COMPETITION HAS NOW CLOSED.
I’m very happy to be part of the blog tour for the film tie-in release of The Choice by Nicholas Sparks. I’ve reviewed the book below but first, thanks to the lovely people at Sphere, we have a signed copy of The Choice to give away to one lucky winner.
Travis Parker has it all: a good job, loyal friends and his dream home in North Carolina. The last thing he’s looking for is a serious relationship. That is, until Gabby Holland moves in next door.
Despite Travis’s attempts to be friendly, the alluring redhead simply will not warm to him. But Travis feels compelled to get closer to her, leading them both down a road where they will face tough decisions, shocking revelations and devastating consequences.
How to enter:
Comment on this post by the end of day on Thursday 10th March 2016. I will then pick a winner at random using random.org and announce on Friday 11th March 2016. UK and Ireland only. (The winner will also be contacted via e-mail so don’t forget to check your junk folder as well as your inbox. The prize is coming directly from the publisher so please do allow at least fourteen days for your prize to arrive.)
Good Luck.
My verdict on The Choice by Nicholas Sparks.
If you’ve been following my blog for a while then you will know that I am a huge fan of Nicholas Sparks so I was excited when Sphere asked me to be a part of their blog tour for the release of the film tie-in for The Choice. It was not one I had read before.
Travis is a popular, successful guy who is not looking for love and is seemingly happy with his life. He doesn’t feel that he has a lot lacking until Gabby Holland moves in to the house next door. Gabby also isn’t looking for a new relationship. She has a boyfriend and a job she enjoys. However, after spending the weekend getting to know each other (after some reluctance from Gabby,) Travis soon realises that Gabby is someone he can’t be without and that he has fallen in love with her.
by Book Club
