Mick’s Musings – Better Late Than Never

My first post for a couple of weeks. Better late than never – hopefully that’ll mean my blog boss won’t tell me off too much.

The reason for which is simple; I’ve been desperately putting the finishing touches to getting my one page synopsis down from a page and a half. I could easily write this post which wasn’t what I had planned, but let’s see where this actually does end up. So, welcome folks, step right this way for the Magical Mystery (Post) Tour. No buses, no Walruses, but perhaps plenty of flying pigs!

Please include a one page synopsis – only 6 words, a nice small sentence. Cue pulling out of hair, opening of that bottle of wine you swore you’d keep for that special occasion, making sure the fridge (it is hot at the moment) is full of your favourite chocolate – Milky Way Stars here please (any sponsors out there?). Now, pull out all those notes you have of what’s actually happening in your story and – SWEAR as loudly as you can. Who the heck decided this was a good idea???

Now, settle back and eat chocolate and drink wine until it comes out of your ears, you fall down and decide that yes, this is a good idea. You are now ready to condense your lovingly crafted story into one little page of paper (ok, screen). Sound easy? Of course it’s not. My latest is just under a page and a half and that was difficult enough – but it’s a nice page and a half. Wish it could stay at that length, but that’s the rules and this has to be ready to go out in three days time. So, now you know how I spent this lovely weekend, but if I want to become a published author, this is a cross to bear willingly.

That’s the rant over and I feel much better. Thank you to all of you who stayed with me.

What I really wanted to say, was to send a huge thank you to all those of you whom I met for the first time at the recent RNA Conference and of course to those of you I’ve got know previously since being fortunate enough to join. It was only my second time, but already it is right up there with the highlights of each year and I’m very much looking forwards to London next year. Personally, I had about as successful a time as was possible without the fabled miracle of being told, ‘yes!!! Gods yes! You’re exactly what we’ve been looking for all our years. Please, here’s £xx,0000 and a two book contract.’ One would like to see the whole thing after it comes back from the New Writer’s Scheme and I’ve picked myself up off the floor from crying my eyes out, and made the advised changes (hopefully not a complete re-write) and another’s happy to see the first three chapters. I think I’ll wait to do that until it comes back too. Another is happy to see the first chapter again once a few things have been changed – again, I’ll wait to send that out.

So, better than last year and still more than I could have reasonably hoped for. Especially as the one who wants to see the whole thing, was the one I nearly decided I wouldn’t go and see as I didn’t think what I’d written would fit their publishing house. Shows how much I know eh! And the best thing of all, I wasn’t the only one who had similar stories to tell from the Birmingham branch of the RNA.

I’ll close by putting in a shameless plug for my friend (hopefully not humping the gun there) Janice Preston who’s book ‘Mary and the Marquis’ has just been published by Mills and Boon (Historical). My heartiest congratulations and I hope to join you in the published field before too long.

Every fortnight, Mick will be chatting about his experience as a male author in the romantic genre. Mick is a forty-something member of the Romantic Novelists Association, New Writers Scheme. He lives in Northamptonshire and is the proud keeper of a cat bent on world domination. When he’s not trying to write books, Mick has a deep-seated love of reading that he’s brought from his teens to the current day with no signs of waning. He’s also mad on the music of the Beach Boys and enjoys the theatre and humouring his Manchester United supporting wife. Mick can be followed on Twitter.

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Laura

I'm Laura. I started Novel Kicks back in 2009 as I wanted a place to discuss books and writing - two loves of my life. As someone who has anxiety, these two things give me, and I am sure countless others, a much needed escape.
There is a monthly book club, writing exercises, prompts, reviews, author interviews, competitions and guest posts. I cover many genres and I hope there is something for everyone.
I grew up by the sea in Dorset and currently live in Poole with my husband, Chris and three cats. I love writing and have a BA (Hons) in Creative Writing from Falmouth University. I am writing my first book. If only I could stop pressing delete. Chris has threatened to stop it from working. Haha.
I have always loved creative writing since I was in first school and would very much like to meet my teacher, Miss Sayers, to say thank you for all the encouragement she gave me then.
When not writing, I love reading, cats, Disney, singing (I can't sing but this doesn't stop me,) and falling into a good TV show or film. If I could step into any fictional world, it would be amongst the characters in ABC's Once Upon a Time.
I love reading many genres and discovering new authors.