words ‘n stuff

Changing reality

November 19, 2009

Everyone with more than a passing familiarity with the publishing industry knows that writing is a tough gig. For most authors, it’s almost impossible to make writing books your primary job because the income just isn’t enough to live on. “No one writes for the money,” we are told, but there is a dream that [...]

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A self-publishing project to inspire

October 29, 2009

I’m still trying to figure out exactly how to do my self-publishing project for Revenge of the Book of Hay. I’m constantly riddled with doubt: Is it going to be good enough? Will enough people be interested? How will I convince people to support me given I have no track record? What exciting things could [...]

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Reading aloud

September 23, 2009

I have always loved to read aloud. (I think it’s something to do with loving the sound of my own voice. Arf.) When I met Kevin, I was delighted to find out that he likes reading aloud too, so we frequently read to each other before we go to sleep. I love it. It’s a [...]

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Finally spotting the blindingly obvious

September 22, 2009

Sometimes, I get stuck on projects and have no idea why. Then, like a log jam suddenly freeing up, I have an idea that sets everything flowing again. I’ve been stuck fast on Revenge of the Books of Hay for longer than makes me happy, mainly because I hit a structural problem that my brain [...]

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Book Oven update

September 18, 2009

It’s been a while since I’ve mentioned Book Oven, the publishing start-up that I have been working with, but great progress has been made behind the scenes. We have removed the need for an invitation, for one, so you can now just pop along to BookOven.com and sign up without any sort of code or [...]

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Yeti shaving and the project kill file

September 16, 2009

You know about yak shaving, right? All those countless little tasks you tell yourself you have to do before you can get started on the thing you really need/want to do? “Oh, I would start writing my new book but I need to buy a nice pen and a notebook first, and then I need [...]

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Who’s the hero?

May 15, 2009

I haven’t worked much on The Revenge of the Books of Hay lately, mainly because I’ve been insanely busy with moving house, travel and work. It’s nice to be busy with paying work after the crappy year last year was, but it hasn’t left me with much mental space to think about, well, anything much. [...]

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Revised opening scene

March 17, 2009

I’m revising almost everything I’ve already written for The Revenge of the Books of Hay, and adding in a lot more. The total word count currently stands at 25,112, which is about 20,000 more words than I originally thought this story would bear. Whilst the backstory has blossomed, the stuff set in the present day [...]

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Planning ahead

March 14, 2009

I know that this might seem like jumping the gun a little bit, but I’m thinking about what to do with The Revenge of the Books of Hay when it’s done. From the reading I’ve been doing, novellas aren’t a popular format with agents and publishers, and given I don’t exactly have anything else ready [...]

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A question of balance

March 10, 2009

I managed to cram in a bit of writing last night, much to my delight. I’ve had very little opportunity to write recently, and with a house move on the cards, it’s going to get harder to find the time to write. But I managed and even though I only got 570 words down, it [...]

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Rain on the green

March 1, 2009

First draft of opening scene from Revenge of the Books of Hay. Comment at will. Ernest Scrimshire pulled the nape of his jacket up over his head. He hesitated on the bookshop doorstep as the heavy oak door shut behind him, then plunged into the pelting rain. The remains of the castle loomed up behind [...]

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Are cliffhangers necessary?

February 28, 2009

I’ve been thinking a lot about my style of writing, and about what’s missing from my current draft of The Revenge of the Books of Hay. I read Cory Doctorow‘s Little Brother recently. It is quite probably the best thing that Cory has ever written and definitely one of the best books I’ve read in [...]

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Being solitary with someone else

February 22, 2009

Earlier in the month, Vince blogged about Valentine’s Day and being single and writing: Now, it was only the other day that I realised how many things I’ve deferred on the grounds of being single. I have films I’ve bought that have gone unwatched. I’ve never bothered to take my driving test. Boxes full of [...]

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Writing as sculpture

January 15, 2009

I’ve nearly finished the first draft of The Revenge of the Books of Hay, a couple of months later than I had intended to, but so it goes. I’m currently writing one of the very last scenes, a big showdown between two of the key characters, and whilst I was writing the other night I [...]

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How to get published

November 17, 2008

Last week, Kev and I went to a quiet little event at One Alfred Place with publisher Alan Samson and author Mark Billingham, which was timely in more ways than one. Both Alan and Mark were interesting speakers and I could have quite happily sat down with them and grilled them at length, particularly Alan [...]

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