Creative drafting?

So, I entered the Novelicious competition I mentioned in my last post. Eek. Now I have to wait three weeks to find out if I made it into the top 20 and, even if I didn't, I'm looking forward to reading the shortlisted entries and voting for my favourite! 

I also sent off another submission today. So now I'm waiting on three agencies... I changed my synopsis and cut out some just discovered superfluous info - Query shark is your go-to blog for what to put in and what to leave out. Be ruthless. You know, like a shark. 

Speaking of honing your writing, at the Abingdon Writers/Ali Shaw event last week, I was talking to Ali about the editing process and what a complete bore it can become. Turns out, there is a way to avoid the drudgery of what can feel like a completely non-creative part of the whole novel writing process. Leave some creativity back when writing your first draft. In other words, don't feel like you need to cram in every single character trait or scene setting as you get down the rough idea of your novel. If you leave some of the creative elements to subsequent drafts, you can prolong all the fun parts of writing, combining them with the editing process. 

So, your novel writing time line might look like this:

• Draft one - get the blasted ideas down onto paper with a rough narrative arc and a good idea of your characters
• Draft two - concentrate on developing your characters and honing your dialogue until it reads like real (albeit far more interesting and dialled down versions of) conversation
• Draft three - focus on scene setting. Use colour, smell, sound, beautiful similes, etc
• Draft four - make sure there aren't any continuity issues and add in/remove scenes that will help keep the pace of your novel moving. Check for 'show don't tell' incidences
• Draft five - final read through for grammar, spelling, silly mistakes, etc

Hurrah - the creative process is alive and well throughout ALL your drafts. Not that I have tried this method but it sounds as if it would work and, if you have ever drafted and redrafted until your eyes bled and you had no fingerprints left, perhaps it's worth a go just to keep you going on those lonely, miserable April nights when you would quite frankly rather be watching Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares or even (whisper it) *Made in Chelsea (or similarly awful 'reality' tv). 

I think I might try it with second MS, which is a complete mess as it started off as something entirely different (I blame NaNoWriMo) to what it is now becoming.  No doubt it will go through several incarnations before I settle on what it should be (which, for me, is wherever my main character wants to take it). 

Oh and you should all potter on over to this lady because she is very, very funny (although you might need to have kids to appreciate her properly). The Chardmeister thought he was going to have to section me I was laughing so much when I read her blog. Laughing so much I was crying. Proper nose running, mascara tracking down my cheeks crying with laughter. Which is good because that means I don't have to do any stomach exercises for another three weeks now. Yay Relentless Laundry lady!! 

*Disclaimer: I don't actually watch Made In Chelsea or any of those so-called reality tv shows. I mean, I like my trashy tv but it needs to be full of glamorous types doing crazy and unrealistic things like burying step fathers in shallow graves or shouty chefs cursing at stubborn and idiotic restaurant owners...

Ali Shaw on writing groups and fairy tales

So, last night was the Abingdon Writers' event with the very lovely Ali Shaw (and his even lovelier wife, Iona). 

I must admit, I was a little worried it would be a bit of a flop, mostly because I've never organised an author event before and, as well as not having one friggin' clue what I was supposed to be doing, I've had rather a lot going on recently. In the end though, we had a pretty good turn out (thanks mostly to Mostly Books and their publicity drive) and I think it went pretty well. 

Ali was a very laid back, interesting speaker and we were treated to an impromptu mini-lecture on fairy tales and folklore which, with the recent Hollywood trend for fairy tales, felt very current and en vogue. In fact, Ali said he drew inspiration from Hans Christian Andersen for 'The Girl With Glass Feet' and traditional, mostly long-forgotten folklore for 'The Man Who Rained'.  Which, I must say, does show in his writing which is full of lyrical prose, beautifully imagined description and melancholy, damaged characters with more than a little fairy tale magic sprinkled throughout. 

Ali read some of his latest book - a segment which I think showcases his style and imagination perfectly. As I said on my guest blog over at Mostly Books, if you smile at the thought of sunbeams turning into canaries (and, really, you'd have to have a black heart not to), then Ali's books are for you!

We also managed to lure some audience members into hopefully signing up to join Abingdon Writers helped greatly by Ali extolling the virtues of belonging to a writing group. For me, it's the support and encouragement (and once arm twisting but I deserved that...) that is so incredibly helpful. Writing is, as everyone knows, a very solitary thing to do, so being able to talk to fellow writers going  through the same angst about a plot line or a character who just won't behave is really important for your sanity.  Plus, as Sally Poyton (an Abingdon Writer) pointed out - being part of a writers group isn't just for you, it's for your family and friends too. 

No longer will they have to fight the urge to tell you that they just can't care any more about whether your MC is being too whingey here or too bossy there. They won't have to smother the desire to tell you that they definitely do not want to hear the 88th re-write of your first chapter. And they won't have to pretend they've just gone through a tunnel on the motorway when you call them to harass them about finishing your 115,000 word manuscript and giving you some feedback (honest but only about the good bits please). No, you can delight your new writing buddies with all that stuff now. Hurrah for writing groups! 

Guest blogger - get me!

So, I have a guest blog over at Mostly Books where I talk about forming a writing group and the event that said writing group, Abingdon Writers are holding this week as part of Abingdon Arts Festival 2012. An event with award winning author Ali Shaw,  no less! 

You may know him as the author of 'The Girl With Glass Feet' and the recently published 'The Man Who Rained'. He's a wonderfully imaginative author who writes modern day fairy tales in lyrical prose. His characters are always intriguing and a little bit damaged, the imagery he uses is sublime and the ideas (sunbeams that turn into canaries, people that are literally made of weather and girls that slowly turn to glass) are original and envy-evoking (for a writer). 

If you're around and about the South Oxfordshire area this Thursday night, come and hear Ali talking about his road to publication whilst having a glass of wine (you and him!) and then chat to Ali and the Abingdon Writers afterwards. We'll be at the Abingdon Library at 7.30pm and tickets are £4 (with £3 redeemable against a purchase on the night!) available from Mostly Books or on the door on the night.