So my very 1st Blog – do I actually know what I am doing? I enjoy writing and this is the perfect forum..so here goes readers…..
They say you must capture the reader within the 1st few lines of your writing, transport their mind to a place where their imaginative wheels start rolling, keep them absorbed in what they reading, so engrossed that they do not want to put the book down and curious as to where it will lead.
So I’ve written 54 words so far – has it done that? Of course it does help if you have been published, that people actually recognise you (The Author) from your written work. Not just a nobody that loves writing so much, that she or he (no room for sexism here) will try to get a book published just because she or he thinks it’s readable? You must (if you are a serious writer) write 200 words a day minimum (they say), doesn’t matter if it doesn’t make sense (well not strictly speaking) if you hadn’t edited it to some degree and sent it in you would have it back on your doorstep quick smart. I wrote essays at school and was passionate about them, whilst other kids almost vomited at the thought of putting pen to paper.
“It’s not hard,” said I, trying to convince them. They didn’t listen; the mere thought of having to put pen to paper (in those days) was terrifying. Imagine going on a overseas holiday (go on you know you want to) you have boarded the aeroplane and about to immerse all your senses in a country completely foreign. What will be waiting for you? What journeys of the mind and body will you experience? I feel writing is akin to a holiday, you start to pour out words and those words lead to more words and pretty soon you have sentence, a paragraph a page! It’s an adventure of sorts one which gives a new experience. It can be trying, fun, hard, battling, rewarding and all you know is that you have to do it. It’s a voyage within your mind that you have to put on paper.
What sort of story constitutes having a publishable book however? It’s simply in the eye of the reader; do they like horror, science fiction, drama, murder, mystery, romance, fiction, and non-fiction? Would they be happy reading a book from someone who in some peoples minds ‘prattles on’?
I have dabbled in writing on and off for years. To be published? Hmm well I’m proud to say that l have had a short story published in a compilation book (lots of stories put together) and was paid a one off fee for the privilege of having my words in print. Not that one can earn a great living off writing unless of course you happen to be Rudyard Kipling, Tolstoy or T S Elliot (hmm let’s think a little more current then) JK Rowling, Patricia Cornwall, Anne Rice (she’s the one who wrote the Vampire Chronicles). Have l managed to keep your attention thus far?
I am a writer therefore l must write, it’s in my blood. I felt momentarily like JK Rowling (yes it was that exciting for me) when advised l was to be published. I do have a larger manuscript out there tossed amongst a pile of thousands of other unread manuscripts from unknown authors, waiting to be recognised or in fact even read. I have sent it off to various Agents “Sorry it’s not our Genre” (for some reason I feel that must be said with plum in mouth). Publishers have returned with “You have an honest, down to earth and humorous style of writing, but as we receive hundreds of manuscripts” (you can guess the rest can’t you) lt’s comparable to waiting to hear back from a job interview. You then wait for a phone call to say ‘Yay you got the job’ or the rejection letter (though now a days you are lucky to get an email response). Us writers experience the same thing; we pour our heart and soul out, our brains racing with a million words per minute, our frustration on days of ‘what the hell do I write now’. The nights when we lie there and think of a brilliant line or paragraph and must have pen and paper at the bedside to scribble it down before we forget it. We finally think we have written something outstanding that a Publisher will phone us immediately on reading it, offering to publish and that we (us writers collectively) are the best thing since sliced bread. I am now looking at E Publishing – how the world has changed.
The harsh reality is (us writers) type on a daily, weekly sometimes monthly basis (we’re actually compelled to do so). We do spell check, we revise, we read it over and over till we have it memorised. We even may have it professionally edited (just to tidy it up the loose bits, making sure the paragraphs flow, the phrasing, the overall (let’s try and make the damn thing look professional). We cannot use unnecessary larger words, just to prove we know them. Then again we should illustrate adequate knowledge of the English language. We print our copies, double line spacing (if you please and loose leave, don’t go stapling the thing together as that will only annoy them more). We wait a minimum of 6 months sometimes up to 18 months and each day we walk to the letterbox hoping to have received “The Letter”…..
Ramblings From A Mum 