Crazy, mad, exciting times

I'm not talking about when I first met my husband, which this title could describe just as easily, but about the last few weeks.

I think people split quite neatly, sometimes. Those who like marmite, those who don't. Those, like me, who make lists, and those, like my husband, who don't. Actually, the hubby does have a 'to do' list on his iGoogle page. It has two items on it. 'Make a million pounds' and 'Sort out photos on computer'. I love this difference in scale. Personally, I am a total sad list making person, and my lists have recently exploded, what with articles and press and events, a new blogging project and all the other things associated with the release of Starfishing. But it's also partly because I keep setting myself extra things to do. It's like I can't sit still.

The National Academy of Writing has been interesting recently. We've had a good number of masterclasses but, possibly the climax, was when our president, Melvyn Bragg, received an honorary doctorate from Birmingham City University and put some time aside to speak to our students afterwards. It was a small, intimate session, and Lord Bragg had a definite message about the editorial process, and the need for some real, honest voices to help you grow and improve as a writer. I'm hoping it hit home. Our students are doing well, with lots of publication and competition credits, but there's always room for one person to say 'find someone you can trust who will be honest with you.'

Sometimes it seems like it's the most crazy, mad, exciting times that bring out the writing in me and now is no exception. Despite it being the most crazy, mad time to do it, I have also started my next big project. And that's exciting.

A thousand words a day...

It's just a good number...

A friend of mine who had been struggling to finish a novel for a while, and had started and stalled with several projects, suddenly overcame the block simply by setting herself this target; a thousand words a day.

I'm going to sound sickening, I'm sure, when I say I've never really had writers' block. I've always managed to write what I've needed to without setting myself targets. I've been able to go when it flowed and do enough to make up for those days when I'm only fit for editing. But talking to my friend made me wonder if perhaps I should try this thousand word target and see how it felt, for research if nothing else.

And, I have to say, it works. A thousand words. It's only about three pages, A4, double spaced. It's not that intimidating. Type for a bit, type for a bit more. Add a word, repeat times a thousand. A couple of scenes. About a third of a chapter. When you're rolling, you can knock it out in ten minutes.

A thousand words a day and you have a full length novel or, at least, a draft of one in a few months. That's pretty darn good.

So there you go. You got writers' block? Dr Monaghan prescribes a thousand words a day. Unless it's something viral, that should do the trick :)

I hope to post from NYC. See you there.

Nicola

Starfishing, across the universe...

So, the news from the coalface is that my editor is more or less happy with my latest draft. Perhaps some polishing, and she has a few questions, but no major work. Yay! The second novel is almost out of the way :)

I said it was all over bar the shouting. Perhaps this is where the shouting begins.

The image here is work in progress for the jacket. It's all moving along nice and fast now. I wasn't sure about this at first, but it's growing on me.

I went to see Irvine Welsh at Bookslam in West London last night. He was class as ever. Funny and entertaining and he 'did the voices'. Chad always wants me to 'do the voices'. There aren't many to do from The Killing Jar that are far away from the narrator's Nottingham voice, so coming from Nottingham myself I can pull it off. The Essex and American accents in Starfishing are going to provide me with a bit more of a challenge methinks. Help!

Happy Friday.

Nicola

All over but the shouting...

I finished Starfishing today. Well, I say I finished Starfishing, and that is not really true. I finished my latest draft of Starfishing. My editor and then the Chatto copy editor have yet to get their sticky hands on it, so there will be more work to do, no doubt. In fact, even painting it this way is slightly misleading. I've just printed it out and will be reading it one more time tonight and making more changes before I email it to Poppy tomorrow.

Will this madness never end?

And the strangest thing of all happened a couple of days ago. The book appeared on Amazon, available for pre-order. A book available for pre order that isn't even finished yet? What a weird world we live in.

I am looking forward to having a normal life again, to keeping more normal hours, to being able to socialise with friends and watch DVDs with my husband.

Blogger rules

So, I've moved my news page over to Blogger. This is for two main reasons. I was going to use MySpace, but they once deleted my whole account and, once bitten and all that. The second is that blogger rocks. It just does. Without wanting to be too disgustingly sycophantic, it's so easy to set up an account and post, and make it look pretty and professional. So here I am.

My second novel is going to be finished by the end of next week. I promised my editor this and, at the time, I did wonder if I was being a little ambitious. I'd had a workshop on the first thirty thousand words last weekend and there were so many points for discussion that I thought my head might explode. I wasn't quite sure how I could revise the novel and make it work.

But this morning, in the bath, I had absolute and divine inspiration. It came from nowhere as I read Come Closer by Sara Gran. I don't think it had anything to do with the book, though it's a great book. Still, it came, and I jumped out of the bath, all wet and inspired and rather archimedian, if that's a word, and wrote it all down. And now I know this book is going be all right.

If you haven't read Come Closer then do. It's the best book I've read for ages and ages. Thanks Maria for the recommendation.

Now I just have to write a story for the Bridport Prize - I've bought a postal order so I have to enter. That and write the long short story for Five Leaves Press. It's going to be called The Okinawa Dragon. I am most excited about being in a series with John Harvey and Stephen Booth, that has gotta be good.

Events this week: Tuesday 12th is very busy. At 3:30pm you'll find me in Waterstone's on New Street in Birmingham, for a NAW masterclass on the art of suspense led by Ken Follett. Then I'm off down to the Canal, to interview Mick Scully about his new book of gritty stories Little Moscow. Another recommend, great tight writing exploring the Brum underworld. Scary stuff, but my kind of thing. If you're anywhere near Birmingham and fancy coming along see the Tindal Street Press website for details. Next month, I'm doing my thing at the the Harrogate Old Peculiar Crime Writing Festival, so advanced warning on that. In fact, the above mentioned brilliant Nottingham crime writers will be fighting for a prize there too. How cool is that?

Right, moff to write them words, innit?

Nicola