How I Write a Book – Step 2

On December 21, 2010 · In Getting Published, The Writing Coach, This Writer's Life

As I’m snowed in with the kids – no school – I can’t write fiction or edit as they are too distracting and keep asking me daft questions about food (daughter’s obsession) and trains (son’s), but I can blog! Lucky you, eh?!

This is the second in the occasional series on How I Write a Book – part 1 was on ideas, characters etc. This one is on plotting and getting started. I’ll use The Shoestring Club as an example as it’s the book I’m working on at the moment.

Darn, my fingers are so cold I can hardly type – OK, quick hand heat on the aga and here we go.

Now first the disclaimer:
Every writer writes in a very, very different way. This is just the way I do it. And I’m certainly not suggesting it will work for everyone. It doesn’t even work for me sometimes! So take everything I say with a large sea rock of salt.

First comes 1/ The Initial Idea and 2/ The Characters or sometimes 1/ The Characters and 2/ The Idea
I will also know my genre and age group – easy choices for me – but maybe not for …

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On Making Yourself Cry

On December 6, 2010 · In The Writing Coach, This Writer's Life

On Making Yourself Cry (While Writing I Mean!) – Tales from a Blurry Eyed Writer

I often make myself cry when I am writing – and no, not because I’m stuck, or the writing’s not all it should be on that particular day (both which happen sometimes I’ll admit) but because I genuinely upset myself.

Writing Amy Green 4 was a tissue-fest. One of the main characters, Bailey, has a très sad back story and telling his tale got to me sometimes. And yes, I’m a bit softie most of the time anyway, I cry at a lot of things – films, telly, sad things people tell me. I think a lot of writers wear their hearts on their sleeves to be honest. You have to be able to emphasise and really feel what your characters feel on a daily basis or you can’t write good characters, it’s as simple as that. And life can be pretty tough sometimes – and even in books for young readers, you have deal with some seriously sad stuff. So no wonder we’re all so emotional, us writerly people.

This morning I wrote a chapter of The Shoestring Club, my adult book for 2012. …

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How I Write a Book – Step 1

On December 1, 2010 · In The Writing Coach, This Writer's Life

I’ve just realised I haven’t really blogged about how I write a book from start to finish – from the very first idea to the actual final manuscript. So using the book I’ve just finished, Ask Amy Green: Party Drama-rama (Amy 4) I’ll try to explain how I do this. It might take a couple of weeks as I’m talking details people! ‘Cos I’m that kinda gal. And ‘pologies if I come over all Amy while I’m writing this – she’s 13 and she loves twisting the ole Hiberno English to make it fun. Which is fun to write too. But more of that anon.

Now first the disclaimer:

Every writer writes in a very, very different way. This is just the way I do it. And I’m certainly not suggesting it will work for everyone. It doesn’t even work for me sometimes! So take everything I say with a large sea rock of salt!

1/ The Initial Idea
This is the number one question I get asked at events and in schools – ‘Where do you get your ideas?’

And it’s a very hard one to answer. If I’m talking to younger readers and writers of say under 14 …

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