The Joy of Rewriting

And So I Come to the Final Day I’m procrastinating. My book – The Shoestring Proposal (working title – The Shoestring Club is book 1, this is Shoestring book 2) - is one chapter away from completion. Yes, it’s only the first draft and a fairly loose one at that. Half way through writing it I changed all kinds of things: the name of one character, another character’s motivation, the age of a child. So it’s all up for grabs in the second draft.

After writing the book solidly since Thursday 3rd February (I keep a writing diary with daily output including a word count – it’s a way of staying motivated and it’s really interesting to read back over the entries too) I know exactly what I want the book to be, what I’m trying to say on the pages, how I want the reader to feel while reading it. I just have to re-write it now and craft it into the best novel it can be, the closest I can get to my vision of the book.

I love the rewrite stage. I love tinkering with scenes, making them stronger, cutting away the fat, leaving the good, lean stuff, the muscle if you like. Tightening the dialogue, making the characters BIGGER. Making sure each person’s dialogue is distinctive. It’s an exciting stage of the writing process and one that isn’t (as far as I know) taught in schools, which is a shame. The re-writing habit should start early.

A few weeks ago I was corresponding with a writer who wants desperately to be published. I asked her how long it took her to write her book. Nineteen days she said. I was impressed and slightly taken aback. She must have been going at it full tilt.

‘And the re-writes?’ I asked.

She seemed puzzled for a second. ‘The editing you mean?’ she said. ‘Oh, they’ll do that at the publishing house. I don’t have time for all that.’

I was about to explain how you might only get one shot to impress an editor or an agent etc etc, but I kept my mouth shut. She’s clearly a very busy woman!

Next week is the West Cork Literary Festival and I’m speaking to young readers about the Ask Amy Green books and also hosting a workshop, again for young readers. After that, my holiday proper begins. Two weeks to read, eat, sail, swim and read. Did I mention the reading? Monday’s post is all about the books I’m taking with me. After that, in August, I’m back on Ask Amy Green duty, writing book 5. I can’t wait! It’s all about a young Irish ballerina and is set in Dublin and Budapest. See – my job is so much fun!

Then, when I’ve written the first draft, it’s back to The Shoestring Proposal. I’ll read over the manuscript in hard copy, make copious notes and start rewriting, by hand in notebooks and also directly onto my laptop (shell pink Sony in case anyone’s interested). It won’t go near my agent or editor until I’ve done at least three rewrites. Then – probably half way through this process – my Ask Amy Green editorial notes will wing their way back to me and I’ll get stuck in to them quickly as that book is out next year. Shoestring 2 won’t be published until 2013. Phew!

But look at me now, still procrastinating. I’m due at the page but the honest truth is I don’t want to finish this book. I’ve had so much fun writing it. Typing The End means saying goodbye to Pandora and Jules and Iris and Bird and all the characters I’ve had so much fun writing about over the last 2 years. God knows what I’ll be like saying goodbye to Amy and Clover after 5 years! But such is the writing life. And it’s a good one.

Yours in writing,

Sarah XXX

PS Look out for the shiny new sarahwebb.ie website in September – it’s only beautiful! PPS My book is now finished - yes! *sniff, sniff*

The 21 Books I'm Taking On My Summer Holidays!

http://askamygreen.blogspot.com/ Link to the picture - for some reason it wouldn't work on this blog - apologies! I'll try again later.

This is the pile of books I’m taking on my summer holidays, whittled down from a much larger selection. I’ve been collecting them for months and I can’t wait to get stuck in. The best popular fiction, a Patrick Ness short story collection I’ve been meaning to read for ages, some YA fiction that’s coming out in the autumn, some non fiction, including Moneyball, about baseball (I love good sports books and films), and a couple of research books for my next novel.

The problem is, I only have three weeks! But I love having choice. Sometimes I’m not in the mood for anything too heavy, other times I want to get my teeth into something a bit more challenging (which is when I’ll pick up one of the YA books!). Different books for different moods.

My idea of a blissful holiday is this: quiet beach, sitting in the shade, reading while my children play in the sand or sail.

What books have you packed?

Yours in writing (and reading!),

Sarah XXX

I’m off to West Cork for most of July, so see you in August. Have a great month, hope you too get some good reading time in. I’ll be launching my band new website in September. But don’t worry, I’ll be continuing the Yours in Writing blog.

Book Festivals and What They Mean to Writers

I spent a good chunk of last weekend at the Dalkey Book Festival. There was a lovely atmosphere – lots of multi-coloured bunting slung across the streets, face painting, music – a very happy, party feel to the village. I grew up in Dalkey, near the quarry, and it’s a place very close to my heart. It’s wonderful to see such a vibrant, lively festival take over the streets.

On Saturday I hosted a writing workshop for children. Billed as for age 9+, I had a 5 year old and a 7 year old ‘writing’, or more accurately drawing pictures of what they wanted to say in their work (and very good they were too). And one very brave boy who was full of excellent ideas and didn’t seem to be at all phased to be flying solo amongst so many girls.

We did several fun exercises, concentrating on using your senses in your work – especially smell – which writers starting out don’t use half enough. Certain scents transport us to different times of our life, to other countries, to sad thoughts, to happy times.

On Sunday I spoke to Amy Green readers about ideas and inspiration, and we acted out a scene from the first Amy Green book, Boy Trouble. I had a lot of fun, and I hope they did too! Meeting readers is always a pleasure and makes my ‘day job’ worthwhile.

I also got to see some of my writer friends: Martina Devlin, Don Conroy, Niamh Sharkey, Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick, Judi Curtin, Conor Kostick and Sinead Moriarty. We had lunch together, chatted and caught up. It’s always lovely to talk to other writers, they truly understand the pressures and joys of living a writer’s life.

I also listened to Martina Devlin and John Waters speak about being ‘blow-ins’ in Dalkey, which was most interesting. I always learn something new at other writers’ talks and try to attend as many as I can. I greatly enjoyed Listowel Writers’ Week for that reason – and made sure to catch as many different authors and musicians as possible, from Joe Craig on the piano, to Joseph O’Connor with ‘his’ band, and Alice Sebold.

Writing can be a lonely occupation at times, and book festivals are a fantastic opportunity to get out and meet fellow readers and writers. Feeding the mind and the soul is always a good thing. And it reminds me how important books are in so many different peoples’ lives, which as a writer is heartening and inspiring to know.

I’m already looking forward to the West Cork Literary Festival in July – David Soul and Michael Morpurgo in particular. And the Mountains to Sea Festival in September in Dun Laoghaire with Oliver Jeffers, Patrick Ness, Meg Rosoff, Emma Donoghue and Edna O’Brien.

Yours in Writing,

Sarah XXX

Writing is Hard, But Not Writing is Even Harder

(I wrote this last Friday.) I should be writing my new novel, The Shoestring Proposal right now. But I’m not feeling great, I’m low on energy – in a word I’m grumpy. I’m finding it hard to settle to anything and all I want to do is to go back to bed and sleep.

But I can’t. Because I have to show up at work. If I don’t, the book won’t get done and I’ll get behind and I’ll get even more grumpy and fed up. So I’ve dragged myself to the computer and I’m now about to get back to writing. I’m at 60,000 words, so ¾ of the way there, and the final chapters are usually easier for me as I know my characters inside out by this stage of the story, and I also know how I want to end the book. Getting to that end will be the interesting bit.

Writing is not easy, especially when the only person forcing you to the desk is yourself. And sometimes it’s not a good idea to make yourself work when your heart isn’t in it, it can come across in the work. But today is different. I haven’t written for a whole week, and if I don’t write today I know I’ll feel guilty all weekend. I need to put in a good writing week next week, at least four days at the desk. And in order to do that I need to write something today, anything, to get me back on track and living in my book again. Not writing makes me twitchy and unbalanced, and it also makes me feel horribly guilty.

Full time writers have the luxury of more time at the desk. But in the case of genre fiction (and increasingly all kinds of fiction), writers have to produce at least one book a year. This year Melissa Hill produced two books – one romance and one crime. Last year I published four books – three for children, one for adults. It’s a busy, busy life and writing to a strict deadline can be stressful.

Writers also have other commitments – websites to run, blogs to write, Twitter and Facebook to upkeep, festivals to talk at, schools to visit, interviews to give (and during publication month, this increases x 100), emails to answer from readers, and the whole admin side of things – emails, letters and phone calls from editors, agents, banks, accountants . . . all the things that make up a normal working person’s life in fact. There is a huge (and increasing) amount of paperwork.

But here’s the thing – it’s not as hard as getting up at 5am to cook breakfasts in a café, or housekeeping in a hotel, or waitressing for a pittance, or spending all day on your feet in a bookshop, or minding young children, or trying to sell long distance telephone lines to people who slam down the phone on you – some of the jobs I’ve had before writing full time. Writing is mentally draining, yes, but you are your own boss, you are doing something you love, and the book world is full of interesting and passionate people, especially the children’s book world.

And above all I am hugely privileged to have readers who care enough to buy the books in the first place and then write to me, thanking me for giving them another story to get lost in. So for these reasons, I am going to give myself a good shake and turn up at the page. Because writing is hard, but not writing is even harder.

Yours in writing,

Sarah XXX

PS Despite everything, I managed 2,000 words and I feel much better for it – see, writing really can be magic.

The Importance of Character’s Names

I was in Listowel last week for the Writers’ Festival and I had a very interesting discussion with my popular fiction class about characters’ names. Often new writers don’t put enough thought or effort (or any thought or effort) into choosing names for their characters. Names are so important. Think how many hours/days/weeks people spend choosing names for their children. Names say a lot about us and our background. Some families have Christian names that have been passed down through the generations, like Colm, Sean or John. Surnames are equally important and say so much about a family. My mother was a Stanford. The male Stanfords were church men and academics. My grandfather’s name was William Bedell Stanford and he was a Professor of Classics at Trinity College, Dublin. I have an aunt called Danae, my mum is Melissa and my uncle, Gully. Strong names.

Make your character’s names mean something.

In the Amy Green books I’ve named each character carefully. Amy Green is everygirl – and her name reflects this I think as it’s an open, inclusive name. Many girls, including my own daughter, Amy-Rose, are called Amy. Clover Wildgust (an old surname I found on a gravestone), Amy’s rather mad 17 year old aunt, is a BIG character, so deserved a big name. Sylvie Wildgust, Clover’s sister and Amy’s mum, can be a bit wispy and overcome by life, I thought Sylvie suited her. Art Green is Amy’s dad, a strong, but at times selfish man. Shelly Lame, Art’s second wife, is in a word, lame!

The mean girls – the D4s – are Annabelle Hamilton, Nina Pickering, Sophie Piggott. Seth Stone is Amy’s boyfriend, Bailey Otis is Mills’s singer/surfer boyfriend.

In the new adult book, The Shoestring Club, out next spring, the main character is Julia Schuster, ‘Jules’ or Julia Boolia or Boolie, a lovable mess. Her (bossy older) sister is Pandora, and she has an eccentric granny called Bird. Arietty Pilgrim is Julia’s outspoken and unusual friend, who is originally from Trinidad and now works in Dublin Zoo. Again, all carefully chosen and I hope memorable and a little different.

There are so many wonderful names out there – go on, stretch yourself! Read gravestones, telephone directories, programmes from school concerts (great for children’s names – which change over time – Sophie is v popular at the moment for 7/8/9 year olds!) – all are invaluable resources for the writer.

Happy naming!

Yours in writing,

Sarah XXX

Do You Have a Writing Uniform?

I was once asked this during a school visit. It made me laugh. But I told the girl, yes, I do! I probably shouldn’t admit this to you guys because it sounds a little strange, but I have a writing uniform. On writing days I put on my uniform first thing in the morning – it’s like a statement of intent. OK, I guess I’ll have to describe it now, won’t I? Because like me, I know you’re curious about other people, a trait that unites most writers. My uniform is the opposite of glamorous. The main criteria - comfort, followed closely by warmth. We live in a Georgian house with leaky windows and I write mainly upstairs in my bedroom at a tiny wooden desk that I used to do my homework at as a child. I’ve written all my books at this desk; I guess it’s my good luck desk at this stage.

Last week I treated myself to a new writer’s uniform, but it’s basically exactly the same kit: light weight fleece hoody (yes, I have been known to put the hood up when I’m writing in the winter and my ears get cold) over a long sleeved T-shirt. My new fleece is dark pink – a very cheery colour. And then I have various black or navy tracksuit bottoms and yoga trousers – I vary these depending on the weather. Told you it wasn’t very glam! And no, I’m not posting a photo – that would be a step too far.

I also have to take off my watch before writing – it bothers my wrist. And any rings or bracelets. And I throw a rug over my legs – even in the middle of the summer I get cold sitting there for hours at my desk, and again, it’s comforting.

Every writer has their own ‘thing’ that gets them to the page. For some it’s coffee, for others it’s music. I know several of my friends have their own version of a writer’s uniform but I won’t out them! A few years ago I bought a good office chair and it was a great investment. It’s solid and heavy and makes me feel supported. And that’s pretty much it – uniform, Sony laptop, notebook, dictionary, pens, desk, chair – that’s all I need.

Have you found your own writerly comforts yet? I hope so. And do share if you also have a writing uniform!

Yours in writing,

Sarah XXX

Are You Writing Fit?

‘What’s that?’ Charlie says.We’re taking the short cut home from school, through the wood. It’s dark in here and the mouldy, damp leaves smell like rotten meat. ‘What’s what?’ I ask, stepping over a muddy patch and trying not to get my new white runners even filthier. Mum’s going to have enough of a fit already. It’s not my fault - you can’t play footie with the boys without getting your shoes a bit scuffed. He lowers his voice. ‘The rustling. I think there’s someone following us.’ A stick breaks and something moves in the bushes behind us. He’s right. There’s someone, or something there. I take a deep breath and swing around. And then I get the shock of my life . . .

I wrote these opening lines for a Bord Gais Writing Competition for children of age 7+. I said yes to doing it because I knew it was something I could do quickly. I don’t know about you, but life’s moving pretty fast these days and I’m struggling a bit to keep up with all my various commitments. But I do everything I can to supporting anything to do with young readers or writers.

The young writers entering this particular competition will be both boys and girls, so I made the two main characters one of each. I gave it a forest setting to make it a little unsettling/different, and ended it abruptly to get them instantly involved in the story, instantly thinking ‘who’s in the bushes? A monster, an alien, a girl from school . . .’.

The young writers can add to the story and make of it what they will – a ghost story, a horror blood fest, a sci fi alien invasion, a unicorn fantasy tale – whatever genre or mash-up of genres they like. It took me roughly five minutes to think up and write, and a future ten minutes to edit and play around with it until I was happy. But here’s the thing – it took me fifteen minutes in total because my mind is trained to think of stories, characters and ‘what ifs’. My writing muscles are reasonably fit and healthy at the moment (wish I could say the same about the rest of me!).

As a writer you have a huge advantage if you are writing fit. When I visit schools I always tell the children – ‘If you want to win the X Factor, you have to practice. If you want to run or hurdle in the Olympics, you have to practice; if you want to be a published writer, you have to . . . practice.’ And it’s true. It amazes me how many people think they can just pick up a pen, scribble down a first draft, and boom, they will be the next Marian Keyes or Jon Banville. I don’t think the average person has any idea how the writing process really works. The hundreds of hours that go into thinking, making notes, writing, rewriting (x 8/10/12 times in the case of most of my books), editing, copy editing.

In The Right to Write, Julia Cameron says ‘Over the long term, writing is a lot like marathon running and, just as a runner suffers withdrawal when unable to run for a day or two, so, too, does a working writer miss his writing work. A certain amount of writing, like a certain amount of miles, keeps the artistic athlete happy and fit. Without this regular regime, tensions build up. Irritability sets in, life becomes somehow far less hospitable. A good writing day rights this again.’

Julia is bang on. Regular writers get very twitchy if they haven’t been at the page enough. The page is their lodestar.

I’ve been a published writer for over fifteen years now, full time for eight. And it has taken me a long time to find a writing routine that suits me, a balance between sitting long hours at my desk, and doing other things that I enjoy – like organising festivals, doing school visits and talks, touring – all which send me back to my desk happy and glad to be writing again. I’m a very sociable person, I like company, and I’m prone to feeling down and alone, so I have to be careful to pepper my writing week with solid, fun human interaction. But I miss my desk if I’m away from it for too long – it’s all about balance.

Each writer has to find their own writing routine. But routine is the key. No practice without routine. No publication without practice and damn hard work, and as Patrick Ness always says ‘writing with joy’ - turning up to the page every day (or as often as you can), and writing as if it’s your last day on earth. And that’s the ‘secret’ of getting published in a nutshell – routine, practice, hard work, joy . . .

So it’s back to the page for me to unleash some of that joy.

Until next week, yours in writing,

Sarah XXX

The Key Ingredients of Successful Popular Fiction

I’ve been reading a lot of popular fiction recently. For two reasons: there are loads of cracking new books out by some of my favourite writers, and also I’ve been quite tired and a bit run down and there’s nothing like curling up in bed with a comforting book when you’re feeling under the weather. I’m also reading a biography of Emily Dickinson, but it’s dense (if fascinating), and I can’t always rustle up the energy to tackle it. Does this make me any less of a reader? No. It means I am a normal, busy mother of three who needs some time out at the end of the day. And as a writer I love the idea that another tired mother, or lawyer, or nurse, or teacher, or bookseller is looking forward to a few pages of one of my books after their busy day.

Two books have really stood out:

I adored The Last Letter from Your Lover by Jojo Moyles. It’s a stunning book, swooningly romantic, beautifully written, seamlessly plotted. It’s the story of two women, one the discontented 1950s wife of a rich business man, the other a young modern journalist who is having an affair with a famous middle-aged crime writer. The characters are flawed and at times you want to give both of them a good shake, but they are hugely likable, real women.

I also loved Summer of Love by Katie Fforde. Katie’s books are sheer pleasure. You know she’s going to cleverly keep the main character and her love interest apart until the very last chapter, and her leading women are the epitome of warmth. I’ve fallen for every one of her heroines.

I read another book recently and nearly threw it at with wall in frustration. I wanted to like the book – it was by a new author and the premise was spot on – but the characters. Mamma mia! There were nine main characters (far too many to keep proper track of – I’d recommend no more than five or six tops), none of whom where all that nice or interesting. There was no humour, no warmth, a lot of ‘poor me’, and I did well to finish it at all. I won’t be recommending it to anyone. It’s a shame, I always like to see new blood in the popular fiction genre, it keeps both readers and the book trade interested.

If the characters do not win us over (I’m speaking as a reader here), if in some way they remain unredeemed at the end of the book, if we wonder why we’ve wasted hours of our reading life with such unpleasant (fictional) people, then the writer has a problem. And they clearly haven’t read enough popular fiction to know better. I think some people think it’s ‘easy’ to write popular fiction. But as Nathaniel Hawthorne once said ‘Easy reading is damn hard writing’, and not everyone is suited to it.

Marian and Cathy and Sheila and Maeve and Cecelia are well suited to it, along with other Irish writers who are blazing the trail world wide. Irish popular fiction is renowned for its warmth and its realistic, likable characters. International readers talk about the humour of the dialogue, the close knit family units, the steadfast, lifelong friendships in the books. The two words that appear over and over again are warmth and humour. Jojo and Katie nail this too - do they have Irish ancestors I wonder – only kidding ;).

If you’re writing popular fiction, reading some of the best books in the genre is a must. I’d highly recommend both Katie and Jojo’s latest novels to anyone.

Yours in writing,

Sarah XXX

Lessons for a Writing Life

One of my friends in writing is having trouble finding an agent. They like her writing very much, but they say the market is difficult and they just can’t take a risk on someone new at the moment. This must be really tough to hear – that you’re good but circumstances beyond your control are conspiring to prevent you from being published. I told her to keep going – that the writing’s the thing. That if she can afford to, to give herself some more time and maybe work on a new book, a book that she HAS to write, more than anything else in the world. A book that means so much to her that she can’t not write it.

She’s so close but it would be so easy to give up at this stage. But I have every confidence that she’ll keep writing, because she is a true book lover and adores the writing life.

If you are in a similar situation, hang in there. Keep writing – don’t stop. Even if you have to write at night or early in the morning or in snatched work breaks, you are still a writer.

I’m not usually one for chain email type things, but one struck a chord with me this week. It’s by a 90 year old woman from Ohio called Regina Brett and was originally one of her newspaper columns. As I read it, I realised how many of her maxims for life were relevant to a writing life. So I’ve updated some of them. My additions are the ones underneath Regina’s lines.

Yours in writing,

Sarah XXX

Life Lessons Lessons for a Writing Life

Life isn't fair, but it's still good. Publishing isn’t fair, but it’s still good.

When in doubt, just take the next small step. When in doubt, just keep writing.

Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Life is too short to waste time worrying about other writers and how brilliant/critically acclaimed/famous/rich they are.

You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree. You won’t always agree with your editor or agent – pick your battles.

Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck. Save when you can. Writing is a precarious business.

When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile. Nothing I can add there!

Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present. Use your regrets and mistakes to fuel your books. It’s all material.

Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about. Don’t compare your writing or publishing career to others. You have no idea how many unpublished manuscripts are sitting under their beds.

When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer. Amen to that.

Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special. Give it all away, every day. Don’t save a brilliant idea for another book. Use it, right now.

Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now. Show up to the page, every day, and write with passion.

Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere. Walking is a great way to start a writing day – get outside – ideas are everywhere.

All that truly matters in the end is that you loved. (And that you wrote!)

No-one at Home Understands

Does Ben Read Your Books? (Ben being my long suffering partner-type person). I'm often asked this and the answer is no. Ben has read a few of my adult novels – When the Boys are Away for example, mainly because he remains convinced it is about him. Well us really. It’s about Meg and Simon. Simon is a professional sailor and travels a lot, leaving Meg at home keeping things rolling. Which understandably she grows to resent after a while. Ben used to be a professional sailor I should add, before I met him. And after I wrote this book he took 2 years out to do an Olympic campaign. But it really isn’t about him/us!

He’s also read Always the Bridesmaid and the first Ask Amy Green book. He’s a sci fi reader mainly. Sci fi and Jeremy Clarkson books. Oh and popular business books – The Tipping Point, that kind of thing. I write books mainly for myself (now and as a teen), so it’s hardly surprising that he finds them ‘interesting’ (a little baffling).

But here’s the thing – he’s very supportive of my writing. He understands when I switch on the light in the middle of the night and start scribbling into a notebook. He puts up with my questions about men and their ‘feelings’. He doesn’t take offence when I put my hand in the air like a traffic warden and say ‘don’t talk to me, I’m thinking’. So rude, I know! But when I have an idea running in my head, I need to concentrate on it. It happens mainly in the car or out walking. He just lets me think away, sometimes muttering to myself and scribbling on my hand. He goes on research trips with me, lately to Paris and Budapest (he was hardly complaining – but he did have to go to the Hungarian Ballet which was a first for him!).

He rarely complains when I write late at night, again ignoring him. He knows I have to read a lot, go to talks and events, look at art, walk, and generally mooch around to get ideas. Writers must live to have things to write about. They must have space to think and mull things over – which is damn hard for anyone with kids, pets, friends, partners etc. Or a job. Especially a job. At least I get to write full time now.

You need a supportive other half to write. You need someone who understands your creativity and your urge to write.

You need a space to write – and the ‘permission’ to retreat there, ignoring your family.

You need time to write – and this may impact on family time. But I think it’s best to find some low-impact times to write at first – early in the morning, late at night – not during the kids’ bedtime for eg, leaving your other half to do it! Commuting time is also good – when I worked for Eason I used to write on the train a lot.

If your partner is not a book person, find someone who is to share you work with if you feel the urge. I rarely share my work with anyone other than my agent, editor and one close friend, but some writers need feedback.

Show you are serious about your writing. Getting something published helps – then your partner has proof that you are not delusional, that someone professional likes your work too. If you get paid for your work it is no longer a ‘hobby’ (I dislike that word – writing is a way of life, not a hobby!).

I hope you all find the writerly support you need.

Yours in writing,

Sarah XXX

Writing When You Don’t Want To Write

'Being a real writer means being able to do the work on a bad day'. Norman Mailer I read this Norman Mailer quote on Sheila O’Flanagan’s Facebook page yesterday and it’s been ringing in my ears ever since.

I’m not feeling great this morning – I’ve spent the last few nights working on an Arts Council Funding Application, after a day’s writing and other things. My lower back is at me, from lifting Brownies over logs in the forest on their Indian Tracking Day yesterday (don’t ask!), and I don’t really feel like writing at all. But here’s the thing – it’s my job. And I know once I actually sit down and get on with it, I’ll be just fine. So that’s what I have to do.

I’m working on the second Shoestring novel – for 2013 – and I need to get it finished before the summer, so I can take my family holiday without feeling guilty or stressed. I’ve written 25k so far and plotted the whole book loosely, so I’m doing well so far. As the setting and the characters are the same (although it’s a different voice telling this one – Pandora rather than Jules), it has been easier to get into than other books. Then it’s straight back to the 5th Amy Green book. I’ve also got plans for another adult book which I think has a really great and very simple hook. More about that soon.

But sometimes it does take a huge amount of will to get me sitting down in the first place. I have books to review for Monday, two of them, and I could be curled up in bed reading them. But right now, I have to write (yep, still trying to talk myself into it).

Mailer is right. I’ll be teaching a popular fiction workshop at Listowel Writers’ Week in June and the first lesson will be – you got it, bum glue. Sitting down and getting on with it. So I guess I’d better take my own advice. And GET ON WITH IT!

Yours in writing,

Sarah XXX

PS Well what do you know? I managed 2,544 words this morning after all the procrastination and moaning. Just goes to show, sometimes the worst writing days turn into the best writing days.

Dream Editorial Feedback

Dear Fellow Writers and Readers,I got the most wonderful email from my editor today - the kind of feedback that makes all the hard slog so worthwhile. So I wanted to share it with you. I've taken out any spoilers, don't worry. I got an equally lovely one from my other editor too, a fab young editor I'm having such fun working with. I do hope you all get emails like this some time in the future. Yours in writing, SarahXXX

Dear Sarah

I just wanted to let you know how much I loved THE SHOESTRING CLUB. It's a really terrific, engaging and totally unputdownable read with wonderfully drawn characters. While it's incredibly warm and the humour is well done, there are some very dark moments which you've executed brilliantly. Julia is a complex character with whom the reader sympathises in every way - urging her on to find the right man in the end and to forget about . . . (spoiler) The scene where she confronts her. . . is so moving, and her Dad, Pandora and Bird are such a terrific support to her. It's so heartwarming Sarah, and has much about it which reminds me of Marian Keyes without being in the least derivative.

I've always enjoyed your books Sarah, but I really feel this one is a big step up and we're all confident that it will bring you the success you so deserve. I know . . . is really enjoying working with you on the book. We'll be doing proofs for this one so we'll be sure to get them for . . . in good time.

So let us know when you're over here so that . . . and I can take you both to lunch.

More on Titles

The title for the next Ask Amy Green book – book 4 in the series – has recently changed from Party Drama-rama to Love and Other Drama-ramas. And it was difficult enough to find a new title. The story changed quite a bit at editorial stage, so the old title didn’t really fit anymore. Originally Sylvie’s hen party (Amy’s mum) was a big part of the book, but now it plays a less important role. So ‘party’ didn’t work. Back to the drawing board.

The book is mainly about a boy called Bailey Otis who is Mills’s new boyfriend in the first few chapters, but (spoiler alert!) something happens and he changes utterly and lets her down.

So it’s about family ties, boys, the nature of friendship, and loss. Here are some of the titles I came up with:

Friends and Other Drama-ramas (from the start we were all keen on the word drama-rama) Double Drama-ramas Dublin Drama-rama The Friendship Drama-rama Dates and Other Drama-ramas Disaster/Dizzying Dilemma (and a lot of other d words!) Double Dilemma Friends and Frenemies Boys and Other Drama-ramas

But none of them were quite right. So then my lovely editor, Annalie came up with Love and Other Drama-ramas. And I breathed a sigh of relief. It just seemed . . . right. The book is – at its heart – about love and all the drama that goes with it. The search was over.

Some titles come easily. From the very start the first Amy Green was Boy Trouble, simple. The next one – Summer Secrets – again, easy. Although the word ‘Summer’ can be a tricky one as sometimes bookshops won’t stock ‘summer’ books in the depths of winter. A discussion for another day. And Bridesmaid Blitz – again easy!

Books 5 and 6 are (at the moment) called Dancing Daze and Wedding Belles. But book 4 was always a sticky one for some reason. Sometimes titles are just difficult. Doesn’t mean the book isn’t brilliant of course. And I ADORE Amy 4. Hope my readers will do. It’s out in September so we’ll have to wait and see. With a brand new cover look for all the titles.

I think the best titles are simple, catchy, easy to remember and either sum up the book perfectly or give a taste or a mood of the book.

My Sister Lives on the Mantlepiece is a recent example of a memorable title. It’s about a teenage who literally lives on the mantelpiece – in a jar – as she was blown up by terrorists. No, not subtle, but very, very strong image don’t you think?

Wuthering Tights – another good one.

Billionaire Boy – simple yet effective.

Names work well – especially unusual, funny or odd names – Skulduggery Pleasant, Judy Moody, Coraline. Alliteration can also work well – Bridesmaid Blitz.

For romantic comedy, song titles or well known sayings can be good – Always the Bridesmaid, The Loving Kind (yep, I borrowed them both!). My latest adult one (out next spring) is called The Shoestring Club. It’s about two sisters who run a second hand designer shop called Shoestring (designer clothes on a shoestring is their slogan). It’s simple and I think it works.

Above all, make your title interesting and make it say something about the book. The one title I’m not all that keen on of my own titles is Some Kind of Wonderful. It doesn’t really say anything about the book. I should have put more thought into it to be honest.

So do think carefully about your title, it’s important. And if you’re having problems coming up with something good, ask for help. Sometimes us writers are too close to our own work to see the wood for the trees.

Good luck with finding the right title for your own book.

Yours in writing,

Sarah XXX

What Makes a Good Book? An Editor's View

Right, a quick blog on what makes a good book, prompted by an Irish Pen meeting last night. The following comments were made by the panel - Ciaran Carty, Patricia Deevy, Bob from The Gutter Bookshp and Margaret (a reader):

Ciaran Carty, ex film critic of The Sunday Tribune, has moved New Irish Writing to a new home at the Irish Independent. Good new for short story writers. He's looking for original stories with something special at thier heart - he said their is no 'type' of story he wants in particular, anything goes!

The stories will now appear on the last Sat of every month in the Irish Indo. New Irish Writing has been running since 1988 and it’s great to see it continue. It's a good shop window for new writers and people like Martina Devlin and Joe O'Connor and John Boyne are past 'New Irish Writers'.

He believes good books are made by good readers.

Patricia Deevy from Penguin Ireland was also most interesting.

She spoke as her role as an editor and what she is looking for in a ‘good’ book to publish. ON editing - she said that good writers are keen to be edited as they know it makes their work better – very true.

‘Writers must believe in what they are doing,’ she said. ‘They have to express clearly what they want to say and their book has to come from somewhere deep inside them.’

She suggested that the best books give readers an immersive experience – which is an excellent way of describing it. She also said that popular fiction is the result of a lot of hard work (hear, hear!) and that writers need to be ambitious and to push the boundaries. Above all she wanted to see original books. And no copy cat books please, or books written to a formula.

Patricia only took on one new novelist last year – one! Scary statistic!

Bob Johnson from The Gutter Bookshop said reading gives writers an understanding of how books work. He also said that originality is vital and he only accepts one in every ten books he is shown as a book buyer.

And a reader, Margaret shared her loved of Little Women and a book called South Riding. She said a good book is like falling in love – you want to spend as much time as possible with the object of your affection.

All in all, an interesting evening.

Yours in writing,

Sarah XXX

Romcom Cliches and Why They Work

A few weeks back I posted some YA clichés, this time it’s the turn of the rom-coms. This goes for books mainly, but also movies. Please feel free to add some of your own in the comment box! Some romantic comedy conventions:

1/ A chase – especially an airport chase. 2/ The ‘cute meet’ – the main characters meeting somewhere sweet – pet shop, zoo etc etc 3/ boyfriend/hubby going off with a best friend/sister – a la In Her Shoes 4/ Arguments in restaurants or other very public places (so much more interesting than arguments in private!) 5/ Girls who work in publishing/bookshops/magazines 6/ Girls who are florists, event managers, wedding planners, cooks/bakers 7/ The Mr Darcy syndrome – hate turning to love 8/ The gay best friend – more in movies than books funnily enough 9/ The quirky best friend (often with red/pink/bleached hair) 10/ Meeting while walking dogs – see no 2 11/ Interrupted conversations/kisses 12/ Guys who are doctors or lawyers 13/ Ugly duckling turned into swan girls 14/ Mean girls who get their comeuppance 14/ Embarrassing/whacky families 15/ Awkward heroines – Bella Swan syndrome 16/ Cinderella stories – tough past, rosy future 17/ Boy next door love stories 18/ Geeky boys who grow up to be Love Gods

Now I’ve used many of the above – Chases – naturally Cute meets – certainly Public arguments – hell yes! And more besides.

Sometimes clichés are clichés for a reason – they are used time and time again because they work. But I do try to give my rom-com conventions a twist to make them original. And none of my leading men to date have been doctors or lawyers – the latest is an animator. Are you making the rom com conventions your own?

Yours in writing,

Sarah XXX

Extra Skills Modern Writers Need

I’ll have to be quick today as I have a book waiting to be line edited, another which needs a first edit, and yet another which needs to be written. But I’ll do this first (see how much I love you, people!).

There was an interesting piece in yesterday’s Sunday Business Post about journalism – Romantic journalism is dead and gone by Aileen O’Meara. In it she says: ‘To be on top of the game, an newspaper journalist now has to be effectively be a multimedia producer . . . surf the net, update a Twitter account and a blog, offer an audio version of breaking news and self-podcast what happened, and carve out a career as a good performer on both radio and television panels.’

It got me thinking about writers, and what they are now expected to do.

Multimedia – check. I’ve written about this before – websites, blogs, social networking – all useful ways to stay connected with your readers.

Surf the net – looking for ideas for blogs and to keep up to date – check (along with reading the newspapers, keeping an ear on the radio and an eye on the television).

Update a Twitter account – check – along with Facebook if you write for children and/or YA, or if you write popular fiction.

Offer an audio version of breaking news – no. But writers are increasingly posting audio or video clips of themselves reading or talking about their books. In Ireland, O’Brien Press are taking the lead her with short, snappy, to camera pieces by their authors, posted on their website (and on Facebook).

Performing – check – CHECK I should say. You need to be able to engage with your audience live – children, teens or adults. It is no longer good enough to stand in front of any audience and simply read your work (unless you are J K Rowling or Roddy Doyle who both read so wonderfully). You need to be able to perform. And for people who spend most of their time behind a desk, inventing characters and scenes in their heads, this is pretty darn terrifying. But with a lot of work and practice, it can be done. It’s only taken me 15 years to be comfortable in front of an audience – adults still make me a bit nervous, kids not so much.

Radio and television – check – you must be able to promote your book for it to stand out. You must also be able to write newspaper columns and articles when publication time comes around.

And you must do all this while writing your next book and editing your previous book!

See, being a writer is a doddle. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

And later this week I’ll talk about what characteristics writers need to be successful.

Yours in writing,

Sarah XXX

Should Writers be On Facebook?

(A short piece written partly in the form of notes – sorry, busy week! But the info should be of use I hope!) Recently I’ve been asked this question a lot by new or about to be published writers: should I have a Facebook page? What’s the point of Twitter? What should I blog about? Should I have a website?

And the answer is yes – but only if it suits YOU as a person.

Here are the pros and cons of each as I see it. This is mainly for newbies to all this – it’s all pretty standard and I don’t pretend to be an expert or even proficient at any of it (as David Maybury will attest). But I do my best – and if I can do it (and I’m useless with computer stuff), then the good news is – you can too!

Facebook

Seems to suit children’s authors and popular fiction writers the best. It’s a heady mix of personal bits and bobs, funny stories, jokes, photographs and general information. It tends to be less political (or work related) then Twitter. A lot of children and teenagers are on Facebook and love being a ‘friend’ of their favourite author, or liking an author’s fanpage (which is another type of page – you can have both a personal page and a fan page. I have a Sarah Webb page and also an Ask Amy Green fanpage.)

Pros: easy to use, fun, very sociable. Perfect for posting quotations, jokes, bits about your books, links to songs on You Tube, and giving people an insight into your life. Can be run from an iPhone, although is easier to manage from a PC. Fantastic way of connecting with readers after an event – you can just ask them to Facebook you! You can put up new book covers, competitions, links to review of your books, launch details, even launch invites – it’s great for writers.

Cons: you have to be yourself. Lots of authors pop up on Facebook when they have a book out and then disappear for the rest of the year. This is not what any kind of social networking is about. It’s about making regular connections with other people, treating them as you’d treat a friend. It’s addictive – once sucked in you can easily lose an hour reading other people’s links and looking at your friend’s pics and photos.

If you join Facebook, make Philip Ardagh a friend – he’s the Stephen Fry of Facebook and never fails to make me laugh!

Must for: children’s authors and popular fiction authors. I love it!

Twitter

I’m only a recent Twitter person – I starting tweeting in January and I find it very different to Facebook. For a start you can only use 140 characters – but this does make you think about what you want to say. It’s more political than Facebook and more grownup. I’ve yet to meet a young reader on Twitter – it’s mainly adults. Teenagers in particular don’t get the ‘point’ of Twitter. (Yes, gross generalisation I know – but the teens I know all feel like this.)

Pros: Good for connecting with other writers and journalists. It’s like a freelance journalist’s water-cooler at times. Good for posting links to your blog or You Tube clips. Judy Blume is on Twitter! There are a lot of agents and publishers on Twitter and it’s most interesting to read their tweets. Gives you an insight into their work (and their clients!!!).

Cons: Tends to be more serious than Facebook. And it doesn’t have Philip Ardagh! Not as visual – you have to click on links to get the pics/photos.

Must for freelance journalists or anyone who likes to get insights into book trade matters – eg publishing.

Blogging

I’m a huge fan of good, well written, targeted blogging. I don’t want to know what people like about kittens. I want to read something interesting and informative, and sometimes funny or sad or punchy. I have two blogs – on www.sarahwebb.ie and on www.askamygreen.com The sarahwebb.ie one runs on WordPress and I write about writing, books, publishing and children’s books. It’s written for older teenagers and adults. The askamygreen.com blog runs on Blogger. I find it easier to post photos on this one. I write about the Amy Green books and also things that might interest young readers – music, fashion, book reviews. I also answer problem letters that readers have sent in (with their permission, not using their real names obviously and changing some details). I enjoy writing both, but do more sarahwebb.ie blogs as I have a lot to share about writing and it’s a subject I enjoy discussing. I get a lot of traffic to the site because of the blog and I get regular comments from blog readers.

Whenever I blog, I post a link on both Facebook and Twitter – in fact my Twitter account is linked to my Facebook account (you can’t do it the other way around as yet), so when I post a Tweet, it appears on my Facebook page also.

I would suggest picking something you are happy to write about and you think would be of interest to people (and if possible that hasn’t been done to death before) – travel, sailing, climbing, books, writing – and blog about that.

Pros: It’s fun, makes you think about subject and lets you connect with readers on a variety of topics.

Cons: Time consuming.

Must for: writers in general – but only if you have something to say.

Websites

You must update your website on a regular basis to make it relevant. You can do this by running a blog, or a link to your blog on the home page. A static website isn’t great. You can also link your Tweets and your Facebook page to your website.

Pros: Great place to gather together all your book bits – interviews, book covers and information, press pics, reviews, contact details. It’s your online calling card. When people google you, it’s what they should find. You can decide what goes up on the pages. You have control of what you want to tell people.

Cons: Can be expensive to set up – shop around. You don’t need fancy graphics, you need a clean, easy to use site with lots of good, up to date content.

Must for: writers in general – but only if you are prepared to update it regularly.

Remember – as with all writing, the more time and energy you put in, the better it will be.

Yours in writing,

Sarah XXX

Date A Girl Who Reads

One of my lovely readers, Amy F, found this on a blog and I thought I'd share it with you. It's by a writer called Rosemary Urquico. Date a girl who reads. Date a girl who spends her money on books instead of clothes. She has problems with closet space because she has too many books. Date a girl who has a list of books she wants to read, who has had a library card since she was twelve.

Find a girl who reads. You’ll know that she does because she will always have an unread book in her bag.She’s the one lovingly looking over the shelves in the bookstore, the one who quietly cries out when she finds the book she wants. You see the weird chick sniffing the pages of an old book in a second hand book shop? That’s the reader. They can never resist smelling the pages, especially when they are yellow.

She’s the girl reading while waiting in that coffee shop down the street. If you take a peek at her mug, the non-dairy creamer is floating on top because she’s kind of engrossed already. Lost in a world of the author’s making. Sit down. She might give you a glare, as most girls who read do not like to be interrupted. Ask her if she likes the book.

Buy her another cup of coffee.

Let her know what you really think of Murakami. See if she got through the first chapter of Fellowship. Understand that if she says she understood James Joyce’s Ulysses she’s just saying that to sound intelligent. Ask her if she loves Alice or she would like to be Alice.

It’s easy to date a girl who reads. Give her books for her birthday, for Christmas and for anniversaries. Give her the gift of words, in poetry, in song. Give her Neruda, Pound, Sexton, Cummings. Let her know that you understand that words are love. Understand that she knows the difference between books and reality but by god, she’s going to try to make her life a little like her favorite book. It will never be your fault if she does.

She has to give it a shot somehow.

Lie to her. If she understands syntax, she will understand your need to lie. Behind words are other things: motivation, value, nuance, dialogue. It will not be the end of the world.

Fail her. Because a girl who reads knows that failure always leads up to the climax. Because girls who understand that all things will come to end. That you can always write a sequel. That you can begin again and again and still be the hero. That life is meant to have a villain or two.

Why be frightened of everything that you are not? Girls who read understand that people, like characters, develop. Except in the Twilight series.

If you find a girl who reads, keep her close. When you find her up at 2 AM clutching a book to her chest and weeping, make her a cup of tea and hold her. You may lose her for a couple of hours but she will always come back to you. She’ll talk as if the characters in the book are real, because for a while, they always are.

You will propose on a hot air balloon. Or during a rock concert. Or very casually next time she’s sick. Over Skype.

You will smile so hard you will wonder why your heart hasn’t burst and bled out all over your chest yet. You will write the story of your lives, have kids with strange names and even stranger tastes. She will introduce your children to the Cat in the Hat and Aslan, maybe in the same day. You will walk the winters of your old age together and she will recite Keats under her breath while you shake the snow off your boots.

Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony, and stale hours and half-baked proposals, then you’re better off alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads. Or better yet, date a girl who writes.

Hear, hear! Yours in writing, Sarah XXX

My Book Just Isn't Working

Just Like Starting Over – Knowing When Your Book Just Isn’t Working (and what you can do about it) Last week I was going great guns on my new book, The Shoestring Proposal, the second book about two sisters called Julia (Jules) and Pandora Schuster. So there I was, typing away happily, 10,000 words in when I started to get this niggling feeling that something just wasn’t right. I soldiered on and finished my day’s writing. Then I read it over and started swearing under my breath. Nope, it really, really wasn’t working.

So I spent all evening thinking about it. Why wasn’t it working? And then I figured it out. I’d planned to book to revolve around Jules, the younger sister. But when I was plotting it in my notebook (yellow naturally), I realised that Jules was on the outside, looking in at the problems and tribulations of her sister’s life and not in the thick of action, which is a no no. So I started again and threw some almighty problems Jules’s way instead.

But the problems I’d given her didn’t quite sit right. And besides, I’d given her such a rough ride in the previous book that it seemed unrealistic to give her such big problems in book 2 also. Yes, I know she’s only a fictional character, but she’s pretty darn real to me. So I was basically throwing a rather random (if good and well thought out) problem at Jules that didn’t quite fit her character. And that’s why it wasn’t working – I was trying to cram a square problem into a round character.

Novels work best when your main character is in major trouble. And if that trouble only gets worse and worse, good! Put your character up a tree and throw stones as at her as the old saying goes. So I started thinking about the original storyline – where Jules is watching horrible things happen to her sister. And then I had a thought. What if I make book 2 Pandora’s story, not Jules’s at all? What if I put her in the thick of the action, and use her as my main character? She’s a really interesting character, a complete control freak with a 9 year old daughter and a lot of unresolved issues in her past. Her family have no idea who Iris’s father is, and when Pandora has a cancer scare, she decides to travel to Paris to find him. But that’s a complete disaster too. (See, lots of stone throwing going on!).

So I’ve started again – using Pandora as the main character and now I’m flying along. I know exactly where I’m heading, plot wise (I plotted the last book carefully and it seemed to work well for me, so I’ve done that again) and I’m happy out.

I’ve lost about 5,000 words but in the grand scheme of things, that’s nothing. I once wrote pretty much a whole book, only to realise it wasn’t good enough. In fact, I have 2 almost complete novels sitting on my computer that will never see the light of day. But I learned a lot from writing both of them and in the case of the second one, the ballet research and the setting have been pinched for the 2012 Amy Green book, Dancing Daze, set partly in a ballet school. So nothing is ever wasted.

As Beckett once said ‘Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.’

Oh I’m failing better all right! And learning as I go along. And today – today I made my editor cry. Yes!!!

Yours in writing,

Sarah XXX

Motivation

Today I have no heating. We ran out of kerosene over the weekend. The nice Topaz delivery man arrived this morning and filled the tank, but for some reason I can’t get the boiler to re-light. So the house is pretty cold and Ben (my partner) who is the practical one in our house is working in Chicago at the moment, so I can’t ring him yet and ask his advice ‘cause of the time difference. But we’re lucky it hasn’t happened during one of those cold snaps. I keep thinking of that poor girl who died from hyperthermia recently in a council flat in Dublin – it really is like The Little Match Girl. May she rest in peace. Appalling stuff.

And today my daughter is off school with a virus. She’s currently sleeping in my bed behind me (I work in my bedroom as there’s no distracting internet connection up here.), snoring lightly. None of this is very interesting, but there is a point to it all I promise!

I’m very, very tired. She didn’t sleep at all well last night – insisted on climbing into my bed and tossed and turned all night. So I got very little sleep.

But here’s the point – I’m at my desk, about to write my 2,000 words for the day, because I have a busy week ahead with a school visit, Brownies (I’m Tawny Owl), and other things. I have to put in 50 full days of writing to finish my new adult novel, and I can’t afford to miss a day just because I’m tired and my fingers are rather numb (they’ll warm up if I type fast enough I reckon!).

That’s the thing about being a writer – without self-discipline you’ll never get a book finished. You have to ignore the world falling apart around you – and at the moment with Ireland in the state it’s in, that can be difficult. You have to shut out the noise of sick children snoring, you have to close the door on the mayhem that is the overflowing washing basket, the mess in the living room, the muddy footprints the oil delivery man left in the hall. Just shut it all out – close the door on it and write.

Yes, it’s hard. I’d love to snuggle in beside my daughter and have a snooze. I’d love to switch on the radio and listen to Ryan Tubridy, read David Maybury’s latest blog, read Department 19, a new YA vampire thriller that was delivered this morning. But I can’t. Because I am a writer and I have a book to write. Two this year in fact. And if I keep on target, 50 days writing @ 2,000 words a day, I can actually take a decent summer holiday this year. A whole 2 weeks, maybe 3 if I’m lucky.

I have a fantastic year ahead, full of school visits, festivals, workshops and fun writing related things. But I won’t enjoy any of them unless I know I’m on track writing-wise and not worrying about not hitting deadlines (my own self-imposed ones as well as my publisher’s ones).

So back to the writing . . .

Yours in writing,

Sarah XXX PS I got my word count done today - plus a 300 word book review. 1 down, 49 days to go . . .