tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78378813725295255792024-02-08T01:19:59.174+00:00neetswriterA blog on writing, by Anita Chapman Anita Chapmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08643609708390860371noreply@blogger.comBlogger114125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7837881372529525579.post-74255178132234476752018-04-20T20:39:00.001+01:002018-05-01T16:54:49.713+01:00What's Your #amwriting Journey? <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu39vB0yyPve1cTrdVH5z3FLpDfuScmgpVmlYDpxBy_0x4K35-00KFlU4Hb2EBkHSc_Y-btgIsr1CXaj8zPkvP7R5-eqkMEWDUSd-VAPaNhLWZt3j47mRE_ao7ZjXf1nXvySWruyS4tAg/s1600/thewritestuffme.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu39vB0yyPve1cTrdVH5z3FLpDfuScmgpVmlYDpxBy_0x4K35-00KFlU4Hb2EBkHSc_Y-btgIsr1CXaj8zPkvP7R5-eqkMEWDUSd-VAPaNhLWZt3j47mRE_ao7ZjXf1nXvySWruyS4tAg/s320/thewritestuffme.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me, just before I pitched at The Write Stuff, The London Book Fair</td></tr>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">After all the rain and grey skies
over the Easter hols, spring is finally here in the UK</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">, and it’s time to cut down on the
chocolate and booze, and increase the yoga and walking. I did go on a few
lovely trips: to Cambridge, where I visited the Fitzwilliam Museum; to Oxford,
where I visited the Ashmolean Museum; and to National Trust property, Ickworth
in Suffolk. In all of these places, I had a good peruse of the eighteenth
century art, which I love doing as part of the research for my book.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Loved this blossom in Cambridge</td></tr>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It’s been an exciting couple of
weeks. Last Thursday (12 April 2018), I took part in The Write Stuff at The
London Book Fair as a finalist, and this Tuesday (17 April 2018), I was
interviewed on Brooklands Radio by Jackie Mitchell</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">. I really enjoyed the experience of being interviewed for the radio, and will add more in my next neetsmarketing blog post.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">My interview with Jackie was to talk
mostly about my <a href="https://www.neetsmarketing.com/" target="_blank">neetsmarketing</a> work, but she also asked about my writing</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">: when I started to write and about
my work in progress, as well as about The Write Stuff. The </span><a href="http://www.brooklandsradio.co.uk/JustWomen/AChapman180417.mp3" style="font-size: 16px;" target="_blank">link is here</a><span style="font-size: 16px;">, and I talk about The Write Stuff from 3:20.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me, arriving at Brooklands Radio, Weybridge, Surrey.</td></tr>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I thought back to how I loved writing
as a child, and won a local short story competition when I was nine years old
for a story, The Bottle on the Beach</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">. I remember dressing up and going to collect my certificate
in an award ceremony at the local library. All very exciting. Then, I wrote a
series of stories about a pink mouse on my mum’s typewriter and sent them to
Ladybird. They sent me a lovely rejection letter, which I still have (my first
of many, ha!).</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stunning magnolia tree in Oxford</td></tr>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As I got older, I stopped writing
stories, but did write a lot of letters-as we did before emails- and
diaries</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"> (which I tore
up and binned in case anyone found them-would love to read them now!) for a time.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I commuted into London for several
years, reading a great deal on the train.</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"> Some of my favourite books were
released during that time: Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, Chocolat, Memoirs of a Geisha; amongst others.
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I discovered Anne Tyler</b> by browsing the books alphabetically in Waterstones, Canary Wharf-something
I used to do more. Now I usually head for the tables first. In the back of my
mind, I always wanted to write novels.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I started to write properly in the
summer of 2003, which I can’t believe is fifteen years ago</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Since then, I’ve been to many writing classes and conferences; and written
flash fiction, short stories and a couple of novels</b>. My progress may seem
slow, but there have been times when I haven’t written and a lot of the time
(like many writers), I’ve been fitting it in with everything else (kids, work
etc). But, I’ve almost finished the current draft of my work in progress and
then, after a good edit, I hope to start submitting it properly, and to move onto
my next book.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaE84u2eW4VJHyGqYpWp5U9DTLOQIj7NJsnjskCfg_W4CqZAgv_7jAHes_BGKDMIKqVfj05uBxMWcfdrkyRZcJ-lDNVYH5tgbmNPMBdRLj_1MlAl8IT89Jh-ubmmuWHMCoRDSEA8Vgemo/s1600/ickworthsmroom.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaE84u2eW4VJHyGqYpWp5U9DTLOQIj7NJsnjskCfg_W4CqZAgv_7jAHes_BGKDMIKqVfj05uBxMWcfdrkyRZcJ-lDNVYH5tgbmNPMBdRLj_1MlAl8IT89Jh-ubmmuWHMCoRDSEA8Vgemo/s320/ickworthsmroom.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Smoking Room at Ickworth</td></tr>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Since I started this blog in 2011, I’ve
recorded my writing journey, and the latest item to add to the writing CV is being
a finalist in <a href="http://www.londonbookfair.co.uk/The-Write-Stuff" target="_blank">The Write Stuff</a> at The London Book Fair.</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The Write Stuff is a Dragon’s Den
style panel event where six authors pitch their books to a panel of literary
agents in front of the Author HQ audience,</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> with the chance to win a follow up meeting with an
agent. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">L-R: Paul Blezard (host), Jo Unwin, Julia Silk, Carrie Plitt, Diana Beaumont, Tim Bates.</td></tr>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The agents were: Tim
Bates, Peters Fraser & Dunlop; Diana Beaumont, Marjacq; Carrie Plitt,
Felicity Bryan Associates; Julia Silk, MBA and Jo Unwin, Jo Unwin Literary
Agency.</span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I emailed a 250 word submission to
Midas PR which included a cover note and synopsis without expecting to get any
further.</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">After that, I was longlisted and asked to
send the first three chapters of my work in progress. Then, I received news
that I was a finalist</b>, totally unexpected.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Preparation took a long time. I had
to reduce key points about my novel and myself down to a three minute pitch.</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> Initially, I wrote the pitch as
though it was a speech. Then, I recorded it on my phone which came out at four
minutes. I reduced it down to the main points, and removed any repetition until
I got the pitch down to 2 minutes 46 seconds. I divided the pitch into fourteen
points and wrote them on a piece of card. Then, I learnt each point off by
heart, so I only needed to glance at the card to get the next point. My biggest
worry beforehand was that my mind would suddenly go blank (which thankfully it
didn’t), so I also cut out the pitch into three parts and stuck it onto back-up
cards, which I didn’t use.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The pitch went as well as it could (i.e., I didn't get stuck and forget what I was talking about) and each agent gave two minutes of feedback.</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> I wish I'd asked a friend in the audience to record
their comments on my phone-a good idea if you ever take part. All I remember is the
feedback was mostly positive-they said I spoke well. One agent
said she wished I’d given a one line pitch, which was a shame as I’d taken
that out in order to get the pitch down to three minutes, thinking I didn’t
want to repeat myself. Should have kept it in, but never mind! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">My novel is a dual timeline set in
the eighteenth century and present day, and a couple of the agents said they
preferred the eighteenth century parts.</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> They suggested I remove the present
day part of my novel, making it a historical novel. For now, I’m sticking
with my gut which is to finish the novel as a dual timeline-as I’m almost there-and will see what
happens when I submit.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">The winner was Michele Sagan, who chose to have a meeting with
Julia Silk.</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/anita.chapman.neetswriter/posts/1508337862609759" target="_blank">There is a lovely photo on Facebook</a> (which I've shared from London Book Fair's page) of all
the finalists with the agents and host, Paul Blezard.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and fab friend, Jules Wake, having a glass of fizz after The London Book Fair</td></tr>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">So, that’s my writing journey, so
far, although I still feel after fifteen years that I’m near the beginning, but who knows what might
happen if I carry on…?</span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">What’s Your Writing Journey? Have you
always written? Have you been writing for years, and hope to get a novel published one of these days?</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Other posts on this blog:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><a href="http://www.neetswriter.com/2018/03/not-wanting-book-to-end-amreading.html" target="_blank">Not Wanting the Book to End </a>(inspired by Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.neetswriter.com/2016/05/my-mother-and-durrells.html" target="_blank">My Mother and the Durrells</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><a href="http://www.neetswriter.com/2018/01/whats-your-writing-routine-with-guest.html" target="_blank">What’s Your Writing Routine? (with guest authors)</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><a href="http://www.neetswriter.com/2017/01/keep-calm-and-carry-on-writing.html" target="_blank">Keep Calm and Carry onWriting</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><b>Latest neetsmarketing post:</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<a href="http://www.neetsmarketingblog.com/2018/04/11-ways-to-promote-blog-post.html" style="font-size: 12pt;" target="_blank">11 Ways to Promote a Blog Post</a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Recent guest post as neetsmarketing, via Emma Darwin:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><a href="http://emmadarwin.typepad.com/thisitchofwriting/2018/03/overcoming-the-social-media-fear-amwriting.html" target="_blank">Overcoming the Social Media Fear #amwriting</a></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">About me (Anita Chapman):<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I’m a freelance social
media manager with clients in the world of books. I run my own one day <a href="https://neetsmarketing.com/courses/" target="_blank">social media courses for writers in London and York</a>, and I’m a tutor at Richmond and
Hillcroft Adult Community College (Surrey), where I run <a href="https://www.rhacc.ac.uk/course/social-media-writers-and-bloggers" target="_blank">Social Media for Writers and Bloggers courses </a><a href="https://twitter.com/search?f=tweets&vertical=default&q=%23neetsrhacc&src=typd" target="_blank">#neetsrhacc</a> (next course starts 7 June 2018). </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I also have a <a href="http://www.neetsmarketingblog.com/" target="_blank">blog on social media for writers</a> with lots of how-to posts. Find out more <a href="https://www.neetsmarketing.com/" target="_blank">via my website</a>.</span></div>
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Anita Chapmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08643609708390860371noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7837881372529525579.post-81508033587362544512018-03-27T07:28:00.000+01:002018-03-27T17:13:11.943+01:00Not Wanting the Book to End #amreading<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I’ve just finished
reading Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine (hereafter known as “Eleanor”),
which I won in a HarperCollins Ireland giveaway, hosted by Mairead Hearne of the
fabulous <a href="http://www.swirlandthread.com/" target="_blank">Swirl and Thread book blog</a>.</b> This book is a fantastic read. The
main character, Eleanor has the most wonderful voice and her friendship with
Raymond is so special and heartwarming. She is someone who lacks social skills; who says what she thinks (and it’s often what we’d think, but we perhaps wouldn't say anything),
without realising how it might offend, but she is charming and funny and
because of her backstory and her vulnerability, you find yourself rooting for
her throughout. Here’s a brief excerpt, to give an example of Eleanor’s voice:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"Janey the secretary
had got engaged to her latest Neanderthal, and there was a presentation for her
that afternoon. I’d contributed seventy-eight pence to the collection. I only
had coppers in my purse or else a five-pound note, and I certainly wasn’t going
to put such an extravagant sum into the communal envelope to buy something
unnecessary for someone I barely knew."<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">When I found myself
carrying Eleanor from room to room around the house</b>-to read in those spare
moments which arise between putting dinner in the oven and waiting for it to be
ready (see my post, <a href="http://www.neetswriter.com/2017/09/do-you-read-in-kitchen.html" target="_blank">Do you Read in the Kitchen?</a>), whilst waiting for the kids to do
something they’re supposed to be doing like brushing teeth or packing school
bags etc-<b>I knew I’d discovered a gem</b>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">On Friday, I found
myself taking Eleanor to a hairdresser appointment</b>, and the lady sitting
beside me happened to be reading the same book! Usually I forget to take a book
to hair appointments and kick myself as I’m stuck with crumpled, coffee-stained magazines I don’t want to read, dodgy WiFi and for some reason
barely any phone reception (is it the hairdryers interfering?-there never seems
to be decent phone reception in hairdressers). Eleanor accompanied me on trips to cafés, and as I couldn’t fit her in the handbag I’m currently using (have
downsized due to shoulder ache), I actually carried
the book in my hand whilst walking around my local town, which I can’t remember doing
ever.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Do you find when you’re
enjoying a book this much, that as you progress through those last chapters,
you reduce the speed of your reading; as you’re not ready to say goodbye to
characters you care about or to the world you’ve become part of?</b> Does the
finishing of a good book leave you with a kind of flat feeling? In this case, I
think it’s important to have a book guaranteed-to-please ready to take its
place: one by a favourite author, one which you’ve heard good things about from
friends (always the best recommendation), one which you know you’ll love as it’s
your favourite genre and a setting you're familiar with and you’ve read the first page and
you just know. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">When not selecting the
next book carefully, I’ve found myself taking reading breaks, which can be as
frustrating for writers as being stuck with writing. </b>Reading breaks are not
good for my writing. When I’m reading a lot, and writing a lot, I find the
writing really flows. I have a few books lined up in my To Be Read (TBR) mountain, but can’t decide which one
to go for. It doesn’t help that I made a trip to Waterstones
on Sunday and bought a couple more. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Before moving onto the next book, I need to return to the William Boyd I cast aside for
Eleanor-even though it's a great book: Any Human Heart</b>. I
started to read the first page of Eleanor after removing her from the fabulous pink metallic envelope
received from Mairead, and then I was hooked.<br />
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<b>But when I've finished Any Human Heart, <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">the next three books to choose from </span>are:</span></b><br />
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1<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">. How to Stop Time
by Matt Haig. </b>I know this book will be excellent, and the only reason it's stayed in my TBR pile since before Christmas is because I bought the
hardback and should have waited for the paperback (which is now out in the UK), as it’s a bit heavy to read.
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2. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Venetian Game by
Philip Gwynne Jones</b>, bought on Sunday during the Waterstones trip. My WIP is set
in Venice, and I love Venice, so it was a must-buy. <o:p></o:p></div>
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3. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Hotel du Lac by
Anita Brookner</b>, picked up from the Booker Prize table in Waterstones-an
excellent idea for a table. Read the first page in the shop, and the writing is
beautiful.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<b>Have you read any of these books? Which do you think I should go for first?</b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaht_SBwwbwA-W6ajHtrp3qIN_0TN70TUN3AFN39QY6tjHWbb9UwK1w3X6gsjoBgZGOPm1ZOC9UK2bKCkHrIAeCYB9yEJyvZNs-Ab5lxWW3Hc6IsQ86gT-RAl0OTUQ_CrMjaON2CaIEH4/s1600/RHACCsnowvsspring.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="320" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaht_SBwwbwA-W6ajHtrp3qIN_0TN70TUN3AFN39QY6tjHWbb9UwK1w3X6gsjoBgZGOPm1ZOC9UK2bKCkHrIAeCYB9yEJyvZNs-Ab5lxWW3Hc6IsQ86gT-RAl0OTUQ_CrMjaON2CaIEH4/s400/RHACCsnowvsspring.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Richmond Green in Surrey, with snow from the first beast, and last week</td></tr>
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<b>There's been snow in the UK recently, and I had to move my neetsmarketing course in York to April due to the first beast of the east. </b>But now, it seems, spring is here. The clocks have changed, and summer is on its way, and I need to think about eating less chocolate. I heard a rumour about a third beast showing its face over Easter, but I'm hoping it isn't true! </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">News!</b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I
am a finalist for <a href="http://www.londonbookfair.co.uk/The-Write-Stuff" target="_blank">The Write Stuff</a> at The London Book Fair. </b>This means that on 12 April, 2pm I shall be pitching my novel to a panel of agents in front
of the Author HQ audience. <b>I’ll report back and let you know how it goes (and will update Twitter and Instagram on the day).</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Previous posts:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.neetswriter.com/2018/01/whats-your-writing-routine-with-guest.html" target="_blank"><br /></a></b></div>
<a href="http://www.neetswriter.com/2018/01/whats-your-writing-routine-with-guest.html" target="_blank">What’s Your Writing Routine? (with guest authors)</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.neetswriter.com/2017/09/do-you-read-in-kitchen.html" target="_blank">Do You Read in the Kitchen? </a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.neetswriter.com/2016/05/my-mother-and-durrells.html" target="_blank">My Mother and the Durrells</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.neetswriter.com/2017/05/theres-something-about-amwriting-in.html" target="_blank">There’s Something About #amwriting in Costa Coffee</a><br />
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<b><a href="http://www.neetsmarketingblog.com/" target="_blank">My neetsmarketing blog with posts on social media for writers</a></b><br />
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<b>New guest post (out yesterday, 26 March 2018):</b><br />
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<a href="http://emmadarwin.typepad.com/thisitchofwriting/2018/03/overcoming-the-social-media-fear-amwriting.html" target="_blank">Overcoming the Social Media Fear #amwriting</a>, via Emma Darwin's Itch of Writing.</div>
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<b>About me (Anita Chapman):</b><br />
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I'm a writer, and a freelance social media manager with clients in the world of books. I run my own one day <a href="https://neetsmarketing.com/courses/">social media courses for writers in London and York</a> (28 April, 19 May, 6 October 2018), and I'm a tutor at Richmond and Hillcroft Adult Community College (Surrey), where I run <a href="https://www.racc.ac.uk/course/social-media-writers-and-bloggers">10 week courses, Social Media for Writers and Bloggers</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23neetsrhacc&src=typd">#neetsrhacc </a>(next course starts 26 April 2018). Find out more with booking info <a href="http://www.neetsmarketing.com/">via my website</a>. You can follow me on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/neetsmarketing">@neetsmarketing</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/neetswriter">@neetswriter</a>, Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/neetswriter/">@neetswriter</a>, and my Facebook pages are here: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/neetswriter/">Anita Chapman Writer</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/neetsmarketing/">neetsmarketing</a>Anita Chapmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08643609708390860371noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7837881372529525579.post-50890980007969628832018-01-16T06:06:00.000+00:002018-01-17T16:07:02.683+00:00What's Your Writing Routine? (with guest authors!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<b>This is my first blog
post of 2018, so Happy New Year to you! </b>Three different posts sprang to mind,
so like last time, I did a poll on Twitter, and this post received the most
votes when I asked what I should blog about.</div>
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Back in 2014, I wrote
a blog post, <a href="http://www.neetswriter.com/2014/03/how-do-you-write-part-ii.html" target="_blank">How do you write Part II</a>?, where I mentioned a book, <b>Daily Rituals
by Mason Currey</b>-a
great read if you’re a writer looking for inspiration on how to organise your
writing time. In that post, I included quotes about the daily routines of
Charles Dickens, Kingsley Amis and Jane Austen, but the book included so many
more.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>I don’t have much of
a writing routine really (but know I should).</b> Since I started working with a mentor last year
though, I’ve found that setting a deadline to send off ten thousand words around every month (depending on school hols) has
worked well for me, and I no longer get cross with myself on days where I don’t
write. The work in progress is moving forwards, and I hope to reach the end of my current draft this spring, then go through it again before submitting to agents.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>I’ve got to know
quite a few authors in recent years, through my writing and <a href="http://www.neetsmarketing.com/" target="_blank">neetsmarketing</a> work;</b> and thought it would be nice to invite some of those
authors to send me a quote for this post about their writing routines (as they know so much more than me!). Last week, I emailed a few author friends and clients; and eleven replied with really interesting quotes
on how they organise their writing time. Some of these authors write full time,
some work full time and some have children at home-<b>so if you struggle to find time to write, you might find
ideas on how to organise your writing time amongst the quotes below.</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Thank you so much to
all the authors involved! Sue Moorcroft, Jules Wake, Alison Morton, Antoine
Vanner, Sue Bentley, Anna Belfrage, Donna Ashcroft, Emma Burstall, Clare Flynn, Ruth Brandt, and Alice Peterson. </b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b>Here follow their quotes on writing routines:</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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“Writing's my
full-time job. I'm usually at my desk at about 7.15 a.m. and leave it at 6.00
p.m. I do take an hour or two out of most weekdays, though. On Monday it's a
piano lesson, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday I dance and on Wednesday I do yoga.
Some of these classes may be followed by a cuppa with my gym buddies! I usually
do a bit at weekends too (although that fits around any televised Formula 1
coverage). I generally work fifty or sixty hours a week, more if deadlines
dictate.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Sue Moorcroft,
bestselling author of </b><b><span style="background: white; color: #111111;">women's contemporary fiction with
sometimes unexpected themes. Latest book: <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Just-Holidays-Your-perfect-summer-ebook/dp/B01N1HX0GQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1515954025&sr=8-1&keywords=just+for+the+holidays" target="_blank">Just for the Holidays</a>.</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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“With a contract for
three books, I have to be very disciplined about my writing time, especially as
quite often as well as writing, I might be doing revisions for another book and
copy edits for another. I also work three days a week, with a busy family
and I volunteer for the <a href="http://www.romanticnovelistsassociation.org/" target="_blank">RNA</a> as Press Officer. On working days I tend to write
once I get home from work from about seven in the evening with a word target
of between 500 - 1,000 words. On my days off I aim for between 2-3,000
words, working in bursts of two hours in the morning, afternoon and
evening which includes weekends. I have a weekly target word count
of 10,000. As a result I watch very little television and do the bare minimum
of housework! I'm very lucky that my husband works from home several days a
week too, so he picks up the slack on the washing and the cooking.”</div>
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<b>Jules Wake,
bestselling author of women’s contemporary fiction. Latest book: <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Covent-Garden-Snow-heartwarming-Christmas-ebook/dp/B06XRFWHRZ/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1515954082&sr=1-1&keywords=Covent+Garden+in+the+snow" target="_blank">Covent Garden in the Snow</a>.</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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“I pin a target of
1,000 words a day in front of my mind, a figure that sometimes turns into more
(and often less!). Unfortunately, a chronic back problem interferes, so I tend
to write only in the morning unless I am very behind on my word count. Then I plonk
myself back on my chair in the evening. The afternoons are for marketing, a
walk, research and emails. The days and weekends merge into each other as
I get lost in my story. My husband blogs nearly full-time so we tap away in
quiet harmony except when we go out, starving, to search for food…”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Alison Morton<i>, </i>author
of </b><b><span style="background: white; color: #111111;">Roman-themed alternate history thrillers with tough
heroines. Latest book in Roma Nova Thriller Series: <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/CARINA-Roma-Nova-Thriller-Book-ebook/dp/B076X7SDLK/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1515954123&sr=1-1&keywords=carina" target="_blank">Carina</a>.</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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“I’m essentially
retired, though I still do a little academic work, but my days basically
revolve around my writing. I’m currently having a small log-cabin delivered as
a writing study separate from the house, though I’ve always had dedicated
offices in my homes. I write on average some five days a week – remaining days
allocated to other responsibilities. I write my drafts from 1000 to 1300 hrs
and this usually gives me around 880 words, though less when I’m starting new
chapters. After three hours my creativity drops. My afternoon walks are a key
element in the process – I play out in detail in my head what will be written
up the following day. I’m in parallel sketching future plots, which will be
developed in greater detail later – usually an intense four to six-week process
– and carrying on research. Throw in my blogging – normally two 1000-1200 word
articles per week – and the occasional free short-story for my mailing list
members. Evenings for reading, hobbies and TV etc. and my time is pretty full.
It’s giving me a new book of 120000 - 130000 words each year, though I’d like
to get this down to nine months.”</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Antoine Vanner,
author of historical naval fiction. Latest book in The Dawlish Chronicles
Series: <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Britannias-Gamble-Dawlish-Chronicles-February-ebook/dp/B076BDFVPB/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1515954160&sr=1-1&keywords=britannia%27s+gamble" target="_blank">Britannia’s Gamble</a>.</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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"I
write for a living, so try to write every day. Mornings are my best time, but I
write all day when a book's going well. I write straight onto a desktop in my
workroom, fuelled by tea and sometimes chocolate peanuts, until hunger forces
me to go and make supper. It's rare that I go back to work in the evenings as
my eyes need a rest from the computer screen, though they cope fine with TV - which
I ration to make time for reading. I also write longhand, using
brightly-coloured, propelling pencils in colourful notebooks (I'm addicted to
stationery) when sitting in cafes with coffee and a book. I'll jot down ideas,
scraps of dialogue, bits of research to type up later. I give the bathroom and
kitchen a wipe-around. But I don't notice the other housework until the dust
bunnies jump out from beneath my desk and wave at me. And then...my husband
hoovers! True."<br />
<b>Sue Bentley, bestselling
author of Magic Kitten series for children age 5-8, and dark psychological
thriller YA novel, <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/We-Other-Sue-Bentley/dp/1911427024/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1515954968&sr=8-1&keywords=we+other+sue+bentley" target="_blank">We Other</a>.</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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“I work full time
which means time management is a challenge – especially as being an author
entails so much more than writing books. I try and set aside my weekends for
“real” writing (and the occasional blog post) and spend weekday evenings doing
all the other stuff like promotional work, accounting and what have you. I have
recently started to dictate ideas as they pop up into my phone and I find this
really useful, especially as I like taking very long and lonely walks which
seem to nudge my very own muse, Ms Inspiration, into overdrive.”</div>
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<b>Anna Belfrage, award-winning author of 17<sup>th</sup> century time-travel series, The
Graham Saga and Medieval series, The King’s Greatest Enemy. Latest book in The
Graham Saga Series: <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/There-Always-Tomorrow-Graham-Saga-ebook/dp/B076FXC562/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1515954217&sr=1-1&keywords=there+is+always+a+tomorrow" target="_blank">There is Always a Tomorrow</a>.</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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“I have two teenage
children and work part time. I get up at six each morning and write for forty
minutes before the children get up, and then I write in the evening, usually as
early as possible depending on whether I have to ferry the children anywhere. I
have a goal of 1,000 words a day and make myself write for as long as it takes,
sometimes half an hour is enough, but sometimes it can take hours! I won’t let
myself have a glass of wine until the words are written which is an extra incentive
to get it done.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Donna Ashcroft, RNA
Katie Fforde Bursary recipient 2017. Summer at the Castle Café will be
published by Bookouture in May 2018.</b></div>
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“I write full-time
and at the moment my routine is loosely based around my teenage son’s school
day. He leaves home at about eight a.m., and quite often I’ll go for a walk or
run with a group of friends before getting to my desk by about ten a.m. I’ll
work through until four-ish, with a short break for lunch, then usually stop to
make supper. If my deadline’s looming, however, my long-suffering family has to
put up with something simple like pasta and I’ll go back to work in the
evening. This might sound disciplined, and I certainly can be, but I can also
be the queen of procrastination. I’m easily distracted by phone calls, emails,
internet shopping and coffee or lunch invitations, so recently I’ve taken to
switching off my mobile and banning Google, except for research purposes, of
course.</div>
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As a general rule,
I'll start a book quite slowly and up the pace as time goes by. Right now, I’m
working pretty manically as my next deadline’s in three weeks. Needless to say,
the house is a bit of a mess and the family’s feeling neglected, but I’ll make
it up to them!”</div>
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<b>Emma Burstall, author
of Tremarnock </b><b><span style="background: white; color: #111111;">Cornish series, set in a fictional seaside fishing
village. Latest book: <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tremarnock-Summer-Love-Cornish-village-ebook/dp/B01N0O8JX0/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1515954249&sr=1-1&keywords=emma+burstall" target="_blank">Tremarnock Summer</a>.</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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“Routine? What
routine? I have none. I do have discipline though, and while I may write in
different places, at different times of the day, I try to make sure I write
something every day. My experience in successfully completing NaNoWriMo three
years in a row (requirement - write 50k words during the 30 days of November)
has shown me that if you HAVE to do it the words will come, even if you THINK
you're stuck. Sometimes I go for a walk and sit in a café with a pen and a
notebook and don’t move until I’ve filled several pages. I used to think I had
to sit in my study in front of my computer but now I like moving around and
these days tend to write on my MacBook more – even in bed – but most often
curled up on a sofa. Using Scrivener also helps - it’s amazing how quickly that
little word counter tots up the totals!”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Clare Flynn, award-winning
author of historical fiction. Latest book: <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Alien-Corn-author-Chalky-Sea-ebook/dp/B0785S349X/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1515954275&sr=1-1&keywords=the+alien+corn" target="_blank">The Alien Corn</a>.</b><o:p></o:p><br />
<b><br /></b>
“I was a single mum, working part time and also studying when I wrote my last novel. Each day had different commitments, so to set a routine would never have worked. Instead I set myself targets. My first draft I wrote 1,000 words a day for 100 days. I had a plan I was following, which really helped. Sometimes I wrote first thing, sometimes last thing. Frequently in ten and twenty minute slots where I had time. But I got my first draft of 100,000 words done on time. The editing was harder to set targets for as losing 1,000 words was often a sign of success! So I have an hour hour-glass which I set going, and I worked until the last grain of sand dropped. Small steps which all added up. When I'm not working on a novel, I still set targets - write a short story a day for a week, send a story off to a competition or magazine a month, that sort of thing. All of those keep me on track as it's so easy to stop writing and getting back to it becomes a massive challenge. My writing is always shoe-horned in.”<br />
<b><a href="http://www.ruthbrandt.co.uk/" target="_blank">Ruth Brandt</a>, published short story writer and creative writing tutor.</b><br />
<br />
“Writing routines are so personal that it’s hard to give advice, it has to be what works for you. However one piece of advice I was given recently as I am about to launch into a new project, was not to get too hung up on word counts or how many hours a day I can squeeze in, but to make sure that when I do find the time to write, I put all my *energy* into it. No distraction if possible, no social media, just all my heart, soul, emotion and focus during that time. And then just build on that and keep on going… I’m going to try it… :)”<br />
<b>Alice Peterson, author of the bestseller, Monday to Friday Man and other novels that celebrate triumph over adversity. Latest book: <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Song-Tomorrow-Alice-Peterson-ebook/dp/B01FR8HSA4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1516044106&sr=8-1&keywords=a+song+for+tomorrow" target="_blank">A Song for Tomorrow</a>. </b></div>
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<b>Thanks again to all
the authors involved! It’s been lovely having you as my guests, and I'm feeling
so motivated by your quotes.</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Similar posts:</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.neetswriter.com/2017/11/staying-motivated-when-amwriting-novel.html" target="_blank">Staying Motivated When Writing a Novel</a> </div>
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<b>I am also a Freelance
Social Media Manager with clients in the world of books, working 1-2-1 with
authors to do training and write social media plans; and I run one day courses
in London and York (plus ten week courses at <a href="https://www.racc.ac.uk/course/social-media-writers-and-bloggers" target="_blank">Richmond and Hillcroft Adult and Community College-Surrey, UK)</a>. Next London courses, 19 May and 6 October 2018 (York course
is fully booked). Find out more and book <a href="http://www.neetsmarketing.com/" target="_blank">via my website</a>.</b></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Recent neetsmarketing blog
posts on social media for writers:</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.neetsmarketingblog.com/2017/10/20-ways-to-launch-book.html" target="_blank">20 Ways to Launch a Book </a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.neetsmarketingblog.com/2017/06/what-are-hashtags-why-use-them-and-how.html" target="_blank">What are Hashtags,Why Use Them, and How?</a></div>
Anita Chapmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08643609708390860371noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7837881372529525579.post-30572227871518041632017-11-02T19:51:00.000+00:002017-11-02T19:51:15.181+00:00Staying Motivated When #amwriting a Novel<div class="MsoNormal">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt1uNm7TKiEK5mKgRypTiXc9nWYVmDLNCpQpg7RCrE0M2HXYCTo8Cj9-yeK_98J5KBIwq2U1x-fE-5pfO860fA3GEbCjmZUkULeUvRex7Cw9huhr_80NxqXPdeFxQ1CN08d8WHARhr6aI/s1600/IMG_7193.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt1uNm7TKiEK5mKgRypTiXc9nWYVmDLNCpQpg7RCrE0M2HXYCTo8Cj9-yeK_98J5KBIwq2U1x-fE-5pfO860fA3GEbCjmZUkULeUvRex7Cw9huhr_80NxqXPdeFxQ1CN08d8WHARhr6aI/s320/IMG_7193.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Southwold (during recent visit)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>This blog was six years old last month. Yes, six years since
I thought I was close to publication with book 1, and needed to
build an online presence!</b> I sent that book to around fifteen agents/independent
publishers and was asked for the full manuscript a couple of times, but after receiving a
critique which said I should get on with my next book and put book 1 to one
side; I decided to take the advice. I have been thinking about book 1 recently though, and the time away from it has been good, but I plan to re-write it to match the length and genre of my book 2 (was present day with WWII journal excerpts; plan to re-write as a dual timeline). </div>
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<b>I’m still working on that second book, although it is
going fairly well. </b>I have pitched it to agents a couple of times, and feedback
has been positive with requests for a full (which I haven’t sent because it isn’t
done...). A successful and well-known agent approached me a year or so ago, although my book turned out not to be what they were looking for (but that did give me a boost).</div>
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<b>It’s moving forwards at least, as I’m sending 10K sections to a
mentor every month </b>(or so, depending on summer hols etc-I have two kids). I
started working with a mentor in January of this year, and I’m over halfway
through the novel now (this is around the tenth draft). It could be moving more
quickly, yes, but life is busy, and for some reason I chose to set my novel in the
eighteenth century and present day-and I’m no eighteenth century expert. At the
moment, I have to accept there is only so much time for everything, and as long
as the book is moving forwards that’s the main thing.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>I used to get stressed when there wasn’t time to write,
which would then make it more difficult to write when the time arose. </b>Now, I
have this new process where I work on 10K at a time, I no longer feel stressed,
about writing, at least. I go without writing for a few weeks sometimes,
especially during school holidays, but as long as I have my self-imposed deadline to work towards, I manage to get the 10K done. I have extended the
deadline once (last time) when life took over a bit, and that last 10K felt like a struggle-the
words did not come easily-because a few weeks had lapsed since the previous
section. Just getting that section completed and sent off to my mentor was more
important to me than whether it was my best writing. Because then I was back on
the road to book completion.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>I know that if/when I’m ever published, I wouldn’t have the
luxury of writing 10K at a time</b>, but when life is busy, sometimes it’s
difficult to justify spending hours on an activity which is unpaid, rather than
spending time with my kids. If/when I’m published, I shall have to work more
quickly, of course.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxEoyTIrPkrDed15OkTQmTtO5WBUzwZapWmohwxSVDNPXkJB1vDX1TL-zyUDRso43VVS_dt_3lEQIxXhmIlpD580DdFIA0shVUecCheH-AHVd3AGU9Y4wf0C_pkjZPrmp0rYwFim9-IlI/s1600/Southwold.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxEoyTIrPkrDed15OkTQmTtO5WBUzwZapWmohwxSVDNPXkJB1vDX1TL-zyUDRso43VVS_dt_3lEQIxXhmIlpD580DdFIA0shVUecCheH-AHVd3AGU9Y4wf0C_pkjZPrmp0rYwFim9-IlI/s320/Southwold.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Southwold</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>So, how do you stay motivated when writing a novel?</b></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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I know, from my neetsmarketing work and from writer/author
friends, that this is something so many writers struggle with; even those who
have published many books, and sold many too. <b>It’s comforting to know that even
authors who are published feel unmotivated and lose confidence sometimes. </b></div>
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<b>For me, setting deadlines works, with so many words to be
done by a certain date. </b>And if I don’t meet the deadline, I simply extend it and move on. </div>
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<b>Then, I have to get my head ready to be able to write. </b>I do
lots of yoga, go for walks. Although I am sociable, I like to spend time by myself,
and have always been this way-to read, or watch a TV programme or film that I
want to watch. Sometimes I have to do a lot of this to get myself in the zone.
If life has been hectic, I can’t just go and write without getting my head
straight first.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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<b>Writing other stuff helps to build confidence, and it's what I do when I can't focus on my WIP, but want to write. </b>I enjoy writing flash fiction because it doesn't take much time, at all, and it's a good way to exercise the old writing muscles. I've written a handful of short stories, although I don't find them easy to write. When my short story, The Reminiscence Tea was highly commended in the February issue of Writers' Forum, that was a real boost.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNFy3y62WL28QuYmTarfjOL0cvj_CNXGObjz2XQYD4IIgulEq-tsYZysTHHhCkvuy4lh7EMtZMqZ6N_sviOuPoVg1uLmjzgYFDNnMWkXOPUOtmt4BPaPXtpGYczc22P77SErlCPq2GPqI/s1600/Sutton+Hoo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNFy3y62WL28QuYmTarfjOL0cvj_CNXGObjz2XQYD4IIgulEq-tsYZysTHHhCkvuy4lh7EMtZMqZ6N_sviOuPoVg1uLmjzgYFDNnMWkXOPUOtmt4BPaPXtpGYczc22P77SErlCPq2GPqI/s320/Sutton+Hoo.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Edith Pretty's house through the trees at Sutton Hoo</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Going out for the day, especially to do research is motivating.</b> I love walks and visits to country houses with the family, where I visualise scenes from my WIP. I've been to Sutton Hoo twice recently during short breaks in Southwold (a favourite place), and find the story of Edith Pretty and Basil Brown, and how the treasure was discovered fascinating. I'd like to write a short story inspired by the place, but haven't worked out how yet.<br />
<br /></div>
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<b>Writing retreats are worth it</b>. I can’t say I’ve achieved
much in the way of word count on the writing retreats I’ve been on (especially
compared to one of my inspiring author friends who has usually done 1K+ before I’ve
even got out of bed). But, I do love to be around other writers who are friends
and draw inspiration from them. Even if I don’t get many words down on the
retreat, <b>I usually achieve a light bulb moment in relation to my WIP because I have
the luxury of thinking about it all day for two-three days. </b>Then, when I
return, that’s when I get the writing done, because I’m truly in the zone. I
have a retreat coming up at the end of November, in the Cotswolds, and I can’t
wait.<br />
<br />
<b>If you struggle to motivate yourself to write, you are not alone, and it is fixable, even if you haven't written for months, or more. </b>It's National Novel Writing Month (<a href="https://nanowrimo.org/" target="_blank">NaNoWriMo</a>), which I know is helpful to many writers for getting the words down. I'm not taking part this year, but one of these days I hope to.<br />
<br />
<b>So, six years on, I'm not published, but I feel I've learnt how to write in that time, and publication is realistically closer than it was then. </b>I know a lot about the publishing industry now, especially through my neetsmarketing work, and that's helpful when knowing who to approach and how. Hopefully, in another six years, I'll be there-otherwise it will be a bit embarrassing...!</div>
Anita Chapmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08643609708390860371noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7837881372529525579.post-20185390120406371212017-07-08T21:49:00.002+01:002017-07-11T18:23:49.233+01:00How Does Reality TV Help Writers? <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoyqo18sEJ81nvHlQB6DAcLV4-8A7gYwOC712njKR6o32y2K8NsWIttxXvyRxTo3BhMCa5qPiYGAsdrsjtllexzy7KzeSjSiaC6yv-n2o6IWHaDNrL97cNy6tdgIuX7Tv0FFFx4Cz80DE/s1600/loveislandpost.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoyqo18sEJ81nvHlQB6DAcLV4-8A7gYwOC712njKR6o32y2K8NsWIttxXvyRxTo3BhMCa5qPiYGAsdrsjtllexzy7KzeSjSiaC6yv-n2o6IWHaDNrL97cNy6tdgIuX7Tv0FFFx4Cz80DE/s320/loveislandpost.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>There’s been a lot of talk in the press and on social media about
the latest reality TV hit, Love Island </b>(which seems to be continually trending
on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/search?f=tweets&vertical=default&q=%23loveisland&src=typd" target="_blank">#LoveIsland</a>) and how not everyone would admit to being a fan. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/jul/04/sex-love-island-reality-show-tv-hit" target="_blank">Here’s one of many articles on the subject, written by Tim Jonze, via The Guardian</a>.</div>
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<b>I am generally a reality TV fan, but I find some shows more addictive than others</b>-my favourites being The Only Way is Essex (TOWIE), Made in Chelsea and Celebrity Big Brother (CBB).
Sometimes I watch I’m a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, but it varies each year, depending on who is
taking part. The problem with watching reality TV is that it’s a time-consuming
occupation. In the past, I’ve added up the hours spent watching CBB, and
thought-<i>I could have spent all of that time writing</i>. But then I told myself I was doing research...I have to say, when
episodes have become very negative with nothing but arguing or ganging up on
someone (even if they’re being unreasonable, I can’t bear to watch it), I’ve
skipped them as I watch reality TV to feel happy rather than miserable.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>But, what can reality TV offer to writers? A great deal. </b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>If you’re writing about characters in their 20s, and it’s
been a while since you were in your 20s (ha!), this is the perfect way to find
out more about how the life of a twentysomething has changed.</b> Some programmes,
such as CBB don’t allow phones, but with TOWIE and Made in Chelsea, (and even a little bit in
Love Island), phones are used constantly to communicate-to arrange dates or to
invite people to parties with messaging, FaceTime, Voice Memos, and occasionally good old-fashioned phone calls. There's a lot of talk on TOWIE about what's been seen on Snapchat too re photos from nights out of boyfriends with other girls etc. In TOWIE, they keep showing people paying for drinks at the bar using
their phone as well. All of these details, although small can be used to make the life of a twentysomething character more real. And I certainly need this info for the main present day character in my WIP (#amwriting a dual timeline also set in the eighteenth century).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Many reality TV programmes, most of those mentioned above anyway,
are about dating or relationships-helpful if you’re writing romantic fiction
about twentysomethings. </b></div>
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<b>These programmes tend to include people with a range of
personalities</b>, which can fuel ideas on how to develop a character. There are
those who keep their cool at all times and never truly reveal themselves; those
who play games and who are there to win; those who enjoy winding others up or
playing people off against each other. Then there are those who fly off the
handle-but sometimes this can be the result of someone continually pushing their buttons. There are the alpha males and alpha females who naturally take
the lead in a situation, or play the diplomats when others argue. When the programme is a competition, often those
who are most liked by the other contestants win.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>I avoided Love Island
initially this year because I couldn't get into it last year.</b> <b>But after all the fuss in the press and on social
media, I thought I’d give it a go. And yes, now I’m a bit addicted and
disappointed that it doesn’t seem to be on on Saturday nights</b>-my husband is out
and for once I wouldn’t have to watch it on catch-up (there is some kind of
round-up of the week episode on)-which is why I’m
writing this post instead.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>And who are my favourite characters in Love Island?</b> I can’t help liking Kem and Amber. Wouldn’t everyone love a
Kem in their life to do their hair (he's a hairdresser) and to talk to about their problems? But after last night's episode, where they were split up during a recoupling, who knows if they’ll be there at the end?<br />
<br />
Previous Post: <a href="http://www.neetswriter.com/2017/05/theres-something-about-amwriting-in.html" target="_blank">There's Something About #amwriting in Costa Coffee</a><br />
Latest post from my neetsmarketing blog: <a href="http://www.neetsmarketingblog.com/2017/06/what-are-hashtags-why-use-them-and-how.html" target="_blank">What are Hashtags, Why Use Them, and How? </a><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
My new blog post, inspired by <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/loveisland?src=hash">#loveisland</a>: How Does Reality TV Help Writers? <a href="https://t.co/P0xPh03UFB">https://t.co/P0xPh03UFB</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TuesNews?src=hash">#TuesNews</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/RNAtweets">@RNAtweets</a> <a href="https://t.co/4amMqTqhzg">pic.twitter.com/4amMqTqhzg</a></div>
— Anita Chapman (@neetswriter) <a href="https://twitter.com/neetswriter/status/884661030613262336">11 July 2017</a></blockquote>
<br />
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script></div>
Anita Chapmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08643609708390860371noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7837881372529525579.post-35726145488591495022017-05-05T12:20:00.000+01:002017-05-08T10:22:24.675+01:00There's Something About #amwriting in Costa Coffee<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaGuFfUnqfOAK0wujoW4x_9p80r75chIWovL6ZPypRnbB7Rn9rZiBA_88h47-687B2AvcXmHdU1cxPMbWLJgPBKNgWEAz51lGaUkKQFrKaEz5DX-fDCl6x1_FEhN1m2LOZUkBt7Umml08/s1600/bluebellsrhodo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaGuFfUnqfOAK0wujoW4x_9p80r75chIWovL6ZPypRnbB7Rn9rZiBA_88h47-687B2AvcXmHdU1cxPMbWLJgPBKNgWEAz51lGaUkKQFrKaEz5DX-fDCl6x1_FEhN1m2LOZUkBt7Umml08/s1600/bluebellsrhodo.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rhododendron and bluebells at Winkworth Arboretum</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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I just checked and realised I haven’t blogged here in March
or April. Life has been busy, but also I’m struggling to find anything to write
about on this blog. Since 2011, I’ve done a lot of posts about writing, and pep
talks to self, and who wants to read more of those? If/when I’m
published, I’ll be able to blog about my research and to talk about writing and
editing and finishing a novel as if I know what I’m talking about. Yesterday, I
did what I usually do when not knowing what to blog about. I wrote a draft post on what I've been doing since my last post, covering: spring
research walks in bluebell woods and visits to country houses, a trip to Southwold; Larry in the new
series of The Durrells dropping his typewriter from a tree, having pages
from his manuscript stolen by magpies and no one turning up to his book launch; working with a mentor, and my thoughts
on a book I’m reading by a favourite author, Anne Tyler-Vinegar Girl.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI750dgw9hyphenhyphenJgKttaCAHaCIBDDq6qr1eBtCMfqO2h41WOFNi_R-IUlp7LDH-qvCBptE7bIClcwLCTRBzj8h75dzw9pNEoKtCsa5zWt_NkPjRRV6HHj3KrHEuH_w_C_bY3NXsLIeOju7i0/s1600/bluebells.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI750dgw9hyphenhyphenJgKttaCAHaCIBDDq6qr1eBtCMfqO2h41WOFNi_R-IUlp7LDH-qvCBptE7bIClcwLCTRBzj8h75dzw9pNEoKtCsa5zWt_NkPjRRV6HHj3KrHEuH_w_C_bY3NXsLIeOju7i0/s1600/bluebells.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bluebells at Hatchlands Park</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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I confess, I’m behind with my latest 10K words for my
mentor. I’ve extended my (self-imposed) deadline to the end of next week due to
neetsmarketing work and preparing for my upcoming <a href="http://neetsmarketing.com/courses/may-2017-london/" target="_blank">course on social media for writers in London, 6 May</a>. And
then the Easter holidays and family stuff delayed me a bit. Last week I went to
Sotheby’s to speak to an art expert, to ask research questions as my WIP is
about an eighteenth century painting. He was very generous with his time and
knowledge, and it was such a privilege meeting him. I would have liked to blog
about that, but I can’t without giving away the plot of my book.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ICzai2-L4AuFccnMHp0Y1sFSM8D6WUP8t013K7BvmAGARODAgGTQUA0wD6XwmuBvizYtJPz3SmTefZMM1oWNATteQI9AqKPX9_EDVSm0WoSbCSg3HHpib5N51yDfLlNVM6Q-SfGwA9s/s1600/costapic1a.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ICzai2-L4AuFccnMHp0Y1sFSM8D6WUP8t013K7BvmAGARODAgGTQUA0wD6XwmuBvizYtJPz3SmTefZMM1oWNATteQI9AqKPX9_EDVSm0WoSbCSg3HHpib5N51yDfLlNVM6Q-SfGwA9s/s400/costapic1a.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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So, I came up with the idea for this post in the place where
I have many of my light-bulb moments: in Costa Coffee. This is where I go to
write when I’m stuck and the words somehow flow. Is it the coffee or the setting?-I
don’t know. I also go to Costa to write blog posts, or to work when I need a
change of scenery. The staff are always friendly, the music undemanding and
there are usually a few other customers tapping away on their laptops too, which is
comforting. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMPWH4fONTvIuB-NarbERYMyTnMFcMnljBRDr8dQgz_3FxpqIVRgGu0xpRrqo7HpGpIJRhr2nA_VtM8OY28mVviL5PBbQmFwwHysMcYfbTaPFFj6pp4UCWFGO2ABsMhyphenhyphenHEGjt7TiyPgGw/s1600/costa3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMPWH4fONTvIuB-NarbERYMyTnMFcMnljBRDr8dQgz_3FxpqIVRgGu0xpRrqo7HpGpIJRhr2nA_VtM8OY28mVviL5PBbQmFwwHysMcYfbTaPFFj6pp4UCWFGO2ABsMhyphenhyphenHEGjt7TiyPgGw/s400/costa3.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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The WiFi is excellent too, the best of all cafés I’ve tried. (Another caf<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">é</span> good for WiFi can be found at Squire’s Garden Centre, and they do a great
breakfast fry-up with hash browns and BOGOF coffee too; perfect for post-insomnia or hangover days). When in London, if I have time to kill
before a meeting, I head for the nearest Costa and order a medium cappuccino or cortado in
a takeaway cup with lid if using the laptop, in case of spillage. In my
favourite Costa, I have a favourite table by the wall, which more often than
not is unoccupied. It’s a table for two and I usually sit with my back to the
window, but today I’m facing the window, for a change, watching the traffic go
by.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQKscfxV13S8wWsExPMsi3N0_uDxkFTnEXgslBlAYcNObTIxecOpSzjXdofia8dbIVkyqX4cZJdVLWgtWFvHx4q0vxBrIX42ajZUa1OVjJ86jHX90hd2UVRt_6NoBTWAqVnEKhbfASvyA/s1600/costa2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQKscfxV13S8wWsExPMsi3N0_uDxkFTnEXgslBlAYcNObTIxecOpSzjXdofia8dbIVkyqX4cZJdVLWgtWFvHx4q0vxBrIX42ajZUa1OVjJ86jHX90hd2UVRt_6NoBTWAqVnEKhbfASvyA/s400/costa2.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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I need to get that 10K done by the end of next week, then
I’ll be back on the road to manuscript completion. I had a 1-2-1 with an agent
at the London Book Fair in March, who gave me really positive feedback on the
first three chapters and synopsis of my WIP, which was nice. Now I just need to
get the darn thing finished and send it in. So, a few #amwriting trips to Costa Coffee will be in order next week.</div>
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Me en route to The London Book Fair</td></tr>
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Tomorrow (6 May 2017), it will be fifteen years since my mum passed away, and I've written about her on this blog a few times. Here's my post from last year, <a href="http://www.neetswriter.com/2016/05/my-mother-and-durrells.html" target="_blank">My Mother and The Durrells</a>. I'm so glad The Durrells is back, perfect viewing on a Sunday evening.</div>
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Anita Chapmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08643609708390860371noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7837881372529525579.post-52435543089011490272017-02-10T10:52:00.000+00:002017-03-21T09:15:31.432+00:00Breaking the WIP into pieces #amwriting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daffodils spotted at Winkworth Arboretum, spring is on its way!</td></tr>
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As mentioned in my previous post, <a href="http://www.neetswriter.com/2017/01/keep-calm-and-carry-on-writing.html" target="_blank">Keep Calm and Carry on Writing</a>, I’m working with a
mentor. With all the demands of daily life, having someone out there who cares
about my book as much as I do really helps. And knowing they’re waiting
for me to send over my work drives me to bring each section to the
highest level possible. I’m finding this way of working more manageable than producing the whole book at once for a critique, which in the past has felt like a mammoth task.
Having a reason to shut the door on everyone and say, ‘I’m off to write for a
couple of hours (and stay away!)’ is also helpful.</div>
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So far, I’ve sent over two lots of 10K words and I’m working on
the next section. Each section is more challenging because there are missing scenes or scenes which need
to be expanded. The story needs to move in the right direction and follow on from the previous section. As I progress through the novel, I’m finding
that, <i>oh, I need to write a scene with the mother there</i> or <i>tea and cake
with Mrs Braithwaite deserves more than a mention, it should be a scene</i>. </div>
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I’m also identifying what I need to do research-wise as I go. Peter Ackroyd’s book on Venice is my current bedtime reading #exciting. And at some point, I need to go to an auction at Sotheby's or Christie’s.<o:p></o:p></div>
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At the end of last year, I found my WIP a big confusing mess and sorting it out seemed overwhelmingly impossible. Hopefully, breaking it into manageable pieces will <b>get the book finished</b>. We’ll see. This blog post is especially short, because I have to get back to the WIP...until next time.</div>
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Anita Chapmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08643609708390860371noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7837881372529525579.post-66718719069601749752017-01-09T11:01:00.000+00:002017-02-11T16:21:45.576+00:00Keep Calm and Carry On Writing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My ideal writing view</td></tr>
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Hello, and Happy New Year. <b>I did intend to write an end of
year post, but it didn’t happen for various reasons</b>, mainly that I had a cold virus
which dragged on for weeks, going away and returning a few times. It’s now more or
less gone, apart from a cough, which is hanging about for longer than it should. I did
write an end of year post for my alter-ego neetsmarketing's blog though, <a href="http://www.neetsmarketingblog.com/2016/12/neetsmarketing-two-years-on.html" target="_blank">neetsmarketing Two Years On</a>.<br />
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I’ve read a few old neetswriter blog posts over the
past week, and I do go on a bit about getting my book 2 finished! It’s
still not done despite all of my promises to myself (although it did move forwards quite a bit in 2016), but <b>last week, I did
something new: I found a mentor</b>, and I’m feeling positive about the whole
thing. I’m not going to say who it is, as I don’t want to spoil this new writing
development in any way, but if all goes well, I of course will shout this
person’s name from the rooftops. My goal is to get book 2 completed and to
start book 3 by the end of 2017. Let’s see how it goes. I’ve already (almost-we’re
just sorting the date) booked in a writing retreat with some fabulous and
encouraging writing friends for the spring. <o:p></o:p><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1ZajsYHTuvhn6e6ISNIc8ciQOHZCEGt5vMdNtIKHqAtJqEGZ0UEtIY8fGWD7RHKZepAbbiO_Zmw3FRZYhJrPCUHX9HB8Vf8EW22RIVtSbJCujg7pykoyEIM57nbT7Z_8vj6-g26NvNk0/s1600/TheRemTeapic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1ZajsYHTuvhn6e6ISNIc8ciQOHZCEGt5vMdNtIKHqAtJqEGZ0UEtIY8fGWD7RHKZepAbbiO_Zmw3FRZYhJrPCUHX9HB8Vf8EW22RIVtSbJCujg7pykoyEIM57nbT7Z_8vj6-g26NvNk0/s640/TheRemTeapic.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>A bit of good writing news too: my short story, The
Reminiscence Tea has been highly commended in the Writers’ Forum magazine’s short
story contest (issue #184, February 2017).</b> This is
the first short story I’ve completed with success, so I'm very pleased.<br />
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<b>Here’s to a good writing year in 2017 for all the writers
out there!</b><o:p></o:p><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrlTsKK2FhKr6T_F5jewx71b2Ze1YcB1ZX_U79mptj73Iif5fm7mvHdQGpP4ad3BGSFUjHAcQE8OpskKzoDRhtrFunN0GQEWtLxV-excHG9sUwiOLhYY8SPRQ99145ajiPVxQZQ7e-TLA/s1600/margarita1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrlTsKK2FhKr6T_F5jewx71b2Ze1YcB1ZX_U79mptj73Iif5fm7mvHdQGpP4ad3BGSFUjHAcQE8OpskKzoDRhtrFunN0GQEWtLxV-excHG9sUwiOLhYY8SPRQ99145ajiPVxQZQ7e-TLA/s320/margarita1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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And in typical neetswriter blog tradition, <b>here’s an
uplifting beach photo to remind us of what summer looks like.</b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Southwold, summer 2016, not a bad writing view either</td></tr>
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My first neetswriter post of 2017, Keep Calm and Carry On Writing <a href="https://t.co/iJEKqEQyn8">https://t.co/iJEKqEQyn8</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TuesNews?src=hash">#TuesNews</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/RNAtweets">@RNAtweets</a> <a href="https://t.co/9suINBxJb6">pic.twitter.com/9suINBxJb6</a></div>
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— Anita Chapman (@neetswriter) <a href="https://twitter.com/neetswriter/status/818723102687379456">January 10, 2017</a></div>
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Anita Chapmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08643609708390860371noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7837881372529525579.post-73491251764243129912016-11-29T01:00:00.000+00:002017-01-02T19:28:42.968+00:00Sue Moorcroft on Writing the Christmas Novel!<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Today, I'm thrilled to welcome author of The Christmas Promise (TCP), Sue Moorcroft to talk about Writing the Christmas Novel! TCP has done very well since the ebook release on 6 October 2016, and currently has 63 Amazon UK reviews (of which 53 are 5 star, and 7 are 4 star). Recently, TCP has reached the top 5 in the Amazon UK Kindle chart (and is this morning, number 3!). Congratulations, and over to you, Sue...! (updated 2 Jan 2017: TCP actually made it to number 1 in the Amazon UK Kindle chart before Christmas, huge congratulations to Sue. And<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/customer-reviews/R3TNO7OSJ0G6TB/ref=cm_cr_getr_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B01D4WO2OU" target="_blank"> here's my 5 star review</a>).</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Writing the Christmas Novel, by Sue Moorcroft</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">It was some time ago that I watched Christmas novels selling year on year and decided that I ought to write one. I also talked over ideas with my agent and she picked the Christmassy one as having the most commercial potential – i.e. she felt confident in being able to sell <a href="https://www.harpercollins.co.uk/9780008175528/the-christmas-promise" target="_blank">The Christmas Promise</a> to publishers because it was the one she felt the publishers would be able to sell to the readers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Why do people like Christmas novels? Maybe they just want to extend their enjoyment of the atmosphere of present-giving and fab meals with loved ones, of munching on chocolates and watching Christmas Specials on TV. Or maybe it’s because the characters are probably having a worse Christmas then the readers are!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Ava, my heroine, isn’t a Christmas fan. To make sense of this in the context of a novel I gave her unpleasant associations from her childhood. To ensure she’d dislike <i>this</i> Christmas in particular I ran her millinery business into trouble. I also let ex-boyfriend, Harvey, threaten Ava that if she doesn’t go back to him he’ll disclose intimate pictures of her, the crime we popularly refer to as ‘revenge porn’. He makes the threat whenever he’s had a drink. And he drinks a lot.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Sam’s conflicts are less of his own making but just as intense. His mum Wendy is in the elapse between surgery and chemotherapy and he’s trying to make Christmas wonderful for her. He commissions a special gift, which is what involves Ava in <a href="https://www.harpercollins.co.uk/9780008175528/the-christmas-promise" target="_blank">The Christmas Promise</a> of the title, a promise she finds increasingly hard to keep.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">It takes me quite a while to write a book. This one took about nine months so I couldn’t count on having the Christmas atmosphere of snow and sleigh bells to sweep me through the process. July sun pouring through my study window or not, I needed to invoke Christmas myself, to select Christmas presents for my characters to give to one another and the Christmas shows they might attend.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">If you’re hoping I can arm you with tricks like writing with the freezer door open and the computer festooned with tinsel, I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed. Like most people who have written for magazines I’m familiar with the situation of writing for one season while experiencing another. It just takes a combination of imagination and research.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">The book was well underway when <i>My Weekly</i> magazine requested that a serial I was writing for them be set at Christmas, too. If I was able to comply then they could offer me a great slot in their Christmas special issues, the issues that sell better than any others of the year. Obviously I grabbed the offer. But writing a Christmas novel and a Christmas serial at the same time did leave me feeling pretty Christmased out! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Would I write another Christmas book? Yes. It was poignant to have Ava and Sam deal with difficult issues when they’re expected to be jolly and everyone else seems preoccupied with sparkly clothes and wrapping gifts. Christmas is a great vehicle for highs and lows (and, don’t worry, they get their highs, too!).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">I find myself looking forward to Christmas more, this year to seeing my book on the shelves and hoping that it contributes to readers’ happy Christmases. #MyPromise is I’ve done my best, anyway.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Thanks very much for your interesting post, Sue, and best of luck with the paperback launch for The Christmas Promise (released 1 December 2016, available for pre-order now).</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Bio:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Award-winning author <b>Sue Moorcroft</b> writes contemporary women’s fiction with occasionally unexpected themes. A past vice chair of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and editor of its two anthologies, Sue also writes short stories, serials, articles, writing ‘how to’ and is a creative writing tutor. She’s won a Readers’ Best Romantic Read Award and the Katie Fforde Bursary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBfoAo_dZgoGLX80NfHJLLHFKZMGFBC2qZZzHsacYRKXe_FpTSSg954KmaeAMg8nYxhg4T6ZE33q_wuQ27JkJN4ZOspvLGieu9Tv3tfJK2naOrHkVwAhuJm982LnDzkMm7jcwk5LQjwoM/s1600/Christmas-Promise-lores+final+778%25E2%2580%2586%25C3%2597%25E2%2580%25861200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBfoAo_dZgoGLX80NfHJLLHFKZMGFBC2qZZzHsacYRKXe_FpTSSg954KmaeAMg8nYxhg4T6ZE33q_wuQ27JkJN4ZOspvLGieu9Tv3tfJK2naOrHkVwAhuJm982LnDzkMm7jcwk5LQjwoM/s320/Christmas-Promise-lores+final+778%25E2%2580%2586%25C3%2597%25E2%2580%25861200.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Promise-Sue-Moorcroft/dp/0008175527/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8" target="_blank">Amazon UK</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/The-Christmas-Promise-Sue-Moorcroft/9780008175528" target="_blank">Book Depository</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Sue’s latest book is <a href="https://www.harpercollins.co.uk/9780008175528/the-christmas-promise" target="_blank">The Christmas Promise</a> (Avon Books UK, HarperCollins)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Website: <a href="http://www.suemoorcroft.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">www.suemoorcroft.com</span></a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Blog: <a href="https://suemoorcroft.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">https://suemoorcroft.wordpress.com/</span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://en-gb.facebook.com/people/Sue-Moorcroft/100000047807135" target="_blank"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</span></a>: sue.moorcroft.3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Facebook author page: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SueMoorcroftAuthor" target="_blank"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">https://www.facebook.com/SueMoorcroftAuthor</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/suemoorcroft" target="_blank"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">@suemoorcroft</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Instagram: suemoorcroftauthor<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Google+: <a href="file:///C:/Users/Anita/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/4AALI8DC/google.com/+Suemoorcroftauthor" target="_blank"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">google.com/+Suemoorcroftauthor</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">LinkedIn: <span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/suemoorcroft" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/suemoorcroft</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Amazon author page: Author.to/SueMoorcroft</span></div>
Anita Chapmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08643609708390860371noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7837881372529525579.post-1085923549396613422016-09-21T22:38:00.000+01:002016-10-02T09:16:40.973+01:00How Going Back Changes Point of View<div class="MsoNormal">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me in Birmingham in 1973</td></tr>
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I haven’t blogged here for a while, because summer term was busy, both at home and with my <a href="http://www.neetsmarketing.com/" target="_blank">neetsmarketing</a> work, and I decided to take the summer holidays off from blogging and social media (apart from my work for the HNS Conference). This summer, I went back to three places where I’ve lived,
without really intending to. It just kind of happened.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Simon Michael's launch for An Honest Man</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">1.Birmingham where I was born: In June for client, <a href="http://simonmichael.uk/" target="_blank">Simon Michael</a>’s book launch for An Honest Man at No5 Chambers, where I tweeted as my
alter-ego<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.neetsmarketing.com/" target="_blank">neetsmarketing</a> </span></b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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It was one of the most stylish launches I've attended with cocktails, and canapés, and actor, Robert Daws read a couple of excerpts beautifully with different voices for the characters. Simon's agent, Lisa Eveleigh has written a lovely post on the launch <a href="http://www.richfordbecklow.com/blog/launch-of-simon-michaels-an-honest-man" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
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Although I only lived in Solihull for the first year or so of my
life, going back did make me think about how time flies, especially as I knew I'd be returning to Lancaster and Siena this summer.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me, Adrienne Vaughan and Jules Wake at the RNA Conference, Lancaster</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;">2. Lancaster<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>where I
went to school (and nearby Low Bentham where I lived for five years) for the
Romantic Novelists' Association Conference </span></b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.neetsmarketingblog.com/2016/07/latest-on-book-world-from-rnaconf16.html" target="_blank">Here's my neetsmarketing post on the RNA conference</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Siena this summer</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">3.Siena, Italy where I studied, then au paired for eight months
in 1994:</span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"> <b>I went to Italy this summer, and showed Siena to my
family for the first time</b></span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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We went
to look at the outside of a flat where I rented a room, in Via di San Martino, off the Piazza del
Campo. Unfortunately, the bar below which my flatmates and I used as a living
room and somewhere to take phone calls from our parents has closed down. We
ate lunch at Gallo Nero, where I used to make my way through carafes of Chianti
and bowls of pasta with friends. It’s away from the main restaurants which were
too busy, and we were given a lovely table in the corner, where I ate the most
delicious home-made gnocchi with a duck sauce, washed down with a
couple of glasses of Prosecco. <b>Siena is
the magical Tuscan city which inspired my first novel. </b>We also visited the
seaside town of Castiglione della Pescaia where my au pair family had a house.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsalWf78LvJ3JZX2iAWBLcP_EYV_c6muh2gs1m2V5eclai5c84Sa_IamTpAx6JhLFyyftAawF69Vbt_gW06K2R9j65yIL6h8u_UIM-G8vfKjrrjQPcC1vTjq40GH_-M6XLA_uO8l6lVo8/s1600/Castiglione.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsalWf78LvJ3JZX2iAWBLcP_EYV_c6muh2gs1m2V5eclai5c84Sa_IamTpAx6JhLFyyftAawF69Vbt_gW06K2R9j65yIL6h8u_UIM-G8vfKjrrjQPcC1vTjq40GH_-M6XLA_uO8l6lVo8/s320/Castiglione.jpg" width="296" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Castiglione della Pescaia</td></tr>
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<b>Going back makes you
think. </b></div>
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<b>Birmingham was the first of many places where I've lived</b>. My family
moved around a bit when I was a child, then I moved to Cambridge (with time spent living in Grenoble and Siena), London (where
I rented a few flats with friends), and now Surrey where I’ve remained in the
same house for almost ten years, the longest I’ve lived anywhere.</div>
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<b>Low Bentham, in
the heart of North Yorkshire is where I sat
at my mum’s typewriter one summer (because there wasn't much to do)</b>, aged ten and wrote a series of stories about
a pink mouse and sent them to Ladybird: Pink Mouse’s Birthday, Pink Mouse Goes
to the Dentist, Pink Mouse’s Adventure at the Supermarket; you get the picture.
I used to make up a lot of stories for my sister who is six years younger than
me. The beautifully-worded rejection letter is in the loft somewhere (waiting to be dug out, scanned and tweeted when I’m published ;-)). I also went through a phase of
putting together a monthly magazine, and used the photocopier where my dad
worked to make copies for my friends. I really wanted to write, even then. The main character in my first novel is
from a farm in North Yorkshire.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">High Bentham, up the hill from Low Bentham</td></tr>
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<b>Lancaster is
where I had the two most inspiring English
teachers.</b> We read and discussed Jane Eyre, A Christmas
Carol, The Merchant of Venice, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I
can still hear one of them, Mr Church saying, ‘2L, it’s like talking to a wall’. We acted
out A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the school gardens one summer, and it was a lot
of fun.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>When I first started
writing, my thoughts were to write about something I already know and understand</b>.
This seems to be what a lot of writers do, while learning the craft of writing.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Now I write about places
and things I don’t know as much about</b>, which is more difficult, but it
means I’ve moved forwards as a writer (hopefully). <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Going back makes you
see places from a different point of view.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>I last saw Low Bentham
as a fourteen-year-old in the 1980s, when my friends were in love with Tom Cruise, the album of the moment was The Joshua Tree, and we'd read Smash Hits on the bus, tearing out lyrics and posters for our walls.</b> Now I’m older than my parents were when we lived
there, a scary thought.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRW1HJmdWLszv1BcLr4PH3XZRDL8hk6TN53SCONOJqkAx3Oy3cSS-UpIEy383x-bzWz5JaQ0GA1rx0z457DtKaXXepM1W3Z25K-mmlJKe-WNHyAnzP2yt5ms3rDqGHdA15odLzaJ7_Pvw/s1600/MeSiena1a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRW1HJmdWLszv1BcLr4PH3XZRDL8hk6TN53SCONOJqkAx3Oy3cSS-UpIEy383x-bzWz5JaQ0GA1rx0z457DtKaXXepM1W3Z25K-mmlJKe-WNHyAnzP2yt5ms3rDqGHdA15odLzaJ7_Pvw/s320/MeSiena1a.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me in Siena in 1994</td></tr>
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<b>I last saw Siena ten
years ago, and before that in 1994</b>. First I viewed Siena as a student, then
as an au pair, then as the mother of a one-year-old going away for the weekend with friends.
This time, I viewed Siena through the eyes of my husband and children, and I was
so pleased that they liked Siena as much as I do. When you love a place, you
want those you love to love it as much as you do. When I read my first novel
now, written from the point of view of a twenty-one year old woman, the same age as I was
in 1994, that life seems alien to me. Especially as the life of a twenty-something is so different now. And one struggle I always had when writing that novel was making the main character different from me.</div>
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<b>At
the RNA conference in July, Alex Brown said that in her forties she found it
difficult to write about women in their twenties, and at the HNS Conference, Tracy
Chevalier said she writes historical novels to step
outside of herself as it's easier to slip into autobiography in a contemporary setting</b> (See Lorna
Fergusson’s post <a href="http://literascribe.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/historical-novel-society-conference_16.html" target="_blank">here</a> for more on Tracy’s talk). It’s reassuring to hear what they both said.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>This blog is almost
five years old, I can’t believe it.</b> In October
2011, I thought that I was almost ready to be published. But I wasn’t, and although I feel
that it’s getting closer, more time will pass before it happens. I have to say that
I’ve gone through phases of really trying, and of not trying hard enough,
because life has got in the way a little. But I’m still writing, and feeling
especially inspired after a recent pitch at the HNS conference-see my neetsmarketing post <a href="http://www.neetsmarketingblog.com/2016/09/why-help-at-writers-conference.html" target="_blank">here</a>.
And a few months ago, <b>a well-known, and successful
agent approached me asking to see my work</b>. Although they liked parts of it,
they didn’t feel strongly enough to take it on, but the fact that this agent
approached me with an informal email (which I’ve printed and pinned to the
notice board above my desk), something I could never have dreamed of when I
started this blog, was a real boost, and another step up the ladder to being
published. <b>And for anyone who says that blogging
and being on social media isn’t worth it for writers, well, I’d say it might
be.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Previous post: <a href="http://www.neetswriter.com/2016/05/my-mother-and-durrells.html" target="_blank">My Mother and The Durells</a></b><br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
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My post on how going back changes point of view mentions Siena in Italy: <a href="https://t.co/MDw1VjlPtT">https://t.co/MDw1VjlPtT</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TuesNews?src=hash">#TuesNews</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/RNAtweets">@RNAtweets</a> <a href="https://t.co/lRftOBYsJe">pic.twitter.com/lRftOBYsJe</a></div>
— Anita Chapman (@neetswriter) <a href="https://twitter.com/neetswriter/status/780663325222772736">September 27, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Anita Chapmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08643609708390860371noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7837881372529525579.post-5936257423557342242016-05-05T16:12:00.000+01:002016-05-10T12:32:30.092+01:00My Mother and The Durrells<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL1LDWybJxrVqsfuoMmcwNQxqL1LXf4UGSrM2qforaobMNEc4vCbVHIdjQzNnAuyZaWmnXTthdsl1-SEAA1RwpCAUuwrcMe5limq9SVB-VWNhcHH1WT3Jf62lxjT6frrH-ZTgLReHg7VE/s1600/NatGalleryviewoftrafalgarsquare.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL1LDWybJxrVqsfuoMmcwNQxqL1LXf4UGSrM2qforaobMNEc4vCbVHIdjQzNnAuyZaWmnXTthdsl1-SEAA1RwpCAUuwrcMe5limq9SVB-VWNhcHH1WT3Jf62lxjT6frrH-ZTgLReHg7VE/s320/NatGalleryviewoftrafalgarsquare.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of Trafalgar Square from steps of The National Gallery yesterday</td></tr>
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Tomorrow it will be fourteen years since my mother passed
away. Time heals, but there are reminders of her everywhere, which creep up
when I least expect them to. Once someone has gone, they're so quickly forgotten (unless they're in the public eye), and now some time has passed, these reminders which once made me sad, help to keep my memories of her alive. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>The latest reminder is the wonderful Sunday night TV series,
The Durrells</b>. My Family and Other Animals was one of my mother’s favourite
books, and she gave me a copy when I was around seven years old. It was one of
those books that stayed with me, and that copy is in the loft somewhere (must read it again). Some books you remember reading more than others, and I still recall the picture I built up in my mind of Gerald Durrell’s life in that house in Corfu. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>What’s so great about The Durrells?</b> Pure escapism: it’s set in
Corfu where the sun always shines, all the characters in the Durrell family have flaws,
and the overall message is it’s OK when things go wrong, when your kids don’t
do what you expect them to; and I especially like Larry’s life as a writer-the
scene where he’s sitting under a tree tapping furiously on his typewriter, when he says, ‘I’m in the
mood’. In last Sunday's episode, he received a rejection letter for
his novel; and after a long discussion with his girlfriend, he decided to give up being a writer and became a farmer for the day. Farming didn’t suit him, and at one point he cut his foot with a spade. By the
end of that episode, he announced that he was to be a writer and an intellectual. Besides all this, the actors are so well cast, led by Keeley Hawes, who plays Mrs Durrell beautifully.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>The Durrells, like Downton Abbey transports you to
a time when life was simpler and when there were fewer distractions.</b> Today, I’m
sure that the Durrells would have more of an outdoor life than in the UK
because of the better weather and different culture: but if they had WiFi in
that lovely house by the sea, perhaps Gerald would be too busy playing
Minecraft on his iPad to capture and learn about animals and insects; Leslie might
play Grand Theft Auto all day and night with strangers rather than shoot anything that
moves; Margo might take pouty selfies and upload them to Instagram and
Snapchat; Larry could be too busy writing self-indulgent blog posts, tweeting under the hashtag #amwriting and posting rants on Facebook to get any
writing done. And Mrs Durrell would perhaps have discovered online dating. From
what I’ve read online, The Durrells is loosely based on Gerald Durrell’s
trilogy, but that doesn't bother me; it's an hour’s holiday on a Sunday
evening, and I'm sure that my mother would have loved watching it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’m running <a href="http://www.neetsmarketing.com/may-2016-london/" target="_blank">a course on social media for writers on Saturday</a>
as my alter-ego neetsmarketing, and I went up to London yesterday to test out
the IT side of things. I had a couple of hours to spare before my meeting at
the hotel, so I went to a place where my mother always seems to be present: <b>The
National Gallery</b>. She used to take me to London often on the train as a child and
we’d go to The National Gallery before buying marmalade and sweets in Fortnum and Mason. At the time, I found this art gallery visit boring, as children generally do,
and I’d sit on the leather banquette biting my nails, waiting for her to hurry up and finish
studying the paintings, which seemed to take hours. But now I go there whenever I’m in London if I can, to see the paintings from my work in progress. Each time, I notice something
different, and being that close to them fuels the old inspiration.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Here’s an old post on <b>how my mother inspired my writing</b>: <a href="http://www.neetswriter.com/2011/12/why-do-i-write.html" target="_blank">Why do I write? </a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Previous post: </b><a href="http://www.neetswriter.com/2016/02/something-for-inspiration.html" target="_blank">Something for the Inspiration</a>, inspired by Elizabeth Gilbert's book, Big Magic.<br />
Latest post from my <b>neetsmarketing blog</b>: <a href="http://www.neetsmarketingblog.com/2016/04/how-can-real-life-and-social-media-work.html" target="_blank">How Can Real Life and Social Media Work Together?</a></div>
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<b>And here's the trailer for The Durrells:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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My post inspired by my mother and <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheDurrells?src=hash">#TheDurrells</a>: <a href="https://t.co/3np62qoNuG">https://t.co/3np62qoNuG</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TuesNews?src=hash">#TuesNews</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/RNAtweets">@RNAtweets</a> <a href="https://t.co/5ZDVpC3SGZ">pic.twitter.com/5ZDVpC3SGZ</a></div>
— Anita Chapman (@neetswriter) <a href="https://twitter.com/neetswriter/status/729938111636066305">10 May 2016</a></blockquote>
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Anita Chapmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08643609708390860371noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7837881372529525579.post-66921379701620172962016-04-19T01:00:00.000+01:002016-04-19T17:22:17.585+01:00Alison Morton on Taming Research!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">Alison Morton is my guest today, with advice on how to tame research.
I’ve known Alison for a few years, through Twitter, the<a href="http://www.romanticnovelistsassociation.org/" target="_blank"> Romantic Novelists’ Association</a>,
and the <a href="http://www.historicalnovelsociety.org/" target="_blank">Historical Novel Society</a> ("HNS"); and we've got to know each other especially well over the past year whilst working on publicity for the upcoming <a href="http://www.hnsoxford2016.org/" target="_blank">Historical Novel Society conference in Oxford</a> </span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 22px;">(I'm Publicity Officer, and Alison is Assistant Publicity Officer, as well as an Indie Co-ordinator)</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">. </span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Cp7Oly9-YKqtphC7vgZQn0lrCDAI_pLyA4g42p78BLPgBvLE1SMS3qdQ-ISOv_Z_0lcxIB9o7BZlaj1XlPY71TFt50wyExzU0Fwpr4Kdyx6t3F19cisLjeaO6YiY8XLCG2rJKW9tKv0/s1600/INSURRECTIO-general-banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Cp7Oly9-YKqtphC7vgZQn0lrCDAI_pLyA4g42p78BLPgBvLE1SMS3qdQ-ISOv_Z_0lcxIB9o7BZlaj1XlPY71TFt50wyExzU0Fwpr4Kdyx6t3F19cisLjeaO6YiY8XLCG2rJKW9tKv0/s400/INSURRECTIO-general-banner.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"><b>Last Tuesday, I met Alison for lunch at
the London Book Fair (I attended as my alter-ego, <a href="http://www.neetsmarketing.com/" target="_blank">neetsmarketing</a>) to talk about the HNS conference publicity, and later on that day, I
went to the launch for Alison’s latest thriller in the Roma Nova series,
INSURRECTIO, where I got my hands on a signed paperback, and met up with some lovely author friends. Here's a selfie from our lunch:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;"><b>Thank you, Alison for taking the time to write this post, and over to you!...</b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Getting organised – taming your research, by Alison Morton<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Research. Yeah, I know, a sticky
subject in more ways than one. Writing of any sort needs research whether it’s
a modern shoes-and-shopping story, fantasy, crime thriller or a historical <i>magnum
opus</i>. Readers will engage with your story as long as you keep their trust.
So your story has to be plausible (<i>even the elves..</i>.). </span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%;">Strongly coupled with this is the internal consistency of your book’s world,
especially if it’s historical, science fiction or gritty urban crime. Readers
investing their precious reading time in a rather strange place is high-risk
for them. So you must build that world carefully and thoroughly or your
credibility will crumble.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Leaving aside the cracking plot you’ve
dreamed up, its setting has to be woven into the story. You have to know the
scenery, weather, what the inhabitants look like, their clothes, beliefs and
values, do they use buses, trains, horses, or just plod everywhere on foot? Can
they vote and/or are they subject to a lord or lady’s whim?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Where do you start looking? What
resources do you have or can reach without breaking the bank? And how do you
organize what you’ve amassed?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Let’s get practical!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%;">1. Identify what do you need</span></b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> <br />
For my latest Roma Nova thriller, INSURRECTIO, I already had a g</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%;">ood general
background in history, politics and economics with geography thrown in and a
small specialist library of books on Roman life, women in Rome, and modern
military women from writing previous books in the series. But for this new one I
needed information about military tactics and weaponry, police procedures,
journey times, internal government procedures, mounting a <i>coup d’état</i>, dictatorships and resistance organisation. <br />
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Of course, if you’re writing a romance around an ice-cream shop, you’ll need to
dig into recipes, different types of milk, cream and flavourings, food handling
and hygiene standards, tourism, supply systems within the catering industry,
landlord and tenancy regulations, employment law, shop-fitting, weather
patterns, etc. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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You may already know something about those topics; I’d been in the military and
studied <a href="http://alison-morton.com/2016/03/25/women-in-uniform/" target="_blank">women in military roles and living under a dictatorship</a>, but I sat down and read
up on the things I knew I’d forgotten. My advice is to immerse yourself in the
period/world first so that your writing flows naturally when you come to draft the
story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%;">2. <b>Focus
your research</b> <br />
Draw up a list of questions with spaces in-between, then sit down and
write a short paragraph in answer to each. For example, what kind of climate
does your setting have? In Roma Nova, it’s a merge of mountain with Mediterranean,
which means longish summers; snow, high alps and pine trees in the mountains;
grapes and olives in the lower land; and dust and heat in mid-August in the
city. This will not only help your brain remember specifics subconsciously as
you write, but will be a valuable reference tool if you forget something!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%;">3. <b>Note
your sources</b> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Always jot down where you found your
information whether online or in the library or notes taken at a workshop. If
you’re a normal human being, you will forget. If I take a photo of something
fabulous in a museum, I always take one of the label; was that vase from the 1<sup>st</sup>
century BC or AD? If your heroine is looking through a contract, what’s the
reference for the Sales and Supply of Goods Act being replaced by the Consumer
Rights Act? And where did you read the difference between a Glock and a Sig
Sauer?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%;">4. Don’t exclude anything <br />
</span></b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Printed sources are obvious, but don’t discount the Internet. Wikipedia
has improved exponentially in the past few years and the bibliographies and
references at the end of articles can yield rich pickings. These references can
be easily stored - see 4 below – but be
ready to record and organise photos, podcasts, film and interviews. A
smartphone is very handy for this as long as you download content to your
online storage as soon as you can.<span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPsBDxTjWNX8kd-sRj7Kxu-cZEa1KstXrBfQGgwi5eYqxt2IceF05ErAtYp3088QxriHjAJ0kwnXgGtmwyl-R_cvbZ5iMsrjpCjd2_XBqc687FZ_byEoo5bpeVavBXnYprerHucHXg26M/s1600/Protopage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPsBDxTjWNX8kd-sRj7Kxu-cZEa1KstXrBfQGgwi5eYqxt2IceF05ErAtYp3088QxriHjAJ0kwnXgGtmwyl-R_cvbZ5iMsrjpCjd2_XBqc687FZ_byEoo5bpeVavBXnYprerHucHXg26M/s400/Protopage.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Protopage</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%;">5. Files or files?</span></b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> <br />
I’m a digital creature, so I tend to photograph, scan and store everything
online. But I back up to Dropbox, to an external hard disk called Time Machine
and lastly, to a remote storage server ‘somewhere in Kansas’. (Actually, it’s
in the Netherlands.) Instead of bookmarks for virtual links, I use Protopage computer
desktop organiser where I can organize my references into discrete
groupings: my books, Roman, other
research, writing technique, dictionaries and glossaries, marketing/PR,
self-publishing and that ubiquitous one ‘General’. Protopage is a free
programme and you can just scroll down if you don’t want to see the adverts at
the top. </span><u><span style="color: #001a7d; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><a href="http://www.protopage.com/" target="_blank">www.protopage.com</a></span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I have a few
paper-based files, mostly newspaper clippings, brochures, maps including an FAA
one of flight paths over Washington and New York – absolutely mesmerising! I
carry a notebook when I’m out to jot down overheard conversations or little
gestures people make, and to note information and sources other people give me.
I’ve usually taken a photo on my phone if it’s a building. And of course
reference books are the stalwarts of research on which tend to use Post-it
notes; I simply cannot bring myself to write on them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%;">My last piece of advice:
whether writing historical, contemporary, crime or alternate history like my
Roma Nova thrillers, be meticulous and methodical, whatever method you choose
to organise your research.</span><span style="color: red; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 22px;"><b>Thank you for such a helpful post, Alison. I look forward to using your tips to re-organise my mountain of research books on the eighteenth century, newspaper articles, country house guidebooks, online articles and scribbled notes! Protopage looks especially helpful. Congratulations on the launch of INSURRECTIO, and best wishes for continued success with your novels!</b></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Find out
more about Alison and INSURRECTIO below:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">INSURRECTIO</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">‘The second
fall of Rome?’<br />
Aurelia Mitela, ex-Praetorian and imperial councillor in Roma Nova, scoffs at
her intelligence chief when he throws a red file on her desk.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">But early 1980s
Roma Nova, the last province of the Roman Empire that has survived into the
twentieth century, has problems – a ruler frightened of governing, a
centuries-old bureaucracy creaking for reform and, worst of all, a rising
nationalist movement with a charismatic leader.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Horrified when
her daughter is brutally attacked in a demonstration turned riot, Aurelia tries
to rally resistance to the growing fear and instability. But it may already be
too late to save Roma Nova from meltdown and herself from entrapment and
destruction by her lifelong enemy.…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoqzS_4yxFkLtpV2xph9KXqNrfS-xI9ano05Fv0PgfQ0CBeUP3q7ldKcDehH1qYbn0k3Iw6jTMCKjaLVZH8n09Q3uZC43kIeKLoyVwFpvgmNFGuHw5hADb1j6JVgP-21PRLVTSQV5UHX4/s1600/Alisonprofilepic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoqzS_4yxFkLtpV2xph9KXqNrfS-xI9ano05Fv0PgfQ0CBeUP3q7ldKcDehH1qYbn0k3Iw6jTMCKjaLVZH8n09Q3uZC43kIeKLoyVwFpvgmNFGuHw5hADb1j6JVgP-21PRLVTSQV5UHX4/s200/Alisonprofilepic.jpg" width="168" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Alison
Morton's bio </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Even before she
pulled on her first set of combats, Alison Morton was fascinated by the idea of
women soldiers. Brought up by a feminist mother and an ex-military father, it
never occurred to her that women couldn’t serve their country in the armed
forces. Everybody in her family had done time in uniform and in theatre all
over the globe.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Busy in her day
job, Alison joined the Territorial Army in a special communications regiment
and left as a captain, having done all sorts of interesting and exciting things
no civilian would ever know or see. Or that she can talk about, even now…<o:p></o:p></div>
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But something
else fuels her writing… Fascinated by the mosaics at Ampurias (Spain), at their
creation by the complex, power and value-driven Roman civilisation she started
wondering what a modern Roman society would be like if run by strong women. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Alison lives in
France and writes Roman-themed thrillers with tough heroines.<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Books:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<a href="http://alison-morton.com/inceptio/"><b><span style="color: #3f006d; text-decoration: none;">INCEPTIO</span></b></a><b>,</b> the
first in the Roma Nova series<o:p></o:p></div>
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– shortlisted for
the 2013 International Rubery Book Award<o:p></o:p></div>
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– B.R.A.G.
Medallion<o:p></o:p></div>
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– finalist in
2014 Writing Magazine Self-Published Book of the Year<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://alison-morton.com/perfiditas/"><b><span style="color: #6b0001; text-decoration: none;">PERFIDITAS</span></b></a>, second
in series<o:p></o:p></div>
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– B.R.A.G.
Medallion<o:p></o:p></div>
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– finalist in
2014 Writing Magazine Self-Published Book of the Year<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://alison-morton.com/successio/"><b><span style="color: #032553; text-decoration: none;">SUCCESSIO</span></b></a>, third in
series<o:p></o:p></div>
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– Historical
Novel Society’s indie Editor’s Choice for Autumn 2014<o:p></o:p></div>
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– B.R.A.G.
Medallion<o:p></o:p></div>
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– Editor’s
choice, The Bookseller’s inaugural Indie Preview, December 2014<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #005400; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://alison-morton.com/books-2/aurelia/"><b><span style="color: #005400; text-decoration: none;">AURELIA</span></b></a></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #3f006d; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">,</span></b><span lang="EN-US"> fourth in series, the first of a new cycle of
three<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">– Historical Novel Society’s indie Editor’s Choice for
Autumn 2015<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">– Shortlisted for the 2016 HNS Indie Award<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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– B.R.A.G.
Medallion<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Fact file:</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Education:</b> BA French, German & Economics, MA
History<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Memberships</b>: International Thriller Writers, Historical
Novel Society, Alliance of Independent Authors, Society of Authors, Romantic
Novelists’ Association <br />
Represented by Blake Friedman Literary Agency for overseas and ancillary rights<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Social media links:</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Connect with
Alison on her <a href="http://alison-morton.com/" target="_blank">Roma Nova site</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/AlisonMortonAuthor" target="_blank">Facebook authorpage</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/alison_morton" target="_blank">@alison-morton</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5783095.Alison_Morton" target="_blank">Goodreads</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://alison-morton.com/books-2/insurrectio/where-to-buy-insurrectio/" target="_blank">Buying link for Alison’s latest book (multiple retailers/formats)</a></div>
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<a href="https://youtu.be/eXGslRLjv6g" target="_blank">INSURRECTIO book trailer</a><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
Great tips on my blog by <a href="https://twitter.com/alison_morton">@alison_morton</a> about Taming Research: <a href="https://t.co/wFHma1TJj8">https://t.co/wFHma1TJj8</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TuesNews?src=hash">#TuesNews</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/RNAtweets">@RNAtweets</a> <a href="https://t.co/dnYOgZsM92">pic.twitter.com/dnYOgZsM92</a></div>
— Anita Chapman (@neetswriter) <a href="https://twitter.com/neetswriter/status/722318916807069697">19 April 2016</a></blockquote>
<br />
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script></div>
Anita Chapmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08643609708390860371noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7837881372529525579.post-86072127833432556012016-02-29T19:33:00.001+00:002016-02-29T20:25:01.675+00:00Something for the Inspiration<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
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I’ve written
a few posts about inspiration on this blog, and recently I read <i>Big Magic:
Creative Living Beyond Fear</i> by <a href="http://www.elizabethgilbert.com/" target="_blank">Elizabeth Gilbert</a>, author of <i>Eat Pray Love</i>, a New York Times Best Seller for over
200 weeks: a memoir of her journey of self-discovery, set in Italy, India and
Bali; and a film with Julia Roberts and Javier Bardem. If you’ve visited this
blog before, you’re likely to know that I’m a big Italy fan (and yoga fan too),
and so of course I bought <i>Eat Pray Love</i> as soon as I heard about it, and went to
see the film when it came out at the cinema. Elizabeth Gilbert writes in a particularly
engaging way, somehow provoking those thoughts that you brush away when going about
daily life.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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I like to
read how-to-write books, my favourite being<i> On Writing</i> by Stephen King (mentioned
here in previous post, <a href="http://www.neetswriter.com/2014/01/how-do-you-get-past-writers-block.html" target="_blank">How Do You Get Past Writer’s Block</a>?), and these books live on the same shelf as
my favourite novels, and eighteenth century research books. <i>Big Magic</i> is one of
those books you might want to flick through when you can’t bring yourself to
write, when you’re ready to give up, and when the idea of being a writer is
driving you nuts; but because you’ve started you feel that you can’t go back to
not being a writer. Elizabeth Gilbert is like a gentle mother reassuring a
small child, with the message <i>don’t worry, it’s all OK, you can have a break from it if
it’s too much, you’re good enough to be a writer. And all that work you’ve done
so far-even if it’s a load of old rubbish and you’ll never use it-has been
worthwhile because it’s helped you develop as a writer</i>. Think of <i>Big Magic</i> as a mother’s
advice tailored to your writing life.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A favourite part of <i>Big Magic</i> is
about ‘combinatory play’. Elizabeth talks about how, if you’re stuck to get
involved with another kind of creative activity:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>‘Once, when I was struggling with a book, I signed up for a drawing
class, just to open up some other kind of creative channel within my mind.’<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i> </i></div>
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She
goes on to say:</div>
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<i style="text-indent: 36pt;"><br /></i></div>
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<span style="text-indent: 36pt;">'</span><i style="text-indent: 36pt;">Einstein called this tactic “combinatory play”-the act of opening up
one mental channel by dabbling in another.......Part of the trick of
combinatory play, I think, is that it quiets your ego and your fears by
lowering the stakes.’</i></div>
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<span style="text-indent: 36pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="text-indent: 36pt;">When I get stuck, I visit potential scenes from my work in progress and take photos, go for scenic walks and take photos, up the yoga classes, do research, read bits of novels which I consider to
be the best ever written, read novels set in the same time period as my work
in progress, read how-to-write books, make a cake or a big roast lunch for my family. I write
blog posts like this one.</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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There are
lots of thoughts and ideas to ponder upon in <i>Big Magic</i>, and when you find
yourself pausing the writing because life gets in the way, and can’t seem to
unpause: I’d recommend keeping a copy of<i> Big Magic </i>on standby.</div>
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Since last month’s post, <a href="http://www.neetswriter.com/2016/01/taking-amwriting-seriously.html" target="_blank">Taking the #amwriting seriously</a>, I have been doing as the title suggests (apart from a half
term pause), but I’ll keep <i>Big Magic</i> within my reach next to <i>On Writing</i>, just
in case.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And here’s a YouTube clip from <i>Eat Pray Love</i>. When I went
to see this film at the cinema, the friend sitting next to me started to fall
asleep as it’s quite a long film, and you either ‘get’ the middle ‘Pray’ part
in India where Elizabeth Gilbert does a lot of meditating and soul-searching, or
you don’t. But when the ‘Love’ part of the film began in Bali with Javier
Bardem, she sat up in her chair and said, ‘Who is that?’</div>
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Some reviews of <i>Eat Pray Love</i> say the book is self-indulgent, but both book and film resonated with
me; perhaps because I like the way Elizabeth Gilbert writes, or because of the Italy part, the
yoga part, or due to Javier’s appearance in the film. Who knows? <o:p></o:p></div>
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Anita Chapmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08643609708390860371noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7837881372529525579.post-2775701860487237392016-01-21T12:32:00.000+00:002016-01-21T12:32:02.845+00:00Taking the #amwriting seriously<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ57d76Jeh-Ifl6FT_cdUyzTLxqpTvp94VhlleX8lLDLGPNrd6KG2MTlfELNQxi5iNJL1s33dO7-Q60MM0CkFwpKPgkYKgCTPoinluFscMf8grW2Dzil3KQiE2p83jtXk-lFIgjD4kqWI/s1600/lakegardaneetswriter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ57d76Jeh-Ifl6FT_cdUyzTLxqpTvp94VhlleX8lLDLGPNrd6KG2MTlfELNQxi5iNJL1s33dO7-Q60MM0CkFwpKPgkYKgCTPoinluFscMf8grW2Dzil3KQiE2p83jtXk-lFIgjD4kqWI/s320/lakegardaneetswriter.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div>
I mentioned in my previous <a href="http://www.neetswriter.com/2015/12/writing-reflections-and-plans.html" target="_blank">Writing Reflections and Plans</a> post that this neetswriter blog
helps to keep my writing in check, and that’s certainly true.</div>
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I’ve been working on my novel daily with a new determination,
updating my spreadsheet with the word count, working towards my end of month target, even when the word count decreases because I’ve
cut bits out. This is the year of my book, this is the year that I’ll submit my
book 2, and my goal is to get it finished before the <a href="https://hnsoxford2016.org/" target="_blank">Historical Novel Society Conference</a>. My deadline is 2 September 2016.<o:p></o:p></div>
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There are days, aren’t there, where you write, and you
produce rubbish, and you read it back (or don't even bother because you know it's totally rubbish), and think, ‘this isn’t working, and it
never will.’ The next day, you say to yourself, ‘I’m going to leave it today,
it’s just not working.’ Then it can be a week or more before you return to your
manuscript. But I can’t do that this year, if I’m going to get book 2
finished. I need to produce the rubbish to produce the good stuff (but ideally produce writing gold all of the time). Because it’s
like learning to drive (pre-Sat Nav), when you got lost and drove around for
ages, trying to find your way to the right road. I had to get lost all of those
times to get to know the roads around me. And isn’t that the case with many
things? You have to get a bit lost to find your way, you have to make mistakes
to know when you’re not making mistakes.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So there you go, my first neetswriter post of 2016.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A belated Happy New Year, and best wishes for a fantastic
2016.</div>
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And in true neetswriter blog tradition, I’m posting a summer
holiday photo because it’s cold out there (in the UK), and the above photo is of a place where I’d like
to be right now, watching the boats speed up and down Lake Garda. With perhaps one of these in my hand and a good book to read:</div>
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Anita Chapmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08643609708390860371noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7837881372529525579.post-81567877613308470382015-12-18T16:38:00.000+00:002016-01-21T11:24:20.680+00:00Writing Reflections and Plans<div class="MsoNormal">
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I’ve been reflecting on
some of my neetswriter posts from 2015, as the end of December is fast approaching. One of the highlights of this year was a
road trip to Italy, with a research day in Venice:</div>
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<a href="http://www.neetswriter.com/2015/01/7-ways-to-finish-writing-book.html" target="_blank">7 Ways to Finish Writing the Book</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.neetswriter.com/2015/03/getting-back-into-writing-after-break.html" target="_blank">Getting Back into Writing after a Break </a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.neetswriter.com/2015/05/getting-that-manuscript-finished.html" target="_blank"><br /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.neetswriter.com/2015/05/getting-that-manuscript-finished.html" target="_blank">Getting that Manuscript Finished</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.neetswriter.com/2015/06/falling-back-in-love-with-writing.html" target="_blank">Falling Back in Love with Writing</a> </div>
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<a href="http://www.neetswriter.com/2015/08/a-grand-tour-deadline-and-course.html" target="_blank">A Grand Tour, a Deadline and a Course</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.neetswriter.com/2015/10/how-do-you-prepare-for-writing-retreat.html" target="_blank">How do You Prepare for a Writing Retreat?</a> </div>
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Can you see a trend?!<o:p></o:p></div>
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My neetswriter blog has become an ongoing pep talk to myself, a useful way to keep my writing in check. Writing has become a thing that gets squeezed in between
other things, but I do want to carry on with it. One achievement this year is
that I have fallen back in love with writing (as per my June post), and I’ve spent a significant amount of time on my work in progress, which has moved forwards in
the past few months. But my WIP is a big project, being partly set in the
eighteenth century, a period I'm drawn to (and I don't know why!); and it will take time to complete, mainly because of the research involved. <o:p></o:p></div>
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From 2016 I shall
be an Associate Member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association ("RNA") as my alter-ego, <a href="http://www.neetsmarketing.com/" target="_blank">neetsmarketing</a>, a freelance social media manager with clients in the world of books. This means that I’ll be leaving the RNA's New Writers’ Scheme (a
wonderful, supportive scheme for unpublished writers) at the end of this year. I’ve
been on the NWS since 2010, and I think it’s time to free up a space for
someone else. I’ll continue to write, of course, and pursue my quest to be
published in other ways. It’s such a privilege to be accepted as an Associate
Member of the RNA, wearing my <a href="http://www.neetsmarketing.com/" target="_blank">neetsmarketing</a> hat. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Also, I’m excited to tell you that I've been invited by Jane
Bidder to speak about social media for writers at the <a href="http://www.freelancemediagroup.org.uk/Next_meeting.html" target="_blank">Freelance Media Group</a> in London on 14 March 2016. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I’d like to thank everyone who has supported my neetswriter
blog in 2015, and my <a href="http://www.neetsmarketingblog.com/" target="_blank">neetsmarketing blog</a> which I launched this time last year.
My neetsmarketing blog on social media for writers and book marketing has received more support than I ever expected, and I’ve
had some fabulous guests this year too. My latest neetsmarketing post, inspired by client questions is <a href="http://www.neetsmarketingblog.com/2015/12/19-tips-on-how-to-be-ideal-blog-guest.html" target="_blank">19 Tips on How to be the Ideal Blog Guest</a>.</div>
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Now I’m off to locate the Michael Bublé Christmas CD, which has completely disappeared, and to make some mince pies. I wish you all a
Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year. See you in 2016!<br />
<br />
New neetsmarketing post: <a href="http://www.neetsmarketingblog.com/2015/12/neetsmarketing-one-year-on.html" target="_blank">neetsmarketing One Year On</a></div>
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Anita Chapmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08643609708390860371noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7837881372529525579.post-31420737137609501482015-10-30T18:38:00.000+00:002015-11-01T18:05:05.932+00:00How do you Prepare for a Writing Retreat?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sheffield Park and Garden</td></tr>
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This
half-term has been filled with family walks; and making soup, biscuits and crumble. Plus I've ploughed my way through most of a hard-going, but informative eighteenth century journal and worked on my novel during spare moments. Next week it will be
back to the school run, sourcing bits of costume for Christmas productions, using the art of persuasion to get homework done; and of course my <a href="http://www.neetsmarketing.com/" target="_blank">neetsmarketing</a> work.</div>
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Over the
years, I’ve been on a few writing retreats and I can’t wait to escape to a cottage
next weekend with my favourite group of writing friends. This time though, my
approach will be different because apart from ensuring there is a substantial supply of Prosecco and crisps, I’ll know what I’m working on before I arrive. On the past couple of retreats, I’ve spent much of the time planning and reading research,
but now my work in progress is progressing at its fastest rate for a while
because I’ve fine-tuned the plot by writing previous drafts.<br />
<br />
The finish line for Book 2 is finally approaching, and I want to make the most of two days with zero distraction, where I don’t have to justify time spent writing. This week, my aim is to find a couple of hours every day to write, so it
won’t take long to get into the zone when I arrive (once we’ve consumed the
Prosecco and crisps, of course). So off I go to write...see you in November.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">In other news, booking is open for:</span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The Historical Novel Society Conference in
Oxford, 2-4 September 2016!</span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA04rQCnyyq7CqfZq4y9ZmcnwRt3yLVdzMN55e5zJibGr5vRbRDSOtdN6BEU11QdSlTZL6qE7_LC9WhSPphzbfp3JGm35AwZZ7DXAvX002TUj3lfyfaZ1k9mHo1RkuyxanGqpxODxZ_pY/s1600/HNSOxford16g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA04rQCnyyq7CqfZq4y9ZmcnwRt3yLVdzMN55e5zJibGr5vRbRDSOtdN6BEU11QdSlTZL6qE7_LC9WhSPphzbfp3JGm35AwZZ7DXAvX002TUj3lfyfaZ1k9mHo1RkuyxanGqpxODxZ_pY/s320/HNSOxford16g.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the Mathematical Institute, Oxford<br />
Photo used with kind permission of Lorna Fergusson</td></tr>
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I'm Publicity Officer for the next HNS conference, where keynote speakers include Melvyn Bragg, Fay Weldon, Tracy Chevalier and Kate Williams. The conference will kick off on Friday night with a drinks reception to include a special event with Fay Weldon in conversation with Jo Baker about writing the <i>Big House</i> story. The Saturday night Gala dinner will include a costume pageant, plus historical suspense readings to follow. This is just a hint of what's on that weekend; and you can find out more and book <a href="https://hnsoxford2016.org/" target="_blank">via the website</a>. I'm also the HNS Social Media Manager, and you can follow the HNS on Twitter <a href="http://www.twitter.com/histnovsoc" target="_blank">@histnovsoc</a>, and on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/historicalnovelsociety" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.<br />
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<br />
<b>Previous neetswriter posts:</b><br />
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<a href="http://www.neetswriter.com/2015/09/lisa-eveleigh-on-what-agents-look-for.html" target="_blank">Lisa Eveleigh on What Agents Look For</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.neetswriter.com/2015/08/a-grand-tour-deadline-and-course.html" target="_blank">A Grand Tour, a Deadline, and a Course</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.neetswriter.com/search/label/writing%20retreats" target="_blank">Posts on writing retreats</a></div>
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<b>neetsmarketing posts (my blog on social media for writers and book marketing):</b><br />
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<a href="http://www.neetsmarketingblog.com/2015/10/how-can-writers-use-their-photos-on.html" target="_blank">How Can Writers Use their Photos on Social Media? </a>(covers Instagram and Pinterest)<br />
<a href="http://www.neetsmarketingblog.com/2015/10/liz-fenwick-on-using-twitter-to-connect.html" target="_blank">Liz Fenwick on Using Twitter to Connect with Readers</a><br />
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Anita Chapmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08643609708390860371noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7837881372529525579.post-15144995286217984452015-09-18T01:00:00.000+01:002015-09-18T13:09:11.852+01:00Lisa Eveleigh on What Agents Look For<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPzkTNiqJvoL37GAG3y1AZVvp2XqjP-Dscz2VWMSjKW9HCicoIvbTN8ccHCwLyYUcGX4mWizJ6woGzjJHeNcDwNKPF2UALK2BvkvF1HevkCNIhl-3jFQHgCkc6GAaD_KTZjo-QbS-cRR8/s1600/LisaEveleighpic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPzkTNiqJvoL37GAG3y1AZVvp2XqjP-Dscz2VWMSjKW9HCicoIvbTN8ccHCwLyYUcGX4mWizJ6woGzjJHeNcDwNKPF2UALK2BvkvF1HevkCNIhl-3jFQHgCkc6GAaD_KTZjo-QbS-cRR8/s200/LisaEveleighpic.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 20.8px;"><b><a class="twitter-share-button" data-hashtags="amwriting" data-text="Literary Agent, Lisa Eveleigh @richfordbabe on What Agents Look For" data-url="http://www.neetswriter.com/2015/09/lisa-eveleigh-on-what-agents-look-for.html" data-via="neetswriter" href="https://twitter.com/share">Tweet</a></b></span></span><br />
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<b style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 15.6pt;">My guest today is literary agent, Lisa Eveleigh from <a href="http://www.richfordbecklow.com/" target="_blank">Richford Becklow Literary Agency</a>, who kindly accepted my invitation to write a post for this blog. I first met Lisa at The Romantic Novelists' Association's Conference in July 2014, and we saw each other again at The Historical Novel Society Conference, a couple of months later when I helped to organise the setup for the agent pitches. We've since bumped into each other at various events, and it's lovely to host Lisa on my blog. Thank you, Lisa for visiting, and over to you...</b><br />
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<b style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Lisa
Eveleigh on What Agents Look For:</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 15.6pt;">Hello
everyone and thanks for inviting me to the blog, Anita.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The first
thing to say is that agents really want to like every submission they are sent
and dream of finding a bestseller. You
can increase your chances of being read quickly by a polished approach.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Do follow
the submission guidelines on an agency website to the letter, and make sure
that you aren’t submitting a genre that the agent doesn’t represent; for me
that means no horror or erotica. Do email your submission if requested and
don’t send by post if the agency website asks you not to. Don’t phone to pitch
your book – ever. Somehow the phone seems to deaden a story and in any case we
make decisions solely based on the quality of the writing and the way a story
is told.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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If you are submitting to more than one agent at a time that’s fine, but please
say so. Write the very best submission letter that you can, then print it
and read it again after a good night’s sleep to see if it can be improved in
any way.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Write the very best novel you can and then put it aside for a week – or even
two - before reading it <u>out loud</u> to yourself – you will almost
certainly hear any faults in your dialogue, and revise things, and they
will always be good changes. It’s not a
great idea to send a first or second draft, because a third is always better
and I know many authors who do four. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I personally have </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">truly
eclectic taste in fiction written for women. I love novels by Jilly Cooper,
Katie Fforde, JoJo Moyes Marian Keyes just as much as books by Helen
Dunmore, Raffaella Barker, Elizabeth Jane Howard, Esther Freud and Julie
Myerson. So I’m very open to both literary and commercial fiction, contemporary
and historical. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">But if
I think about what attracts me to all the writers named above it has to be that
they all create strong, memorable characters, describe the scenery and the
natural world convincingly, and write with a strong sense of time and
place. So I’m looking for all those qualities in a submission, and
if I’m made to laugh or get a bit teary then that’s a good sign too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">This is
how to approach an agent in the best possible way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">Send a
professional presentation consisting of; a brief but compelling covering
letter, a one-page synopsis and the first three chapters.
Manuscripts should be double-spaced throughout and use a clear font like Times
New Roman or Garamond. I only accept submissions by email, as Word attachments<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">Explain
in your covering letter what you’re aiming to achieve, and what you think
your market is<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">If
appropriate, tell me writers you admire and think you may be similar to, or
define your USP (Unique Selling Point)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">I
always read past the first page anyway, knowing that openings can be
tricky, but there’s no doubt that a really arresting first paragraph does
impress. Write and rewrite until you’re happy that it is going to grab an
agent’s attention.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">It’s
not a good idea to send a novel before you’ve finished it. Debut writers need to shape and structure an
entire novel before it is ready to be seen, and let it grow into the best work
it can be. Surprising things can happen even if an author is working to a
detailed synopsis; a character can suddenly do something wholly
unexpected. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">That
said, I do work on fiction as it is being written with my existing clients but
this is after we have worked on a few titles together and know each other’s
rhythm. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">It’s
also quite important that authors know how to conduct a relationship with an
agent once they have formed a partnership. Constantly asking ‘is there any
news?’ is frustrating to the agent who obviously has a vested interest in
making deals and chasing up submissions. Any good agent will keep an author in
touch with progress when time permits so resist the temptation to hassle! It’s also important to respect the
confidentiality of the relationship so be discreet in what you share with other
writers. That doesn’t mean that you can’t pass on useful contacts you’ve made
in the industry but do beware that gossip can backfire. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">Lastly,
it may seem like stating the obvious but it’s important that writers read as
widely as possible in order to enrich and enhance their own skills and to avoid
writing a story that someone else already has…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">Good
luck! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><b>Writers seeking agent representation will undoubtedly find this post very helpful, Lisa, and thank you so much for writing it! (Wish I'd had this post to read when I first started submitting Book 1!)</b></span><br />
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<b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">About Lisa:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 15.6pt;">Lisa Eveleigh read English literature at the University of
Durham and began her media career at the BBC where she was a researcher. </span><span style="line-height: 15.6pt;">Meeting authors and their publicists, she
realised that most successful writers had agents. She then set about becoming
one…</span></div>
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After 10 years at A P Watt, the oldest literary agency in
the world, where she was a Director, she set up her own agency, and following a
career sabbatical in Glasgow came back to London and founded Richford
Becklow. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The agency is named after the street she lived in before she
moved to Glasgow, and the road she lived in when she moved back, signifying a
new beginning to her agency career. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Lisa is currently doing a part-time MA in Biography and
Creative Non-Fiction at the University of East Anglia. This only takes her out of London for one afternoon
a week and ‘I represent very little biography, yet I read it in my private
time. It is fascinating to explore a
genre that is slightly out of my agent comfort-zone, and since I’m allowed to
do a Creative writing module in Year 2, I have chosen ‘Adaptation and
Interpretation’ which means I shall have to write the beginning of a screenplay
based on a novel that I love. This will
also add to my agency skills.’ <o:p></o:p></div>
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Lisa lives in London with cats Nate and Snoop, and Stewart
McCartney, who is an author and TV question-writer.</div>
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<a href="http://www.richfordbecklow.com/" style="line-height: 15.6pt;" target="_blank">Richford Becklow Literary Agency website</a></div>
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<b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Lisa
published a book in June 2015, and the wonderful painting below is from the
cover.</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Beauty and
Chivalry: The Duchess of Richmond's Ball</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisdAqJpv7qaHwCPgAY5KktF9uF42Txiesg-Iiljgan5XriVXei8cJHQba2LJrv7uuG-3HzUMJ3cuq-o8SgQIMq9d2zehVY1sFvz0GZeKJ66Som7FXoi95C0nRc5Rb1BQCoRXtLhoQE3iM/s1600/LisaEbookcover2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisdAqJpv7qaHwCPgAY5KktF9uF42Txiesg-Iiljgan5XriVXei8cJHQba2LJrv7uuG-3HzUMJ3cuq-o8SgQIMq9d2zehVY1sFvz0GZeKJ66Som7FXoi95C0nRc5Rb1BQCoRXtLhoQE3iM/s320/LisaEbookcover2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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<i><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">Summoned to Waterloo: Brussels, Dawn of June 16<sup>th</sup>, 1815<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">By Robert Alexander Hillingford, 1898</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 20.8px;"><b>Brussels, June 1815: </b></span><span style="line-height: 15.6pt;">The Duke of Wellington was marshalling the Allied forces in
readiness to fight Napoleon, who had escaped from Elba in February. The many
British living in the city at the time were enjoying cricket matches,
race-meetings and picnics despite the threat of war. </span></div>
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On the fifteenth, the ambitious Charlotte, Duchess of Richmond, held what was
to become the most famous Ball in history. Published to coincide with the
Waterloo bicentary, the book recounts the experiences of those at the ball, and
the surprising coincidence that Wellington's despatch was presented to the
Prince Regent at another ball, six momentous days later.</div>
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<a href="http://amzn.to/1FCXfpw" target="_blank">Amazon.co.uk</a></div>
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<a href="http://bit.ly/1dKjWSb" target="_blank">Beauty and Chivalry: The Duchess of Richmond's Ball blog</a></div>
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<b>I have downloaded Lisa's book, and look forward to reading it, especially as it's set a few years after my current work in progress ends; a fascinating period in history. </b></div>
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<b>My previous post on this neetswriter blog: <a href="http://www.neetswriter.com/2015/08/a-grand-tour-deadline-and-course.html" target="_blank">A Grand Tour, a Deadline, and a Course</a> </b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>My latest post on neetsmarketing blog: <a href="http://www.neetsmarketingblog.com/2015/09/managing-what-your-friends-see-on.html" target="_blank">Managing What Your Friends See on Facebook</a></b></div>
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Anita Chapmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08643609708390860371noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7837881372529525579.post-81915914747331939992015-08-26T13:47:00.001+01:002015-10-30T11:37:35.344+00:00A Grand Tour, a Deadline, and a Course<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMEarYo-IrCPkO301BIoFRJGl2tmNr_q_stk88Ktvp3qH3WckWfwR54QTj574y64KPsti2PTDpuP2nmxNNyqoiMLcp_KOgx3uMM2lD0CTXVuH9HLIpooQMAzD3-Nqxyk9mhMp0nQ4-CIw/s1600/IMG_3723.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMEarYo-IrCPkO301BIoFRJGl2tmNr_q_stk88Ktvp3qH3WckWfwR54QTj574y64KPsti2PTDpuP2nmxNNyqoiMLcp_KOgx3uMM2lD0CTXVuH9HLIpooQMAzD3-Nqxyk9mhMp0nQ4-CIw/s320/IMG_3723.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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This summer I went to Italy, by car with my family. My dad used to drive our family to Tuscany every year, and it was
lovely to go on a similar holiday with my husband and children. My current work in progress includes a journey to Italy, by chaise when the roads in the Alps were so poor that travellers would have the chaise dismantled and transported by mule whilst they were carried by sedan chairs. The journey these days is of course much easier, but still a long way, and by the end of the holiday, we'd covered 2000 miles.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisXqc0RRe2PPVePMOedfsbno1BhV-8haEBjDMxceqliflfLLDmscBvE59hF3I8VXnvYCHLuHrL8kHF_5MpxQnl19p50OI5Uc-3nYVhbZ4kGoEzKjsRpTlhDjX4ASPr7kHNpK60ugezocQ/s1600/Champagne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisXqc0RRe2PPVePMOedfsbno1BhV-8haEBjDMxceqliflfLLDmscBvE59hF3I8VXnvYCHLuHrL8kHF_5MpxQnl19p50OI5Uc-3nYVhbZ4kGoEzKjsRpTlhDjX4ASPr7kHNpK60ugezocQ/s200/Champagne.jpg" width="78" /></a></div>
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We drove through France, making a few overnight stops en route: via Épernay in the Champagne region
where a glass of Champagne with dinner was €3.50; Pontarlier, then over the Grand St Bernard Pass to St
Vincent in Aosta Valley. After that, we drove along the Italian motorway, on a par with the M25 at its busiest with lots of last minute pulling into the fast lane without any indicators; past Turin, Milan, Verona,
until we reached Lido di Jesolo, a resort near Venice. I’ve been to Lido di Jesolo a few times, the first time aged seven, and I returned in my twenties. Lido di Jesolo is a hectic town with a constant buzz and although I loved it there in my twenties, this time four nights was long enough.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIgWmEMOfuma7rVjU561GRdv4LqwjkTcUvEUN2v7hajwVp2OlgOWIQY4eiBHBLiTU0frxzYj6Wli5ClE432KHpO-hlh1PwZJl8vq7Ack0GVABjNMm3loeuo5PAbyR_BVfMawFu-VIInAA/s1600/IMG_3792.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIgWmEMOfuma7rVjU561GRdv4LqwjkTcUvEUN2v7hajwVp2OlgOWIQY4eiBHBLiTU0frxzYj6Wli5ClE432KHpO-hlh1PwZJl8vq7Ack0GVABjNMm3loeuo5PAbyR_BVfMawFu-VIInAA/s200/IMG_3792.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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Lido di Jesolo has a long, sandy beach with a road running parallel, which is packed with restaurants, shops, bars and ice-cream parlours. We were there for a few days, as I wanted to take my children to Venice, and do a spot of research whilst I was there. We discovered a new trend for the 'pick and mix' version of selecting ice-cream, complete with taps for all sorts of flavours-liquorice was my favourite; and a fine assortment of toppings, including fudge pieces, chocolate and caramel sauce, and more...a popular venue for us all every evening after dinner.</div>
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Then, on to Lake Garda, where I read on a sunlounger with this fabulous view; and watched the boats go by: water ski-iers, yachts, and speedboats whizzing up and down the lake. In Malcesine, on Lake Garda, I ate my favourite meal of the holiday, the best mussels and clams ever.</div>
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After a few days in Lake Garda, we began the journey home, via Cormayeur at the foot of the Italian Alps, which has breathtaking views in all directions. We had a bit of a National Lampoon moment in Cormayeur when we arrived, as the Sat Nav kept taking us around the one-way system, back to the bus station, over and over again. Eventually I found the tourist office, and picked up a good old-fashioned map. And we discovered that our B&B was on the other side of the river, with this view:</div>
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Then, on to Dijon where I saw this wonderful sixteenth century tapestry of the Siege of Dijon by the Swiss which took place in September 1513. After Dijon, we stopped at Le Touquet overnight, a favourite place of mine, then took the ferry back to Dover. </div>
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The following morning, I ignored the unpacked suitcases around me, and greatly inspired by our trip, immersed myself in my manuscript because the deadline for the <a href="http://www.romanticnovelistsassociation.org/join/notes_for_nws_applicants" target="_blank">RNA New Writers’ Scheme</a> is the end of August. I posted a partial yesterday, and I've made huge progress over the past week, transporting myself to the eighteenth century, where I incorporated research from Venice into the story. More pics from the road trip are on <a href="https://instagram.com/neetswriter" target="_blank">Instagram</a>.</div>
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I’m running a Social Media Course for Writers on 3 October 2015 at The Hotel Mandolay in Guildford, which is £70, from 10am-5pm, including a two course lunch, plus refreshments (with cake in the afternoon). It promises to be a fun day with the chance to socialise with other writers. Attendees can bring their laptops and tweet/update Facebook live, and see results on the big screen (only if they wish to, of course). Bookings have been coming in over the past couple of weeks, and places are limited, so let me know if you'd like to book at anitajchapman at gmail dot com; and find out more <a href="http://www.neetsmarketing.com/courses.html" target="_blank">via my website</a>. Four members of the RNA have signed up. You can read my neetsmarketing blog on social media and book marketing for writers <a href="http://www.neetsmarketingblog.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
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And in other news, I'm Publicity Officer for the next Historical Novel Society Conference in Oxford, 2-4 September 2016. I'm very much looking forward to a committee meeting at the venue in late September. There is the option to submit your email address <a href="https://hnsoxford2016.org/" target="_blank">here</a>, and the HNS will send you an email when the website is ready.</div>
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I have a special guest appearing on this blog on 18 September, Lisa Eveleigh of <a href="http://www.richfordbecklow.com/About.php" target="_blank">Richford Becklow Literary Agency</a> on 'What Agents Look For'. Lisa has recently published a book 'Beauty and Chivalry: The Duchess of Richmond's Ball', and you can find out more <a href="https://duchessofrichmondsball.wordpress.com/about/" target="_blank">here</a>. I'm very much looking forward to Lisa's post.</div>
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Hope you've had a good summer, and it's good to be back!</div>
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Anita Chapmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08643609708390860371noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7837881372529525579.post-79977464064730349702015-07-13T15:04:00.000+01:002015-07-22T13:51:18.326+01:00Going to a Writers' Conference as Two People<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ceiling at the Octagon Library, Queen Mary University of London</td></tr>
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I've just returned from my third <a href="http://www.rna-uk.org/" target="_blank">Romantic Novelists' Association</a> Conference at Queen Mary University of London. Writers' conferences certainly help with topping up the writing inspiration, because being surrounded by successful authors, and industry professionals makes you feel part of that world. Seeing friends who write is also wonderful, and we always have so much to talk about during our kitchen parties over Prosecco and crisps.</div>
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This was the first conference I've attended as a writer and a Freelance Social Media Manager, and I was grateful to see so many talks on book marketing in the programme. </div>
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I tweeted during the conference from both of my Twitter
accounts using <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/rnaconf15" target="_blank">#RNAConf15 </a>(do take a look at this hashtag to find out more about the conference, and
to see photos), using <a href="https://twitter.com/neetswriter" target="_blank">@neetswriter</a> for personal and writing tweets, and <a href="https://twitter.com/neetsmarketing" target="_blank">@neetsmarketing </a>for tweets on the
marketing talks. This post will be about my experience as a writer and my neetsmarketing post will cover three fantastic marketing talks by: Hazel Gaynor, Kate Harrison
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Julie Cohen on ‘The Art of the
Rewrite’:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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Julie Cohen’s reputation as an amazing creative writing teacher precedes her, and thankfully I
managed to get up on Sunday, grab a fry-up to soak
up the two-day hangover; and make it to her talk on time. Julie was witty and
inspiring, and she engaged a lecture theatre packed with flagging delegates for the whole hour, by cracking jokes, and with clear, concise explanations of how to go about rewriting a novel.</div>
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<b>Advice from Julie:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>Write your first
draft as quickly as possible</b>. Then celebrate (preferably with Champagne)!
She said, it’s important to celebrate every writing achievement, because as a
writer you will fail a lot, so you need to celebrate every single success. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Make a list of
revision points</b>, and leave the manuscript for a few days at least, if
possible. Revisit the revision points and make more. Julie never shows anyone
her first draft, but says if you do, show it to the right person (someone who
is honest, and 100% positive), cry and rant if necessary (but not on the
internet), then make more revision points. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Make Macro and Micro
revisions</b>. Macro revisions are about story structure, characters, plotting,
pacing, beginning and ending, consistency and continuity. Julie said it’s worth
working on the beginning and ending separately because the beginning ‘hooks
your readers in’ and the ending is ‘what sells your next book’. Micro revisions
are more about show and tell, realistic dialogue, accurate and evocative
description, strong verbs, grammar, punctuation, spelling, repetition, research
points and R.U.E. (‘Resist the Urge to Explain’). Julie doesn’t do research too
early, and highlighted the need to avoid ‘info dump’.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>When it comes to
planning and editing,</b> Julie prints out her manuscript and works with paper,
Post-it notes, scissors, and coloured pens. She cuts pieces out of her
manuscript with scissors and throws them away, then sticks it all back
together. She uses real calendars for her timeline with Post-it notes, so she
can move them around; and she uses Post-it notes for planning on the back of a
whiteboard (she writes on the front) or on paper because they can be moved,
they’re colour-coded and they can be thrown away easily. </div>
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I enjoyed Julie's talk, and would love to attend one of her courses.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Emma Darwin on ‘The Writer’s Voices-how
to keep readers reading’: <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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I attended one of Emma’s creative writing courses a few years ago, and it was great to hear her speak again. Her ‘<a href="http://emmadarwin.typepad.com/" target="_blank">This Itch of Writing</a>’ blog is
excellent, and you’ll find everything mentioned in her talk under <a href="http://emmadarwin.typepad.com/thisitchofwriting/resources.html" target="_blank">the tool kit</a> section; including a detailed explanation of '<a href="http://emmadarwin.typepad.com/thisitchofwriting/psychic-distance-what-it-is-and-how-to-use-it.html" target="_blank">Psychic Distance</a>'. Emma's blog is well
worth a peruse when you have a moment for advice on creative writing. I can’t wait to read her ‘how to’ book on historical fiction, which comes out in the autumn.<br />
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Added later: Emma has now written a post with <a href="http://emmadarwin.typepad.com/thisitchofwriting/2015/07/all-the-posts-i-mentioned-at-the-rna-annual-conference-2015.html" target="_blank">links to everything she mentioned</a> at #RNAConf15:</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Charlotte Betts on ‘Weaving the
Tapestry of Time’</span></b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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My novel is set during the eighteenth century, and I am a big fan of Charlotte Betts’ writing. I especially enjoyed The Apothecary's Daughter (which I mention in another post <a href="http://www.neetswriter.com/2012/05/does-downloading-samples-change-way-we.html" target="_blank">here</a>), and must download ‘The Chateau on the
Lake’ for my summer holiday reading. In this workshop, Charlotte ran through ways to do research and talked about how to transport your reader to another time by using the senses. She recommended visiting the location of your novel if you can, and then to sit there and mentally block out anything modern. Ask yourself what you can see and hear, feel the stone on the walls, then log it all in a notebook and return to those notes when you write scenes set in that place.</div>
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We had to write a character profile for someone
from an illustration Charlotte provided of a courtyard in Delft, or from some information on the Battle of Hastings. Then we had five minutes to write a
short scene from that character’s point of view at a pivotal moment in their
life, a useful exercise. I find writing exercises set to a timer bring out something I didn't know was there, and I must do them more often. </div>
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During Charlotte's talk, I learnt that you need to be careful
with flora and fauna, because many flowers have been brought from overseas and
they may not have existed in the period you are writing in. A lady in the class
said she kept a list of flora and fauna, with which season they appear in-a
great idea! We also talked about religion, and how in a historical novel you
cannot avoid referring to religion in some way.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Thank you to Jenny Barden, Jan Jones and Elaine Everest for
a fabulous conference!</b> I have lots of notes to inspire me. And here is my post from last year, also a fabulous weekend: <a href="http://www.neetswriter.com/2014/07/why-go-to-writing-conference.html" target="_blank">'Why go to a writing conference?'</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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And I’m very excited to tell you that I shall be going to
Italy this summer, driving there with my family, through France and Switzerland, along the Aosta Valley, to Lake Garda,
and we’ll spend a day in Venice, the setting for my work in progress. I'll certainly be doing what Charlotte Betts recommended when I get there. This will be special, because my family used to drive to Italy every year when I was a child. I cannot
wait, and shall return with lots of photos. Here’s one for now, and more pics of Italy can be found on <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/neetswriter" target="_blank">my Pinterest boards</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>My two posts on the marketing talks are now ready:</b><br />
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<a href="http://www.neetsmarketingblog.com/2015/07/latest-on-book-marketing-from-rnaconf15.html" target="_blank">Book Marketing from #RNAConf15, Part I</a> covers the fabulous talk on 'Promotion Commotion' by Hazel Gaynor.<br />
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<a href="http://www.neetsmarketingblog.com/2015/07/latest-on-book-marketing-from-rnaconf15_17.html" target="_blank">Book Marketing from #RNAConf15, Part II </a>covers the talks by Alison Baverstock and Kate Harrison.</div>
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Anita Chapmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08643609708390860371noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7837881372529525579.post-50039222473643015202015-06-28T19:38:00.001+01:002015-06-30T22:04:19.321+01:00Falling Back in Love with Writing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I went out for lunch with a writing friend recently, and we talked about our writing. How we shall be published one day, how we need
to get our books finished, how we are closer than we’ve ever been. Then I said
that I miss those days when I first started writing, when it was exciting,
when I wanted to write all of the time. Where I thought this is it: I’ll write a book and get it published, within a year, perhaps two at the most (how deluded!). I’m not
going to tell you how long ago that was, well maybe later in this post. I said to my friend that I didn't find writing exciting anymore, ever. </div>
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I said: Why does it feel like a chore, why does it get pushed to the bottom of the list, over and over
again? Why do I have to force myself to sit down and push out some words, or rejig those which are there already? </div>
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And my friend said, she didn't think it was possible to feel like that after the initial excitement had faded. Now, I am an optimist, and whenever anyone says that something isn’t
possible, I say why can’t it be? </div>
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After that lunch, I decided that
I was going to fall back in love with my writing, that although me and the
writing have been together for almost twelve years, and things have got a bit
stale, I need to give the writing a bit more attention, a bit more TLC, take it
out for dinner, give it a glass of Champagne. So that’s what I did for a couple
of weeks. I’ve gone back to how I used to do it at the beginning, because at
least that way I was writing, always. I created a new spreadsheet for the
outline, because the other one was a confusing mess. I created Draft 7, and returned to working like I used to, where once I get stuck on editing a draft, to save it
as a new draft, and go back to the beginning, giving the story more depth by
filling in bits of research and new scenes. </div>
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So, me and my writing
have rekindled our love, and hopefully it will last. And thank you to the <a href="http://www.romanticnovelistsassociation.org/join/new_writers_scheme" target="_blank">RNA's New Writers' Scheme</a> for giving me an annual deadline, which definitely helps.<o:p></o:p></div>
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On 10 July, I’m off to the <a href="http://www.romanticnovelistsassociation.org/activities/event/conference_2015" target="_blank">RNA Conference</a> at Queen Mary
University in London,
and I can’t wait! <a href="http://www.neetswriter.com/2014/07/why-go-to-writing-conference.html" target="_blank">Here is my post from last year</a>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>An update on my neetsmarketing blog:</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Sue Moorcroft’s <a href="http://www.neetsmarketingblog.com/2015/06/sue-moorcroft-on-balancing-writing-with.html" target="_blank">post on Balancing Writing with Social Media</a>
was a hit (with 162 direct tweets from the post, and many more tweets and retweets). Thanks so
much to Sue for writing such a brilliant post for my blog, and for promoting it on Twitter and Facebook.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://52waystowrite.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Jane Holland</a> will be a guest on 3 July with a post on
Managing Different Twitter Accounts.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://juliestock.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Julie Stock </a>will be a guest on 11 September with a post on
Book Covers.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Also, I’m running another course on 3 October 2015 in
Guildford on social media for writers. Find out more via <a href="http://www.neetsmarketing.com/courses.html" target="_blank">my website</a>, and email me at anitajchapman at gmail dot com for further info. </div>
Anita Chapmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08643609708390860371noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7837881372529525579.post-77171520055542152192015-05-31T15:18:00.001+01:002015-06-09T18:21:38.010+01:00Getting That Manuscript Finished<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9tvUBUiR37RFfMP4TAamfGgHuFWVMdM3ow_-A4w3WcFnUkpK49ydF6Y7ahUcQZSpTAFkhNUjmiKG7nzQCEq1s_nJtG2cOxxl83eRHgozZmv0WJOUBUoN2S2zJaUvRCjoV2EcksfSbaY4/s1600/IMG_3434.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9tvUBUiR37RFfMP4TAamfGgHuFWVMdM3ow_-A4w3WcFnUkpK49ydF6Y7ahUcQZSpTAFkhNUjmiKG7nzQCEq1s_nJtG2cOxxl83eRHgozZmv0WJOUBUoN2S2zJaUvRCjoV2EcksfSbaY4/s200/IMG_3434.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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During half term, I went to Le Touquet in France with my
family for a couple of days. We had a wonderful time, despite strong winds and rain on the day we arrived; walking along the
promenade, dropping into cafés and wandering around the shops, without the usual
need to look at our watches. And how could we not stock up on wine in Calais? <o:p></o:p></div>
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I wrote about a trip to Le Touquet on this blog three years ago: <a href="http://www.neetswriter.com/2012/04/are-you-always-thinking-how-can-i-use.html" target="_blank">‘Are you always thinking 'how can I use this?’</a> How time has flown since then. I am still writing, but now I
have the <a href="http://www.neetsmarketingblog.com/" target="_blank">neetsmarketing blog</a> with its accompanying <a href="https://twitter.com/neetsmarketing" target="_blank">Twitter account</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/neetsmarketing" target="_blank">Facebook Page</a>; and I work freelance as a Social Media Manager (for authors, unpublished
writers, organisations, small publishers, and small businesses). Plus I’m
Social Media Manager for the Historical Novel Society (and Publicity Officer
for the next UK HNS Conference, which will take place in Oxford, 2-4 September
2016). These days, I’m not thinking ‘how can I use this?' as much as I
used to. However, being a bit of a Twitter addict, I am doing something I love, and when I do get a book published, either traditionally or as an
indie author; I'll have an idea of how to promote it, which is a bonus.</div>
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At the moment, I’m working to get my WIP finished, by using a
spreadsheet with daily and monthly word count targets. And I’ll
be sending my manuscript to the Romantic Novelists' Association’s (“RNA”) <a href="http://www.romanticnovelistsassociation.org/join/new_writers_scheme" target="_blank">New Writers’ Scheme</a> before the end of August deadline. On 21 May, I went to the RNA Summer Party, a lovely evening
in London, where I caught up with lots of friends. Photos can be found on the
RNA website <a href="http://www.romanticnovelistsassociation.org/activities/photo_gallery/category/2015_summer_party" target="_blank">here</a> (spot the photo where I'm looking very surprised), and on Liz Harris’ blog <a href="http://www.lizharrisauthor.com/?p=2662" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
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In July, I shall be going to the RNA Conference at Queen Mary University in London, and I can’t
wait. Last week, I received my conference pack; and there are some fantastic panels, workshops and talks to attend. Look forward to seeing some of you there!<o:p></o:p></div>
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This neetswriter blog passed 100,000 page views recently,
and I'd like to say a big thank you to all who visit, read my
posts and leave comments. Support for my neetsmarketing blog has been
overwhelming too, and here’s an update on recent and upcoming guest posts.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Recent Post: <a href="http://www.neetsmarketingblog.com/2015/05/new-romantics-press-on-marketing-books.html" target="_blank">Q&A with New Romantics Press on Marketing Books</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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Upcoming Guest Posts:<o:p></o:p></div>
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5 June 2015: <a href="http://www.neetsmarketingblog.com/2015/06/sue-moorcroft-on-balancing-writing-with.html" target="_blank">Sue Moorcroft on Balancing Writing with Social Media</a> (now published!)<o:p></o:p></div>
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3 July 2015: <a href="http://52waystowrite.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Jane Holland </a>on Managing Different Twitter
Accounts<o:p></o:p></div>
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On my neetsmarketing blog: I aim to answer questions asked by clients, and those which came up during my recent course; and I’m putting together
a couple of posts on Facebook, which will be out soon.<o:p></o:p></div>
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My next Social Media Course for Writers will be on 3 October
2015 in Guildford. Email me at anitajchapman at gmail dot com for further
details.<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
Anita Chapmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08643609708390860371noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7837881372529525579.post-17079342617215484722015-04-30T20:18:00.002+01:002015-04-30T20:44:39.534+01:00We're not supposed to include coincidences, are we?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqnHNBUZpKlrLkvV449wDtC4c9bu1b8AE0w5DRt7a6ulqtVfh1X6QfWk6-hB_UBBsgiq74bz1gvIBAT9Xd5_xKeGNdEPSgKrV1OavEYlF83DrI3CFRNGib-k_aC12_teFKVpEuDXZL3og/s1600/IMG_3295.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqnHNBUZpKlrLkvV449wDtC4c9bu1b8AE0w5DRt7a6ulqtVfh1X6QfWk6-hB_UBBsgiq74bz1gvIBAT9Xd5_xKeGNdEPSgKrV1OavEYlF83DrI3CFRNGib-k_aC12_teFKVpEuDXZL3og/s1600/IMG_3295.JPG" height="200" width="150" /></a></div>
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Years ago when I first started writing, I remember telling a writer, who was far more experienced than me the plot of my Book 1. We were at an end of term writing course night out, in a cocktail bar in Richmond, and we’d all overindulged. Anyway, the poor woman was subjected to the plot of my Book 1 for probably quite a long time, and when I’d finished, she said, ‘Sounds great, but aren’t there quite a few coincidences?’ Well, that observation made me think about my writing a great deal. During the next draft of my Book 1, I removed all of the coincidences and made everything happen because the main character was driving it to happen in some way. And this made me feel more like a proper writer.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But coincidences do happen in real life don’t they? (and in Hollywood films)<o:p></o:p></div>
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When I moved to London in 1996, I bumped into so many people I knew from university, all of the time-at tube stations, in bars, walking down the street. Once when I was in New York with my husband, someone called his name when we were walking down Fifth Avenue, and it was a work colleague, sitting on some steps, there to run the marathon. When these chance meetings happen, you do ask yourself why, don’t you? Was it supposed to happen for some kind of reason? Sometimes coincidences aren't just chance meetings.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Recently I read a <a href="http://site-5.brussels.dinkycms.com/hms-hero-the-players-navy-cut-battleship" target="_blank">post by Antoine Vanner about Player’s Navy Cut cigarettes</a>, an interesting piece. The following day, whilst away in the Cotswolds with my family, we visited <a href="http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/dyrham-park/" target="_blank">Dyrham Park</a>, which was used as a filming location for the 1993 Merchant Ivory film The Remains of the Day, an adaption of the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, with Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson. Usually the wonderful 17th Century mansion looks like this:</div>
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But currently, they’re having the roof done:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9J6K7mXLbLqQN0lO7P76JJCSAkr7VWYfJ8v3dZOG0O__NIXweedFRWuOjz6kYZEp-aIVdKH3Uso48R6LPdC6IO6a_PVmZ09Uk9HRlP5uDpAqs9EWF_dYqK5WOUGdDVv5wkXHFowXYdNg/s1600/IMG_3294.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9J6K7mXLbLqQN0lO7P76JJCSAkr7VWYfJ8v3dZOG0O__NIXweedFRWuOjz6kYZEp-aIVdKH3Uso48R6LPdC6IO6a_PVmZ09Uk9HRlP5uDpAqs9EWF_dYqK5WOUGdDVv5wkXHFowXYdNg/s1600/IMG_3294.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
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And in the glass case shown in the top photo, there are objects which have been found under the floorboards. The picture on the Player’s Navy Cut cigarettes had really stuck in my mind from Antoine’s post, and when I saw the packet in the case, I couldn’t believe it. I notified Antoine on Facebook of this amazing coincidence, and he gave me the link to this post on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synchronicity" target="_blank">Synchronicity</a>. It’s interesting, and do read it if you like coincidences! <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Whilst I'm here, an update on neetsmarketing:</b></div>
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On 25 April, I ran my first course on social media for writers in Surrey, which covered training and workshops on Twitter, Facebook and Blogging. There are some lovely quotes from attendees, which I’ve added to the courses page on my website <a href="http://www.neetsmarketing.com/courses.html" target="_blank">here</a>. I was overwhelmed by the support from my Facebook Friends when I mentioned that I’d be running this course, and by the interest in future courses-thank you to all who liked and commented on my post!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>On the neetsmarketing blog:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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On 24 April, Talli Roland kindly wrote a guest post on <a href="http://www.neetsmarketingblog.com/2015/04/talli-roland-on-facebook.html" target="_blank">Facebook for Writers: How to Interact with Readers</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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On 15 May, <a href="http://newromanticspress.com/" target="_blank">New Romantics Press</a> will be answering my questions on marketing books. Some answers have come back already, and they will be very helpful to anyone looking to market their books and/or self-publish.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I recently revamped my <a href="http://www.neetsmarketing.com/" target="_blank">neetsmarketing website</a> too, to make it look (hopefully) more exciting. This took a good few hours…as playing around with websites does, but it was worth it, I think.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Thanks for reading, and see you in May!</div>
Anita Chapmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08643609708390860371noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7837881372529525579.post-28002126871778380712015-03-13T19:04:00.000+00:002015-03-15T11:15:28.977+00:00Getting Back Into Writing After a Break<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSGVQmBlcIHg1PO4srYbWiCtrVE1G9Cw3QzOe7t3sQF7T107pah0ujyoADs4Xoa2ehikKzsQ5XOZSnjp4kasE9NZeO4UGWBCBiiQWVUzS0Lc_9zdnmNOk8kxKPt5Mg-vf54-F8aTh9pFI/s1600/Camelias.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSGVQmBlcIHg1PO4srYbWiCtrVE1G9Cw3QzOe7t3sQF7T107pah0ujyoADs4Xoa2ehikKzsQ5XOZSnjp4kasE9NZeO4UGWBCBiiQWVUzS0Lc_9zdnmNOk8kxKPt5Mg-vf54-F8aTh9pFI/s1600/Camelias.jpg" height="203" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Camellias at Claremont Landscape Garden</td></tr>
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I’m a bit late with this post. This is partly due to half
term, plus now I have two blogs to manage and some part-time work relating to <a href="http://neetsmarketing.com/" target="_blank">neetsmarketing.com</a>. I’ve been temping for the past few weeks, on and off too,
helping an elderly gentleman catalogue and archive some old work documents
before he moves house. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The writing of draft six of Book 2 has slipped too, unfortunately. Since my <a href="http://www.neetswriter.com/2015/01/7-ways-to-finish-writing-book.html" target="_blank">7 Ways to Finish Writing the Book</a> post, back in January: I have managed to send a
chunk of my novel, the first part re-drafted with scenes added, to a writing
friend. I missed my end of February deadline for 20K words and now have to
catch up. I’ve given myself until the end of April to get the first 40K words
in order-this will include rewriting some parts and expanding others, by
adding new scenes. I'm currently drafting an afternoon tea scene, set in a country house library in the eighteenth century, with Sèvres cups and saucers like <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/195906652517001681/" target="_blank">these ones</a>. </div>
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Sometimes life does get in the way of writing, but as long
as I can find a way back into the ‘writing zone’, I know I’ll get the novel
finished. The <a href="http://www.romanticnovelistsassociation.org/join/new_writers_scheme" target="_blank">RNA's New Writers’ Scheme</a> deadline of the end of August helps a
great deal too (by the way, I’ve just booked for the RNA Conference in July
again-can’t wait!-here’s my post from last year: <a href="http://www.neetswriter.com/2014/07/why-go-to-writing-conference.html" target="_blank">Why Go to a Writing Conference?</a>). The key is to sit down at my
computer every day with a spreadsheet open behind Word, and to type in the word
count of my latest draft when I finish. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Spring seems to have sprung in the UK. I hope it stays and
that there are no more de-ice the car mornings until next winter! Best of luck
to other RNA New Writers’ Scheme members who are working towards the August deadline. I recently wrote a post for the RNA blog: <a href="http://romanticnovelistsassociationblog.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/anita-chapman-getting-to-know-rna.html" target="_blank">Getting to Know the RNA Through Social Media</a>, a real honour.</div>
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And now I'm off to write! </div>
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<b>An update on my neetsmarketing blog about social media for
writers (Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/neetsmarketing" target="_blank">@neetsmarketing</a>):</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Latest posts:</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.neetsmarketingblog.com/2015/02/is-it-worth-paying-to-promote-facebook.html" target="_blank">Is it Worth Paying to Promote a Facebook Page?</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.neetsmarketingblog.com/2015/03/the-romaniacs-on-blogging-and-using.html" target="_blank">The Romaniacs on Blogging and Social Media as a Group</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.neetsmarketingblog.com/2015/01/3-ways-to-retweet-on-twitter.html" target="_blank">3 Ways to Retweet on Twitter</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.neetsmarketingblog.com/2015/02/alison-morton-on-twitter.html" target="_blank">Alison Morton on Twitter</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>There are some fabulous guests appearing on my
neetsmarketing blog soon: </b><o:p></o:p></div>
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April: <a href="http://www.talliroland.com/" target="_blank">Talli Roland</a> with a post on Facebook<o:p></o:p></div>
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May: <a href="http://newromanticspress.com/" target="_blank">The New Romantics Press</a>, answering my questions on Marketing
Books Using Social Media<o:p></o:p></div>
June: <a href="http://www.suemoorcroft.com/" target="_blank">Sue Moorcroft</a> with a post on Balancing Writing with
Social Media<br />
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Anita Chapmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08643609708390860371noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7837881372529525579.post-45200945514712926122015-01-17T19:02:00.000+00:002015-02-02T18:56:52.478+00:007 Ways to Finish Writing the Book<div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Richmond, Surrey</td></tr>
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I’m lucky to be on the <a href="http://www.romanticnovelistsassociation.org/join/new_writers_scheme" target="_blank">RNA New Writers’ Scheme</a> again this year, and I have to get Book 2 finished. Draft five is underway and I’ve just changed my 18thc main character's ("mc") name to one which suits her perfectly.</div>
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Here’s my plan on how to finish writing the book:</div>
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<b>1.Work on my manuscript every day (well, of course) </b></div>
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Scribbling notes about how my mc feels about her father’s death doesn’t count.</div>
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<b>2. Exchange chapters with a writing friend (have arranged)</b></div>
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Something that's worked well in the past with this particular friend. We haven’t exchanged work for a few years and I think it will help us both.</div>
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<b>3. Don’t get bogged down by research</b></div>
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I still have piles of research books, which I shall use when I need them ONLY.</div>
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<b>4. When I get stuck, work on another bit of the book and return later</b></div>
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I shall not abandon my manuscript and wallow in ‘I just can’t write’ self-pity; and suddenly find clearing out the cupboard under the stairs a good idea.</div>
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<b>5. Use my spreadsheet outline to plan ahead and monitor how much I’m achieving</b></div>
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If I apply the ‘treat writing like a job’ technique, it seems to work well for me.</div>
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<b>6. Set weekly and monthly targets re word count or editing a number of scenes</b></div>
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When I’m drafting new words, to set a word count; and when I’m editing, to set a number of scenes to edit.</div>
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<b>7. Keep moving forwards!</b></div>
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When I don't reach my daily target, treat it as a 'one off'' and continue the next day as if I did.</div>
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Wishing you a belated Happy New Year, and the best of luck with your writing in 2015! </div>
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<b>One more thing…</b></div>
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I have a new<a href="http://www.neetsmarketingblog.com/" target="_blank"> neetsmarketing blog</a> about social media for writers and here’s my first post:<br />
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<a href="http://www.neetsmarketingblog.com/2015/01/my-beginners-guide-to-twitter-for.html" target="_blank">My Beginner’s Guide to Twitter for Writers</a>.<br />
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Plus I have fabulous guests to follow on the neetsmarketing blog, including ‘Alison Morton on Twitter’ on 6 February 2015, and ‘The Romaniacs on Blogging and using Social Media as a Group’ on 6 March 2015.</div>
Anita Chapmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08643609708390860371noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7837881372529525579.post-4780452124634071472014-12-13T20:00:00.002+00:002015-04-29T16:05:49.624+01:00A Lunch, a Launch and a New Venture!<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fortnum and Mason, London</td></tr>
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It's been a busy but exciting week, sometimes everything happens at once! On Saturday, I went to the Romantic Novelists' Association's ("RNA") London Chapter lunch, on Tuesday I attended Pippa Croft's book launch for the Oxford Blue Series and on Wednesday I launched my new website, <a href="http://www.neetsmarketing.com/" target="_blank">neetsmarketing</a>.</div>
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<b>RNA London Chapter Lunch</b>:</div>
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This is one of my favourite RNA events of the year, held in The Lamb, a Grade II listed Victorian pub in Bloomsbury, which still has the etched glass snob screens in place above the bar. The Lamb has that comforting aroma of beer and musty carpet which takes you back to the days when all pubs were like that. As is usual at RNA events, there was lots of meaty conversation and laughter, with wine thrown in.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alison Sherlock, Sue Moorcroft, Liz Harris</td></tr>
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This year, the food was delicious with potato and beef croquettes, bubble and squeak cakes, mini sausages, and more…followed by macaroons and mini cheesecakes. The house white wine wasn’t bad either. An excuse to go into London in December is one to be cherished and I took a stroll along Piccadilly on the way back, taking in the atmosphere as I edged around clusters of Christmas shoppers. Then I dropped into my favourite Waterstones, where there are books you don’t see anywhere else. Fortnum and Mason looked particularly lovely dressed for Christmas.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Linda Chamberlain, Talli Roland, Giselle Green, Catriona Robb</td></tr>
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<b>Pippa Croft’s book launch for the Oxford Blue Series:</b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pippa Croft's book launch at Goldsboro Books</td></tr>
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A few days later, I returned to London; this time to Goldsboro Books in Cecil Court, a specialist in signed first editions for Pippa Croft’s (also Phillipa Ashley) launch of the Oxford Blue Series. What a venue for a launch with shelves ceiling-high of signed first editions (including those by Agatha Christie and JK Rowling). It was lovely to be invited to celebrate Pippa’s success and a chance to catch up with old RNA friends, as well as to meet new ones.</div>
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</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Afterwards at</span> Cô</span>te restaurant: L-R: Donna Ashcroft, Ian Skillicorn, Pippa Croft, Jules Wake</span></td></tr>
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<b>A new venture: neetsmarketing</b>!</div>
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I’ve been on Twitter (@neetswriter) and Facebook since October 2011 when I started this blog. Since August this year, I’ve been Social Media Manager for the <a href="http://historicalnovelsociety.org/" target="_blank">Historical Novel Society</a> and more recently I’ve managed the social media for <a href="http://www.greatstorieswithheart.com/" target="_blank">Corazon Books</a> (3-12 December, to do more work in January). A few friends and acquaintances have asked if I could train them or do their social media temporarily, so I thought it might be worth setting up a website explaining the different packages I can offer.<br />
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On Wednesday, I launched <a href="http://www.neetsmarketing.com/" target="_blank">neetsmarketing</a>. Thank you to all who have followed my new Twitter account @neetsmarketing and who have liked my new <a href="http://www.facebook.com/neetsmarketing" target="_blank">Facebook Page</a>. I have some wonderful supporters out there, friends made online over the past few years, many of whom I've met 'in real life'.<a href="http://www.ruthbrandt.co.uk/" target="_blank"> Ruth Brandt</a>, winner of many short story competitions whose creative writing classes I’ve attended has posted the link on her Facebook group for creative writing students, a real honour. Thank you so much Ruth!<br />
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A neetsmarketing blog on social media for writers will follow in 2015, with some special guests, who really know their stuff when it comes to social media.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Christmas tree at Goldsboro Books</td></tr>
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I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thank you for following my blog, for your support and comments on my posts, and see you in 2015!</div>
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Anita Chapmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08643609708390860371noreply@blogger.com12