I have a good life. I have a kind and loving family and I have a comfortable home. Many people around the world cannot say that. So as I get back to my writing and life settles down - I now have the washing backlog cleared and a warm home - I am determined to be aware of all the many good things I have in life and carry on with the words of a poem much loved by my dad and light and thankful heart.
Just a short post today as I haven't been up to much. Not much you might be interested in, anyway. The usual stresses of birthdays, parties and Christmas now over, I was faced with no washing machine for weeks on end, no hot water or central heating for days and a failing car. BUT having had my life's woes put into clear perspective by another's far greater than my own, I am feeling thankful.
I have a good life. I have a kind and loving family and I have a comfortable home. Many people around the world cannot say that. So as I get back to my writing and life settles down - I now have the washing backlog cleared and a warm home - I am determined to be aware of all the many good things I have in life and carry on with the words of a poem much loved by my dad and light and thankful heart.
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The silly season is finally over. All kids birthdays and parties have been accomplished, Christmas is already a distant memory and the car has had its service, insurance and MOT ticked off. Yes, you're right, I haven't timed this lot well at all. To be fair, the kids were planned better, but they just didn't want to play ball. With the eldest, we tried for more than a year to get pregnant and with and youngest, it happened first month. But I digress. I'm longing to get back into some serious writing. Not the sort of stolen time that has happened of late - a whole day, perhaps, but then nothing for 2 weeks and it got me thinking as to why I feel like this. It could be as easy as saying I love to write, but that would be boring. And I think I'm going to dabble in some rather shaky amateur psychology now, because the first thing that struck me when I was considering this was control. The six weeks I have across Christmas, when my life feels like a chaotic whirl, I hate because I like order and calm. I like knowing what I'm going to do on any given day and on which day things will most likely happen for the rest of the week. I like to be organised and not feel it is life is organising me. Writing is the ultimate in control. The entire fictional world created inside your head, bends to your wishes. It doesn't exist when your laptop is closed, apart from the thoughts tumbling around in your mind. Each character's fate is down to you, and only when you're ready to decide it, and there is something calming and safe about that - when it's going right. So, bring on my beautiful days of order and calm; welcome back hero and heroine and thank goodness I have 10 &1/2 more months till it all happens again. Today, I'd like to welcome an old friend to my blog today, Linda Huber. Some of you might know her as the Scott living in Switzerland. Her day jobs have included working as a physiotherapist in hospitals and schools for handicapped children, and teaching English in a medieval castle. Her novels are normally psychological thrillers, but today I've asked her to talk about her new book, out this week. They're short romantic and feel-good stories. Right up my street. But first, can I ask you, Linda, - I'm rubbish at short stories - What are the pros and cons of writing short stories over novels? The biggest pro is that you end up with the finished product a whole lot sooner! Plus, when you’re only writing 4,000 words, it’s easier to keep track of the action, and who said what to whom, when and where. The disadvantage for me is you don’t have the chance to really get to know your characters, and that’s what I find so fascinating about novel-writing. By the time a book’s finished, my characters almost feel like members of the family. Or the good guys do, anyway! And I'm sure you have to pick and choose with your usual genre. But how easy is it switching between genres? I think it’s mind-stretching, trying out a different genre and a different way of writing – I suppose it’s a bit like switching between two jobs (which I do too; I’m an English teacher as well as a writer). You have your mindset and persona for each. Writing feel-good stories is lighter than writing psychological suspense. Because they’re feel-good they don’t have much heartbreak or fear in them, although a couple in this collection are bittersweet. Hurrah! But novel length psychological thrillers are your main thing, so how did you end up writing these? The short stories came first, way back in the late nineties when I was still scribbling away at my still-unfinished children’s novel. My mother was visiting us in Switzerland, and one day she was sitting on the sofa reading a magazine, and said, ‘Oh, for heaven’s sake, what a silly story – I’m sure you could do better!’ I took up the challenge, wrote a story, and sent it off. Back it came with a ‘thanks, but not quite right for us’ rejection note. ‘Huh,’ I thought, and wrote another, taking care to make this one really good. Back it came too, with the same note. I can’t remember if it was after my third or fourth attempt that the penny dropped. I was writing what I thought was a really good story. I should have been writing what they’d think was a good story. After that, it was easier, and although I still had the odd rejection, most of my efforts were published in the end. And now that the rights for them have reverted to me, I can use them again to make money for a good cause. What is the charity the proceeds are going to and why have you chosen it? I don’t know yet, but it’ll be one of the medical charities. In my younger days I was a physiotherapist and I’m still very interested in medical progress etc. One thing I’m still finding out about is the tax aspect – if I can deduct my donation, it’ll swell the end profit going to the charity. However, I live in Switzerland and I know from experience that not all ‘foreign’ donations are deductible. I’m planning to go into a huddle with my accountant about it. One idea is to wait until the end of the year, see what’s happening in the world, and decide accordingly. Indeed. Well good luck. Money matters are rarely straight forward. And what can we expect next? At the moment I’m working with my editor on another psychological suspense novel. It’s at the second edit stage so it’s really starting to look like a book now. There’s a tinge of ‘medical’ about it too – the effects of childlessness, and like all my novels it’s not so much a ‘whodunit’ as a ‘whydunit’. The title is still a work in progress, but it’ll be out late summer. Brilliant. Now, back to the imminent release. I will definitely be getting a copy of this. The Saturday Secret and other Stories is a collection of fifteen tales of life, love, and family – perfect for a coffee-break! Previously published in UK national magazines, the stories are about relationships within the family and without – some are humorous, some bittersweet; all are upbeat and emotional. Pre-order now: Amazon The Party Partners Belinda and Phillip have fun at weddings, engagement parties and all sorts of celebrations. But anything more personal was out of the question – or was it? Family Matters Gary shares Sharon’s dream of having children – but as far as he’s concerned, it’s something for the future. Corinna’s Big Day It was the most important day in baby Corinna’s life, but for Madge, it was one of the saddest… Lucky for Some You might say drawing number 13 in the cycle rally was bad luck. You might say falling off was bad luck, too. But Hilary knew better! Patiently Waiting Mike woke up after his operation and saw the girl of his dreams. The problem was the engagement ring she wore on a chain round her neck… The Saturday Secret What was she up to? The whole family wanted to know! But Gran wasn’t telling… And many more… Thanks so much for coming on, Linda and good luck with your future releases. You can find Linda on social media and also at her website: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorlindahuber Twitter: https://twitter.com/LindaHuber19 website: http://lindahuber.net/ So far in this series I've covered DETERMINATION, COMFORT and ASSISTANCE. This week, my final post on the theme, I'd like to tackle INSPIRATION: things that help me come up with ideas, plot lines, twists in the story, or even the kernal of an idea at the start. When I'm writing and the work is going well (so not recently, then) I write in silence, or more commonly with frequent interuptions of 'Mum, when's lunch?' or 'Mum, where's my football kit?' or the phone ringing - and perish the thought anyone else should answer that! Deep breaths. But when things aren't flowing it is often music I turn to. Not just any music. It has to be something that stirs my emotions. Something about suffering, unrequited love, or loss - you get the gist - and the world of music is full of that. My first novel published, The Songbird and the Soldier, was written to a year of James Blunt. By My Side used only one particular song by Rihanna, which I had on repeat for months on end. I have a batch now that I have on my ipod and I listen to them while I'm doing the cleaning and yes, they always help. They never spark an idea in themselves, but they put my emotions in the right place so that I can come up with one. The final thing is my view. I know that's not always easy to come by, but a window is all that I really need. For a while there, when my back was bad, I thought I would have to shift upstairs onto the proper desk with the correct height chair for it, but that desk faces a blank wall and the thought of that crushed me. I can't think when my mind is trapped in. I need space; a horizon to drift to. Now that I have the dining table sorted with my kneely chair and my laptop riser, things are better and my view is restored. It feels essential to me. It may not to you. So there we have it - 10 things that help me write. All I need now is a spark of genius, an agent and a 6 figure advance!
Today's items are more practical in origin. Things that have helped me across the years.
The main one is having a voice to read my work back to me. I can't tell you how much this has helped me when editing. To hear your words spoken aloud, not by yourself, who will tend to read whateer your brain thinks should be there, but by an outsider who reads what is actually written. I use TextAloud, software that you can adapt to have a voice of your choosing. I chose AcapellaRachel22. She sounds like the sort of person I imagine reading my stories; like me, I guess. She has an English accent, so it is familiar to me and she will read my writing the way I hear it in my head. Don't get me wrong, she has her funny times, when the intination is completely wrong for the sentence I've written, but mostly it serves me very well and I pick up all sorts of errors I would have otherwise missed and I also hear clumsy sentences as they are spoken. Rachel is a good friend. She points out my errors without any criticism. The other thing I want to tell you about today is a cleaner for the keyboard. I discovered this slime that you roll across your keyboard and it picks up all the fluff and dirt brilliantly AND it's just like the stuff you played with when you were a kid. What more could you ask for? Only one word of warning: don't let it sit for too many seconds without moving it, or it'll ooze all over your computer! |
AuthorWife, mother, lapsed doctor. Hopelessly in love with every hero I've ever written. Archives
June 2018
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