Take a break

Enforced or otherwise, it’s good to take a break, especially if something isn’t right, but you don’t know quite know what. Getting some distance or doing something else gives the brain time to make the connections which should free the block.

Castaway in Cornwall

I'm off to a writer's retreat in April. The cottage is as remote as you can get - stuck on a promintory on Cape Cornwall. There I shall have time alone to write, contemplate, do some yoga, and walk. I shall be recording the ups and downs of what it's like to be a stranded writer and hopefully get my second novel plotted in full.

Publicity

The more I research about writing the more I realise how important publicity is. The quality of the writing is undoubtedly important but there are other factors an agent or publisher must take into consideration. It’s not just about selling books. They have to sell the author too.

An alternative to eating carpet?

My latest acquisition from the library was by Gotham’s Writers’ Workshop. Writing Fiction. A Practical Guide for New York’s Acclaimed Creative Writing School, edited by Alexander Steele. The chapter titled Revision: Real writers revise, identified the difficulty of editing your own work and I know I’m far too close to mine. It goes on to suggest printing out your manuscript in a different, but readable, font. I’d eat carpet if I thought it would help, so I’m off to give it a go.