How to Plan Your Writing Day

Taken from our March Issue (5) of Getting Published. Click on the archive link above to check out the full newsletter.

THIS WEEK . . . A WRITER WRITES!

Cliched, it's true, but this week we look at what is the most important part of writing your book or novel - actually sitting down and completing it. In ISSUE 5 of Getting Published, 24 Hours' author, the fabulous and talented Marsha Moore, will give you her tips for getting the job done.

Plus, our new regular columnist, Elle Symonds, tackles her writing demons in 'Diary of a Newbie Novelist'.

Once again, thank you for the positive feedback we have been receiving for Getting Published. Please note that we have a new submissions' address. Check out the details on our website.

All the best, and as always, feel free to retweet or to link to our archive.

The Editorial Department at Prospera Publishing.


DIARY OF A NEWBIE NOVELIST by Elle Symonds


As we told you last issue, we have just signed the wonderful Elle Symonds. This is Elle's as-it-happens account of her own publishing journey. As usual, we must say thank you to Elle for making time to help and entertain other newbie novelists.

PS: We know a few of you have asked for more information on Elle. Stay tuned for a bio next issue (due out end March 2010).

#2 - Head - Meet keyboard.

It seems like a long time since the first installment of Newbie Novelist. Since the announcement of my publishing deal, my inbox and Twitter have been filled with congratulatory messages, offers of lunch and numerous questions. (Still no cake). I've only just got round to answering them all.

So, last issue saw me ... you know, the one in which I mentioned my new status as 'newly signed author' (cue excited squeal) ... contemplating the rewrite of my upcoming book.

It's only been a couple of weeks, and whereas I'd planned to at least have half of my chicklit masterpiece completed by today, I've now resorted to smacking myself in the head, simply because it's a lot less painful than banging it against my keyboard. I need my keyboard.

And why the annoyance? Because I've been suffering from ... wait for it ... writers' block.

I'll admit it. There's no shame in it. Quite frankly everyone I know who writes has had the misfortune of an awful bout of the block, and if you thought I was this amazing person who sits at her desk tapping out the next big sensation (that's better than sliced bread and Jammie Dodgers and sex all rolled into one), without a care in the world. then you're mistaken!

This week, I've been extremely annoyed with yours truly, simply because, as I put it one rather chilly morning, 'MY FUNNY IS GONE.''What?' asked my friend, confused. 'I said, 'my funny is gone.' Seriously. I can't be funny anymore. It's like it got up and left for a holiday in Brighton or something, and won't be coming back.''Oookay.'Admittedly, it did seem odd, and I wouldn't have been surprised had two men in suits come to collect me and put me in one of those 'special jackets' before leading me out of the place and into a van with blackened windows. Oh, the imagery.

Even so, what started me on this little issue was the fact that I had got up early in order to do some work on the book. I turned on the PC, got out the purple journal I'd bought specifically for my book notes, opened Word, raring to go. And then ...... nothing happened.I'd been fine the day before. The words had poured out, my typing was hurried as I tried to get everything down. Ideas popped into my head constantly. I was on my way to writerly success for sure.And now?

Now, it was gone. And I had no idea why.

Everything that I planned on writing - every little joke, every piece of dialogue, the chapter plan that I had in front of me - had simply disappeared. It was as though my brain had decided to disengage and have its own little 'I'm not doing it anymore!' Veruca Salt-esque tantrum. (Damn you, brain.)I couldn't be witty. I couldn't be funny. It just wasn't flowing freely anymore.

'Fine,' I said to myself, not willing to give up just yet. 'I'll go and get some coffee. See how you like THAT!' Two minutes and a latte later, my wit was still nowhere to be found. But I still wasn't giving up. 'Okay, brain,' I said menacingly. 'You win THIS one. I'll sit and wait until my wonderful ability returns. YOU WON'T GET ME!' 9.05am: Reluctantly accept that my free-flowing ability to put very good words to paper (or, um, Word) has vanished. Unwilling to lose the battle, I decide to wait.

9.07am: Get another coffee. It's still not back.

9.10am: Read my favourite newspapers online.

9.20am: Try to write - and fail.

9.24am: Read though more book notes.

9.32am: Stare at blank screen for approximately three minutes. Still no joy.

9.35am(ish.) Get more coffee.

9.38am: Play Facebook Scrabble to try and clear my head. Find that 'a quick game' becomes the ultimate Scrabble smackdown when some girl beats my Countdown-esque efforts ('Ha! 'Supercalifragilisticexpialodocious! Beat that!'), by putting 'zoo' on a triple word square. Cow.

9.48am: Give in to Scrabble ass-kickery and try to write. Get approximately 500 words written but it's still not the same, NOT. THE. SAME.

Writers block is well and truly awful. You want to write. You know it's there. You just need to let it out. And will it emerge? No way. It's like when you're sat at a job interview and have a million great things to say about why you're the perfect candidate. You've researched and rehearsed a thousand times, have an answer to every possible question the interviewer can ask you, and you open your mouth to give one of your perfect, A-star answers and ...... NOTHING COMES OUT.

Such a block makes you want to scream and shout and quite possibly throw your PC out of the window. It's annoying enough getting it when you're not on deadline. When you ARE? It's ten times worse.Thankfully, the following day my funny returned, and here I am again, frantically working on the book. The next few chapters are going to be great and I can't wait to write more. Panic over! Let's just hope it stays that way.

Newbie out (but not down).

x Elle.

Planning Your Writing Day by Marsha Moore

Marsha Moore's new 24 Hour guide, 24 Hours Paris, is due out in May. She is also working hard on a commissioned fiction title. So how does she fit it all in? Read on as she reveals all.

When I first started writing full-time, I wondered how on earth I was going to fill the hours ahead of me. I needn't have worried - within a week, I'd discovered that organising cupboards, cleaning the floor (how had I never noticed how dirty it was before?) and foraging in the kitchen for anything that resembled snack-food took up plenty of time ... not to mention the lure of Twitter and Facebook.

In short, I became an expert in the art of procrastination. After several weeks of being thoroughly annoyed at myself - and producing only a few random chapters - I'd had enough. I needed to get serious, to treat my writing as I would any other workplace task. I needed to form routines, set targets, and I needed to deliver. I'd done it for my previous employers, so why wouldn't I do it for my writing?

So I made a routine, and I stuck to it. Getting myself to sit in my office chair at 8:00 am was half the battle. I allowed myself an hour for lunch - just like my office job - and I kept going until 4:00 pm. After a few months, I began to feel guilty if I wasn't writing by 8:00 am or if I stopped early.

Not everyone has the luxury of writing all day. But even if you only have an hour, if you set a specific writing time and stick to it, after a while it will become habit. Now that I was in the chair, how could I measure my output? I had plenty of practice eking out the nine to five slog, so I needed to make sure I was actually writing.

Every writer works differently, but for me the most invaluable piece of advice on setting writing targets came from Stephen King's On Writing. King writes every day (including Christmas!) and he sets himself a daily word target: in his case, 2000 words a day. Sometimes the 2000 words take him an hour or so, sometimes the whole day, but he always gets them finished. I liked the thought of having a measurable target so I decided to follow suit. It's definitely a struggle some days, but at least when 4 pm rolls around I know I've accomplished something.

Things become a bit more complex when I have multiple projects on the go; for example, book promotional activities as well as writing drafts. When I'm trying to organise my head space, I break down the day into chunks, still setting definite times and measurable outcomes to make sure I don't drift off an iron shirts or stare in the fridge for a few hours. Writing requires inspiration and creativity. But it also requires an iron will to sit down and just write.

Once your words pile up, though, you'll be happy to have whipped yourself into shape!

24 Hours London, recommended by Mayor of London Boris Johnson, is available via Paypal with free worldwide postage from our website, or on Amazon or in the UK and Europe via your local bookstore. Marsha Moore's 24 Hour Paris is due out May 12th.

Creating Characters with Zing!

THIS WEEK, CONTEMPORARY NOVELISTS RULE . . .

Welcome to ISSUE 4 of Getting Published. In a change to the prescribed topic, this issue we will be looking at characterisation, and how to make your characters interesting and unforgettable. Many thanks to Naked in Knightsbridge author Nicky Schmidt for helping us out in her own hilarious style.

Also, we are proud to announce a new and regular feature to our newsletter that is sure to appeal to every new writer: our newly signed author Elle Symonds' 'Diary of a Newbie Novelist'.

Finally, we would like to thank the positive feedback we have been getting for Getting Published, and ask you all to keep those suggestions and questions flooding in. The best way to do this is via the 'Contact Us' link at our website.

All the best, and feel free to retweet!

The Editorial Department at Prospera Publishing.


DIARY OF A NEWBIE NOVELIST by Elle Symonds


We have just signed Elle Symonds to our small but happily successful stable. As so many of you are interested in the publishing process, we thought that Elle's as-it-happens account of her own journey would be both entertaining and enlightening. Of course, a huge thanks goes out to Elle for doing this on top of her many other commitments.

#1 - In which I am not Barbara Cartland. There she sits, visible through the window of the coffee shop, her dark scarf wound casually (yet artfully) around her long neck, her regulation dark clothing blending perfectly into the cream and chocolate-coloured interior. Looking thoughtfully through thick-rimmed specs, she stares at a pristine Macbook, not only blissfully happy, but also blissfully unaware that yours truly is watching her, wine in hand, through a pair of binoculars from the watering hole across the street.

"What's she doing?" I wonder.

"What's she writing? I bet it's some literary masterpiece."

"Or maybe coursework?" Friend replies.

"It could be coursework ..."

"True. But look at her! It's much more likely a future, bestselling novel."

I can't help but wonder and suppress a smile, my stomach giving a little flutter of excitement. Because soon (well, next year, but we'll get to that in a minute), my own debut novel will be hitting the shelves. . My name is Elle, and I'm a newly signed author. And this is my diary, in which I'll air my dirty laun ... I mean, give you the lowdown on what being a first-time author involves. Last year I was finishing my novel - the novel that had taken me months to write. Months of being glued to my laptop, consuming far too many double-shot lattes; having too many naked dashes down the stairs during the night in search of a notebook when inspiration suddenly hit; months of being in my own little fantasy world. But it all paid off, because THIS year, my dream came true. I'm now signed with Prospera Publishing, with the first in my chick-lit series due to be released in early 2011. And I'm ecstatic! I'm currently making changes to the book, and doing a complete rewrite. The publisher and I came up with some fabulous ways in which to make my original story even better, and already it has improved so much (more fun, more hilarity, and some new characters). So far the first couple of chapters involve spies, stardom and some rogue knickers. Something for everyone!

The series is about a struggling gossip journalist who, after a nasty - and highly embarrassing - accident, wakes up to find she has a very special new ability that she decides to use to enhance her career. (That's all I'm saying at the moment! You'll only find out more by holding a gun to my head. But please don't.) The prospect of ... well, new author-dom (ha!) is only just settling in, and after having told a select few people shortly after my meeting with Prospera, the congratulations and questions started pouring in. You see, there are certain assumptions some people (read: non-writers) have about authors, and most are simply myths. Things to expect when you start telling people you're going to be a published author*: *Friends, colleagues and acquaintances to ask such questions as 'When will it be in the shops?', 'When can I buy it?'

'THAT long? But I want to buy it noooooow!'

*Friends, colleagues and acquaintances to assume you'll become 'the next JK Rowling', thus earning millions and millions of pounds. It's not unusual in this case for such people to advise you to not forget 'the little people'; ask what you'll do with the money as though you've just scooped the Euromillions rollover; and if you can buy them a nice posh car.

*Friends, colleagues and acquaintances to assume that you don't want alcohol or cake because you are now posh author. Who DOESN'T want celebratory alcohol or cake? Jeez!

*People start to think that you spend all your time in coffee shops, clad in interesting scarves, and staring intently into your MacBook.

*People assume that you either live in Starbucks (see above), or you're the next Barbara Cartland. Neither, obviously, is true. *Which is why, two weeks later, you wish you'd kept your mouth shut. Okay, these are TOTAL MYTHS. Far from the coffee-shop image of artsy glamour, you have yours truly, slaving away on a pink netbook at home in her pants. Or sneaking novel moments at the day job (in clothes over pants). Or tapping away on coaches to London (yes, still in clothes over pants), as overly enthusiastic women beside her shout: 'YES, I'M ON THE BUS! I SAID, I'M ON THE BUS! HELLO? OOOH, REEEEEALLY?' into her ear.

People like me spend every spare moment cramming in the words, going to bed at unholy hours and living for the dream of one day seeing our names in print. And I really, REALLY can't wait for that day. Which makes all of the above totally worth it. The rewrite has started, and I'm raring to go. 2010 is going to be a busy year. So welcome, readers, to my journey!

Elle

PS. I'm still waiting for the alcohol and cake.


CREATING CRACKING CHARACTERS by Nicky Schmidt

This issue, chick-lit author Nicky Schmidt gives us her take on what makes novel characters great.

Hi there, it's me, Nicky. Self-confessed, full-time cake-aholic and sometimes author. The nice people at Prospera have asked me to tell all about characterisation and I am happy to oblige.

However, firstly I would like to send out a huge 'cheers' to everyone who has been so positive about Naked in Knightsbridge. It's nice to know all that hard work is appreciated. Except of course the freak who asked me to visit his basement and peruse his collection of pants. (Answer: Let me check my diary.)

While we are on the subject then, I suppose that Naked works because the characters are so, well, unbelievable. You thought I was going to say believable, didn't you? The theory goes, in my caffeine-addled mind at least, that while people buy books for a variety of reasons, one of the most important jobs of an author is to transport readers from their own lives. Let's face it, if authors wrote about people you were familiar with - sour woman at supermarket, sour man at petrol station, sour husband who falls asleep on sofa promptly at 8:00 pm every night - we might face a rather nasty lawsuit for enticing a mass suicide.

Of course it does, naturally, depending on the genre, but in the case of a contemporary novel with a comic bent, I would say, make your characters showstoppers. Memorable. Left (or right) of centre. Turn them into metaphors. Prospera tells me that people in the office often say 'I feel like such a Jools' (the lead character in Naked), as they pig out on doughnuts or buy one too many bags of crisps at lunch. Equally, creepy behaviour at home can illicit: 'Thanks for that, Niles!' after the insane stalker in my first book. Once you have established your outline, think about how many characters you have, and how many you really need.

The trick is to leave out anyone superfluous unless they definitely progress the story in some way. One mistake I made when first starting out was to add that extra person here and there, who appeared two or three times for no apparent reason other than to converse with the protagonist. Suffice to say, they (and the useless conversations) were edited out pretty quickly.

When you have your definitive list, write a list of characteristics down next to each name. Look them over. Are they too similar? What about the names? If the personalities aren't jumping off the page, or if two or more characters bear a striking resemblance to each other, or worse, to you, try again. Trust me, you'll be proud of your newborns when you finally create them. And if and when you reach this point, I recommend a nice visit to a patisserie and a few yummy treats as a reward!

One final point on character names. Personally, I try to avoid the ordinary, because it makes it difficult for readers to remember who is who. Nicknames are a good way to manage this if you really don't want to use unusual names, but I suppose the bottom line is that a character remembered may be a book recommended, so go on, call that handsome villain Fortescue Von Strudel. I dare you!

Nicky Schmidt, Feb 2010

Naked in Knightsbridge is available via paypal with free worldwide postage from our

website, or on Amazon or in the UK and Europe via your local bookstore. Nicky Schmidt's second novel, Marrying Out of Money, is due out later in the year.