Finally finished my first novel!!

Yes folks, yesterday lunchtime....

I typed the words 'THE END' at the bottom of my final chapter and turned off my computer. (Only to turn it on again 5 mins later to see what a 'finished' book looks like - and to check that it was still there.)

4 years in the making and it is now ready to be edited to death then thrown out into the world. I promise to try to update my blog more often now as lots has happened since i have been 'away'.

Richard

Back at my desk...

Sorry I have been away - both children have been poorly.

Back once again though - write more when I get chance.

Richard

Upgrading computers

So, the day has finally dawned where I feel able to face installing our new computer. The problem is two-fold.

A) I still need to run the old one as it has so much stuff on it.

B) I fix/repair/install computers all week so am loathed to do it at the weekend!!!

I can get around the first problem by borrowing a KVM switch (allows multiple computers to share one keyboard, mouse and monitor) from work.

The second is more difficulty but I'll just have to do some bullet biting!!

Stay tuned - I'm turning off now. Got some great news about a new author

RG

Did I make the most of the Xmas holidays?

So, it's my last day before I go back to work and I'm wondering if I/we made the most of the time off. I planned to do 3 chapters on LifeTime but managed instead just over 1000 words. Ok, I got a lot of the plot and characters sorted but I did envisage myself writing every morning like I did whilst I was on the OU course.

Anyway, I don't think our 'rest' period was helped by the fact that all of us had different levels of coughs and colds and it meant we had a horrendous sleeping pattern - ie none, not a lot, very little or terrible. I don't know about you but I find it very difficult to be creative when I'm exhausted.

Right then, so what have I managed to do? Well the Children's Story competition is closed so I am organising the selection and judging, I've managed to setup another competition to win a copy of a fantastic book that I got for Xmas (check out the competition page on the strugglingauthors.org site) and we have a couple of interviews to load onto the site so it's all going good after the break.

Well, 2008 promises to be a great year for the site and we have a couple of things up our sleeve for this year so stay tuned.

We had a couple more people join the forum and add their thoughts to the mix so, if you haven't been there already, please pop along to > Forum

Happy New Year to you all and let's make this year the one where we get some work published!!!

Good luck

Christmas creation!

Well, it might be a bit grand for what I've done but...

Been up since 6am and have finally started to thrash out the plot, characters and details of my book - LifeTime. I try to organise everything around a spreadsheet (I know - but hey, I work in IT) so that it all links together and, so far, I have managed to sort out a few story issues and the very act of writing has brought new depth and twists to to the plot. I have also managed to set myself so many research tasks it's not true - from Second World War U-boats to the foibles of the ego. Still, it's all 'learning'.

I have started to flesh out three of the main characters and defined any relationships they have with each other. The good thing about a book like this is that it spans more than one 'lifetime' so I am able to continue a theme or embellish an idea.

So, second to last day at work for this year - looking forward to 2 weeks of continuing in the same vein and getting some of the stuff that is in my head down on paper!

Thanks and Merry Xmas if I don't get to say it!

Richard
Struggling Authors

Don't know when the France book is going to get finished!

Author Rejection Letters

As I recently got my second pukka rejection letter I thought I might start a new Topic on the Struggling Author forum. I've invited other writers to send theirs in - especially if they are funny, rude or downright silly. We'll see what people come up with.

Cheers

RG

Latest 'rejection'.

Story: Je Ne Regrette Rien

Thank you for entering the Writers’ Dock first annual short story competition. Though your story made it through the first round of judging, I am afraid on this occasion you were unsuccessful. We hope to read more of your work in future years.

Practice what I preach

How bad am I? Always telling strugglig authors to update their blog regularly and I haven't touched mine for ages.

So, lots has gone on with the site, we've got a new Author of the Month, a new Book of the Month and lots of competition entries and winners.

I've also noticed that the mini sites I setup on BTTradespace are receiving hundreds of visitors so am planning on updating those soon.

Ciao f'now

RG