This year I decided to try something new: To write a one line review for every book I read. Though this started off well, it soon became hard to maintain. I'd envisioned each review as a precise, positive recap, but I couldn't remain positive (nor brief) when it came to the books I disliked. Not … Continue reading My 2021 in Books
It's no secret, my writing suffered during the second UK lockdown. I was writing every day, yet I was barely making any progress with the second draft of my novelette, An Investigation of the Most Sensitive Order. (Hence the extended interlude between blog posts. That and a 50 hour work/writing week.) Turns out I wasn't … Continue reading Writing in Lockdown: How I Reignited my Creative Spark
Despite the title, this year's list isn't comprised solely of books. At the start of the year I made the conscious effort to read more short stories. In fact, with the exception of non-fiction and audiobooks, I read just one novel in the first five months. The rest of my reading time was focused on … Continue reading My 2020 in Books
For a year that has been spent mostly indoors, baking various revamped banana breads, quizzing virtually with friends, spurring across sweeping vistas in Red Dead Redemption 2 (I was late to the game, literally) and, of course, writing short stories, time certainly seems to be going fast. Here's what I've been up to recently. MY … Continue reading My Second Short Story
The question I'm most often asked when I tell someone about my writing is "So when will it be ready?" It's a fair question, though it smacks of a misconception: that writing a story is as simple as putting down one word at a time until you have enough. It suggests, among a thousand other … Continue reading After The First Draft: What Happens Next?
As the title suggests, I discovered more than five things writing the first draft of my short story. No, I didn't discover these later on. As with the original intention for the Hobbit films, it made sense to split the post in two. 1. PLANNING SHOULD BE ORGANIC "No matter how much planning you do … Continue reading 5 MORE Things I Discovered Writing the First Draft of my Short Story
At the start of the year I set aside my novel to focus on writing short stories*. This decision was based on a three-pronged approach: To complete the process start-to-finish on a micro level To prove to myself that I can do this To aid world building I've now finished the first draft of my … Continue reading 5 Things I Discovered Writing the First Draft of my Short Story
The idea for my first short story came to me in December, during an Alter Bridge concert at the O2 that I was attending with my dad and a close friend. A weird time for inspiration to strike, I know. Ghost of Days Gone By had just started pummelling my eardrums when, out of nowhere, … Continue reading My First Short Story
Let me take you back to last December and the decision I made. Over the Christmas break I decided I would start 2020 by shifting my writing focus away from my novel and towards short stories. Having spent so long writing the novel, the idea of taking some time away from it was appealing. In … Continue reading New Year, New Stories
A question I'm often asked is, "Tom, how many books do you read in a year?" Whereas I used to guess an answer, I'm now organised (read: sad) enough to keep a list, and have done so for the last three years. When I looked back on my 2018 list, I was somewhat disappointed with … Continue reading My 2019 in Books
This post continues on from Part I. FEBRUARY After three months, I resumed writing. It felt good to have planned the more immediate chapters and it was reassuring to know where I was going. While I'd set myself up well, I was also setting myself up for a fall. I'd become so focused on working on … Continue reading My 2019 So Far, Part II
We're four (!!!) months into the new year, and a lot has happened. It doesn't feel good (particularly in my fingertips) to be cramming four months' worth of updates into two posts, but the reasons for this will become apparent... DECEMBER [I'm aware this month falls under the old, bin-bound calendar, so try to think … Continue reading My 2019 So Far, Part I
Stories are important for a number of reasons. They allow you to look inside yourself by living the lives of others, while helping you to empathise with those you once failed to understand. They educate without lecturing, lend a voice to the voiceless, and make thoughts fertile—even rampant—when previously there were none. A good story … Continue reading My 2018 in Books
Allow me to start off by saying this is less of a post (OK, much less) than usual and there are two good reasons for it. I've not long returned from my brother's wedding and Texan road trip. While I loved my sojourn across the pond (my premature Christmas-chub and newfound love for country music … Continue reading October & November
If this blog is the young boy with the floor-bound stare, then punctuality is the girl he is very cautiously overcoming his shyness to approach. Give him some time. Having learnt that thoughts of 'you still have plenty of time' are in fact lies, I've at least published this month's post a whole span [that's … Continue reading September
If this blog is the young boy with the floor-bound stare, then punctuality is the girl he is too shy to approach. I aim to publish posts within the first half of the month. (Ahem, or the first half of the second month). Doing so takes time away from my actual writing, which is something Emily … Continue reading August
This post continues on from Part I. WRITING ROUTINE Having made no conscious effort to adapt my writing routine back in April, I once more made no conscious effort to adapt my writing routine in June and July. (Here, adapt is the key word. Whether it's conscious or not doesn't matter.) Time and space away from … Continue reading June & July Part II
I was about to write my June update when I realised it was some-magical-how already mid-July. It seemed, according to the sensible (rather, lazy) part of my brain, to make sense that I wait two more weeks to write another zeppelin-bloated post split across two parts covering both months together. This seemed to make even more sense considering I'd had … Continue reading June & July Part I
This time last year I was starting to feel increasingly more stuck with my writing. That stickiness eventually hardened into an unplanned, protracted break. If it wasn't for the love and support of those closest to me, I would have given up on Everborne. Now that I have a year-old retrospect of that time, I can view … Continue reading May
This post continues on from Part I. REDUCING MY FEAR OF INADEQUACY "Get to the end of your manuscript and THEN worry about the quality. If you can master the art of powering through to the end of your story, you are on your way." ---Hugh Howey Writing with less structure has helped to reduce … Continue reading March & April Part II
A lot has happened in the past two months. Unfortunately, I didn't write a March post at the start of this month due to what I talk about first. Rather than writing a belated March post, I've merged it with April's, as it's easier to discuss them simultaneously, hence this zeppelin-bloated post which is split, like all greedy … Continue reading March & April Part I
I'm very much the type of person who likes sit down at his laptop at nine every morning to begin work. If I don't, I feel as though I'm trying to make up minutes---and words---for the rest of the day. Comfort, for me, is found inside the rigidity of a schedule. Discomfort lurks on the … Continue reading February
As you can probably tell from my photo of neatly piled books, I've finally managed to work out the ones that I read over the previous year. I didn't keep a list tracking my progress, so I was surprised to discover that some of the books I thought I'd read were actually from two years ago---how … Continue reading My 2017 in Books
This month had to go well. I had to fill it with words. Lots of them. And I did. 14,075 to be exact. Not a bad start to the year. December was a difficult month. For me personally and for my writing. (The two often influence each other.) I wanted to write a December post---especially … Continue reading January
1st November 2014 was one of the hardest days of my life. "My childhood wish was to have a Golden Retriever. I was very fortunate to have that wish granted twice. Thank you, Lucy; you changed my life. I am grateful to have shared such a bond with you, and although I can’t believe you’re … Continue reading November
On the first Sunday of November I attended The Gollancz Festival 2017 at Foyles on Charing Cross Road, London. For those who don't know, Gollancz is one of the UK's top publishers of Science Fiction and Fantasy, home to some of my favourite contemporary authors---Patrick Rothfuss, Brandon Sanderson and Scott Lynch. The Festival itself was … Continue reading The Gollancz Festival 2017
‘It’s like driving a car at night. You never see further than your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.’ That's what E.L. Doctorow said about writing, and it's one of my favourite quotes that I've unearthed in my quest to better understand the craft. It's encouraging. It's honest. And, when doubt settles … Continue reading October
Bam! It's October. When did that happen? Obviously, on the 1st, six days ago. Point is, October's come around quickly. Before it too slips off into the murky waters of memory, like a seal from the rocks, desperate to catch up with its friends in the depths below, I should really talk about September and (alert: … Continue reading September
A year ago today, I began writing Everborne. Wow, where has the time gone? Not only that, where has Tom gone? It's been a couple of months since my last post. I wanted to write an update before August but... allow me to explain. Now that I've had time to process my thoughts. Following my impromptu break … Continue reading A Year in the Making
Having not written a WoW post in three weeks, I'm feeling more than a little guilty. So what have I been doing? Panicking. Mostly. My step back from writing Everborne turned more into a leap away---the kind one might take from a sinking ship. The waves of despair have a strong pull. For the first half … Continue reading June
Earth's mightiest heroes have been a little Thortless once again. Thor has always been one of the funnier members of the MCU, thanks mostly to his fish-out-of-water interactions with his fellow Avengers. But it is now his absence from his superhero pals that is proving to be comedy gold. The first time The God of Thunder … Continue reading Watch Chris Hemsworth’s Hilarious Reaction to a ‘Secret Avengers Rehearsal’
I found a seat with a table and sat down, guiltless for taking up all four seats; it’s a struggle for me to fit in those without tables because of my giraffe legs. I left my headphones on and opened my book. That’s every journey I take between Canterbury East and Bromley South. No matter … Continue reading Returning Home
In my mind, I can see The Garden. It is summertime. There is no blue snow, impasto on the lawn; nor any stripped, quivering branches; nor a layering of black leaves; nor any rain. Only sun. The Garden is square. Before The Bungalow is a pink and grey flagstone patio, chequered like the chessboard I … Continue reading The Garden
Apart from Dad, everyone else was a stranger. Twelve of us, including our guide, were sat in a decommissioned bus. It shakingly climbed the corkscrew road (‘road’ being a generous word), sides almost over the edge, groaning with every gear change up the Honnister slate mine. Slate slopes plummeted away as the main road shrank. There were … Continue reading The Iron Way
“The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes.” ―Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles It was the year I fell in love with Sherlock Holmes. My The Complete Stories of---my red bible---lay in the backseat of my dad’s Mercedes. We left the long shadows of the … Continue reading The Man on the Tor
Zagreb is a modest, budding city. Our room, on the bottom floor of an apartment not far from the capital's main square, was not. A screen of orange beads hung before a single window, casting a light as dim as an old photograph into a room best summed-up by its cupboard. Correction: its wet room. Wet … Continue reading The Worst Hotel I’ve Ever Stayed In
Taking a step back to re-plan my novel has really allowed me to look at it with a fresh perspective. Don't get me wrong, I'd much rather be writing. What writer doesn't want to be racking up the dreaded word count? To feel as if they're making real progress, instead of bumbling around, lost and confused? It … Continue reading Weeks #31 & #32
Finally! The Mother of Dragons (Emilia Clarke) isn't the only one preparing for war in the official trailer for the penultimate season of Game of Thrones. "I was born to rule the Seven Kingdoms. And I will." Fans may have been left with a longer wait between seasons than in previous years, but our first proper glimpse---walking around … Continue reading ‘Game of Thrones’ Season 7 Trailer Arrives—Along With Daenerys
There is nothing in the galaxy—and those far, far away—more tightly held than a Star Wars secret. This week sees the franchise celebrate its ruby (or 40th) anniversary, and Vanity Fair has released the first-look photos of the main cast from the upcoming The Last Jedi, spreading them over not one but four covers. Let’s … Continue reading Star Wars The Last Jedi Vanity Fair Covers
It was very much likely doubt that made me type when to share your first draft into my phone's search engine. Within seconds, countless webpages of advice appeared. I opened half-a-dozen-or-so and quickly came to realise that I'd been going about writing my first draft the wrong way. Apparently. (With art, it's hard to say there's … Continue reading Week #30 Overview
I'm in another, perhaps deeper, self-doubt slump. Or, rather, had been (he says)---I've since kicked myself back into gear. I did say it was a cyclical feeling. I'm ashamed to admit the first thoughts of quitting bloomed the other day. I even (very briefly) looked online for jobs, panicked as I was by the belief that everything I've … Continue reading Weeks #28 & #29 Overview
I've been struggling with self-doubt recently. Mostly, I wonder if what I'm writing is any good. It's a cyclical feeling, and I'm sure it's natural. Not that it makes dealing with it any easier. I suppose it stems from the on-going problem that I've yet to show anyone my work. Six months is a long … Continue reading Weeks #26 & #27 Overview
Not sure what to say, other than I'm getting there. This week was slightly longer as it included the Mon---Weds of the previous week too. Emily and I went away with the dogs to Norfolk for a long weekend. We had a lovely time---plenty of beaches and broads, woods and walks, coffees and cakes, and, of … Continue reading Week #25 Overview
I need to stop thinking so much. That's what I've learnt over the past couple of weeks. Of course, it's essential when writing---including before you start---but it's important to know when to switch off. Which is something easier said than done. Too much thinking can lead to things like doubt and worry. While they're natural … Continue reading Week #24 Overview
I've been struggling with time, recently. It's now the beginning of March---can you believe it?---and I'd originally thought that by this point I'd have my first quarter/fifth of Everborne drafted and ready to hand out to my reading circle. Instead, I'm about two thirds of the way through. Having not edited something as large as 105,000+ words … Continue reading Weeks 22 & 23 Overview
Every week I learn something new about the writing process. After all, everything I do is on a trail-by-error basis. (And there have been quite a few errors. But that's OK. I'm learning from them, and each lesson is allowing me to improve as a writer.) While I discovered the other week that, much to my surprise, … Continue reading Week #21 Overview
I thought it might be interesting to share the edited version of the extract I previously released before Christmas, to show the changes it has since gone through---how it has evolved through editing. This was done at the start of the year, and I can tell by re-reading it now for the first time since then … Continue reading Evolution of an Extract
Before I began drafting my first 100,000+ words of Everborne, I was worried Narrative 1 would need a complete rewrite. Well, it has. I'm no longer worried, though. Even if it means I won't have finished drafting by the end of the month, like I'd anticipated. The rewriting is as essential as the drafting, as without either I'd … Continue reading Week #20 Overview
If writing is like painting, then editing is like sculpting. With writing, it's about building up layers. Applying paint on top of paint. First you slather on blocks of colour to a blank canvas. Then you make your brush strokes heavier, more deliberate, the colours varied, more kaleidoscopic. You work this way, adding layer on top … Continue reading Weeks #18 & #19 Overview
As with last week, I'm still editing. I moved onto Chapters 1 and 3---1 needed little work, as it was the last thing I wrote before the Christmas break, so most of this week was focused on re-drafting 3, which continues on from the first. I say re-drafting, most of it has been re-writing. Before I began re-drafting, … Continue reading Week #17 Overview
I start the new year with a real sense of happiness and an excitement for what lies ahead, further along the foggy path that I'm on---which is something I've never felt before in January. That's because I'm in the fortunate position of saying I get to spend each day doing what I love, and I'm excited … Continue reading Week #16 Overview
After fifteen weeks of full-time writing, I still don't feel comfortable enough to call myself a writer. I guess that's because I'm not getting paid. Currently. (Saying that, as a means to support myself, I'm a dog walker and carer, but I don't regard that as my job, even though I get paid.) Still, I consider what I do---writing---as … Continue reading The Foggy Path
As it's the time for giving, here's an extract from the first chapter of Everborne. I'd love to say I wrote this back in September, with months of reflection and hardly any revisions made since, but the truth is I re-wrote Chapter One only the other week, and this is my new opening. As with any opening, my focus … Continue reading Extract: Chapter One
I'm here, at the end of my final week of writing for 2016, and I can't quite believe it. I began writing Everborne fifteen weeks ago, but it feels like much, much longer. In that time, I've written 113,728 words, or 394 pages (double-spaced, point twelve), which tells the first thirteen chapters (and prologue) of my story. I … Continue reading Week #15 Overview
I broke for lunch later than usual on Wednesday, owing to the fact I wanted to finish drafting Chapter 14. I won't bore you with the details about what I ate. (OK, Minestrone soup with added chunks of chicken, if you're dying to know.) So not only did I end up taking Cass for an afternoon walk … Continue reading Week #14 Overview
I've been writing Everborne for three months now (wow, to think I ever doubted doing this) and I couldn't be happier with my running word count of 105,031 words! (Yes, I was about to close my laptop on Friday when I saw I was twenty words short of the five thousand mark and, yes, I did sit … Continue reading Week #13 Overview
This has been my most stressful week. So far. (I wonder how naive Future Tom will regard this remark!) Intent on making up for lost words and conscious this was the week to do so, I really forged ahead with my writing. Fortunately, it paid off. More than being relieved by the more-like-usual amount of words … Continue reading Week #12 Overview
I’ve been asked this question before and, in characteristic Tom-fashion, I bungled the answer. To Emily’s dad, no less. That’s me, always making a sterling impression. Afterwards (and this isn’t me trying to save face… he says), I realised that may have been because there are multiple answers. Well, here they are. 1) Escapism I’ve … Continue reading Why I Write
It's hard not to be frustrated with myself at the moment. I set myself monthly targets that are neither impossible nor unchallenging. This month, I'm currently straggling behind schedule. This certainly isn't through lack of effort, or awareness. (Believe me, I'm aware all right.) For whatever reason, on average, I'm writing less per day. Creativity is … Continue reading Week #11 Overview
This week was tough. Man, was it frustrating. And I'm so glad that it's over. I really am. Saying that, I still don't think I could call it my first bad week, even though it felt like it most of the time and all I wanted to do was be able to put it behind me. … Continue reading Week #10 Overview
Monday saw the end of October, and, after 21 days of writing, my second month's word count totalled 71,702 words; I was very happy to be comfortably within my word count target. With November also having 21 days of writing (it would be 22, but I'm taking my birthday off), I'm hoping by the end … Continue reading Week #9 Overview
I can't quite believe tomorrow will mark the end of my second month of writing my novel full-time. Since I began last month, the weeks have melted into a single indistinct streak; so much so, if it wasn't for my weekly overviews, I'd find it almost impossible to distinguish between them. For October, I set myself … Continue reading Week #8 Overview
I treat writing Everborne as a job. If I didn't, then I will never be more than an amateur writer. As you may expect, writing takes up the bulk of my day. Though there are two other essential ingredients that complete my every working day. They are reading and exercise. (Though not at the same time---if only!) When you're … Continue reading A Day in the Life of an Amateur Writer
Where does the time go? I can't believe the weeks have stacked up to seven high already. A friend told me last night that I should be proud for sticking with my daily routine for as long as I have. As obvious as it may seem, it was a nice little reminder. I should be proud (and … Continue reading Week #7 Overview
It's funny, I glanced back at how I summed-up my previous week, and I said it was my best one yet---obviously, that can (and I like to think, very much, will) change with forthcoming weeks. Even though that was only five working days ago, I'd almost completely forgotten about it; it feels a great distance away now. … Continue reading Week #6 Overview
A round-up of the things I've learnt during my first month of writing my first novel, Everborne. Writing is like painting; it's about building up layers. I've known from the start that what I write in a day will not be the finished product. Heck, even my first manuscript won't be the finished story. Every morning, I start … Continue reading Writing a Novel: What I Learnt in my First Month
Out of the five so far, I've yet to have a bad week, fortunately. I've had good. And I've had OK. No bad. Yet. Week 5 was an OK week. In terms of word count. In terms of what I've written? The best so far, I think (and hope). I was on the tail end of … Continue reading Week #5 Overview
By the fourth week, writing has become routine, though this was my least successful week in terms of daily word count and confidence. That's right, Major Idiot made his return. I started the week just over three thousand words shy of my target. I had hoped to breach the 40,000 word mark. Despite having a cold, … Continue reading Week #4 Overview
From the back cover: "Guylain Vignolles lives on the edge of existence. Working at a book pulping factory in a job he hates, he has but one pleasure in life . . . Sitting on the 6.27 train each day, Guylain recites aloud from pages he has saved from the jaws of his monstrous … Continue reading Anecdotal Review: The Reader on the 6.27 by Jean-Paul Didierlaurent
Continuing on from How to Plan a Book, Part One (of Two), here are steps 7-10 of how I've planned Everborne over the past year. Step 7: Plan for the Future Before I returned to school---I mean work---from my half-term break, I said I'd ask my boss by Easter about the potential of working part-time the … Continue reading How to Plan a Book, Part Two (of Two)
The surprise of the previous weeks' writing has begun to fade; after a successful third week it's starting to feel normal. So far, I've yet to experience anything else. Though I'm ever wary of those ominous word-wilting days of writer's block. 18,000 words later, Chapter 1 is finally finished... for now. Chapter 2 is also complete and I am very happy … Continue reading Week #3 Overview
I started planning Everborne over a year ago in August 2015. These are the first six (of ten) steps I have taken (so far) that got me ready to begin writing earlier this month. Pre-planning: Failure Everborne first bawled breath on my weekly food-shop walk to Sainsbury's during my third year of university (2013). I can even remember where … Continue reading How to Plan a Book, Part One (of Two)
From the back cover: "On one side of a high wall lies a narrow, dank alley; on the other, a sunlit garden; and between them, a small black iron door. You just need to open it. Welcome to Slade House." [That doesn't reveal much. Basically, every seven years on the last Saturday of October, a … Continue reading Anecdotal Review: Slade House by David Mitchell
After two weeks of full-time writing, I am pleasantly surprised to still be pleasantly surprised. Once again, I can't quite believe how the week has gone. It certainly hasn't gone how I expected it to, for a number of reasons. I had set myself the target of reaching 20,000 words by the end of the month. This week, … Continue reading Week #2 Overview
From the back cover: "The Kingdom of the Six Duchies is on the brink of civil war when news breaks that the crown prince has fathered a bastard son and is shamed into abdication. The child's name is Fitz, and he is despised. Raised in the castle stables, only the company of the king's fool, … Continue reading Anecdotal Review: Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb.
Say hello to Max. We’ve been best friends for fourteen years now. Max-box, Maximus Decimus Boximus, Big-head, has been with me through school, university and even my first job. I can barely remember life without him; he’s always been there. He was a boy’s fulfilled wish and a man’s best friend. A dog really can … Continue reading Living Life to the Max!
So I've done it. I finally started "living the dream" on Monday. I'm now at the end of my first week of full-time writing. And, boy, does it feel good! I've worked out I'll have 20 writing days in September and, since it's my first month, I thought I'd set myself the target of reaching 20,000 … Continue reading Week #1 Overview
How and why I decided to quit my job to write full-time in order to pursue my dream of becoming a published author. The short version: It’s my dream, so I'm doing it. The long version: I’d originally hoped to work part-time at my previous job, working as a tutor in an East London School. … Continue reading A Time to Write
I am as excited as I am scared. Tomorrow, I begin living my dream. I start writing my first novel. Three months ago, I quit my job so I could commit to writing full-time in order to pursue my dream of becoming a published author. Since then, I set myself the start date of 1st … Continue reading Before the Plunge
Tom Luck 