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
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
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
‘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
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
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
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)
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
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
