I was reminded this morning, when reading someone else's blog post about themes (http://yamuses.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/identifying-your-storys-theme.html), that I've been struggling a bit with a theme for 'The Lion and Unicorn Quest'. Well, struggling a lot. It's worrying me because in my experience my novels are better if I start out with a theme which I can then …
Beware of the interloper
Although I've managed to avoid redding up the house (see previous post) and I found myself sending off a couple of Christmas cards yesterday because they were for people overseas and I put off going to the Post Office with them at an earlier stage, I haven't completely wasted my Christmas and New Year holidays. …
I think there’s something in it.
Today I carried out the self-imposed task which I had been dreading and looking forward to almost equally: I re-read the draft of 'The Lion and Unicorn Quest' I wrote in November. This is probably the scariest moment during the writing process, especially if the whole thing has been written in a rush, to a …
Building up a head of steam
As arbitrarily as it started, Fifties month is now at an end, despite the heading to this post. I've now become submerged beneath a rising tide of pantomime preparations and Christmas-related stuff - if only they didn't always coincide! A head of steam is what I'm hoping to build up before I look at my …
Spirit of Christmas (and birthdays) Past
Having spent yesterday afternoon out shopping for Christmas presents, my thoughts turned to what sort of presents I remembered receiving in the Fifties. (No, Fifties month won't go away even now that it's turned into two months.) One of my best ever presents was a birthday gift from my parents: a large doll called Sally, …
Fifties month continues – the Festival of Britain
I'm afraid Fifties month has spilled over into December. My excuse is that I've been too busy writing fiction about the Fifties to worry about the facts. I find it very difficult to concentrate on both at the same time. I haven't quite managed to squeeze all my research into the novel (yet!) but that …
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November is Fifties month
I'd just like to announce that November will be Fifties month on this blog. In case you haven't already discovered this elsewhere, I'm planning to write a novel set in the 1950s for NaNoWriMo. The working title is 'The Lion and Unicorn Quest' but absolutely no unicorns will be harmed during the first draft. I …
Help, I can’t stop writing!
It's quite unusual for me not to be able to stop writing, in fact I often have trouble starting, as regular readers will be aware. But this time I am having to add extra chapters to cope with all the action that's going on, and I still haven't got to the final one where everything …
Hey presto!
As proof of the efficacy of leaving a novel to marinate, I woke up this morning with a new idea which should make more sense of the whole thing. All I have to do now is to write it all down! (yes, that's the hard part) 'Frozen in Crime' has been sitting on my computer …
Under blue skies
As I wait for my novel to marinate, I've mostly been stuck indoors looking at rain pouring on to the conservatory roof, but today I should be able to get on with some long-postponed gardening which I am hoping will encourage me to mull over the story-line and come up with some inspired improvements! Of …
