One thing leads to another ...

Where is the roaring fire you ask us?

Overview

http://www.landmarktrust.org.uk/our-landmarks/properties/queen-annes-summerhouse-10475/#tabs=0

Video

http://www.landmarktrust.org.uk/our-landmarks/properties/queen-annes-summerhouse-10475/#tabs=3

This links back to our comments on awriterofhistoryabout airship hangers and the Shuttleworth Collection in Bedfordshire England

http://awriterofhistory.com/2014/08/15/mission-to-morocco-j-r-rogers/

Good browsing

Allrighters

Changes to web site

Twelve months have passed since the Allrighters' web site was set up. Various updates and changes are currently being made to the site including new header pictures and changes in colour schemes. A peacock has returned to the garden in the Norfolk house where the Allrighters do most of their fantasy work. Our peacock is now pictured on a new front start up page to the web site which should appear when you visit www.allrighters.co.uk or the other international feeds co.nz and com. We are getting used to the cries of the peacock in the same way the chiming of the grandfather clock repaired by Henry last year.

Mick Rooney of TIPM has agreed to the Allrighters making a regular monthly post. Three posts have been made so far.

These are being made under the Writing and Reading for Pleasure heading as this is beginning to reflect more of what the Allrighters' are now doing. After completion of their 1,000,000 draft words in January 2014 effort has been concentrated on editing and restructuring against a target of one 18,000 word small book a week from the end of May 2014. A Writing and Reading for Pleasure blog has been set up and this will be the one used for most of the Allrighters' new posts. If you receive posts from this and other Allrighters' blogs you will receive an e mail soon asking if you want to receive updates from this new site.

May we wish you a good summer of writing and reading

Alexander and the Allrighters and Ywnwab!

Back to France where our writing started.

Two weeks reading, drafting web posts and some self editing in warm days and evenings. Our host in France is urging us to produce another Ywnwab! We have given the matter some thought and perhaps After Ywnwab! a similar 30 short story-book to Ywnwab! will emerge. Any readers of this post who wish to contribute please let us know. We already have lots of draft material.

The sheer effort and hard work of preparing and publishing another book while trying to work up all the draft words we wrote up to January 2014 is proving a block. Perhaps this is Publishers Block ? 

The highlight of the last few weeks has been finding a book by J K Rowling we enjoy reading. Well two books - Cookoo's Calling and Silkworm. From a reading viewpoint good news but from a writing perspective all rather depressing as we feel our writing has a long way to go if these books are taken as examples of stories well told. The books are too long and as several reviewers say the plots could be tightened up. However, to us some of the individual scenes are wonderful writing and could be set book for writers material for the Allrighters. 

In contact with several writing contemporaries who also published their first books last year and planned to publish second books by now and haven't confirms the publishing effort is considerable.   

TIPM monthly posts are up and running with the third due early in August. This has been a useful exercise in examining what writing and reading are all about for the Allrighters.

Also during the last few weeks visits to a local printing works running nearly 24/7 using a £2m litho based press, attendance at the RIAT and Farnborough Airshows and a first visit to Lords Cricket ground last Monday. Pity about the cricket.  For something completely different a once in a lifetime Fat Duck experience. We now need to sell many books to pay the bill!

Good reading and writing to you all

The Allrighters. 

I have been writing for four years

The last month has been quite busy.

The strategy to concentrate on self editing what I have already written is proving a good one although less time is being spent on web posts etc.

Despite this I made a couple of posts on TIPM - about a visit to CPI printing plant In Chippenham and the first of a regular series of posts in my new writing mode of Writing and Reading for Pleasure.

- http://www.theindependentpublishingmagazine.com/2014/05/self-publishing-experience-days-visit.html

- http://www.theindependentpublishingmagazine.com/2014/06/writing-and-reading-for-pleasure-part-1.html

This week I have been working on CEE my main character Henry's shipwreck book. I last touched this 50k of draft writing over two years ago. I am amazed at what I have written.

On a visit to the Cats Rescue Charity shop I found a thick book about writing - More of How to write a Mi££ion. The book is made up of three books. The first is the best written by Monica Wood as it contains a very reasoned and balanced chapter on the use of 'show and tell'. The downside is the rest of the book sets out some very hard advice on what makes a well written book. So my glee at finding a more balanced view about 'show and tell' has descended into some depression as I realise just how much more I will need to rewrite and restructure in my draft writing. I was also quite amused by the book title given my own writing target. Other parts by Kit Reed and Jack Bickham yet to be started.

I also rose to a challenge to write a 1000 words of a sit com for my local writing group meeting last week. I took the story teller role while three other group members read the three character parts. The whole evening with similar contributions from others proved a very enjoyable night.

Russell Blake's web site also provides some hard hitting advice on writing. Even suffering thriller fatigue I have started reading some of his books wearing my editor's hat. 

On the reading front I find my drift back to reading more non-fiction is gaining speed. My next publishing effort in hard copy is likely to be non-fiction. I have noticed the fiction books I like are almost real life biographies or books which read like non-fiction with much less showing than telling

I write and read on ... 

Have a good summer ... at last some warmth seems to have arrived.

Douglas

Progress Update

Hi Everyone

Just because there has not been a great deal of activity on this blog does not mean the worms are not busy underground.

Two meetings of the local writers group have provided much fun, laughter and inspiration. Also a reminder in writing two contributions for the group that creative writing is what I enjoy most.

see www.leamingtonspawriters.org.uk

The site includes some posts by Russell Blake about writing and selling books. All hard work he says. Yes I think he is right.

The first fifteen 18,000 word books ( All Gemini ) have been set up for self editing and completion. Much of the content has not been looked at for over a year so I find myself amazed about what I have written. One of the big lessons learnt is not to leave gaps for filling in later as they still represent a wall to be climbed and I have put them off yet again. 

The aim of getting all my draft words self edited and complete by this time next year and then up on Kindle in Summer 2015 still seems to be the best plan.

I am more settled in my overall aim to "Write and Read for pleasure".

Some good reading this month and a post on Mary Tod's web site in Canada

http://awriterofhistory.com/2014/04/29/reader-interview-series-douglas-from-warwickshire/

Her other recent posts in the series from other readers are a good read as well.

I have just finished Kate Atkinson's book Life after Life. I found the first 100 pages a little slow but she kept me reading by her first page about the main character Ursula in Germany. The book matured as I progressed. The most positive aspect was a book structured as a series of short stories in various time frames jumbled up and cross linked. There are similarities between my structure and Kate's structure  so this has reassured me my unusual structuring is not completely out of order especially as Kate's book has sold well. Clearly an established author can get away with an unusual structure.

I like the strap line

"What if you had the chance to live your life again and again, until you finally got it right?"

I have another draft post for Authors on Line on covers and this time the text.

That's about all my news for now.

 

April the First 2014

Some imaginative thinking

Daily Telegraph picture of a pound coin with Alex Salmond's face in profile showing what the new Scottish pound coin will be like in 2015

Seth Godin - Edward Snowden sets up worry.com for those with anxiety

Dr Mercola - US food standards agency bans all raw meat from sale.

 Then I think the following may not be?

http://accrispin.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/pamela-wray-and-wordworks-publishing.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+AtLastWriterBewareBlogsAcCrispinAndVictoriaStraussRevealAll+(Writer+Beware+Blogs!)

Douglas

Self Publishing Conference 30 3 14 Report

Hello everyone,

I ventured onto foreign territory again yesterday as I attended the second Self Publishing Conference hosted by Troubadour Publishing. It seemed a smaller event than last year with fewer people there. The other attendees seemed to be having a good time and the day was good for me in meeting new and old self published writers and learning from sessions.

The keynote speech was from Alysoun Owen the Editor of the Writers & Artists’ Yearbook about traditional publishers reinventing themselves and no short cuts to publishing as all the steps have to be gone through which ever way you publish.

In a really sparky session Polly Courtney talked about how she had successfully self published her first book Golden Handcuffs through Troubadour and then lost control of her next three books published with a mainstream publisher before returning to self publishing. Her comments about marketing were interesting. The key to her success appears to be writing about something in fiction which is featuring strongly in the national press plus many hours of hard work and graft contacting potential readers. She managed to time her book launches to coincide with national press non fiction articles on the subject written about in her books.

I attended a session on structuring children’s books where I scored 1/10 in the exercise. I like the simplicity and good easy reading in children’s books and the notes I made yesterday will be pinned up on my study wall.

Another session on book cover design was interesting but provided few answers other than confirming my choice to have a consistent brand on my covers. A sound approach confirmed earlier by Polly Courtney. In many of the examples I found the text on the cover hard to read. I noticed here and from my monthly inspection of covers on the new books on the Waterstone table more rough edged wobbly text and pictures. There is all this new tech for design but to me few beat the old Penguin covers with pictures.

The final session was about developing one’s web site. Some useful stuff and complimented my recent reading of How to Build Your Online Author Platform http://www.amazon.co.uk/Build-Your-Online-Author-Platform-ebook/dp/B00IUQ7QSK/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1396260202&sr=1-3&keywords=how+to+build+author+platform Even semi retired I find it hard to find time to both write and market. Other silver writers I spoke to yesterday shared the same problem.

Over lunch I spoke to Helen Hollick - a writer of history - and spoke to her about the perils of writing about historic figures when regarded as saints by some and villains by others. She mentioned Cromwell and laughed.

Also over lunch I met a fellow traveller who had also taken a decision to write for personal satisfaction and not get involved in trying to prove himself as a serious writer. At least I am not so alone now we are in contact.

Best wishes

Douglas