Strictly Writing - and strictly for computer dummies.

Phew - deep breaths ... I'm just calming down from the excitement of coming back on line after yet another frustrating computer problem, to find that my guest blog post has been published on the Strictly Writing blog (http://strictlywriting.blogspot.com/2009/12/guest-blog-by-sheila-norton-thousand.html ) - fame at last! Thanks, guys for letting me have my shout on your brilliant blog. Only sorry I was late finding out about it.

Does anyone else feel like crying and throwing their toys out of the pram when they have computer problems or is it just me? I'm the first to admit that I'm technologically challenged, but we have other friends of our generation (pre-computers, almost pre-typewriters really!!), who never seem to endure the sort of frustrations we keep coming up against. It makes me feel like we must be doing something wrong! And being without the internet, even for a few days, is such a horrible experience these days, isn't it - how did we all become so dependent on it! I managed a quick visit to our village library (only open for half days on alternate days) yesterday to have a brief check of my e-mails, but it just isn't enough time to do all the things I need to do. I've now got to catch up on all my favourite blogs and writers' forums etc! Sigh!

And one of the worst things about computer failure is the way some of the experts on the Help lines speak to you. They either babble away in computer-jargon so that you haven't got a clue what they're on about, or else they adopt a really patronising attitude as soon as they realise they're dealing with someone who knows next-to-nothing. This can be even more annoying. OK, I might not understand the workings of a computer but that doesn't make me an idiot! I'm the customer, and I'd like to be spoken to with respect and a little sympathy, to have my problem taken seriously and discussed in layman's language. If a doctor can manage that when dealing with his patients (I'm on home ground here, as I worked for doctors for most of my life), then I'm sure computer technicians can manage it too. After all - for all these very superior-sounding so called Help people know, I could be a brain surgeon or a brilliant linguist or a world-famous scientist - (or even a novelist, ha ha!) - and computers could be the only one thing I'm not clever at! (I wish!).

Having said that - we do sometimes come across really helpful, polite, people on the help lines and we spoke to one recently at PC World, too, who obviously knew his stuff and was prepared to talk to us like we were human beings despite the silly questions we were asking. So if there are any IT technicians reading this - please remember all this when dealing with computer dummies! We do need your help but that doesn't make us thick!

Feature in Writer's Forum - and a successful talk

Like all of us, I get my share of rejections and disappointments! - so it's specially gratifying when a couple of better things happen in my writing life in fairly close succession, making me feel a bit more successful again!

Hot on the heels of the publication of my story in last week's Woman's Weekly, I've now had my feature on pseudonyms published in 'Writer's Forum' magazine ('Name Games' on p44).

It's the January 2010 issue, which is out this week - weird thinking about January already when I can hardly believe it's December yet!

Several lovely fellow members of the RNA (Romantic Novelists' Association) contributed their thoughts to the article, so I hope everyone will find it interesting and informative! My 'real' photo appears on the page together with the 'young me' one that I used when I was first reinvented as Olivia. Quite amusing to see them both side by side!

I've also got a snippet in the 'Members' News' pages of the new issue of 'Writers' News', revealing my 'Olivia Ryan' identity as Sheila Norton ... I sent this in a few months ago when I first 'came out', but it's taken a while to be published! Still, it includes a bit about the latest book so I'm hoping it might catch a few readers' eyes.

The other thing might not sound particularly glamorous or amazing, but I gave a talk one evening last week to a local Rotary Club. Being an all-male club, and as the books and short stories I write tend to be quite female-oriented (although I must point out here before they contradict me, that I do have male fans and I'm dead chuffed whenever I hear from them!) - I was wondering how to target my talk and whether they'd find it interesting or if they'd all doze off after their dinner! I decided to talk about the realities of life as a writer - good and bad! - including various facts & figures, and quotes from better-known authors. And I'm pleased to say they were very appreciative and - always a good sign - I got asked lots of questions at the end. And sold some books too! So, together with the lovely meal provided for myself and the husband, it made it a successful evening for me.

I've given quite a few talks since having my books published; it's not a natural thing for me, and at first I was very nervous. But I'm a lot more confident now and actually enjoyed last week's one so I'm keen to continue building on that - it's all good PR and I hand out business cards and/or handouts about my books, as well as selling a few books if I can. I never would have thought, years ago, that I could cope confidently with this type of thing (I much prefer writing to talking!), so I'm quite chuffed to have gained a new skill at my advanced age!

And I've just seen that I've got a nice five-star reader review on Amazon for 'Tales From a Honeymoon Hotel' - which has really cheered me up!

Now to concentrate on the magazines I'm failing to 'hit'. Julie over at Julie's Quest (http://jlpwritersquest.blogspot.com/) and I, have made a joint challenge to ourselves to go back to basics by studying the relevant mags again, and trying to work out what sort of stories they're accepting and why ours aren't hitting the mark. I've just bought my first couple of 'research' issues ... so I'll be back soon with my thoughts!

Stories - old and new!

My short story 'The Lamp' is being published in Woman's Weekly 8 December issue. I've just received my complementary copy and feel pleased with it - the illustration is lovely and the story reads OK. Do you have favourites amongst your own stories? This was one of my faves from this year - because it was inspired by the trip to Marrakech we went on, last May, with our group of friends. Re-reading it, I remembered other stories I've written, over the years, that were inspired by holidays: some of them, I know, turned out better than others! Sometimes the idea was too weak, and wasn't enough to make much more than a rather dreary 'holiday' story. Other times, there was something different about the holiday - or something different that occurred to me - that made the story a bit more special. Those, of course, were the ones that got published!

Thinking about this, yesterday I got out the file where I keep copies of all my published stories, and started looking through them. During the early 1990s, before I started seriously trying to write a novel, I had stories published quite frequently in 'Woman's Realm'. It was actually the fact that this magazine folded, that spurred me on to write the novel that eventually got published first. 'Woman's Realm' had been my best market, the editor was lovely, they paid me well - so losing it was a terrible blow, and I began to think I'd never have any short stories published again: so I became more determined to try being a novelist. At least I have them to thank for that!

Of all the stories I had published back then, I have a few favourites - stories I was really pleased with at the time, and still feel pleased with now when I re-read them. One was inspired by a holiday in France; another by a trip to the Yorkshire Dales. Travelling definitely seems to do the trick! On the other hand, lots of stories back then were also inspired by my day job: working in a hospital does give you access to lots of stories - some funny, some sad, some romantic!

It occurred to me that some of my best stories from a decade or more ago, could easily be rewritten slightly, brought up to date where necessary, and made into completely new stories to be submitted elsewhere. I've been feeling a bit short of ideas lately, so I got quite excited about this, and chose one straight away that I thought would lend itself to a re-write. With the original story out in front of me, I started tapping away at the computer. New names, new places ... the heroine would now have two young sons instead of a teenage daughter; the hero would be a doctor instead of a lawyer. A new twist occurred to me; the plot took a different course ... and suddenly, I realised something strange was happening. I wasn't just changing the original story as I went along ... I was turning it into a something completely different!

I worked on that story until quite late last night, and I'm still feeling somewhat shell-shocked. I've gone from idly wondering if it was worth changing and resubmitting some old favourites, to feeling quite fired-up at the thought of using LOTS of my old stories to simply provide some much-needed inspiration for new ones! Why hadn't I thought of this before? When the creative spark feels like it's started to flicker and die a little, it needs feeding ... so, if going off on another jaunt abroad is out of the question right now - I'll get back to looking at some more of my old favourites!

Doing what comes naturally

I've just been reading Samantha's excellent post over at Strictly Writing ( http://strictlywriting.blogspot.com/ ) giving her Top Writing Tips. It set me to thinking about how often I've been asked, when giving talks to writers' groups etc, for tips and advice. Of course, we all have our favourite tips: I often tell would-be writers, for instance, that the best advice is just to make a start! - as so many people tell me they'll become a writer at some imagined point in the future - when the kids start school, or when they retire, etc - and I really wonder whether they ever will, if they're not motivated enough to get started right now!


But I often also repeat a quote I've seen, by Somerset Maugham, who said: 'There are three rules for writing. Unfortunately, no one can agree what they are."!


I love writers' magazines, books about writing, forums inhabited by writers, etc - and over the years, I've gleaned some wonderful advice from all of them. Just as you're never too old to learn, you're also never too experienced or successful to find out more about the inexhaustible topic of writing for publication. Not that I'm particularly succesful! - but I have been going at it for a long time - and yet I read Jane Wenham Jones' 'Wannabee a Writer' earlier this year, and found loads of helpful advice in it - presented in an easy-to-read and amusing way.


But as Samantha points out in her post, we all need to be able to filter the massive amount of advice we read, to take on board the bits that apply to us (and which work for us), and ignore the rest. Sometimes that's difficult when it seems that all the so-called 'experts' out there are saying stuff that seems to go against what comes naturally to you.

For instance, I don't think anyone would disagree that when you're fitting in your writing around a full-time job, you just have to write whenever you have the time and the energy - but it seems that once you're a full-time writer, almost everyone advises you to work to a routine. I have to keep reminding myself not to feel guilty or to feel like I'm not a 'proper writer' for completely ignoring this advice! It just doesn't suit me - since not having a day job, I like to be flexible and write at whatever time I feel inclined on different days.

I'm giving a talk at a Rotary Club this week and I've no doubt I'll give out some of my so-called pearls of wisdom about becoming a writer! - it's what people usually want to hear. But since reading Samantha's post and mulling all this over, I'll definitely also add the caveat that my tips might have worked for me - don't necessarily expect them to work for you. Writing isn't an exact science, where you can learn the 'rules' like a maths lesson (God forbid!) and expect to get 10 out of 10 or a gold star (showing my age, there!) for getting them all right. So if you like using adverbs, for instance, or you think you might be doing a bit of Telling instead of Showing - but it seems to work, and feels right - don't beat yourself up. Trust yourself to break or bend a rule or two and see what happens!

A Rainy Living Library Day; but good news on a feature

Well, the 'Living Library' Day yesterday could not possibly have been on a worse day, from the weather point of view, could it! The rain was beating down and the wind was blowing a gale as I drove there - and the library was pretty much deserted all afternoon! I felt sorry for the organisers as it could have been such a nice event.

There were only three of us 'living books' for the afternoon session: the fourth, a dog breeder, had dropped out because his staff were off sick - presumably he needed to be there to breed the dogs! Pity, because it would have been interesting to talk to him. Apparently there were four 'living books' for the morning session too, including a nun and a funeral director! Hmm. Well, the other afternoon people were a man who worked for the Royal British Legion, who was responsible for distributing money from the Poppy Appeal in Essex, and a lady who makes willow sculptures, and also lectures at a local college, running courses in working with willow and other horticultural subjects. The three of us did manage to find plenty to chat about all afternoon, which was just as well! - as we only had two genuine 'readers' (who we shared between all three of us). And one of those hadn't actually come to the library to talk to us - we just saw him looking lost and called him over, and he was too polite to refuse!

Well, I hope they decide to try it again, (perhaps in the summer!) - as I'd certainly agree to take part again and see if we can get it some better publicity next time. I suppose I'm quite used to taking part in events where only a handful of people turn up so it didn't seriously disappoint me!

On a more positive note, I finally had confirmation on Friday from the 'Writers' Forum' editor that he's going to use my feature on writing under a pseudonym in the January issue (due out at the beginning of December). I'm looking forward to seeing that published as I spoke to lots of authors about their experiences, for it, and I'm hoping people will find it interesting. I'll let you all know when it's out.

The new novel is finished and I've started the submission process; and meanwhile I've got a few rejected short stories to 're-work' and send out again. And a talk to prepare for a Rotary Club booking next week. Hopefully there will be more than two people there!

A Living Book - me???

I've taken part in quite a few library events since I've written my books - mostly giving talks about how I got published and so on. But this coming Saturday, I've been invited to take part in a rather unusual event at one of the libraries near me (Ingatestone Library in Essex). It's a Living Library Day. The idea is that I, and other so-called 'experts' - (which is very amusing in itself as I don't think I'm an expert in anything, except perhaps drinking too much beer and managing not to fall over) - will act as 'living books' on our subject. My subject of course is writing and getting published, not drinking beer unfortunately! We 'books' then get 'borrowed' by readers, who 'read' us by sitting with us, asking us questions about our subject.

I don't know who the other 'living books' are, but the Readers' Guide says 'books may represent prejudices, stereotypes or experiences', which sounds intriguing. And apparently we 'books' are encouraged to chat to each other while we're sitting on the shelf waiting to be borrowed! So it could be interesting. Sounds like it could end up with books arguing amongst themselves!

The rules include the fact that 'living books' may not be taken out of the library - bit of a shame if I happen to get borrowed by any fit young men, or anyone who'd like to take me to the pub to read me! - and also that 'living books' may return themselves to the shelves if they should encounter any rudeness or aggression from readers.

It sounds like it could be fun - hope so, anyway! My only real concern is that I might end up 'on the shelf' for the whole afternoon with nobody borrowing me, which could be a tad humiliating - but then again, no more humiliating than book signings I've done in the past where I've sat on my own the whole time, chewing my pen!

Well, it's all good PR if nothing else. And back when my first Sheila Norton book was published, I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't turn down any opportunities like this if I could help it.
I'll let you know how it goes!

Coming to The End

Which part of writing a story, or a book, do you enjoy most? Looking at the blank screen in front of you, deciding where to start? Oooh no - that may be exciting but it can also be scary and overwhelming, especially at the start of a novel. The middle - if it's all going well and you're enjoying it and have a bit more idea where it's going? Yes, that can be exhilarating and even quite surprising when ideas come out of nowhere and characters sometimes do things you didn't even plan!

But for me, the lead-up to the end is often the most exciting. Not that I'm particularly good at endings - sometimes, especially with short stories, I change the last couple of sentences lots of times before I'm happy that they're snappy enough. But approaching the final chapter of a 100,000 word novel can be a great adrenalin rush. I've been at that stage this week, and I could hardly bear to be away from the computer - I knew exactly how I wanted to finish the story, and how I wanted to get there, but of course, it couldn't be rushed ... and the very last words of the last chapter had to be just right. Typing them made me want to shout Hooray!!

But then ... oh dear. That very first chapter, that I've been worrying about all the way through but was determined not to go back to until I'd finished the book, now needs some attention - and I've got no excuse for putting it off any more! Not so good.

And then ... the dreaded submission process to 'look forward to'. Enough said!

Ah well. 'The end' isn't actually the end at all, of course!