Writing...Just because!

I am pleased today to host a guest blog by author mentor, Morgen Bailey. Morgen was extremely supportive when I launched my first novel and I'm delighted to have her share her insights on what it takes to be a successful writer. Morgen Bailey Take it away Morgen!   Writing Essentials by Morgen Bailey American science-fiction novelist Jerry Pournell is reported to have said “I think it takes about a million words to make a writer. I mean that you're going to throw away.” I started writing for fun nine years ago and more seriously six years ago and with seven NaNoWriMo  novels , one-and-a-half novels in between, three NaNoWriMo story collections (a cheat on doing a novel November 2011 but I still made the 50,000-word minimum), part of a script, some poetry and loads of short stories under my belt, including three 31-story collections for Story A Day May and five 50-story collections for 5pm Fiction , I know I’ve reached that target. How much of them I’ve thrown...

Are you working on a novel, desperately trying to 'find' time to write and never quite The retreat will take place at the quaint and peaceful  Baan Chayna Hotel  in Surin Beach.   getting there?  As most of you know, november is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and I've decided to kick it off with a writers retreat. You don't have to be a NaNoWri-mer, only a writer looking for support and inspiration... and a little quiet time to write! Here's the plot...  Surround yourself with other fiction writers who are equally as determined to get writing! It's the perfect jump start because -  you'll participate in interactive workshops that spark creativity there will be guaranteed solitary writing time  you'll be in tranquil, remote surroundings that will help clear your mind inspiration will abound breaking through even the worst writers block  your word count will soar every day If you've never done NaNoWriMo, ...

Several months ago I started to query literary agents for my first novel, which I wrote last year during NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) .   At the time, I considered writing the odd blog to keep everyone updated on the progress… does the term wading through cold molasses mean anything to you?   Rejection hurts! Well, due to a variety of assorted reasons (excuses), the plan to write a series on agent querying ground to a halt after the first five polite rejections.   It really doesn’t matter how polite the rejection is, or how stoic you’ve received them at the time, it still stings.   Even though I kept reading on all my writer/author forums that so many very famous authors were passed over hundreds of times before a publishing company picked them up, I still didn’t want to publicly share my humiliation. Then I realized how cathartic it would be to share with people who care or who have been through the process before and can reassure me...