Writing...Just because!

Ah, the ever elusive 'writing process'. I've been a writer for years but as an author I’m a fairly new having published my first book in 2011 and two more since. Over the past three years I’ve been happily writing away, working towards my dreams of being a famous novelist, and feel pretty good about a strong ‘author voice’ that seems to be developing. The more you write the closer you get to finding the voice that’s uniquely yours, pulling bits and pieces from those you admire and drawing from your own experiences and mental meanderings. I think the same goes for landing on a writing process that works for you. However, I’m having a slightly more difficult time nailing that down. I read a blog a while ago that talked about famous writers’ writing processes. I found it fascinating as I struggle to find one that works for me day to day, week to week, month to month, year to year. I did a search to see if I could find that particular blog again so I could at least giv...

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 a Plotter or a Pantser? Some people stand firmly in one camp or the other, with heels dug deeply into the ground, never straying to the ‘other side’. Plotters have their favorite plot planner and stroke it lovingly each time a new book idea is brewing. This sleek, well-groomed animal is probably a linear, left-brained writer, meticulously researching details and filling out a character chart before even typing ‘Chapter 1’. The Pantser paces distractedly, sort of hyena-like, bolting when an idea strikes or quietly basking Photo from freedigitalphotos.net by Anankkml in the sun, contemplating and daydreaming while complex scenes play out in her head. A pantser writes by the seat of her pants and scowls each time she walks by the blank plot planner hanging on the wall. She’s most likely a right-brained, character-driven writer. My name is Anne and I am a Pantser! At my recent novel writing retreat , I boldly announced that I am a ‘pantser’. Even though I shared ...