See me write

After a month of patiently waiting since placing my order on Amazon, my copy of See Jane Write was gently pressed through my letter box at the unearthly time of 6.50am by UPS. I sent a curt enquiry email to the Amazon seller just the previous night. Where the hell was it, I'd been dying to read this guide to writing chick lit for ages. Perhaps UPS sensed my PMT through the email, hence the very low key arrival? And the scorch marks on the drive where the delivery man had beat a hasty retreat?

Preview See jane write here . PMT aside, I was cheered by this fab guide to writing chick lit (as recommended by Karen, after I reviewed Will write for shoes). It's not just beautiful to look at, it's beautiful inside. I particularly like the American can-do positive theme throughout this mini course. Thank god, they address some of my bug bears of writing - it's nice to know it's not just me. I've read it time and time again now, but it really does seem that most writers go through an 'it's crap' stage. Even Sophie Kinsella, which is reassuring.

I've had the book a few days and have heeded plenty of their advice already, particularly about making excuses not to write. The authors show you how to self-diagnose barriers to writing and how to dig yourself out of them.  With my excuses blitzed, I'm now setting myself realistic goals such as getting 500 words down a day. I wish I could write full time, but keeping a roof over my head and 5 holidays a year is more of a priority right now. Plus, significant people have battered me into submission to register for a PhD and I'm too much of a scaredy cat to tell them where to go.

Perhaps it will surprise some of the regular readers to know that my current writing project has only the vaguest whiffs of chicklit. It's actually a novella set in fifties midlands and centers around two families whose lives and secrets clash and twist around one another. I love the fifties - the more research I do, the more I feel as though I've been given a chance to live in the decade. Any excuse to wear 50s replica heels, cupcake skirts and to roller-up my hair! 

The 50s novella is actually for a local writing collection, hence the bags of research to ensure I've added the relevant local themes. I do have a mainstream style chick lit novel on the back burner. I might be able to multi-task with reading, but it's near impossible to write more than one piece of fiction at a time - too many characters competing for head space! 

Creative Writing Evening class in my car

My CD copy of Creative writing arrived from Waterstones online yesterday, which has revolutionized my drive to work! No longer do I have to pollute my brain with saccarine sweet trashy pop - now I can get my intellectual fill and momentarily stop stressing about how little writing I've actually done, because this counts! Ok Ok I know the name of the game is to write, write, write, but in my defence, listening to a creative writing course in the car is a good use of "dead" time.

The course is delivered by an academic. It's nicely broken up into 5 minute snippets, after which you're encouraged to do the exercises in your 'work book'. My variant on this is to turn on the radio and speak my thoughts aloud (first checking that the window isn't rolled down and that there are no pedestrians at the crossing - my communte isn't so much a drive as a crawl through a never ending sea of traffic lights).

It's early days but I'm happy with it so far - I just hope the narrator won't get too techie!

This mornings task was to reflect on books you've read that stand out for you. I thought of Louise Bagshaw, queen of bonkbuster, who I entirely blame for getting me hooked on chicklit. The financial penalties and demands on my relationship from binge-reading have been immense, but i always come back for more!

Will write for shoes, chocolate or anything else really...

At the moment, I'm reading "Will write for shoes" by Cathy Yardley. This guide to writing chick lit (or any genre, for that matter) is enteraining and breezy to read and stuffed full of helpful hints on writing.
As well as addressing how to avoid some of the biggest cliches, Cathy takes us on a whirlwind tour of chicklit history, hailing Marian Keyes' watermelon and Bridget Jones' Diary as the founding material.
Most importantly, she advises on how to pamper yourself after nailing that first draft! I'm currently halfway through this book, which has swiftly become a comfort blanket for my writing endeavors. I know I'll be re-reading and re-reading this book again as she delivers excellent advice in a human way - she admits to being an organization-obsessive and hates the re-draft stage, which I can certainly empahise with!

well worth a read...