That next book - to plan or not to plan?

First to regular readers of my blog, apologies.  I know I haven’t written a post for some months now.  Nothing dreadful has happened, it’s just for various reasons it’s been, and still is, a busy time (OK not all of it).  I haven’t stopped writing, sometimes I think it’s the only sane place to escape to.  In fact I have two more Kirby books waiting for proof reading completion (bit of a snag there as well) and a fourth one started, more of that later.  I’m also trying to edit two follow-ups to the first book I wrote that have been sitting on my hard drive for a few years (I know, I know….).  So you see lot’s going on.

The other reason I haven’t posted for sometime is that, to be honest, I haven’t come up with anything I thought worthy of posting.  I’ve had a bit of a drought, post wise.  Then, the other day I read an article extolling the virtues of planning your novel, to the extent that it implied to write a good book it was essential.  I’ve written before on the pitfalls of some writing advice and I’ve always maintained take it on board, be self-critical, but in the end do what works for you.

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Writers - do we worry too much a bout the writing?

I’ve been writing now for about nine years.  I must enjoy it because, if I considered it work making the minimum wage is still an aspiration.  But it’s not about the money is it?  Not that I’m saying making a bit wouldn’t be nice and there’s always hope.  When I began writing I paid for some editorial advice.  For the first book it was great, pointing out some of the traps I guess many new writers fall into.  It also educated me in the basics around construction, writing dialogue and more.  For the second book it was less helpful, however what it did teach was to value my own opinion.

Over the years I’ve taken a couple of on-line courses, read books and blogs on writing, all the time trying to improve my craft and make myself a better writer.  However, what does that mean?  Recently, I’ve been revising several new books, going back over my work numerous times.  It has even had me looking back at my published books with an effort to improve the writing.

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Who and what influenced me as a writer?

I was asked what influenced me as writer recently.  At first I thought it was an easy thing to answer.  I’ve said before that Arthur C Clarke’s Childhood’s End is what got me hooked on science fiction, the ending blew my teenage mind.  That lead me to reading more Clarke and Asimov then authors such as Greg Bear and Ben Bova.  Also, I grew up  at the time of the Apollo missions and the moon landings.  As a young lad, how could that not captivate my imagination?  Then later films such as 2001, Close Encounters and Star Wars were taking science fiction on the screen from clunky B Movie status to the mainstream.

However, having given my standard answer it occurred to me that these were things that had sparked my interest as a consumer of science fiction, and later fantasy through authors such as Raymond Feist and David Eddings.  However, had they influenced my writing?  In terms of the subject matter, yes.  I have adapted themes that those writers have explored before me (and I presume they adapted from earlier writers).   As for my actual writing, perhaps much less than Imagined.  They may have placed that spark, the desire to write.  However, as to influencing my writing that comes later, from the authors I’ve read just before and while I’ve been writing.

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A writer's resolutions for 2018

In my previous blog I reflected on what I'd learnt in 2017.  So now It’s time to look forward to a new year and make my writer's plans for 2018, a.k.a. resolutions.  I do this every year and yes, I do look back at them from time to time.  Like most of us some I have fulfilled, others have been partially met and some discarded along the way.  So are they worth it?  I think so.  It’s a good time to re-focus, to assess what I’m trying to do, what I want to achieve.

So for 2018:  For the complete blog follow the link 

All those writer courses - shop wisely

Now up front I want to say I’m not against paid on-line writer courses.  I can only comment on the ones I have looked at and in a couple of cases paid out good money for.  They are full of useful content that, if you are in the right place with your writing and prepared to put in the time and effort I’m sure they can have a major impact.  However, what they are not (in my opinion) is a magic bullet.  For the vast majority of Indie-authors success will not be instant and when it comes will probably be modest.  But hey, modest is good and I’ll be happy with modest when I get there.  And yes any better than modest, I admit, would be great.

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