So why on earth am I writing this?
Dusting Off
So I have been dusting off and old science fiction novel I wrote a few years ago. I thought that I would be shocked at how bad it was but it was the other way around. It was actually quite good. It had done the merry-go-round of agents but to no avail. I guess that put the scuppers on it in my mind. Of course this was before the rise of the ebook indie revolution and one thing I now realise is that we shouldn’t let those old-style gatekeepers (the agents and publishers) have the sole say on whether a book is good enough because they don’t necessarily know best. So… I am going to get it out there and see what the real people thing. Yes, I know, real people are kind of scary because they can write reviews and things (things? – well, they can email you and tell you how rubbish you are for one), but in the end if the real people don’t like you then you ain’t any good, are you? Ok, ok, so it isn’t always the cream that rises to the top, there are the occasional floaters as well. And I am not talking about those spots in your vision – I mean something rather more lavatorial in nature…
Misbehavin’ Characters
Charlotte has been behaving herself recently, which is nice. Unfortunately some of the others haven’t. They keep getting ideas well above their stations or else they try fading away into the text leaving great bloody holes that need filling. Second drafting is like that: it is a see-saw, a tug of war, a game between two sides, sometimes a game where the loser kicks the board and all the pieces fly into the air and one or two disappear under the sofa never to be seen again. Just when you think you have thrown a six and are about to cross the finish line you step on a snake and slide halfway back to the beginning.
So When Is It Finished?
Is that finished or famished? Sometimes I am not sure. It goes like this:
Missed the er… Dagger
Have just seen that the CWA Debut Dagger competition is about to close (5th Feb.). Considering entering, but since I don’t have a synopsis finished I think it would be a bit of a rush. Looks like a worthwhile thing to do though, even if you don’t win, because various agents and publishers (really? wow!) look over your work. A number of authors who have won or reached the shortlist have been snapped up.
In the beginning and all that.
So, this is it. After years and years of developing websites for others, of coding hundreds of thousands of lines of VB that have been hidden in the depths of the web, of designing databases stuffed with all manner of junk, I have finally got round to having MY OWN SITE.