Read Through

The first draft is finally complete! I can't believe I've finished something so massive. I am really pleased with what I have achieved so far, but it doesn't stop here.

Last night I printed out the whole thing and today I am going to sit down and read it through. From beginning to end. I'm going to attempt this first read through as a reader and not sit there with my pencil in hand making changes. I intend to read it through once as I would any other book I pick up and then I will read it through again with my pencil and note book and make notes, list flaws and plot holes and tear it to bits, but for today, I'm sitting down and I'm reading my own crime novel!

Here it is, all ready to be read and I can't wait.

Why I'm no Longer Writing Short Stories

In my blog bio and my twitter bio for that matter, I have the information that I write short stories.

I have had a couple of short stories published and have been listed in the Brighton Cow short story competition. I was thrilled with this. What writer wouldn't be? To do a piece of work that is loved and have someone validate it in such a way. I know many writers who have taken the love of the short story and done really well with it. They have multiple pieces published and been listed or won writing competitions. It really is a great feeling.

I however, have stopped writing short stories for now. My dream from childhood has been to write a novel. As a full time worker in a day job with two children I just don't have the time to work on my novel and write short stories as well. I had to make a decision. I have taken the decision that I will focus on my novel.

I'm not snubbing the short story or it's writers. I love short stories. In fact I really love flash fiction. Pushing the ability to tell a story in so few words. I love a good short story. You get a quick fix with the ending so close, but I'm now in for the long haul and my nose is to the grindstone of the novel length story.

I have a dream to write and have published, a series of crime novels with a female protagonist. What I'm working on at the moment is my first step towards that dream. I intend to work hard at it which is why the time I have for writing, has to be given solely to the novel.

Maybe I should change my biography. Not completely. I'm proud of my short story work, but I think I just need to alter it a little to show my main focus as aspiring crime writer novelist.

Inspiration

Todays post is part of a blog hop created on a writers group I use on Facebook. You can find the details and the link on Gladiators Pen.

It's a monthly blog hop, on the second Tuesday, where a different topic is suggested each month and participants can write a post, however they see fit, on that particular subject. This months subject is inspiration.

So, what do I have to say about inspiration? I suppose it is something that is personal to all of us. We as people, tend to be pretty different to each other and we work in completely different ways.

We learn in different ways and this is shown by the Flemings VAK/VARK model which suggests there are four ways of learning;

1. Visual Learners who prefer to see images and diagrams
2. Auditory learners, who prefer to be told how to do something 
3. Read/Write learners who does what it says on the tin and,
4. Kinesthetic /Tactile learners who need to learn hands on. 

For me, I feel that these two things can be linked learning and inspiration. 

I for instance am a visual and auditory learner so I find my inspiration tends to come from watching people and situations, and listening to the interactions. Seeing how people genuinely interact with each other and not how we expect them to act. 

For example in a crime scenario, how you expect someone to act, isn't usually the way you are going to get it. Humans are unique and you need to remember this when writing. 

There is a very good video clip out there in the World wide web somewhere of a couple of police officers interrogating a victim of rape and because she wasn't crying and getting upset as they expected, they really grilled her and called her a liar. Now this was many many many years ago and things have changed drastically since them, but it's a good example of how people don't do what you think they might. So whatever your learning style, employ it for inspiration. 

Look at people if you are visual, interact with them if you are kinethsetic, listen to them if you are auditory. But you're writing about people and if you want real in your writing, then employ your learning style to get that realism and find out who people really are for your inspiration. Use what you have to your advantage and all that; watching, listening and interacting will bring you some real life characters you can work with.

Theakstons Old Peculiar Crime Writing Festival

A couple of weeks ago, I booked to attend the Theakstons Crime Writing Festival at the end of July. A four day festival held in Harrogate filled with some amazing names. The likes of David Baldacci and Tess Gerritson will be there, as well as Martina Cole, Lee Child and Val Mcdermid to name but a few.


The event is filled with guest speakers and panels and you can either book the individual sessions you are interested in or buy rover tickets which mean you can go to any on the particular day you have purchased for. I have bought a rover ticket for the entire event which means I can go to all the sessions. It will be a long weekend. The events start about 10.00 am in a morning and go on into the evening. The last speakers doing a 10.00 pm slot. I've booked the time off work and the following day as well so I can recover. I intend to see all that I can.

I'm so excited, but in equal measure I'm anxious. I've never been to an event like this before. Crowds of people who all know each other from previous festivals and book events. This is my first step into this world and it's with trepidation as I don't feel I really belong.

What will be great though, is the opportunity to meet people with shared interests. People with an interest in crime thrillers. I talk to many writers through twitter, blogging and Facebook but there are only a handful who are writing crime. I love it with a passion and a whole weekend filled with wonderful guest speakers will really drive me forward in my own work with fire in my belly.

I wanted to stay in the accommodation where they were hosting the event but I was a little late booking so I have an equally nice hotel a five minute walk away.

Expect a blog post filled with photographs following the event!

Do you attend writers events and if so which ones have you attended, or what is on your wish list?