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Showing posts from 2012

Final #NaNoWriMo update

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Waking up in Vegas is complete! I collected my official winner's certificate on 27th November, which was just as well since this last weekend was manic and not another word got written. The best thing of all about this NaNo is that, though I wrote fairly slowly and didn't achieve the lofty word counts of some of my friends and team-mates, this first draft is quite a clean draft. Since I did a fair amount of planning in October, and then broke the cardinal rule of Nano by editing a little as I went along, the first 30k words are in good shape, and the task of editing that last 20k is not nearly as daunting as it could be. I cannot thank my Team Khara team mates and all the lovely people at Savvy Authors enough. They not only inspired me to keep going, but they made this NaNo the most fun I've had writing in a long time. Well done to all of you who finished NaNoWriMo 2012, and for those who didn't, I hope you at least have more words than you started the mon...

Shouting from the rooftops: NEWS!

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For the first time ever I get my own name on a book! The Minxes of Romance have released an anthology of eight scorching hot stories featuring the fire fighters of Coombethwaite. This book was a fun collaboration that started as one of those silly ideas that happen late at night, but which turned into something with a life all its own. Please, please buy a copy, read and review it. I guarantee that there is something for everyone in this book, from sweet to sensual to scorching, light and flirty to downright intense.  Blaze is available from Amazon and Amazon UK . Also on the good news front, I'd like to congratulate Jennifer Drogell for her So You Think You Can Write win. Well done, Jen, and I can't wait to buy my own copy of The Divorce Party .

Kernel ideas and dreams

Two of the blogs I follow have both had posts recently that dove-tailed together really well to remind me of just what inspired me to write my last two stories. Bob Mayer did a post on the kernel idea of every story, and Sue Moorcroft has also been running a series of guest posts about dreams to celebrate the release of her latest novel, Dream a Little Dream . The characters of my Nano novel, Waking up in Vegas, first came to me in a dream back in 2009 in which a Prince made a stirring coronation speech, and watching in the crowd was the great love of his life, a very ordinary young woman. Yes, very Prince & Me . Once Upon a Time , my previous book, also began as a dream, in which a young woman with a super rich Daddy works for a charity that occupies space in her father's building and who is very 'off' men as she is constantly being hit on by men who only want her for her Daddy's money and favour. The story changed a good deal from there, but the charact...

#Nanowrimo Progress Update

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I'm guesting over at the RNA blog today. Please stop by and say "hello". We're half way through Nanowrimo and I've reached the halfway point in Waking up in Vegas . I'd love to be further along, but really, what with a day job and kids, I should apreciate how far I've come in such a short time! The best thing for me about #Nanowrimo 2012 is the help I got up front from the Entangled Press editors. Having a clear idea of the story, the characters, and their conflicts and motivations before I even started has not only prevented me from going wildly off track as I have in previous years, but it's also kept my interest and motivation up. Because I know where I'm going, I'm not staring at a blank page and freaking out. I'd like to thank my team-mates on the Entangled Smackdown. You ladies motivate me, and I won't let you down. Also, to all the ROSA Bootcampers - your friendly support of each other is so inspiring, and some of thos...

The Next Big Thing

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Freda Lightfoot , bestselling author of family sagas and historical romances, invited me to take part in a blog event entitled THE NEXT BIG THING - a series of questions and answers about what’s happening next in my writing life. The Next Big Thing  What is the title of your book? An Innocent Abroad , which went on sale yesterday! How did you come by the idea?  This novella started life as a single scene: a young woman standing at a window, looking out through a curtain of rain at an Italian landscape. The scene is still in there, though the landscape became a seascape. What genre does your book fall under? Historical Romance Which actors would you choose to play your characters if it were a movie? Ooh, this is a hard one, and I don't really know.  Isobel is blonde and blue-eyed, and very young, sweet and innocent. Stefano is a little older, rugged, typically Italian and swoon-worthy. Perhaps my blog readers could offer up suggestions? W...

To prologue or not to prologue

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In the build up to Nanowrimo, we had a discussion on the South African romance writers' Yahoo loop about opening scenes and the use of prologues. At least one member admitted to skipping prologues completely. I tend to read them, but then I read everything, even the fine print on cereal boxes. Which is probably why I wear glasses. The discussion reminded me of the one prologue that was not only well worth reading, but a must read. Two friends independently recommended the book to me, and both also commented on the prologue, so of course, I had to read it. The book is Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase. It's the only time a prologue moved me to tears. It gives the back story in a way that hooks you in so completely you cannot put the book down. Don't believe me? Download the sample chapter from Amazon and see for yourself. While I do like a good prologue, don't get me started on epilogues. If the book ends with hero and heroine a year later cooing down at t...

Tropes, Archetypes and Stereotypes

Since this has become a discussion among both the Entangled Smackdown and Minxy groups, I thought today I'd clear up the difference between tropes and archetypes. A trope is a concept, while an archetype relates more to character. So as an example, 'Reformed Rake' might be the trope, while 'Bad Boy' would be the archetype. A cop or sheik might be an archetype, but their story could be any from the lengthy list of tropes , for example, Boy Next Door or Stranded. And this is exactly why I think the romance genre will never be boring or formulaic. There are endless combinations of characters, settings, conflicts and tropes, so every story is different from the one before. Add in the author's own voice and no two stories are ever really the same. However, just as a trope can head into cliché territory if not handled properly, so weak writing can turn an archetype into a stereotype. The line between the two is thin, but very clear. An archetype is a universa...

Tropes in Romance

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Image courtesy of Harlequin Junkie I've signed up to do the Nano smackdown with Savvy Authors and Entangled Press and scared as I am that I've bitten off more than I can chew, I'm already glad I signed up. Aside from meeting the lovely group of writers who'll be holding my hand through Nano, the Entangled editors are already helping us focus our conflicts and get our plots, characters and GMC sorted. If only we could have editorial feedback this early in the process on every book! Entangled are very big on being clear up front what tropes your story contains. Since I've never really thought of my stories in terms of tropes, this has been a steep learning curve for me, and I spent the weekend researching them. For those who, like me, were wondering what the hell a 'trope' is: it's a convention, or a familiar plot line or set-up, that is instantly recognisable to readers, a kind of 'shorthand' that helps both writer and reader identif...

How to succeed

The inimitable Bob Mayer has started a blog series on Special Ops (the elite military units of the US). In his Warrior Writer course (which I highly recommend to anyone in need of a swift kick up the derriere to get writing) Bob teaches the principles he learned in Special Ops to help writers to achieve change in their lives in order to become 'the elite'. In this blog post , he talks about what it means to be 'elite', and in the successful 5% of the population. This bit especially resonated with me: "One of the most difficult aspects of living a successful life and being elite is that often you must go against the norm and the mass of other people’s opinions about the way you should live.  There is a strong power in society trying to pull you into the ninety-five percent of people who live in fear and with mediocrity." For me, not getting sucked into the modern urban mind-set of "must have new car, must have trendy clothes, must have big hou...

Sunday Conference Feedback

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This is the final instalment of my adventures at Penrith 2012. Normal blogging will resume next week. Jane Wenham-Jones – What a Way to Earning A Living  Whatever I expected of this first session of the day, it wasn’t what I got. It was better! Jane is so entertaining she could do stand-up comedy. For an hour she regaled us with stories from her life (including her visit to Erotica UK, the time she appeared on Kilroy, and an unfortunate yoghurt and cucumber incident at an Egyptian spa) as well as the upsides and downsides of writing (including suggestions on how to avoid Writers’ Bottom). There were some valuable suggestions to take away from this talk too. Jane said “nothing you ever do is wasted”. It is all material for our writing. Her whole career has been a knock-on effect, and she recommends we take every opportunity that arises, as we never know where it might lead. Most uplifting of all, she says the best thing about being a writer (and I completely agree!) is tha...

Saturday Conference Feedback

Here is the summary of my Saturday at the RNA conference at Penrith. Talli Roland – On-line marketing for writers  Talli opened the session by looking at the differences between marketing (identifying readers and how to satisfy them) and sales (“Buy my book!”). She recommends that authors first figure out their brand, and suggested a good way to start is to choose three adjectives that describe your writing. Use these words in your signature, and remember them in all promotions and communications. She gave blogging, tweeting and Facebook tips, and recommended using social media as a ‘circle’ – feeding through from one unique platform into another. She also discussed Goodreads, Amazon, Google Reader and newsletters. Talli ended by saying that marketing is a long term exercise, not an immediate solution. Kate Harrison – A Woman’s World: The Future of Women’s Fiction  Following the negative headlines late last year about declining book sales (based on print figures on...

My promised RNA conference feedback

I promised detailed conference feedback here on the blog today, but since I've only just cleared my Inbox, it's heading towards midnight as I type this, and I've just opened an email from my boss telling me to "hit the ground running" tomorrow as they've allocated me to a big project with a tight deadline, this report is NOT going to cover the entire conference, and you're going to have to keep coming back here for the rest! The conference started for me on Friday afternoon, arriving at the train station in Penrith and meeting a veritable crowd of romance writers on the platform. We shared taxis to the campus and were soon 'checked in' and happily enjoying a cup of tea together. The noise level during the tea breaks was something to behold. Can you imagine 160 romance writers all talking at the same time?! Just as the Irish Road Trippers (including our own Sally Clements) arrived, the conference started with the welcome talk, practical notes (i...

RNA Conference Inspiration

Today's post isn't so much about Inspiration, but following this weekend's RNA conference in Penrith, I am certainly feeling inspired! I'm blogging over at Minxes of Romance about my conference experience, with pictures, and there will be more to follow here on Thursday. In the meantime, here's a quote from one of the fortune cookies which was my contribution to the conference goodie bags: You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. - Wayne Gretzky

My UK trip so far

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My UK jaunt started with a pub lunch with the London chapter of the RNA, followed by three days of sitting around chatting, drinking tea and watching telly - see my post earlier this week on the Minxes blog . Chapter leader Jean Fullerton arranging the next get-together Pia Fenton, who celebrated her newest release by bringing along chocolates and champagne  Then late on Monday I moved to Bishops Stortford on the Essex / Hertfordshire border to spend a few days with my oldest friend (not oldest in age, but in how long I’ve known her). The highlights of the week so far, apart from more chatting and more tea, was a visit to Audley End (the house itself was closed, so we wandered the gardens, servants’ wing and stables) and a day out in London featuring afternoon tea at Fortnum & Mason, cocktails at Duke’s Hotel, and ending with blisters and Les Miserables . Front facade of Audley End The Jacobean stables at Audley End The clandestine Pond Garden, which...

Magic and Castles in the Air

Yay – I made it! I’ve spent a delightful couple of days in England, in spite of the dense cloud and chillier temperatures than back home in wintry South Africa. Catching up with old friends, being treated to a Sunday roast complete with Yorkshire pudding, and even a couple of hours of sunshine have got this holiday off to a fantastic start. My blog post over at the Minxes of Romance today is all about just one of the things I love about England. Please pop over there and feel the magic with me. And because today is Monday, and I’m sure we all need a little inspiration to kick start the week, here’s a quote from yet another Huletts sugar packet: If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost;  that is where they should be.  Now put foundations under them.  - Henry David Thoreau

Yay - a Minxy sale!

I'm behind the times with the news, since the whole world has known about it for a full week, but at last I'd like to congratulate my Minxy CP, Joanne Pibworth, on her sale to Harper Collins. Jo's book The Lighthouse will be published under the pen name Jodie James, and the lovely people at Harper Collins are running a contest on their Authonomy site to find the book a new name. You can find out more here . Jo's call story is up on her blog, but the post that touched me most was this one she did for the Seven Sassy Sisters. We Minxes shared the ups and downs of Jo's journey, but what's really moved me about her success, is what I've learned from her along the way. I love that in spite of multiple rejections from her publisher of choice, having to re-think her career as a writer, then the 21 agent rejections she received on this book before it sold, she has remained strong and cheerful. Those rejections stung, but she never let them get her down. ...

Dear Julia Launch Wave - last stop

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Welcome to the final instalment in the Dear Julia Launch Wave. Thank you to all the lovely authors who’ve hosted this wave, and to all you readers who’ve followed the story and tweeted. Here is the full list of participating blogs: Stop 1 - Minxes of Romance Stop 2 - Sally Clements Stop 3 - Rachel Bailey Stop 4 - Scarlet Wilson Stop 5 - Olivia Miles Stop 6 - Jennifer Shirk Stop 7 - Suzanne Jones Stop 8 - you are here! * * *  Dear Julia is set in the English countryside in the early 1920s, and is part of the Love Letters series from The Wild Rose Press. Read the opening extract here . Extract Eight On the first sunny day after the rainy spell, she dressed in her prettiest frock, a frosty pink silk and lace concoction, and set off across the fields towards the Manor. The sun warmed her bare head and arms, birds sang in the trees, and her spirit soared. Her objective was in sight. The Manor lay beyond the village, hidden from the road by a veritable forest...

Dear Julia now on sale

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My new 1920s novella, Dear Julia , released yesterday through The Wild Rose Press. To celebrate its release, I'm running a contest on my Rae Summers blog where you can win a free copy. Tomorrow is Launch Wave day. I'll be sharing the opening chapter, spread across 8 blogs. Check back here to follow the wave, which starts at Minxes of Romance and ends right here. * * * About Dear Julia The discovery of a long-lost love letter in a house she’s redecorating sends Rosalie Stanton on a quest to find its rightful owner. Since his return from the Great War, William Cavendish has lived as a recluse. His peaceful existence is shattered by the return of the letter that once held all his hopes — and by its bearer, the irrepressible Rosalie, who bears an uncanny resemblance to his lost love. As Rosalie sets out to lure William back into society, she realises that in him she might just have met her match. You can buy the book at Amazon, Amaxon UK and direct from ...

Monday laugh

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It's Monday morning and if you feel anything like I do after a not-so-restful weekend, then you need a laugh to start the week. So how about this? It's a sign I saw outside a shebeen (informal, unregistered pub) on Saturday. And a Zonkey, is a cross between a Zebra and a Donkey. You can see one here on this Minxes blog post . For those who need a little translation, the sign says: The shebeen is available for functions, parties, and happy time (i.e. happy hour). Welcome to South Africa!

Hopes and Heartbreaks

If it were not for hopes, the heart would break. - Thomas Fuller (1608-1661) Our local sugar manufacturer, Huletts, prints inspirational messages on their sugar packets. This is one I opened recently, and I've kept it in my purse since because it really resonates with me. Since most followers of this blog are aspiring writers, I bet you already have hopes of living a rather different life than the one you have now. It probably involves seeing your name on the cover of a beautiful hardback, cashing in substantial royalty cheques and being feted at book signings. Much as I'd like all the above, my dream is far simpler: to be a stay-at-home writer and full-time mom. It's what keeps me going and without it my heart would break. I cannot imagine how people stay on the treadmill of traffic, bosses, end-of-the-month financial woes, and the guilt-ridden feeling that your kids deserve more of you than an anxious hour at the beginning and end of every day, without having a...

Positivity and a great anti-stress tip

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A very belated post since I'm just back from a wonderful weekend away in the Natal Midlands. A few weeks ago I blogged some tips on how to stay postive , and today I have three more. Follow positivity on Twitter. We all know the saying that if you want to be successful you surround yourself with successful people. The same thing goes with positivity. In order to stay positive, surround yourself with positive thoughts. A couple of my favourite mood uplifters on Twitter are Tiny Buddha and Inspirational Quotes . Please feel free to share any others you find. We can never have enough joy! Dance. Put on some bouncy music and get moving. If you have young kids, dance around the room with them. Dance like no-one is watching. Better yet, dance when no-one is watching. Guaranteed, no matter how silly it feels, you'll be getting exercise and by the end of the song you'll feel great. Breathe! When we get stressed, our breathing becomes shallow. This is natural fight-or-fligh...

Lucky 7 Meme

Three of my lovely CPs, Sri Pammi , Joanne Pibworth and Suzanne Jones , have played the Lucky 7's game, and even though their excerpts are tough acts to follow, I thought I'd join the fun. Go to the 77th page of your work-in-progress, 7th line down, and paste the next 7 sentences. Then tag 7 others.  Consider yourselves tagged. Here's mine, from my never-ending single title WIP, When September Ends . The heroine, Vivian, is sitting under the bleachers at her old high school with her one-time best friend and boy-next-door, Ryan: “Nothing happened.” “Maybe it should have. Then maybe you wouldn’t have been such an ass on prom night.” “I didn’t want Serena. I only ever wanted you.” Vivian raised the joint to her lips and inhaled deeply. There was only half left and yet she still didn’t feel relaxed. I've now read seven further Lucky 7 contributions from Julie Cohen , Kate Hardy , Kate Jackson , Nicola Marsh , Rachael Johns , Liz Fielding and Teresa Ashby . Th...

Revisions in my Inbox!

Last week I blogged a teaser tribute to my critique group, the Minxes of Romance . If you haven't yet heard the exciting Minxy news that followed: Maya Minx sold to Harlequin Presents! It's been a busy week for us, as Sri Minx has finished and sent off her revisions (Yay, Sri!) to Harlequin Presents, Sally Minx is busy with her contracted book which has an imminent deadline, and on Sunday night I received a detailed revisions letter of my own for my New Voices 2011 entry, Once Upon a Time . The revisions are pretty massive, to the point that the editor even took pity on me and offered I could send her something completely new instead. Since I don't have anything new that I'm ready for outside eyes to see, I've opted to do the revisions. So this is me heading to join my other fellow Minxes in the Revisions Cave. It's warm and well lit, and we keep it stocked with plenty of coffee, lucozade and chocolate, but no other distractions are allowed. Wish me joy....

Book Review: Brief the Sun of Summer

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This is less a book review than a shining example of how we can all realise our dreams. Brief the Sun of Summer is a poignant, lyrical story set in northern England duirng World War 2, published in 2010 by Vanguard Press. It's a mostly true account of a young English girl falling in love with a Polish fighter pilot, set against the backdrop of sweeping events. The story is slow, beautifully written, and is sure to entrance. But for me, the two best things about this book have nothing at all to do with the story. Firstly, I know the author. Her grand-daughter was my closest childhood friend and is now the godmother to my eldest daughter. Secondly, the author published this book at the age of 91. She is the living proof that you are never too old to follow your heart and live your dreams, and that publishing is the one industry in which age is no barrier to success. Irene Hunter Steiner wrote and sold two romance novels in the 1970s, then after a long hiatus she wrote ...

March Mash-up

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Here's a mash-up of interesting and inspirational articles I discovered this month: Reasons why romance readers should watch The Vampire Diaries Yup. I agree. An insightful article from the Huffington Post on why romance novels are good for us . (Thanks to author April Vine for this link) Don't give up: How it took one crime writer 133 Rejections to get published And this useful advice on finding time to write from South African crime author Jassy Mackenzie. Finally, I'm going to leave you with this inspirational TED talk from Ellen McGirt:

Monthly Mash-up

I first heard of mash-ups from Kristen Lamb, and I think it's a great idea. (Not least of all because it's an easy blog post to put together since I surf the net way too much.) So today I'd like to share a few websites I've stumbled across that have inspired me: This one gave me chills. A fantastic reminder on what our priorities in life really are. The top 5 regrets people express on their deathbeds Britt Michaelian shares inspirational tweets on Twitter as @MamaBritt . I really love this blog post from her: How Inspiration Influences Your Success The post has some useful practical tips on how to practice inspiration. I bookmarked this sweet, humorous post at the beginning of the year, and would now like to dedicate it to the many, many wonderful wise women who inspire me (and yes, that includes YOU). Barbara Scully's Wise Women And finally, one from Kristen Lamb herself, with great tips for Publishers on how they can avoid a serious collision with th...

What I learned from The Vampire Diaries

Aside from the comeback of mood rings, and the fact that there are even scarier things around than vampires, most of what I've learned from the addictive CW television series, The Vampire Diaries , is writing-related. It's been a year since I blogged about what we writers could learn from The Vampire Diaries over on The Minxes blog , and there is still so much more I'd like to share with you. So pull up a comfy sofa and a glass of your favourite drink, and get ready. First, here's a re-cap of the posts I've already done: The first posts were about the earliest lightbulb moments I had while watching Series 1. You can read An Awakening - Part One here , and Part Two here . My next blog post was on Motivation - the importance of ensuring that the actions and decisions of each and every character are well motivated. Then came Character Arcs - using examples from The Vampire Diaries to show how characters can change and grow. Next was a post on Acting out...

The Writers' Excuse Book - 101 excuses you've heard before

I've heard a lot of excuses from wannabe writers about why they don't write. There's not enough time. Life is too hectic. The day job is too demanding. I need to do house-work. I don't have space. I'm too young. I'm too old. The excuses are usually followed by 'when'. I'll write when I have more time. I'll write when the kids start school. I'll write when the kids leave school. I'll write when the house alterations are done, or when I have my own desk. If you're really looking for all 101 excuses, you'll have to find another blog. I'm bored already. The thing is, excuses are not the real problem. They're just symptoms. It's like when you're stressed at work but won't admit it, so instead you get headaches, stomach aches, the common cold. And no matter how many antibiotic prescriptions you get, you still stay sick. Why? Because you're not dealing with the core issue, which is whatever is causing you...

The art of being selfish

Those Victorians have a lot to answer for. Their determination that every member of society should walk the 'straight and narrow path' (while a noble attempt to raise us all to the moral high ground) has left most of us in the western world with a damaged psyche. Strong words, I know. After all, why shouldn't we have higher morals and strive for a better world? Well, of course we should. But not at the expense of our own selves. More than a hundred years after Queen Victoria died, we still feel guilty if we put ourselves ahead of others. I'm here to tell you right here and now that this guilt is CRAP. Yes, I just swore. That's how strongly I feel about this. We can't look after others if we don't first look after ourselves. We can't give strength to others, if we aren't first strong in ourselves. You can't give financial aid to others, unless we first pay our own bills. And we can't teach our children how to be whole, confident, ...

A Discovery of Witches

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I discovered this book through Goodreads, and checked it out because I liked the title. When I read the blurb and realised it was set in Oxford, where my brother and SIL both received their doctorates, it became an autobuy. And I'm so glad I bought it! Deborah Harkness' book gripped me from beginning to end (and cost me two whole nights' sleep!). It might be a paranormal, but A Discovery of Witches is no teeny bopper romance. This is an intelligent story with an adult heroine and hero (who just happen to be a witch and vampire respectively). The mix of realism and magic was skillfully woven, and I loved the varied settings - from the dreaming spires of Oxford, to the richness of the Auvergne countryside, to the homeliness of New England. A Discovery of Witches reminded me a great deal of AS Byatt's Possession , and it's even easier to read. The author's knowledge never feels forced or like a lecture. She threads history, biology, science and philosophy s...

Inspiring Women

It's Monday morning and not only is it Back to Work day, but it's also the first day I start The Great Commute to take my daughters to their new school across town. Far from letting any of this get me down, I'm cheering. Because for 2012 Mondays are Inspiration days here on my blog. Last week I posted this picture , and opened a brainstorming session, asking blog readers to share their inspiration of what lay behind the door. If you haven't yet had your say, please leave a comment. This week I'd like to pay tribute to women. To all of us, because we are incredible. We are stronger than we think. We hold down demanding jobs, raise children, run households (and sorting insurances, car service, grocery shopping, and general maintenance is a full time job. Ask my PA. Ha-ha.) We support each other, not just our friends and families, but sometimes strangers too. We are often faced with really tough situations that aren't of our own making. And it amazes me ag...

We can do it!

My good friend Mandy and I are planning to start teaching novel-writing writing courses soon. Here in South Africa there's a dearth of courses aimed at writers (or aspiring writers) of commercial fiction. Here, if you're a poet or write literary fiction dripping in political angst, you've got it made. Write commercial fiction? Not so much. Another reason I see a huge need to pass on what I've learned over the last few years is that I really believe anyone can write a novel. (Can anyone publish? Well, that's a whole other blog post.) But I very strongly believe that anyone who wants to write a novel can - and should. We all started at that place where we said "I want to write a novel one day". Some of us did it because we had the discipline and focus to make ourselves sit down and write. Some of us needed a bit of a shove from friends or family. All of us discovered along the way that we had a helluva lot to learn. And hopefully, like me, most of us d...

How NOT to make new year resolutions

There are a few basic rules to making resolutions at the start of the new year. This isn't ground breaking stuff, I know, but I need to remind myself. 1. Don't keep them to yourself, as no-one will keep you accountable unless they know what you want to achieve. DO make your aims public. 2. Don't make resolutions that rely on other people making things happen (eg. my publisher of choice will request a full within the next 3 months. Yeah right.) DO list things you can do yourself. 3.  Don't be too general. "Write more" might be an achievable goal, but it's also very broad. DO make your goals specific. 4. Don't aim low. I have a sign at my bedroom door that says "Aim for the moon. Even if you fail, you fall among the stars." DO push yourself with your new year's resolutions. Susan Meier has done a really wonderful series of blog posts on goal setting which you can read here .  She points out four more important elements for eff...