Zoë Marriott's Blog, page 66
July 26, 2010
SOME THOUGHTS ON TWILIGHT
Firstly, I must admit that, yes, I *ought* to be writing right now. However, I've just realised that I have once again wandered down the forbidden Cul-De-Sac of Plot Digressions and found myself at the Dead End of Doom. Which means that in a few moments I am going to have to go back, find the point at which I began work today, highlight and delete. And that stings us, my precious, it stings us. So I'm going to delay the stinging just for a little while - just long enough to get these thoughts...
July 23, 2010
THE SCARY PLACE
I'm getting to a certain point in my current book now. It's a point I like to call The Scary Place.
It gets its name because this is where, by my (and my word-o-metre's) calculations, I should be nearly at the end. I'm only supposed to have around 10% (in this case, between 10,000 and 15,000 words) to go. And yet, and yet, and yet...
MY PLOT IS STILL GROWING.
It doesn't fit! Oh, no, what do I do? Holy Heck, this book is going to be way. Too. Long. Waaaah!
Yeah, basically it's like that. I don't k...
It gets its name because this is where, by my (and my word-o-metre's) calculations, I should be nearly at the end. I'm only supposed to have around 10% (in this case, between 10,000 and 15,000 words) to go. And yet, and yet, and yet...
MY PLOT IS STILL GROWING.
It doesn't fit! Oh, no, what do I do? Holy Heck, this book is going to be way. Too. Long. Waaaah!
Yeah, basically it's like that. I don't k...
July 21, 2010
ON MY BOOKSHELF
I have a rule. When I pass the 50% mark of a manuscript that I'm working on, I am no longer allowed to read any new books until I finish. I can re-read old favourites - that's fine - magazines - yep - non-fiction reference books - okay. But no new novels.
I'm not entirely sure when or how this rule came into being. I think it goes as far back as The Swan Kingdom, because I'm pretty sure I remember a friend sending me a stack of books as a celebratory present when I announced that it was finish...
I'm not entirely sure when or how this rule came into being. I think it goes as far back as The Swan Kingdom, because I'm pretty sure I remember a friend sending me a stack of books as a celebratory present when I announced that it was finish...
July 19, 2010
WHY I HATE INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS
They deactivate your broadband accounts for no reason.
They delete the email addresses which you've been using for nine years without warning.
When you phone them up to complain about this, they say it will take seven days to fix, and in the meantime anyone who tries to email you will get their message bounced back to them.
When you tell them this is unacceptable, they tell you 'you need to be patient'.
When you ask why you should be patient when this was not your error, and ask to speak to a man...
They delete the email addresses which you've been using for nine years without warning.
When you phone them up to complain about this, they say it will take seven days to fix, and in the meantime anyone who tries to email you will get their message bounced back to them.
When you tell them this is unacceptable, they tell you 'you need to be patient'.
When you ask why you should be patient when this was not your error, and ask to speak to a man...
July 16, 2010
SQUEEE! (Continued)
Today I received my confirmation letter, so it's probably safe to post about the amazing thing that just happened to me. Safe in terms of...well, it's not likely to turn out that I hallucinated the whole thing, or had a really vivid dream. So I shall share.
I mentioned a few posts ago that I was interviewing for a new part-time job. What I didn't mention was that I lost my previous job in really unhappy circumstances. We'll say no more about that, except that my job was my only steady income, ...
I mentioned a few posts ago that I was interviewing for a new part-time job. What I didn't mention was that I lost my previous job in really unhappy circumstances. We'll say no more about that, except that my job was my only steady income, ...
July 15, 2010
SQUEEE!
Late yesterday I had some amazing news. In fact, calling it amazing is an understatement. To be really accurate, I should probably say it's the best news I've ever had. In my entire life.
You heard me right, my lovelies.
More on this later, when I've finished squeeeing and hugging people and doing happy dances around my living room. In the meantime, here's a book trailer for Daughter of the Flames, complete with awesometastic music, because this particular tune - electric guitar and all - conve...
You heard me right, my lovelies.
More on this later, when I've finished squeeeing and hugging people and doing happy dances around my living room. In the meantime, here's a book trailer for Daughter of the Flames, complete with awesometastic music, because this particular tune - electric guitar and all - conve...
July 14, 2010
HAVE ANOTHER VIDEO
Hi All! I hope you've had enough of intense, looong writing related posts lately, because I'm kind of buried at the moment. To wit:
I've realised my last Wrenching Scene of Emotional Devastation is not Wrenching enough, and I've decided to re-write it before moving on, because this scene and the way it effects all the characters is the emotional heart of the story. I've been through various options on how to make it stronger, which ranged from killing the dog (my writing peeps did not like...
I've realised my last Wrenching Scene of Emotional Devastation is not Wrenching enough, and I've decided to re-write it before moving on, because this scene and the way it effects all the characters is the emotional heart of the story. I've been through various options on how to make it stronger, which ranged from killing the dog (my writing peeps did not like...
July 11, 2010
WHY THEY SAY WRITERS ARE MAD
ME, GETTING READY TO GO SHOPPING
Writer: Eggs. Pot Noodles. Fish fingers? Hmmm.
Character: Oi!
Writer: (mumbles) wait a minute...just got to finish this shopping list...
Character: never mind the shopping list! This is far more important than bread and potatoes!
Writer: (mutters) Oh, that's right, we are running low on bread.
Character: PAY ATTENTION TO ME!
Writer: (startled) What! What?!
Character: I've just been reading your day's work, and you've not shown everyone how good a swimmer I am...
July 9, 2010
ANOTHER ANGELFIRE GIVEAWAY
I just have to link to this. I'm desperate to read this book but it's not out for aaages. The author is running a giveaway of just one precious arc on her blog, and after seeing over two hundred people enter I felt a bit despairing. But! Now there's another chance to win! So I'm sharing it with you. You can enter here. Good luck!
NEVER ENDING STORIES
I had an email from a young (extremely young) lady called Regan the other day. She's a very enthusiastic writer and reeled off a list of about six or seven story titles that she's working on, some of which were up to seventy-five pages long. She was mainly writing to me for advice on how to handle it when her family, teachers etc. dismiss her writing, so referred her to my TOP TIPS post and my website, where I talk about that a lot.
However, she made a throwaway comment which caused my Writer ...
However, she made a throwaway comment which caused my Writer ...
