Lucy Mitchell's Blog, page 24

How To Come Terms With…Your Book Is Not Going To Write Itself

This is a tough one and can take some writers several years to come to terms with.

You have an unfinished draft novel, sat in a drawer or lounging on top of your writing desk or loitering in your writing file on your computer and the thought of finishing it gives you an uncomfortable gut sensation and you have to reach for another chocolate biscuit to make it go away.

Or, maybe you are like me and are taking part in NaNoWriMo2020 and book writing momentum has sadly left your writer body. After a day off you have fallen behind and the thought of putting in the effort to catch up makes you want to binge watch The Crown on Netflix while flipping oreo biscuits into the air and catching them in your mouth.

The thought of sitting down and ploughing on for another thirty thousand words will not be an appealing one.

It’s at this stage you start to consider the possibility of the following happening:

Magical elves scurrying in during the small hours and writing the rest of your book.Waking up one morning to find its all been a bad dream and your completed manuscript is lying on your bedside table.A famous best-selling author with time on their hands replying to your ‘my #unfinishednovel is making me sad’ tweet with ‘let’s meet for coffee over Zoom and I might be able to help you finish it!’Planting ‘magical book seeds’ in your vegetable patch with the belief you will be able to dig up your finished novel in a few weeks time.Being visited by your ‘writer fairy godmother’ in the night who waves a magical wand and transforms your unfinished manuscript into a completed one, edited and with no typos.A white book stork flying over your house with its own version of a new baby in its beak – a finished manuscript.Walking along a beach and finding a bottle washed up on the shore with the rest of your manuscript inside it.Your unfinished book writing itself.

So, how do you come to terms with your book is not going to write itself?

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but your unfinished novel will stay unfinished if you carry on spending time in fantasy land.

There are no literary elves, magical book seeds, book storks or writer fairy godmothers. Best selling authors have better things to do with their time.

Your book is not going to write itself.

It’s time to wake up and drag your lazy writer self over to your chair and write the rest of your novel.

Get to work writer – only you can make the literary dream happen.

Have a fabulous day!

PS: I have written this post in the hope it gives me a kick up the writer ass.

Psst…if anyone does know of some efficient and reliable literary elves, send them my way

How To Come Terms With…Your Book Is Not Going To Write Itself

This is a tough one and can take some writers several years to come to terms with.

You have an unfinished draft novel, sat in a drawer or lounging on top of your writing desk or loitering in your writing file on your computer and the thought of finishing it gives you an uncomfortable gut sensation and you have to reach for another chocolate biscuit to make it go away.

Or, maybe you are like me and are taking part in NaNoWriMo2020 and book writing momentum has sadly left your writer body. After a day off you have fallen behind and the thought of putting in the effort to catch up makes you want to binge watch The Crown on Netflix while flipping oreo biscuits into the air and catching them in your mouth.

The thought of sitting down and ploughing on for another thirty thousand words will not be an appealing one.

It’s at this stage you start to consider the possibility of the following happening:

Magical elves scurrying in during the small hours and writing the rest of your book.Waking up one morning to find its all been a bad dream and your completed manuscript is lying on your bedside table.A famous best-selling author with time on their hands replying to your ‘my #unfinishednovel is making me sad’ tweet with ‘let’s meet for coffee over Zoom and I might be able to help you finish it!’Planting ‘magical book seeds’ in your vegetable patch with the belief you will be able to dig up your finished novel in a few weeks time.Being visited by your ‘writer fairy godmother’ in the night who waves a magical wand and transforms your unfinished manuscript into a completed one, edited and with no typos.A white book stork flying over your house with its own version of a new baby in its beak – a finished manuscript.Walking along a beach and finding a bottle washed up on the shore with the rest of your manuscript inside it.Your unfinished book writing itself.

So, how do you come to terms with your book is not going to write itself?

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but your unfinished novel will stay unfinished if you carry on spending time in fantasy land.

There are no literary elves, magical book seeds, book storks or writer fairy godmothers. Best selling authors have better things to do with their time.

Your book is not going to write itself.

It’s time to wake up and drag your lazy writer self over to your chair and write the rest of your novel.

Get to work writer – only you can make the literary dream happen.

Have a fabulous day!

PS: I have written this post in the hope it gives me a kick up the writer ass.

Psst…if anyone does know of some efficient and reliable literary elves, send them my way

How To Come Terms With…Your Book Is Not Going To Write Itself

This is a tough one and can take some writers several years to come to terms with.

You have an unfinished draft novel, sat in a drawer or lounging on top of your writing desk or loitering in your writing file on your computer and the thought of finishing it gives you an uncomfortable gut sensation and you have to reach for another chocolate biscuit to make it go away.

Or, maybe you are like me and are taking part in NaNoWriMo2020 and book writing momentum has sadly left your writer body. After a day off you have fallen behind and the thought of putting in the effort to catch up makes you want to binge watch The Crown on Netflix while flipping oreo biscuits into the air and catching them in your mouth.

The thought of sitting down and ploughing on for another thirty thousand words will not be an appealing one.

It’s at this stage you start to consider the possibility of the following happening:

Magical elves scurrying in during the small hours and writing the rest of your book.Waking up one morning to find its all been a bad dream and your completed manuscript is lying on your bedside table.A famous best-selling author with time on their hands replying to your ‘my #unfinishednovel is making me sad’ tweet with ‘let’s meet for coffee over Zoom and I might be able to help you finish it!’Planting ‘magical book seeds’ in your vegetable patch with the belief you will be able to dig up your finished novel in a few weeks time.Being visited by your ‘writer fairy godmother’ in the night who waves a magical wand and transforms your unfinished manuscript into a completed one, edited and with no typos.A white book stork flying over your house with its own version of a new baby in its beak – a finished manuscript.Walking along a beach and finding a bottle washed up on the shore with the rest of your manuscript inside it.Your unfinished book writing itself.

So, how do you come to terms with your book is not going to write itself?

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but your unfinished novel will stay unfinished if you carry on spending time in fantasy land.

There are no literary elves, magical book seeds, book storks or writer fairy godmothers. Best selling authors have better things to do with their time.

Your book is not going to write itself.

It’s time to wake up and drag your lazy writer self over to your chair and write the rest of your novel.

Get to work writer – only you can make the literary dream happen.

Have a fabulous day!

PS: I have written this post in the hope it gives me a kick up the writer ass.

Psst…if anyone does know of some efficient and reliable literary elves, send them my way

Tolkien’s Lord of The Rings & The Similarities With Being a Writer #MondayBlogs

I’m in the NaNoWriMo trenches and it’s been a tough weekend. At one point things got so challenging I started procrastinating about how the life of a writer feels very similar to Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings.

Here are the similarities with Lord of the Rings and being a writer:

Your story is the ring and you secretly believe that in the right hands it could bring you great literary power. When you start writing your book it feels like you are embarking on an exciting and perilous journey just like those hobbits. There is a chance you are already obsessed with your draft book (a.k.a. the ring) and if you’re not careful you could end up spending years in darkened solitude whispering ‘my precious’ to it.You battle against the forces of evil on a daily basis, in your case inner writing demons. Your demons will always find you. You become paranoid about others around you trying to steal your story (a.k.a precious ring). Just like those hobbits you also have a merry band of followers, keeping you company on your literary journey. In your case followers on your blog, Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook.You reveal your story idea to a select few and find yourself whispering ‘keep it secret keep it safe!’Your literary journey is long, arduous and at times a personal struggle.Just like the ring your draft book has started to feel like a heavy weight around your neck.At times you quite like the idea of chucking your draft book into a pit of fire.In the past you have found yourself thinking about how the following quotes from Lord of the Rings have given you strength and hope during your writing journey; ‘courage is found in unlikey places’ and ‘may it be a light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out’, and ‘still round the corner there may wait, a new road or a secret gate, and ‘even the smallest person can change the course of history.’One of the lessons from Lord of the Rings is how there’s always hope. No matter how many times you fall there is still hope. The same applies to writing.

Keep going on your journey, writer.

#BookReview Meet Me In the Treehouse @kelly_tink #Bookish

Oh my goodness romance fans – there’s a new romance author queen

35 Things You Don’t See When You buy A Book #WritingCommunity

The idea for this post came to me after I was reading an article on Medium about the phrase overnight success.

I have always been intrigued by the term and the notion that success JUST happens to authors. Surely there is more to overnight literary fame than meets the eye? Once you type this myth into Google you can expect to see an array of interesting articles and blog posts on the subject.

The article on Medium talks about how ‘in reality, overnight success exists, but only as the tip of an iceberg.’

So, I got excited and thought some more about how published or self published books are the tip of the iceberg, which rises out of the water and there’s so much more going on underneath the water.

I decided to pull together a list of all the things you don’t see when you buy a book. This is the stuff that hides well below the surface.

For noting: I have catered for both traditional publishing and self publishing journeys.

Several books written prior to the one you are reading. Even if the author was unpublished prior to this one, it is unlikely that the book you are holding will be the first novel they’ve written. The author leaping about with joy, after receiving a spark of inspiration for a new book idea.The idea for the book starting to grow and take shape inside the author’s brain.Hours spent by the author daydreaming about their new book idea.Pages of scribbled notes on the idea, once it has grown too big for the author’s head.Endless cups of coffee or tea drank by the author, whilst sat staring blankly at their notes and asking themselves “can I turn this into something?”Hours of book research on their chosen subject. This will be composed of buying books, Google searches, listening to podcasts, listening to interviews, watching films, talking to people, interviewing subject matter experts, reading blog posts….The author’s attempt at a first draft.An emotional breakdown at 30k words on the first draft. Whilst sobbing and wedging slabs of chocolate into their mouth, the author will ask themselves “can I find a way to carry on?”Reading tweets, posts and message from supportive writer friends urging the author to carry on and not give up.The joy and elation once the author has finished their first draft.Hours of self doubt and imposter syndrome. The look of horror and disgust when the author takes out their first draft, after resting it, and spots ten things wrong with the first page.Hours spent on social media networking with other writers and authors. Hours spent feeling envious of authors who are celebrating eye-watering book deals. Months spent rewriting and revising it until it doesn’t resemble their original draft.Hours of procrastination spent by the author watching Netflix, staring at the cracks in the kitchen wall, buying notebooks, tweeting and spring cleaning their house.The excitement experienced when the author sends out their draft for an initial review. This also includes hours of daydreaming and visualising their reviewers reading their draft with faces of pure joy!The many tears shed by the author when the feedback returns and they realise their draft novel needs a lot more work.The months spent revising it and sending it back out for review. This cycle of review and then revise can go on for months and sometimes years.Tears shed over their first paragraph which still doesn’t sound right after six hundred revisions.The challenging search for an agent and sending out query letters. This will also include hours of daydreaming and visualising the agent with a face of delight whilst reading their draft.The pain and suffering experienced when the author is inundated with rejections.Hours spent listening to podcasts and YouTube interview clips where famous authors talk about how they endured years of rejection before they had success. The amount of wine, cheese, chocolate and ice-cream consumed by the writer in order to numb the pain of rejection.The summoning of inner strength to carry on in the face of literary adversity.Reading and replying to emails, tweets and DM’s of support from writer friends urging them to carry on.The days, months and years spent revising the book and sending it out to more agents.Hours spent feeling elated about getting an amazing agent.Hours spent by the self published author choosing a book cover designer and wading through potential designs.The tough times going through agent edits and getting their book polished.Securing book deal and going through endless cycles of edits while working with editors. The sleepless nights and the nightmares about whether anyone will read your book. Time spent setting up Amazon profile and perfecting a good author photo. The launch of your book and still wondering whether anyone will buy it.

I am sure there might be some points I have missed out, so please let me know and I can add them into my list.

If you are thinking about purchasing a book today, stop and think for a moment about what has gone into producing that book.

Remember the book is just the tip of the iceberg!

Have a great day!

Creating Pets For Your Characters – The Hidden Benefits #amwriting

I am the owner of a small gang of unruly cats and an over excited dog. As an enthusiastic pet owner I often project human traits onto my animals. I am always talking to my cats and dog. They all have elaborate fictional histories and we often speak to one of my cats about his time as a stowaway on an old sailing boat in the eighteenth century.

Giving a character a pet side kick was something I thought writers did when they had an overwhelming urge to write about a particular animal or to leave a legacy for their beloved pet by adding them into their best-selling novel. I have come to realise there is so much more to fictional pets.

One of my favourite authors, Nicola May, adds brilliant pet characters to her romantic comedies. They all have their own personality and leave you with great book memories. I still chuckle about the hilarious African Grey parrot, Lady P and her foul mouth in, Love Me Tinder.

Before I talk about the benefits I think it is important to explain what I believe are the golden rules with fictional pets.

I don’t think you should add your real life pet into a story because you will end up assuming the reader will automatically relate to your pet in the same way you do. They won’t. It is a bit like adding your loved one into a romance story and expecting everyone to fall in love with their strange ways. You are the only one who can relate to your pet (and loved one).

Pet characters need to have annoying or frustrating traits, as well as loveable ones to be relatable. Most of the time my animals disobey everything I say to them, make a mess of my house, vomit at the wrong times and leave me tearing my hair out. In your books you cannot create angelic household pets who are always alert and on the look out for life saving opportunities. This does not happen in real life. My pets tend to be either squabbling, sleeping or digging holes in the garden.

Here are the hidden benefits of giving your fictional character a pet side kick:

A fictional pet can bring two characters together who are trying to avoid each other. In my novel; Instructions For Falling In Love Again, used Maria the bulldog to get my characters in close contact. Maria loves showering people, wary of dogs, with her affections. She makes a beeline in the park for Mikey, dragging Pippa with her, after he displayed a look of fear.

A fictional pet can bring some light relief to a gloomy tale. In real life pets can bring a much-needed smile to your face during dark times and this can apply to fictional characters and their pets. They can also add some fun into the writing process and boy do we need this!

Animal / owner relationships don’t have to follow the norm to be endearing to the reader. I love Caitlin Moran’s description of her pet in her book, How To Be A Woman. ‘The stupid new dog is under my bed. She has got pregnant by the small dog, Oscar, who lives over the road. None of us can quite work out how this has happened, as Oscar is one of those small, yappy types of dogs, only slightly bigger than a family-sized tin of baked beans, and the stupid new dog is a fully grown German Shepherd… I look into the dog’s eyes. She is as stupid as a barrel of toes. Galaxies of nothing are going on in her eyes. I’m going to talk to Mum,’ I explain. The dog remains under my bed, looking, as always, deeply nervous about being a dog. The phrase ‘stupid as a barrel of toes’ and coupled with the dog ‘being deeply nervous about bring a dog’ conjure up a comedy picture of the dog.

A fictional pet can assist character development, they can help illustrate an important characteristic of one of the main characters. This could be in shown in how the character speaks to the pet or cares for the pet. Useful for characters who live alone and have limited human contact.

Unusual pets are brilliant for showing bringing out a character quirk. Giving your hero or heroine an unconventional pet to love can add an unexpected dimension to their personality.

A fictional pet can help cause conflict and present their character owner with numerous obstacles. This is where those annoying and frustrating animal traits come into play

Fictional pets are great ways to bring your characters and stories to life.

A big shout out to all fictional pets – we love you guys!

#BookReview The Tokyo Bicycle Bakery by Su Young Lee #Romance

The idea of someone getting on a bicycle and hand delivering freshly baked, gorgeous cakes fills me with such joy.

I can’t explain why but this book is a good stress reliever. Reading this book gave me this wonderful calm feeling and I have been thinking about why this would happen. Before I read it I was feeling a bit uptight over the lockdown but all my anxiety and stress disappeared once I had dived in. I am wondering whether the subject of cake brought on this relaxed state, whether it was because the main character cycled a lot or whether it had anything to do with Hana (the character) not getting worked up at what life was throwing at her. This book has a soothing quality to it and at chaotic times we need books that make us feel chilled and relaxed.

Here’s the blurb:

Fluttering cherry blossoms, gorgeous kimonos and sweet and sorrowful love.

For cake-loving college girl Hana, Japan was the romantic destination of her dreams. With boyfriend Jin she planned an exciting new life in the hustle and bustle of Tokyo. But when she finally arrives after months of planning, Jin isn’t there.
Hana is left broken-hearted on a rainy Tokyo street. Jin left no note. One day he just walked out of classes and disappeared.
Hana begins her new life alone. Watching cherry blossoms fall into the Tokyo river. Working hard and delivering her lovely home-baked cakes by orange bicycle. Then she meets handsome young farmer Hikaru, and glimpses a new way forward – in an alien place where she doesn’t know a soul.

The Tokyo Bicycle Bakery is a sweet romance with a hint of magic realism. It’s a perfect book to carry with you and read on holiday or weekends.

Here’s my review:

I thought this book was enchanting. There was something so refreshing reading about a community in Tokyo and a young woman’s journey of self discovery.

I liked the character of Hana and I immediately felt sorry for her after she goes to Tokyo to see her boyfriend Jin and discovers he’s moved on with his life (gone travelling around South America). Korean born, Hana, has to fend for herself in this new country and finds herself in a bit of a mess. The only way to survive is to reinvent herself, learn Japanese, make new friends and start baking.

I love the message the author was conveying through this book; food and love brings people together.

The standout for me was this fabulous concept of a young woman baking fabulous things to eat, getting on her bike and hand delivering her scrumptious goodies for people in need of a bit of love.

An enchanting and sweet read.

Purchase Links – Amazon US here / Amazon UK here

Author Bio –
Su Young Lee is a Korean romance author who lived in Tokyo, Japan for 10 years and now lives in London, England with her husband and two lovely cats.

Su works in academic publishing and loves baking, playing piano and working on her calligraphy.

Check her blog here.
https://suyoungleesblog.wordpress.com

Don’t miss my writing craft post which will be published tomorrow.

#BookReview Love Offline @ospringauthor #RomCom

Don’t you just love a book which carries an important and thought provoking message?

This book surprised me and I take my hat off to author Olivia Spring. I never expected a romantic comedy to make me stop and think. This book was more than just an enjoyable romantic comedy. It makes you think about social media and how much it can impact our self confidence and relationships with others.

Here’s the blurb:

Emily’s Struggling To Find Romance Online. Will Ditching The Dating Apps Lead To True Love?

Online dating isn’t working for introvert Emily. Although she’s comfortable swiping right at home in her PJs, the idea of going out to meet a guy in person fills her with dread.

So when her best friend challenges her to ditch the apps, attend a load of awkward singles’ events and find love in real life, Emily wants to run for the hills.

Then she meets Josh. He’s handsome, kind and funny, but Emily’s had her heart crushed before and knows he’s hiding something…

Is Josh too good to be true? Can Emily learn to trust again and if she does, will it lead to love or more heartache?

Love Offline is a fun, sexy, entertaining story about friendship, stepping outside of your comfort zone and falling in love the old-fashioned way. Ideal for fans of Sophie Kinsella, Lindsey Kelk and Beth O’Leary’s The Flatshare.

Here’s blurb:

This book is so relatable. I will hold my hand up and say at times I have spent too long on social media and become the recluse that Emily has turned into at the start of this book. I spent the first half of this book feeling like I was looking into a mirror. I UNDERSTOOD Emily. I totally got why she felt that way about herself and her thought processes which were linked to what she perceived social media to be telling her. I understood the stories she thought it was telling her and the obsession with scrolling, filtering, cropping and curating. Olivia Spring – you did such a good job at making this book relatable!

One of the standouts is Chloe, Emily’s best friend. Oh my goodness – everyone needs a Chloe in their life! The voice of reason and common sense. I can’t remember loving a minor character as much as I did with Chloe.

I loved the offline romance idea and Emily was the best character for the journey. I also loved how ex-Eric and their old relationship represented all that was toxic and wrong with the obsessed social media life Emily had been living.

Great book with such an important message – we all need regular breaks away from social media.

Purchase Links
UK: https://amzn.to/2OKcwF3
US: https://amzn.to/35p81oZ
Love Offline is available to read for FREE in Kindle Unlimited. It is also available to read for FREE in Prime Reading until late November.
Author Bio –

Olivia Spring is a British, London-based writer of contemporary women’s fiction, sexy chick lit and romantic comedy. Her uplifting debut novel ‘The Middle-Aged Virgin’, which was released in July 2018, deals with being newly single in your thirties and beyond, dating, relationships, love, sex and living life to the full.

Olivia published three novels in 2019: ‘Only When It’s Love’, ‘Losing My Inhibitions’ and ‘Love Offline’. ‘The Middle-Aged Virgin in Italy’, the hotly anticipated sequel to ‘The Middle-Aged Virgin’ and Olivia’s fifth novel, was published in July 2020.

When she’s not writing, Olivia can be found making regular trips to Italy to indulge in pasta, pizza and gelato and of course, seeking inspiration for her next book!

Social Media Links –
https://twitter.com/ospringauthor
https://www.facebook.com/ospringauthor/
https://www.instagram.com/ospringauthor/
http://www.oliviaspring.com/

The Magical Relationship Between The Writer and Their Notebooks #AmWriting

This weekend will be spent clearing out my dressing table and creating a temporary work desk. As I am working from home in my day job, the teenagers are off school due to half term, my husband is also working from home and we are in the middle of a strict lockdown, I cannot spend the next two weeks working from the living room. Not only will I have to put up with pyjama clad teens wandering about in the background while I am on Zoom calls, I will also have to listen to my loved one shouting at everyone to keep the noise down from his desk.

Underneath my dressing table there are three large boxes filled with notebooks. Some of my old stories were born inside these notebooks and some still reside between the pages. I have to write this post because I think my family believe this will be the weekend I finally clear out all my boxes of notebooks.

It sounds daft but I am emotionally attached to each one and it is so hard to explain to a non-writer.

I always say my relationship with my notebooks is magical and I am hoping some of you can relate:

The magic for a writer first occurs in their notebook.



The first scribble of an idea sparks a few sentences, fills a page, spreads across half the notebook and then bursts onto a Word doc.



A writer’s notebook retains a little piece of magic because when you read it again years later a part of you starts to tingle.



It transports you back to the time of scribbling…years ago when you were living a different life and a fabulous idea for a novel started to unfold inside your head.



We carry our notebooks around with us throughout our daily lives, stuffed into handbags, rucksacks or on a mobile phone app. They record thought snippets, lightbulb ideas, tales from life which will make good novel fodder and useful instructions about what to write next.



‘Notebooks are messy little attics of the mind, an odd assortment of shapes and colours stuffed into drawers next to defunct phones and balls of string.’ Execellent quote from Susie Boyt.



Some of us will sketch and doodle in our notebooks. I am a big fan of playing out a scene in my notebook using stick men and speech bubbles..



Design and covers are quite important when it comes to notebooks. I like to give each project a notebook and this can be tricky as the cover has to in some way relate to the story.



A notebook can cure a bad dose of Writer’s Block. These little paper or electronic things are magical and can get your creative cogs turning again.



These were the notebooks where I wrote and found parts of myself buried wihin the pages. Writing is not just about producing books, short stories and blog posts, it is also about discovering new versions of you hidden within the pages of your stories.



I live in the hope that there is a bestseller living inside of one of my notebooks. It is waiting for me to stumble across it again.

The boxes of notebooks are staying.

Have a great weekend!