Paula R.C. Readman's Blog, page 22
March 29, 2023
Between the Trees
Between the trees and the treetops. Between the earth and the sky, my thoughts go wandering, leaving me behind. There's an aching in my soul, a wound in my heart. The words in my head tell me no one's listening. Between the trees and the treetops. Between the earth and the sky, I wander alone while hundreds of emotions gather like dark clouds in my mind. Between the trees, a ray of bright sunlight pierces the darkness of my soul, stilling my aching heart. Out of the dark wood into the light, my thoughts rearrange themselves as the sweetness of chattering birds brightens my soul. Tomorrow's another day, a new beginning, I'm sure. Words by Paula R C Readman
29th March 2023
March 26, 2023
Back to the Drawing Board
The trip to the printer didn’t go well. The resolution on the bookmarks I designed wasn’t high enough for the printer to create good-quality cards. So back to the drawing board. I spent yesterday afternoon and this morning redesigning them using Canva to improve the resolution. The only problem I found was I wanted the design to cover the length of the card rather than an upright one. The image below shows you the final designs I created with the help of Pixabay.
My new set of bookmarks I shall hand the bookmarks out when someone buys one of the novels. Even though I see them as a form of advertising my writing, I want them to be the best I can make them. I’m hoping this time I’ve got the resolution much higher. Above is a screenshot of the bookmarks. Hopefully, once printed, the images will be crisper.
Now all I need to do is finish writing my talk.
Chat again soon.
March 25, 2023
My short story has been selected.
Oh, I’m so excited to find my short story, Devil Incarnate has been nominated due to popular demand for Publication of the month of March.
Please could you vote for my short story on https://spillwords.com/vote/
You will need to register to vote.
Thank you so much of you do.
If you haven’t read my short story it can be found here. https://spillwords.com/devil-incarnate/
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Making Marketing Material
I’ve been busy making marketing material over these last two days. I need them ready to hand out at book talks I shall be attending later in the year. I’ve also been busy designing two new bookmarks to hand out along with the books I hope to sell. I know there are services available, which could do them for me, but on my computer, I have a couple of programs I can use to design them for myself. It’s more fun and cheaper too.
Here’s a screen shot of my information sheet. I finally sorted out the issues with the computer telling the printer to print on the back of the same sheet instead of a second one. In case, I needed to run off a few extra copies. Tomorrow I’m taking the sheet and the bookmarks on a memory stick to a local printer as it will work out cheaper than buying ink cartridges and paper for my printer. I’ve used the printing shop before and found them very helpful. They printed the bookmarks on a thick card and put my details on the back for a reasonable price.
I designed two new bookmarks using the program on my computer after selecting two free pictures from Pixabay for the background. I’m pleased with how they turned out but a little worried that the text might not stand out clearly from my chosen background picture.
I shall let you know whether the bookmarks were successful. I’m off to do some reading now, If I don’t fall asleep. Have a wonderful weekend.
Chat again soon.
March 23, 2023
A Short Dark Tale of Misunderstanding.
Please check out my short story and let me know what you think. It’s the first time I’ve submitted to the site. It’s a dark, sad tale of misunderstanding. It’s a six minute read. Thank you for taking the time to read it.
https://spillwords.com/devil-incarnate/
A Short Dark Tale of Understanding.
Please check out my short story and let me know what you think. It’s the first time I’ve submitted to the site. It’s a dark, sad tale of misunderstanding. It’s a six minute read. Thank you for taking the time to read it.
https://spillwords.com/devil-incarnate/
March 20, 2023
The Funeral Birds
Yesterday while checking my Amazon ranking, hoping to see something positive, I found my books are on the slippery slope again. It didn’t surprise me because I haven’t been doing enough promoting just lately. I’ve been busy editing some new stories instead. If I hope to find new readers, I must regularly promote my books. But I did discover something to put a smile on my face.
I discovered The Funeral Birds received its 26th review. I love knowing others enjoy the characters I’ve created. I modelled the characters of Dave and Joan on my neighbours. Though the real couple is much older than the fictional characters, their sense of humour is spot on. Whenever I pop over to see them, they always lift my spirits with their sense of fun and laughter.
The Funeral Birds 26th ReviewIt’s lovely when a reader writes a review, especially when they enjoy your work. The review was just what I needed to encourage me with my novel.
At the moment, I’ve set my novel to one side as I’ve been busy writing a talk for a local writing group. Writing about your publishing journey might seem simple as you do know the story inside out, but I fear others might find it uninteresting. Though, I’m nervous about doing the talk, I’m pushing myself to do it because I don’t want to live with the regret of not stepping outside my comfort zone.
Out of interest, I googled how many words I needed to write for an hour-long talk and was shocked to find 9K words. I’m so glad I didn’t leave it until the last minute, and started focusing on writing it now.
Found on Google.While writing this post, I chatted with my lovely neighbour, Joan and read her part of my talk. Plain speaking, Joan said it’s coming together nicely and found it interesting. While reading it to her, I saw where it needed more work. Once I’ve finished the first draft, I need to go over it with a fine tooth-comb and make it flow better. Now I need to add another 5k words to finish it. Of course, I shall be able to read a few pages from one of my novels and have a questions and answers session at the end.
My other news is I’ve had a story accepted on a site I haven’t tried before, Spillwords. I thought I would try submitting a story to the site even though it doesn’t pay or publishes the stories in a collection at the end of the year. I will share the link on Thursday when it’s published. It’s a dark tale of misunderstanding.
Chat again soon.
March 17, 2023
When the Words won’t Flow
I’m on the point of wanting to scream as too many ideas and false starts crowd in on me. I’m questioning every step I make. Have I chosen the right point of view to tell the tale. Which is the best first, second or third? If I start at this point, am I creating problems further along in the book?
Yes, the first chapter is great but where to go next?
This book isn’t writing itself.
I know I’m putting myself under too much pressure to the point of being lost in a fog of ideas. I see outlines and shapes. Excited by the possibility of kick-starting the creative flow, I move towards them. Only to find they become distorted as threads of fresh ideas become hazy. I know what I want the book to say, but how do I join the dots?
I’m scared that the tale I’m trying to tell isn’t original and won’t live up to the expectations of others. I also know until I have completed the first draft, I won’t know how it will pan out. The true magic of writing happens in the editing stage but until then I’m just speculating. Once I find the flow, the characters will tell the story themselves. The leaps in time have me stumbling around in the dark, clutching at straws.
Another stumbling block is I want the book to be dark but not bloody or gory. I enjoy writing a chilling mystery with a supernatural element. The problem is some readers see the word Horror and decide it’s not for them. I find this sad as I’m sure I’m losing new readers because of it. I’m a sensitive writer who worries about what others might think or feel. I shun horror movies but enjoy a chilling tale. I love Victorian ghost stories and mysteries. The Victorians would gather the family together to read such books. Reading allows the reader to make the scenes as dark as they like.
All writers must remember the saying about Chekhov’s gun, which states that every element in a story must be necessary. If a writer mentions a gun, then there must be a reason for it. At some point, it must play its part otherwise why let the reader know of its existence?
I think carefully about how much detail to include in my novels and why. I tend to write the amount needed for the reader to understand what’s happening in a scene. I won’t add anything for a shock element but to follow the natural flow of the storyline. I remember reading the guideline for writing erotica. You had to include several sex scenes in every chapter. I would find writing such books rather dull. It reminded me of the blue movies I watched in my early twenties like Confession of a Window Cleaner etc. There’s no storyline, no getting to know the characters or building sexual tension between them. It was a case of a quickie to shock and move on to the next sex scene.
In Stone Angels, I knew I couldn’t allow my main character to rape his victims for three reasons: 1) it would have been too predictable. 2) I needed to keep the reader on board. 3) James saw his victims as things of pure beauty. In Seeking the Dark I wrote two disturbing scenes, which explained themselves the more you got to know and understand the character Amanita, the sin seeker.
Time to go back to the drawing board and find a new approach to the problem.
Have a great weekend.
March 15, 2023
Excuse me, I’m Speaking!
It’s been an exciting time over the last few days. There’s one thing I can’t talk about yet, but of course, I will let you know as soon as I can. What I can tell you is I’ve received three invitations to give talks about my writing journey. I find it hard to believe anyone would be interested in my experience, but every author’s journey is different.
The first talk won’t be far from where I live, so I’m hoping it will generate enough sales to cover the cost of petrol. It’ll be nerve-racking as I haven’t stood before an audience for quite a while. The pandemic knocked my confidence. A friend has given me some advice on what to talk about, so I’m hoping the audience will find what I have to say both interesting and helpful. This particular audience can be outspoken, which has made me feel quite nervous, but I do hope they will be respectful of others while they are speaking and only give their opinions afterwards.
I find it quite rude when people speak over others while someone is speaking. Sometimes people need a second to process their thoughts and find the right words. In this high-speed world of instant downloads, people like me need a faction longer to think. I’m sure this is why the world has become a stressful place. I used to speak quietly, taking my time before speaking my thoughts aloud. Over the years, I found people began to talk over me, finishing my unspoken sentences or trying to predict what I was about to say.
When I was young, I would let it go. Hold my peace, nod and smile. People would treat me as though I was stupid or didn’t have anything worthy to say. I became a listener. You learn a lot by listening to others. Now in my sixties, I find it annoying when others talk for or over me. It’s just plain rude. For years, I’ve had my confidence eroded by others not holding their tongue for a second to allow me to finish speaking. I started to raise my voice and talk faster to get out what I wanted to say before I was interrupted. The only problem with this is people accuse me of shouting. So once again my confidence leaves me feeling embarrassed and flustered as I muddle my words.
The opportunity to give a book talk is scary, but I shall do my best. In May, the book talks are to a writing group. The feedback I received from the May talk will help prepare me for the September one. In September, my husband and I travel to Scotland as I’m one of the guest speakers at a book festival. The local library contacted me this week about doing a talk, but they haven’t come back yet to say when or where. Now I shall get busy planning what to say, putting together a checklist, writing some information sheets, ordering bookmarks to go with my books and ordering in stock.
I will of course keep you up to date on how I get on.
Thank you for dropping by and leaving a comment.
March 9, 2023
Book Awards: The Ones You Really Don’t Want
We all would love our books to win awards. It’s just as good as being on the Number One Bestseller’s list when it comes to promoting.
Today I received an email from the Four Season Book Award company. The problem is it’s pretty pricey to enter your book four times a year. You didn’t know you had to pay for your book to win an award. Well, someone has got to pay. But what exactly are you paying for?
Read this article about the company on Writers Beware You’ll be shocked by what you will learn.
Remember to check on Writers Beware if you receive an unexpected email.
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