Richard Godfray-Hoare's Blog, page 2

Avoiding the brain freeze...

I often get asked where all the ideas come from for my stories, so I thought I would take a few minutes to pop out a blog on the subject. I am not sure I totally understand it myself, but I will explain the process I go through, which seems to keep me productive, and helps me avoid the brain freeze of writer's block.

I often have lightbulb moments in bed on the cusp of sleep. These would tend to be a story's overarching idea: a murder mystery set in a boy's boarding school, for example. I don't have a paper and pen by the bed, and although I have been known to make a note on my phone occasionally, I prefer to let the ideas rest with me as I sleep. If I remember them in the morning, I feel they must be worth further exploration.

The next stage is to constantly think about this idea until I have a straw man for the flow of the story. Ideas can come at any time and be drawn from many sources. A lot of what anyone writes is in some way based on their lived experience, and I am no different. My school days, relationships, happy times, sad times, loss and trauma are all excellent sources, but there is a massive amount of imagination too. The aim is to write something original and exciting, but before it gets into the hands of a reader, I have to like it myself.

I like to have a structure, so I usually have a complete chapter guide before I start the writing proper. No great detail, but some notes of the key subject and where it takes us from and to in the story, and then I am good to go. But the ideas never stop. I am currently writing chapter twenty-one of my twenty-three-chapter third novel, and things are still fluid. New ideas for little threads of detail or elaborations are being worked back through, but on this occasion, a significant plot change brought together two separate stories I had been working on. Who knows where we might end up!

Trousers off, Laptop on...

Okay, so I don't always write in my underwear. It is more of a brand gimmick based on a photo I took of myself sitting in front of my MacBook wearing a lovely pair of pale blue Diesel briefs. I use it on my website homepage and as my Instagram profile picture, and I think it probably attracts attention from my most likely audience. However, I am all too aware it probably puts off many people who may actually find my writing quite interesting.

I also label myself a 'gay author', which is accurate, but I feel I should reiterate all that means is I am a gay man, and some of the characters in my books are also gay. You don't have to be gay yourself to read them. I enjoy reading books written by straight people. You can do it!

But this blog isn't about justifying my brand image. It is just to let you know I am back in my metaphorical briefs, working hard on my third book. It is a stand-alone novel focusing on the lives of two misfit boys who meet at school. We follow them as their relationship grows, as does one of the boy's love for performing magic. But all is not as it seems, and there will be tragic losses and devastating public scrutiny when Patrick takes his magic to the stage on a national television talent show. It isn't going to end well.

That's it; teaser over. I shall return to today's writing which will be taking place mainly in a saucy little black Bang&Strike jockstrap. The teaser is really over now. What am I like?

I want to be a celebrity…Get me out of here!

I think I am just feeling blue as it is the end of my first week back at work following a little holiday to Gran Canaria Winter Pride (that's a whole other blog I could get into but not suitable for general reading, I fear!). Still, I am wondering if my writing will ever allow me to escape the rat race I find myself in.

Don't get me wrong. I don't have a bad job, I get paid well, and I have a good life. Husband, holidays, obviously, meals out, nice house etc... etc... so certainly no sympathy is required, but all the same, my job is not a vocation. I do not wake up every morning thrilled at the prospect of what the day may hold in store. On the contrary, there is an inevitability to the dramas each day will bring when you work in IT!

But I do have a passion, a flame sparked in my youth and rekindled just a few years ago. Writing! I want to be a writer. Well, I guess I am a writer. I have two books available currently, Echoes of a Boy and If I Had Died Last Summer. You may have seen me bleating on about them on social media.

It has been an incredible journey, and the third book is well underway, but how on earth do I make it my job? How do I monetise it? How do I make it my vocation in life? I dream of waking up at a reasonable time rather than the 6 am alarm. Going for a little swim and then sitting down for a few hours of writing before pottering around to the high street for a coffee. The most stressful event in my life would be the deadline for submitting my next draft.

What a dream! Ideas on a postcard, please. Until then, I am signing off for the weekend and come Monday, I will be back in the rat race. Maybe I will see you in a traffic jam on the M40 sometime.

I want to be a celebrity. Get me out of here...

I think I am just feeling blue as it is the end of my first week back at work following a little holiday to Gran Canaria Winter Pride (that's a whole other blog I could get into but not suitable for general reading, I fear!). Still, I am wondering if my writing will ever allow me to escape the rat race I find myself in.

Don't get me wrong. I don't have a bad job, I get paid well, and I have a good life. Husband, holidays, obviously, meals out, nice house etc... etc... so certainly no sympathy is required, but all the same, my job is not a vocation. I do not wake up every morning thrilled at the prospect of what the day may hold in store. On the contrary, there is an inevitability to the dramas each day will bring when you work in IT!

But I do have a passion, a flame sparked in my youth and rekindled just a few years ago. Writing! I want to be a writer. Well, I guess I am a writer. I have two books available currently, Echoes of a Boy and If I Had Died Last Summer. You may have seen me bleating on about them on social media.

It has been an incredible journey, and the third book is well underway, but how on earth do I make it my job? How do I monetise it? How do I make it my vocation in life? I dream of waking up at a reasonable time rather than the 6 am alarm. Going for a little swim and then sitting down for a few hours of writing before pottering around to the high street for a coffee. The most stressful event in my life would be the deadline for submitting my next draft.

What a dream! Ideas on a postcard, please. Until then, I am signing off for the weekend and come Monday, I will be back in the rat race. Maybe I will see you in a traffic jam on the M40 sometime.

Haters gonna hate...

So, this blog is a little more serious than some of my previous ones, but certainly not a new subject. It's about internet trolls and homophobic hate crimes and my recent experience with both after I decided to run a Facebook advertisement for one of my books, Echoes of a Boy. Some of the reactions to it took me a little by surprise, naively so perhaps, but I thought I would share the experience.

For those who know, the book cover is a picture of a younger me, naked but over 18! This is not a photograph; it is an artistically filtered silhouette of a boy emerging from some words on the page. It is very reflective of the book, which, I believe, is a unique insight into a fictional murder mystery written by myself in my late teens, intertwined with a biography which explains the source material and how my life subsequently evolved.

At the time of writing, the statistics show that the ad reach is around 2,500 people, with 20% engagement and 85 reactions on Facebook - 42 , 22 , 17 , 2 , and 2 . Although a small number of the total, the angry people worry me. Their comments included a biblical diatribe of verses that cast me out as a sinner, a claim it is gay propaganda, another request to remove this 'sick shit' from their feed, a simple 'nobody cares', but by far the worst, an image of a man being set on fire.

I decided to delete/block these comments/people, but I wonder if it would have been better to leave them on display so everyone could see their values. They seemed oblivious that in modern society, homophobia is a hate crime. And I am saddened to say the majority of the hate came from middle-aged American men. And I'd be shocked if any of them read it before passing their comments.

I have thick skin and am old enough and wise enough to let it wash over me. However, it isn't pleasant, and I worry for the younger generation now faced with coming out in a world that seems to be moving backwards regarding gay rights. Whatever happened to the #bekind movement?

#booksandbriefs

WARNING: This article may contain stereotypes

For those who know me, follow my Instagram, or have browsed my website, the sight of me in my pants will be nothing unusual. It is, in fact, the headline feature of my website, the author who likes to write in his underwear... we all need a hook, and that's mine. Know your audience; that's what they say, isn't it?

Obviously, I don't always write in my underwear. As I type these words, I am fully clothed, much to the relief of the other customers in the coffee shop, I am sure. It was more of a branding decision. I am a gay man, and I have and will continue to base my writing around gay characters. Therefore, I assumed my books would be of more interest to gay men, and gay men love underwear! Combine the two; capture the market; Sales! Sales! Sales!

However, as much as I genuinely love being in my underwear and joining the internet gays with the occasional scantily-clad thirst trap, I suspect I may be compromising my ambitions. Although I publicly declare myself a 'Gay Author', all I really want to do is write books that people want to read. The sexuality of the characters should be irrelevant, and I think it broadly is. I have had great feedback from men, women, gay and straight alike.

Maybe it's time for a rebrand? Widen the catchment area, but then again, a host of advice tells you the best way to market a product is to narrow down on a target audience. Yet another minefield for the self-published author! While I gather my thoughts, you can find me on the internet #booksandbriefs

Uh oh! I fear I am suffering a blockage...

As some of you may be aware, I am currently in the process of writing my third book. I have the whole plot line nailed, have a straw man chapter guide, and have a selection of twists and turns planned along the way. I am about fifty pages in, pleased with the progress, and I know exactly what I need to write next, but... I have got stuck putting the words onto paper.

Those who follow my Instagram will know I have been putting a lot of effort into a health kick recently. I swim daily, eat healthily, and drink a little less (well, less beer, more gin!) This could well be a factor. I have less time and am tired after a workout, but I have another theory.

My previous modus operandi when writing was to have a tiny concept of a story. This builds into a full-blown idea, and then an inspirational title comes to me, followed closely by a vision of the book cover. When writing books one and two, I had the title and the cover design decided before I was more than a chapter in. Not so this time.

I have pondered and pondered, and I just cannot think of a suitable title at this stage, and therefore no cover image is springing to mind either. The working title is "Patrick Magic", a descriptive of the title character and the theme, but I can't see this making the final cut! I shall ponder on. Ideas on a postcard please!

Anyway, enough of my Friday woes. Hope you all have a lovely weekend. I am off to take a dose of literary Ex-Lax and see what flows!

Got me a logo... I'm officially a Brand!

Happy Friday, everyone. Just here to dump a few small thoughts before heading out to start my weekend, which will primarily involve a three-day bank holiday weekend beer festival at The Mermaid in sunny Burford.

I have spoken before about the various challenges of marketing yourself once you have completed the initial missions of writing and then self-publishing a book. Aside from the actual creative process of putting a story down in words, I feel I have also had to master many other skills over the last year.

My CV can now include proofreading, editing, KDP formatting, cover design, Amazon ACX publication, financial bookkeeping, social media spamming and, latest of all, logo design!

Joking aside, it's just another small step on my author journey. It is still just a hobby, really; it doesn't pay the mortgage or anywhere close. But nonetheless, I am enjoying the whole process ever so much, and seeing the sales drop in and the reviews and the pictures people send me of them enjoying one of my books is all just a bonus.

So, keep an eye out for the new logo, as I no doubt blast it all around my social media until people are bored to tears with it. I will still find time to finish book three, though, I promise!!

Don't forget to leave a review...

So, it's been almost a year since the publication of my debut book, and I've tried not to spend the whole time on the KDP reporting website waiting for sales to trickle through, I promise!

I've kept myself busy adding the hardback and audiobook for Echoes of a Boy, and I have also managed to publish my second book, If I Had Died Last Summer. It's been a very productive year, and project number three is well underway.

That said, it is nice to see the sales happening, or the Kindle Unlimited page counts ticking up because spreading the word is by far the most challenging part of this whole process. What I have noticed helps is getting some lovely reviews, either on Amazon, Goodreads or Audible. Therefore, this blog is just a little call to arms for anyone who has been kind enough to invest their time and money in one of my books.

I can see the review-to-sales ratio is relatively low (although I have no idea what a good ratio would be - I must google it). Therefore, if you have been kind enough to invest in me, I would be even more appreciative if you could take a little further time to leave a review.

An honest review, of course. No such thing as bad publicity, apparently! I can take it, I think.

Pride is still important!

So, June is Pride month, and I have made a couple of posts on my social media showing my support, which is only to be expected as I am self-labelled as a gay author and to live up to any stereotype I also parade around in my underwear, even on the homepage of my official website. Bloody gays!

But joking aside, I really did feel the need to make this small blog about the important need to still celebrate these Pride events. The world has moved on massively; I do not deny this. In my lifetime, being gay was a criminal offence in the UK, and my own teenage years took place during the AIDS pandemic. In contrast, today's teenagers can watch and relate to programmes such as the recently released Heartstopper. Watch it if you haven't, whoever you are. It is beautiful beyond words.

And yet there is still so far to go. My recent post for Pride, a picture of my husband and me at a previous Brighton Pride event, received some homophobia. An absolutely charming lady tells us we should be ashamed of ourselves as the bible does not allow for our kind! I have thick skin, so her opinion bothers me, not one jot. I just reported and blocked her, but these attitudes persist along with much worse!

We allow countries to participate in globally staged events such as the Olympics when they continue to impose the death penalty for being gay. I appreciate different countries are on slower paths, but we should encourage them to speed up. And LGBTQ+ hate crime is on the rise in my own country too. It is just mindless.

We have progress, not equality. Keep waving the flag! ️‍