Nicole R. Murphy's Blog, page 5

It’s editing time

Observation – it's much easier to edit a 50,000 word novel than a 110,000 word one, particularly if the novel is a stand alone and not part of a trilogy.

So I'm working through my contemporary romance at the moment. I don't have a title for it yet – that will be part of the editing process, I think.

At the moment, it's big picture stuff – a couple of people read and gave me some feedback, and I've been working through some ideas myself. So I'm now into the last fifty pages and thanks to some things I tweaked at the beginning I'm now completely re-writing the ending. So it kinda still feels like drafting, although not as laborious a process cause now I KNOW what the story is.

Then it will be time to put it against my colour chart. I showed you that here: http://nicolermurphy.com/post/Writing-processe28093my-colour-charts.aspx I'm going to have to change some of the items that I use the colours for – eg when I use magic ain't that important in this book. And the break up between thinking/talking/action needs more thinking because straight romance doesn't tend to do much on the 'action' front. I'm also going to add a little something based on a fabulous blog post I read yesterday: http://www.elisabethnaughton.com/2011/06/13/the-secret-to-selling/ So I'll be considering the questions each scene posts, and whether they get answered or not.

The gadda books also get plotted against Michael Hauge's movie plot timeline: http://www.storymastery.com/articles/30-screenplay-structure but again, that won't work for this one because it's not a fast paced, action story.

Instead, I'll be plotting it against the romance arc that Valerie Parv presents in her book "The Art of Writing Romance" (a must have if you write in the genre). This arc presents the romance storyline as a sort of snakes and ladders game, with advances and then falls that help build to the final triumphal moment of commitment and happily-ever-after.

Read it aloud to tweak the wordage and that should be the editing done. Not sure yet if I'll get someone else to read it again, or not. I'll put it away for a few weeks, read again and decide if ready for submission or not.

Once romance is done, will start work editing the gadda novella. I'm going to get it professionally edited, in order to have it up to scratch for self-publishing and luckily, I've managed to gain the services of the editor who did Rogue Gadda on behalf of HarperCollins – I like the continuity of it.

I love editing and I love learning to be a better editor.

Promote a book = be interesting

The other weekend, while travelling to a friend's birthday party in a car full of writers, we had an interesting conversation about the behaviour of some authors on panels at conventions. I won't mention names at this point to protect the innocent.

One had just returned from a convention in the states and they were talking about how some of the panels started with the authors giving a sales pitch about their book. Not just 'Hi, I'm so-and-so and I write x and y and this is my book' but going into a blurb about the book, page count, price and where you can buy it. When my friend didn't want to give this sales pitch, the authors stared as if my friend had gone mad.

I'm happy to report that ALL the copies of books my friend had available at that con sold out. I'm willing to bet none of those of the sales-authors did.

Why? Because selling your book doesn't sell your book. Being interesting does.

A case in point – my friend Gillian Polack. Gillian is one of the most interesting people you're ever going to meet. She's articulate and knowledgeable and she just lights up when she's talking on one of her favourite subjects. You can be guaranteed that after every panel Gillian does at a convention, someone will turn up at the table in the dealer's room wanting to buy her book and gushing about her. Honestly, you can pretty much set your watch by it occurring.

I've seen Gillian at panels. Yes, she'll mention that she's a writer, and she'll mention the title of books she has available. But then, that's pretty much it. Her entire discourse at that point will be about the topic at hand and if she does draw on a book as an example, it's rarely one of hers.

She sells books because she's interesting.

We all know what it's like when you go into a store to browse and the salesperson appears, ready to sell. Now, if you know what you want, if you're ready to buy, this can be an advantage – rather than go all the way through the store looking for what you want, the salesperson can take you directly there. But if you're not really sure what you want, or you just want to check things out, then having someone there ready to sell can actually be a turn-off.

This is what conventions are like. When you go to panels, you aren't intending to buy – you're interested in the topic, or in one or more of the speakers. So when someone starts trying to sell, it's a turn-off. On the other hand, if you're left alone and you get to sit and listen – well, that's kinda like browsing and if one of the speakers catches your attention, then you can move into the frame of mind where you ARE ready to buy.

It's the same on social media. During the week, there were a few instances of someone friending a whole lot of people on Facebook and then the first post they sent out to those people was about their new book. From time to time, you can go to your favourite social media outlet in the frame of mind to buy and therefore, having someone try to sell can be useful but most of the time, you're not. You're there to SOCIALISE, to find out what you're friends are doing, to catch up with the world. So to suddenly have someone pop up and try to sell to you is really offputting.

Doing this can achieve the opposite of what you want – not only will you not sell that particular book, you'll never sell any books to that person EVER.

So the lesson – be yourself. Mention your book, sure – it's an exciting thing for you to be published, and you do need to help spread the word. But don't SELL your book, and certainly not the first time you 'meet' someone. If they're interested, they'll come looking for more. In the meantime, convince them to be interested by being interesting. Be funny. Be silly. Be witty. Be opinionated. Be reasoned. Be conversational. Be considerate. Be a sharer of cool stuff.

THAT'S how you'll sell books.

Hope Lost is finished

So there it is – book two of the People of the Star trilogy, my new gadda series, is drafted.

Here's some facts and figures.

I started drafting Hope Lost at the FWOR retreat at Oberon on January 13. I'd done some planning and thinking about while in Melbourne over New Year's. I was able to use some stuff I dumped from Future Found (book one) and by January 31, it was at 50,000 words.

I picked it up again at the end of February and worked on it through March. Of course, it then fell victim to the depression and despite my desire to have the draft finished by the time I went to America, I only managed to add about 15,000 words to it.

The next few months were all about getting my life back on track, trying new things, diversifying, launching Rogue Gadda and getting Future Found ready to submit to the editor and so I didn't pick Hope Lost up again until July 20.

Since then, I a) killed one of the stars of the Dream of Asarlai trilogy, b) dumped another member of the guardianship and raised someone in their place, c) finally solved the dilemma of the romantic triangle that shapes Hope Lost and d) write 34,000 words to end Hope Lost's draft with a total of 98,000.

I'm pretty happy with that – it's behind the 110,000 I generally aim for with these books but I know there's tightening and holes and things I need to work on, so I don't doubt the extra 12,000 words will come in the editing process.

I've got some great ideas and things to spring forward with for the next book – life for the gadda has been turned upside down and now I've got to save them from it.

And I really do love to edit – drafting is my least favourite part of the whole process, so having the draft completed gives me an overwhelming sense of glee.

So today I celebrate. Tomorrow, I clean my house and do some promotional stuff. Weekend, I rest (and so some Conflux/CSFG stuff).

Next week – well, I've got a lot of editing to do. Hope Lost. Festival of the Star, the gadda novella. And the contemporary romance that I want to be submitting at the end of the year.

Good think I love to edit [image error]

Announcing the Winds of Change anthology

I'm really happy to announce my latest short story sale – the upcoming Winds of Change anthology from the CSFG.

My story 'Watching' is a post-apocalyptic tale of loss and hope within difficult situations. I don't know why I keep writing science fiction stories for CSFG anthlogies – one day it will be a fantasy. Maybe even a paranormal romance [image error]

Here's the opening of 'Watching' – hope it will whet your appetite for the story and the entire anthology, which is launched September 30 at Conflux.

***

The windmill creaks and everyone stops and stares at it. One of the children – little Belle, barely walking – stumbles toward it. Her mother, father, and every other adult scream at her. One of the other kids grabs her arm and pulls her back then spanks her.

It is Belle's turn to learn that you don't go near the windmill.

The blades begin to turn, the screech of metal against metal rendering the air. Some watch the wheel turn, mesmerised. Others turn away and put their hands over their ears. Every time they hear that sound, it takes them back to the day the winds came and everything changed.

With every whine, every scream of the rusty blades rotating, they are back in the moment when they realised it wasn't just a summer storm – it was the beginning of the end. Those that can stare at the windmill, hatred growing in their gaze, clutching those around them and remembering.

I don't look at the windmill. The moment that sound starts, I turn to look at a small bush that grows next to the corner of the machinery shed. I look to the bush, because the high winds that turn the windmill are not such a problem. Sure, they bring the storm – but the ground winds bring the dust. It chokes and cleaves to your lungs and will kill you slowly and agonisingly over several days.

People who lived here never noticed the ground winds – only visitors commented on the strange anomaly of high and low. We used to just shrug and go on with our day, glad for the breeze that cooled but ignoring it.

I think that's why they still don't pay attention to the ground wind. It has become my task to notice, to warn the others and get them inside to safety. So I watch the bush, while they glare at the windmill.

***

Here's the full Table of Contents – a fabulous mix of up and comers and some of us old-timers [image error]

Wraiths - Jason Nahrung
Gravity Express - Naomi Mondello
Time Capsule - Tsana Dolichva
The Tether of Time - Leife Shallcross
Trigger - Zena Shapter
Babel - Robin Shortt
Saint Olivia's Light - Carol Ryles
In Need of Assistance - Chris Andrews
After the Bombs - Adam Tucker
The Horns of Elfland - Crisetta MacLeod
Time Spent - David Coleman
Soul of the Machine - Maxine McArthur
Dream Shadow - Alan Baxter
Giant - Annelise Roberts
Evolution Baby - Lesley Boland
The Princess - Valerie Y.L. Toh
Children of the Ashes - Greg Mellor
By Watcher's Pool - James Goodrum
Turning the Blood - Donna Maree Hanson
Watching - Nicole Murphy
The Stormchilds - Helen Stubbs
The Fool - Jane Virgo
Dragonfly - Cat Sheely
Stone-singer - Joanna Fay

Up and down week

This damn cold! This damn, won't get that bad but will drag you down incessantly for weeks cold!

There, the whinge is done. Let me catch you up with what's been happening in my corner of the world.

First, my 40++sized romance went down a treat with the ladies – one is taking it to her bookclub to read and discuss. It's got me thinking – more and more, I'm desiring to promote a variety of portrayals of women's sexuality. There's still a real break between the freedom men have to express themselves sexuality without it impacting on their perceived worth and that for women. It's still quite prevalent in society that a 'good girl' will be a sexually innocent one, hopefully completely virginal until the right man comes along. There's still the mix up of people perceiving rape as being about sex, not power, and I can't believe men still come up with the argument on articles that if women don't want to be harassed, they should stop trying to be attractive.

Boy, does THAT one make my blood boil.

So I'm thinking that this needs to be combated, and providing a variety of role models showing that it's okay to be whatever you want to be to young women is one way of doing it. The idea that's playing in my mind at the moment is a collection of erotica, but we'll see what develops from it.

I've started working on Hope Lost, the second book in the People of the Star trilogy. I read through it, and made some great notes and great realisations. Then on Sunday night, I had one of those sudden flashes of insight that completely turns a story around. I had to kill a major character. Not just for the sake of killing them, but to upset the balance and make life even more difficult for the rest.

In the process of making that change, I realised that I'd left myself a giant plot hole. So I'm thinking through how to patch that up. I've got two possibilities and I'm working through which is the better option. One provides more tension at a later date, but then is that tension really necessary? These are the questions a writer asks.

There's been lots of other things going on too. Last Wednesday, the first semi-official Natcon2013 meeting took place and as a result, a venue is booked. The announcement is here - http://confluxnatcon2013.wordpress.com/2011/07/26/accommodation-and-venue-sorted/

On Friday, I went and did an interview for Irina and William Webster's Inspiring Author series http://www.youtube.com/user/inspiringauthortv I'll post the link to my interview when it's up. It was fun, to sit and have a chat with writerly folks.

Sunday I went to Wollongong, with Donna Hanson, Matthew Farrer and Kaaron Warren, to help celebrate Rob Hood's 60th birthday. It was great to catch up with Rob and Cat, and with a whole lot of other writerly friends. Rob had a great day, and it was wonderful to see one of the nicest, most generous people in the community have such a wonderful time.

Yesterday was more writerly stuff. At lunchtime, I went to the next in the ACT Writer's Centre's Tuesday Chats. This is a series of free talks they're putting on for members about a variety of topics. I went to one last month by a short story competition judge and will be going to one Irina and William are giving on promotion next month. Yesterday's was by Ian McHugh on story generation. Ian had some really interesting ideas on the element of story which is dutifully mulling away at the back of my brain. He ran one of the exercises at CSFG a couple of months ago and it resulted for me in a great story, so I'm going to give the one he gave us yesterday a go too.

Then last night was the launch of CSFG member David Dufty's first book. Lost in Transit is the story of the creation and then mysterious disappearance of the Phillip K Dick android, developed in Memphis around 2003. It's a book I'm very much looking forward to reading.

So, there's tis. That's what I've been up to since I last spoke to you. Until next time – see ya!

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On waiting and challenges

Today, I will start working on the new gadda trilogy again. It's been a couple of months – I put it aside when I sent the proposal and first book to the publisher and I kept myself busy with other things.

I wrote my first contemporary romance. I wrote a novella, that fits between the two gadda trilogies and that I think I'll be self-publishing. I wrote some short stories. I did a massive publicity drive for Rogue Gadda (please let that show in sales, PLEASE!). I went to Supernova and launched Rogue Gadda and taught a couple of workshops and a friend and I were awarded the opportunity to run the 2013 Natcon and I made two handbags and started on a third.

Then came the beginning of this week – what to do now? I sat down, considered my options and decided you know what – it doesn't matter that I've not had the final yay or nay from the publisher (it is being investigated – publishers have become VERY cautious my friends). I'm ready to get back to work on Hope Lost, the second book which is currently half-drafted but causing my problems.

See, I set myself some interesting challenges in this book – the main one being to see if I could write a good love triangle – and what's come out of that is a battle between me and the heroine. You see, she'd so far removed from my own thoughts on love and relationships that I've been finding her hard to deal with. But I think I've come to the point where I'm ready to step out of her way and have her show me what she wants.

This may mean she chooses the wrong guy (in my opinion) but I have to let that play out.

I was supposed to start working on it yesterday, but Monday night an interesting challenge arose courtesy of Twitter and I couldn't resist jumping into it.

I follow some really fabulous women who are intelligent, thoughtful readers and writers of romance. A discussion came up about what books featured 40+ heroines. Not many, was the answer. Then they talked about plus sized heroines. Again, not many. Then the big question – what about a 40+, plus sized heroine?

Someone questioned whether it could be done – one or the other but not both, she thought. And there the challenge was set.

I'm gonna be having a 40+ heroine in the last book of the new gadda trilogy – it was important to me to use a variety of women, with a variety of experiences in this new series. But none of my heroines are plus-sized.

Could I write a story about a woman who was both, and still make it romantic and sexy?

Well, I think I have. It's only a first draft, and a short story (9300 words). I'm not sure if it will blow into a full romance novel – there's some weaknesses in that there's not a lot of character growth. And I wonder if it's a bit preachy about size issues.

But I have a 50yo, large woman who meets and has a hot relationship with a 55yo paunchy billionaire :) It was great fun, and I'm going to give it to the ladies to read (even though it's rough) to see what they think.

The Year of the Handbag–May (catch-up)–the patchwork bag

Unfortunately, the catch-up isn't happening QUITE as quickly as I had hoped, but we're getting there. On Friday, I decided to have a crafty day – I'd just finished a major writing project and I needed a break, yet to do something creative to help fire myself up. I decided on two projects and one was to finish a bag I started in June.

So this handbag was about trying a couple of new techniques – a) patchwork and b) putting a gusset in the bag.

Here's the end result:

[image error]

Yeah, I'm pretty happy with it :) Here's how it happened -

a) Making the patchwork sides (patchworkers and quilters, you might not want to read this – or look closely at the bag…). So first I chose four pieces of material and decided on triangles as a nice, simple shape to start my patchworking career. Measured and cut them out – not very accurately. Then I started sewing them together. I decided on making six squares to make one patchworked side for the bag and then make the other side plain, but once done and laid out, I realised four was plenty big enough. With two squares already made for a second side, it seemed silly not to make the other two, so the bag has two patchworked sides.

b) putting the patchwork on the backing – I had some filling left from April's knitted bag so I put that on, then just used my calico to back it. Tacked it together and irones (filling is iron-on) and the two sides were made.

c) I thought about making just a gusset, then decided against it (so I still have that challenge to work on). Instead, I cut four sides out of the calico. Then I had to think about what the internal would look like (I prefer it to look neat as well) as decided that actually, what would be really cool would be the sew all the seams externally, then cover them so they became a bit of a feature. Brown, I decided. So I machine sewed the bottom and the sides to the patchwork, then handsewed the seams between the sides and trimmed so it would all be even.

d) The top I decided needed a zipper, so I cut the top in two, sewed in the zipper, then sewed it onto the patchwork.

e) I wasn't completely sure what to do with the handle, until I had the zipper in place and then I decided a simple fabric one would do. So I took a strip of the brown material I'd used in the patchwork and sewed it into a tube. I then put it in between the top strip and the side strips and hand-sewed them all together.

f) Finally was the edging. I used brown bias binding. I machine sewed all the edges (finished the last with just a few centimetres of cotton on the spool). Then I hand-sewed the corners. They aren't very neat – I wasn't able to accurately picture what I needed to do cutting-wise to make that happen.

So there it is – my patchwork bag. It's pretty good, I think.

[image error]

As for the next handbag – it's turning out interesting. Very interesting. I have two words for you – paper mache…

Thanks to my guest bloggers

Wow, what an incredibly inspiring and interesting series of posts I got. Thanks to everyone – Kevin J Anderson, Alan Baxter, Tansy Rayner Roberts, Mary Victoria, Helen Lowe, Kim Falconer, Justina Robson, Kerrelyn Sparks, Kirstyn McDermott, Trent Jamieson and Joanne Anderton for giving their thoughts on the topic. I myself will blog about Dreams and Fulfilment at the Supernatural Underground blog on July 21, after I've given some time for my guests thoughts to settle inside me.

So, since I've not been blogging myself here for a couple of weeks, what's been going on in my world? I've been posting on a variety of other people's blogs, and giving away copies of Rogue Gadda in the process. Not all the giveaways are still open (and there's one more to come), but you might still be interested in reading my thoughts on the various topics.

At the Ripping Ozzie Reads blog, I talked about the joy of being a beginning writer and that being published isn't all sunshine and lollipops and you think when you're starting out.

On Book Bites, I talked about "fuck Plan b", for want of a better expression. How you can fall back onto the fall back position and not give your life and dreams the chance they deserve.

At the Voyager blog, I talked about the weird resonance of having finished a trilogy and put the story behind you, when for readers it's still a future event.

Over at Fangtastic Fiction, it was all about how the gadda ended up being Irish and how that wasn't my original intent AT ALL.

My next port of call was A Writer Goes On A Journey, where I asked the question if authorial promotion is worth the effort?

Then I was at dark fantasy writer Alan Baxter's blog, spruiking romance and talking about why I love the genre. Might have been a bit too much for the dark fantasy crowd :)

For the next few hours, you can still enter to win a copy of Rogue Gadda at Helen Lowe's blog. There, I chatted about setting challenges and not being content with resting on past successes.

Tomorrow, I'll be talking food and drink over at Eleni's Taverna, with another giveaway of Rogue Gadda.

Apart from that, I've been busy writing. I've just finished a brand new gadda story – a novella that sits time-wise between Dream of Asarlai and the new trilogy. My plan is to self-publish it later this year or early next year – keep your eyes peeled for details.

Otherwise, today is going to be a crafty day – doing some stuff for my handbags and such. Next week, I pick up the second book of the new trilogy and start working on it again, hoping that I'll hear good news re publication soon.

Blogging around the blogosphere

There's not going to be a lot of updatery here for a couple of weeks, because I'm happily spreading the joy around some other fabulous blogs.

For example, here at Book Bites http://bookbitesoz.blogspot.com/ I talk about taking the chance on achieving what you really dream of aka Fuck Plan B. And here at Fangtastic Fiction http://www.fangtastic.com.au/ I explain how the Gadda ended up Irish. At Alan Baxter's blog tomorrow http://www.alanbaxteronline.com/ I'll be taking on all the dark fantasy readers and writers with my impassioned plea for why I love romance. Come see the bloodshed :)*

On my own blog http://nicolermurphy.com/blog.aspx I'm hosting some writer friends on the theme "Dreams and Fulfilment". Yesterday is was Kevin J Anderson. Today is Alan Baxter. Coming up is Mary Victoria, Helen Lowe, Kim Falconer, Joanne Anderton, Kirstyn McDermott, Tansy Rayner Roberts, Trent Jamieson, Justina Robson and Kerrelyn Sparks.

So I hope you'll forgive me if this blog goes a bit quiet for a few weeks, and instead will check out all the other fabulous happenings in my blogging world.

* I doubt there will be bloodshed. If there is – we romance authors can hold our own :)