Sara Jayne Townsend's Blog, page 54
January 24, 2011
A Word on the New Look
Don't worry, you haven't gone to the wrong blog – I've been doing a spot of redecorating. I thought it was time for a new look, as I gear up for the launch of DEATH SCENE later this year.
I thought "Imaginary Friends" was an appropriate title because all writers have imaginary friends. No matter how real our characters seem to us, the fact remains that to an outsider, we spend our days with people who don't actually exist.
Anyway, I hope you like the new-look blog. The content remains the same!
January 23, 2011
Perspective
SUFFER THE CHILDREN is available on the Kindle on Amazon's site in both the UK and the US. As such, it has a 'Kindle listing' rating its popularity.
It's currently listed number 15,244 on the UK site. This seemed like a rather depressing number to me, and I was grumbling about it to a work colleague recently. "At least it's got a rating," she said. "You've had a book published and it's listed on Amazon – not everyone can say that."
She's right, of course. I have a tendency to be a 'glass half-empty' sort of person sometimes. So thank you, Anna, for pointing out my skewed perspective. My book is published. It has an Amazon listing. This is no reason to complain – this should be a "yay!" sort of moment.
And it reminds me that I'm a published author. That awesome fact has not yet worn thin, and it deserves more than a "yay". Perspective restored. Off I go for a little happy dance….
January 19, 2011
The "Eureka" Moment
(Cross-posted from the WriteClub blog)
All writers have that moment. I call it the "Eureka" moment. Stephen King describes it as the moment "the muse shat on my head".
It's that moment when you're minding your own business, not thinking about writing, when suddenly, out of the blue, you know how to fix that plot problem. It's like being hit by a thunderbolt. And it's why all writers carry around a notebook and writing instrument, because when that thunderbolt hits, you want to make notes before it leaves your head as quickly as it arrived.
My latest "Eureka" moment happened the other day as I was heading home from work. I was being jostled at the top of the steps of Oxford Circus station, which is a bit of a nightmare at the moment. All entrances bar one are closed because of escalator works, so between 5pm and 6pm you have about 300 people a minute trying to get down one set of steps.
I'd been mulling over the problem of how my amateur sleuth was going to acquire a relevant mobile phone number, which was hidden away somewhere on a dead man's mobile phone. Even if she managed to illegally acquire the phone, there was still the problem of how to get round the password – particularly since the owner of the phone is dead, and it's unlikely a paranoid and egotistical rock star would not have his phone passworded.
I wasn't thinking about my plot at that particular moment. I was thinking about getting home after a crap day at work, and would I get to Victoria Station in time for the 5:30pm train? But suddenly, as I was being swept along with the crowd, the solution suddenly hit me, right out of the blue.
The main problem then was, being surrounded by hundreds of people as I was, I couldn't immediately stop and pull out my notebook. Nor could I do so on the underground, as it was nose-to-elbow full as usual.
So I had to hold onto that thunderbolt until I got onto my train on Victoria Station, where I was able to find a seat. Happily, I happened to have the NetBook with me – it was a Writing Morning Day – and able to transcribe that "Eureka!" moment straight into the notes of the WIP where it belongs. And therefore the story ends happily. Plot problem solved, my amateur sleuth is able to continue with her snooping.
My experience of "Eureka!" moments is they never hit you when you're sitting at your computer staring at your manuscript, but at some inconvenient moment when you're thinking about something else entirely.
Where do you get yours??
January 17, 2011
On Not Being "Trendy"
As someone who's spent her whole life "not fitting in", I am suspicious of anything referring to itself as a "Trend". There's something on Twitter called "Trends", which seems to refer to whatever the popular topics of the day are. I wish they wouldn't call them "Trends".
The mere word is off-putting. "Trends" are about everyone else being into something that just doesn't interest me. "Trends" mean whatever I want won't be available. My favourite TV shows get cancelled because of poor ratings, while more money is poured into rubbish reality shows because that's what everyone else watches. I go on holiday in December and can't buy sun cream or summer tops because everyone else goes on holiday in August and there's no demand for these things when I want them. And I shall probably never be a best-selling writer, because I do not write in the genres that everyone else seems to like reading.
Going with the majority opinion is the cornerstone of democracy. And I'm not actually complaining about this – this is the fairest way. But in a vote of popular opinion, I will always be in the minority.
I have accepted the fact that this is the way life is. I am quite happy in my own un-trendy world. The population here is small, but select.
But can't we find some other word for that Twitter thing than "Trends"?
January 12, 2011
A Writer's Prayer
Cross-posted from the WriteClub blog
One of my writing group friends posted this link on the group forum recently, and I had to share it with you.
** Disclaimer: Contains language that might be offensive to some **
I am going to print off this writer's prayer and post it on the bulletin board in my writing corner. Then, next time I am discouraged, thinking what I am writing is complete rubbish, I will read it and it might inspire me to keep going. I think it's worth reminding ourselves occasionally why it's worth plugging away at this writing gig. We certainly don't do it for fun.
January 8, 2011
Goodreads Challenge
I've been on Goodreads for a little while now. If you're a writer, or a reader, I would recommend signing up.
If you're a writer, it's a really good publicity tool. You can set up a profile for yourself, and add your books. Once your book is there you can monitor who reads it, who reviews it, and if you really want to self-promote, you can also recommend it to others.
If you are a reader, it's a good way of monitoring all the books you read. With your profile you can create your electronic bookshelves, adding books you've read, are reading or want to read, and you can categorise them, rate and review them, and see other people's reviews. It also keeps track of when you start a book and finish it.
I know some people who have kept a log of every book they've ever read. I've never really done this, so I don't know how many books I've read in my lifetime, and sometimes I start to read books I think I've never read before, only to realise partway through that I have.
Goodreads changes all that, though. I joined in April last year, so the books I've read since then I've added, and I'm in the process of adding other books I know I've read in the past.
Goodreads sent me a message recently informing me that I read 35 books last year, and would I like to set myself a challenge for this year? That 35 books, of course, is the number I've read since I joined Goodreads. I think 50 is more accurate for a year – it takes me, on average, about a week to read a book.
So the challenge I set for myself to read 50 books in 2011 probably isn't that challenging. Still, let's see how it goes. I can always up the count in 2012.
If you are on Goodreads, feel free to add me to your 'friends' list. Here is my profile.
January 5, 2011
What I Learned From My Editor #1 – "TMI"
(Cross-posted from the WriteClub blog)
I started keeping a diary when I was nine years old. In the early days, the entries read something like this: "Went to school. Came home. Went to Brownies. Came home. Went to grandma's. Came home". When my mother, viewing this over my shoulder, asked me why I always put "came home" after every outing, I explained it was so anyone who might read it in future years wouldn't be misled into thinking I might have stayed at school all night. It made perfect sense to me at the time.
Working with my editor on what is to be my second published e-book, I am realising that some of that need to describe every detail is still with me. When my character gets in a car and drives, that's not what she does. She unlocks the car, opens the door, gets in, closes the door, puts on her seatbelt, puts the key in the ignition, turns it, puts her foot on the clutch and the brake, puts the car in first gear, takes foot off brake and onto accelerator… and so it goes.
What I have learned from my editor is that if my character gets into the car and drives away, all of the other details are already implied in that action. It seems that OCD part of me that felt the need to record the fact I came home from school every day when I was nine years old is still sometimes feeling the urge to list every action.
I am working with my editor on copy edits for DEATH SCENE. Many of her comments in the margin start with 'TMI' (or 'too much information').
I hope, despite appearances, it will eventually become evident I am taking her advice on board. One day there might be an occasion when she is editing a novel I have written since I have been working with her, and perhaps then she'll find fewer occasions to have to add 'TMI – condense' or 'can cut' in the margin.
January 4, 2011
…Off To Work I Go
It's back to the day job after ten glorious days of lie-ins. And though the alarm clock going off at 6am today was a shock to the system, it's probably just as well I get back into the habit of getting up early.
During my Christmas break, I get used to staying in bed until 10am. This time of year, it's dark by 3:30pm. You don't need to be a maths genius to figure out that isn't too many hours of daylight. And then I wonder why I start every year feeling depressed. I wonder how night shift workers cope with so many hours of prolonged darkness.
So it's not all bad to be back in the usual routine. I have no more excuses to slob around the house in my old sweat pants, eating chocolate and watching crap TV. It's time to start moving again. It's time to start thinking again. It's probably even time to cut back on the cakes and biscuits and go back to the exercise classes, but I haven't dared get on the scales yet to find out just how many of those mince pies are still with me.
How long will this new sense of optimism last? Probably until the snow returns. But at the moment, we're still several degrees above freezing here in London and – at least for this week – the trains are relatively quiet, because not everyone's back at work yet.
Next week might be different, but I'm trying to focus on the moment. By then, I might even be back into the habit of getting up early!
January 3, 2011
January 2, 2011
Stats from WordPress for 2010
The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here's a high level summary of its overall blog health:
The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow.
Crunchy numbers
A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 3,400 times in 2010. That's about 8 full 747s.
In 2010, there were 114 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 240 posts. There were 47 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 73mb. That's about 4 pictures per month.
The busiest day of the year was May 5th with 54 views. The most popular post that day was First Royalty Statement.
Where did they come from?
The top referring sites in 2010 were facebook.com, sarajaynetownsend.weebly.com, absolutewrite.com, WordPress Dashboard, and wonkymonkeymusings.blogspot.com.
Attractions in 2010
These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.
1
First Royalty Statement May 2010
2 comments
2
About Me March 2009
2 comments
3
My Books January 2010
4
My Travels April 2009
5
The Muse Is Back July 2010
6 comments
So thanks, everyone, for reading – it really helps to know you're out there and you're interested. Thanks especially to Wonky Monkey, for sending traffic my way!
I hope I can continue to entertain you all through 2011.
