Jacqueline Ward's Blog, page 6

#100daysofwriting Day 11 and 12

Blue screen of death.

I was happily typing away when the blue screen appeared. It’s taken me two days and a lot of swearing to reset windows and reinstalled all my apps.

But during that time I managed to think about THE BIG PICTURE and if the overall concept of the novel was too cliched. I’ll take the risk. Not all is lost, just the last paragraph after auto save.

There is another lesson in this – don’t panic. At a different time in my life I would have just thrown the laptop in the bin and spent a lot of money on another one. Instead, I waited until i had calmed down then set to work going through the boot up options – to see the repair screen i had to turn the laptop on and off three times. It would not repair or restore, so I had to go for reset keeping data .

It did work and because all the programmes (or apps) were cloud based I was able to set it up again within a couple of hours. So the sliver lining is that I saved myself a lot of cash by being patient #eternaloptimist

And thank goodness for @dropbox

#amwriting #ampanicking #amfuckingfuming #amreinstalling

The post #100daysofwriting Day 11 and 12 appeared first on Jacqueline Ward.

#100daysofwriting 2019 Day 10

Change of scenery for today’s writing escapade.

I’m in London for my writing friend Anstey’ s book launch for The Truths and Triumphs of Grace Atherton.

I’m staying at a hotel in Bloomsbury very near to my publishers, and Bloomsbury is steeped in writing history. I walked around the area and soaked in the atmosphere then went to my favourite restaurant Yialousa Greek Taverna to eat and write before the party.

1203 words today

The post #100daysofwriting 2019 Day 10 appeared first on Jacqueline Ward.

#100daysofwriting 2019 Day 9

Desperately seeking… something.

One of my favourite films was Desperately Seeking Susan. I love #Madonna in that film so imagine my delight to discover these hairdryers at the swimming pool.

I went swimming today. It’s one of the places that I have my best ideas – I think it’s the focus on negotiating the lanes and other swimmers that empties my mind ready for new ideas to tumble in.

I was looking for the ‘end game’ for one of my characters today and it came to me as I swam. I didn’t dry my armpits on the dryer, but I was tempted

#100daysofwriting 2019 Day 8

I’m super-stressed today. A combination of things had lain me low with storm clouds until I am too anxious to write. I am not blocked, because the characters are still there and they are struggling to get on with the story, but if I try to write I may pass my anger onto the page.

But I am calming now, not enough to do my best work. Even so, I managed to escape into my main character and think about a scene later in the novel. Tomorrow is another #writing day.

#writinglife #amwriting #amfuming #amstressed

The post #100daysofwriting 2019 Day 8 appeared first on Jacqueline Ward.

#100daysofwriting 2019 Day 7

Writing. It’s what I’m here to do for 100 days

#100daysofwriting 2019 Day 6

Who do we think we are? What is out journey? Who do we become?

I’m an expert in identity construction which means the pieces of us that are built together to make who we are. I understand the theory of this, how the overarching narratives of society shape us, how we discuss them with each other in different forms, and how we internalize them into our own identities. I wanted to try something different.

I wanted one of the discussion forms to be the novel. So today I have been looking at the theme of my novel and how this influences the characters’ journeys – and how they end up.

The post #100daysofwriting 2019 Day 6 appeared first on Jacqueline Ward.

#100daysofwriting Day 5 2019

This morning I went shopping to Ashton-under-Lyne which is where Random Acts of Unkindness, my DS Jan Pearce series, is set. It reminded me of the struggles of finding time to write when you don’t even know if you book will be accepted.

I have a day job as well as writing and I have a family so planning is essential. It’s a huge amount of time commitment and a huge risk. But what is life without risk?

I spent an hour with a cup of tea planning how I will finish my current novel. How many words per day, per week, per month I will write. Then I set a target and an error margin

#100daysofwriting Day 4 2019

From little acorns… Thinking is underrated. The last few days have added depth to the theme of the novel and allowed me to chart the characters journeys on my plotting chart.

I was finally able to write the connecting piece that joins the last scene to the next critical scene and act 2.

My goal is to have my first draft of this novel by 3rd February – final touches to be added at my next writing retreat at Whalley Abbey along with my next screenplay.

The post #100daysofwriting Day 4 2019 appeared first on Jacqueline Ward.

#100daysofwriting day 2 and 3 2019

I’ve been thinking. And thinking isn’t writing, but it’s still part of the creative process. It’s also why writing a novel takes such a long time.

Sitting down and writing around 90k words is one huge commitment. But while you are writing there are those light bulb moments and those moments of dread that send you rushing back to the page.

Then, when the first draft is finished, there is more thinking and revising and redrafting. But this week is about thinking about the story and the characters and who they REALLY are.

The post #100daysofwriting day 2 and 3 2019 appeared first on Jacqueline Ward.

#100daysofwriting Day 1 2019

I’m starting #100daysofwriting today! I’m about 40k into a novel and for #100daysofwriting I’m working on the rest. Today I started my new notebook and plotted some different scenarios to see how they worked.

Join me!

The post #100daysofwriting Day 1 2019 appeared first on Jacqueline Ward.