Novel Writing Day #2

Still working on the foundations, so to speak. I'll have another day tweaking them and making sure everything is in order before I can start writing the novel in earnest.

Oh, I feel quite giddy with excitement. :)

Queryshark

I'm addicted to Queryshark. What is that, you say? It is a query letter critiquing blog run by a literary agent. Check it out.

Novel Writing Day #1

Today I started writing my novel. Well, not writing exactly but working on it. Most people tend to agree that novelists are divided into two types.

1. The kind who wing it, writing by the seat of their pants and hoping it will turn out ok. Those who follow this method feels it frees their creativity and any structure problems or inconsistencies can be fixed in the second, third and subsequent drafts.

2. The second type of novelist plans everything in great detail before starting to write their book. Every character, setting, plot point and scene is meticulously researched, planned and graphed. They find that by putting the ground work in before they start writing it makes the experience more enjoyable, the quality better and the number of rewrites fewer.

I have used both methods and found pros and cons for each. Writing with the sketchiest of ideas can be great fun. There is the thrill of making it up as you go along, of discovering characters and plot twists that you could never have foreseen and every day brings new discoveries. However, this is only when things are going well. It is very easy to write yourself into a corner and even when you finish on a high note, you can end up endlessly rewriting it to make it into something interesting.

I would naturally be the more prepared kind of author. I like to write out pages of plot outline, character profiles and sketches, genealogies, maps, graphs, chapter breakdowns and calendars detailing how much work should be done each day. This usually works quite well but writing the novel can become tedious and, if you haven't written your outline properly, it can become too restrictive.

I have recently discovered that my pre-novel preparation may not be helping me as much as I thought. Yes, I write pages of plot but it is actually mostly background rather than action. And those character profiles, complete with drawings and family trees? Well, they tell me a lot about where the characters come from but not that much about why they do the things they do.

I thought I would start this novel out on the write foot (heehee) and try not one but two different novel preparation techniques. Today I went with the snowflake method, more especially the snowflake method as outlined by Randy Ingermanson. This way you start with describing your novel in a sentence, than a paragraph and expand up from there. Tomorrow I will use the synopsis method as work shopped by Kathy Carmichael.

It'll be interesting to see if these methods help me produce a novel that is snapped up by a publisher in no time.

In case you are wondering, I've decided to go with the fantasy. Working title: Gift. Thanks for all the comments. :)

Novel Writing

Part of my plan for this year includes writing two novels, one of which I started in January while on writing retreat and then decided to shelve due to the comments I received (you remember the young adult versus adult debate, no? Well, maybe I didn't tell you about it then).

My plan also includes getting into the HWA (can put a tick against that) and applying for membership of the SFWA (still to be completed).

Anyway, back to the novels. I really have to start writing them if I am to draft, rewrite, edit and submit two novels this year. I have an outline for a fantasy novel and one for a horror (which, thanks to Shadowthorne's comment the other day has been fleshed out nicely). I'm going to blog about writing the novel because a) I think it will act as a much needed mental plunger and b) I thought you might find it interesting.

Now to decide which idea I want to work on first. Hmmmm.

I Need Chuck

Some technical problems have cropped up for me in the last day or two; Areas on my website I want to fix but don't know how, my humbling inability to podcast, my almost complete and utter lack of html know how. I have come to the conclusion I need Chuck, or someone from the Nerd Herd, although preferably not Jeffster. In fact DEFINITELY not Jeffster. The thing is, do these people exist in real life and will they fix my computer woes for free?

Podcast Problems

Blogger told me Podcasts were easy. I thought they might be fun. Now I know they're not. I did exactly as they told me, but it didn't turn out as I had hoped. Therefore, I will leave the Podcasts at the moment and post this link for anyone interested in listening to it. It is an audio version of my horror story, 'Who's for Dinner?', first published in Alienskin Magazine. Iseult Murphy (c) 2008.

Who's for Dinner.wma

What car?

Pinky let me borrow her Megane Coupe convertible the other day. Man, that is a nice car to drive (Pinky's model not pictured). I'm used to driving the Clio and, while it is a decent car, I had forgotten what a difference the extra price tag makes. Smooth road holding, excellent suspension, feather light controls, automatic lights, key card ignition. I could drive that car all day. Yeah, Baby. It reminded me that driving can also be fun, something I'd forgotten since my accident.

Writing Smiting

Naturally enough I haven't been very productive on the writing front of late. Short stories have languished and novel ideas have grown cold on the back burner. I had great fun yesterday making up graphs comparing my acceptance rate this year to last year. Valpot commented that it was good to have a way to pass the time that didn't involve writing. I agreed heartily.

Hang on a minute, isn't there something wrong here?

Last week as I sat in front of a blank word document, the cursor blinking sulkily, I felt bunged up creatively. 'If only I could get mental Draino to unclog my brain,' I thought 'I'd be writing with gusto again.'

Then it hit me. Duh! I've got writer's block. Thought I had it before, but never realised it could feel like a physical presence in my psyche. I really feel as if a part of my mind - that creative centre lodged somewhere between the Hypothalamus and the Pituitary - has a U-Bend all clogged up with nasty grey sludge and long black hairs and nothing can get through that wall of soap scum. The ideas still pop up, but without creative flow they got caught and well up in my imagination, making a messing puddle all over my subconscious without ever getting to my conscious mind, let alone my typing fingers.

Maybe it is because I am not passionate enough about any of the story ideas I have at the moment, I try to rationalise.

Bah.

What I need is a mental plunger, a subconscious chemical so powerful it can cleanse my ego and id - or a hatchet. Whichever comes to hand first.

So many choices!

As I mentioned yesterday, the latest BIP is encouraging me to join a social networking/media site and use it to promote my blog and build connections. I decided to do some research into the different social media outlets available to me, as there are so many. Here are the ones I thought sounded most interesting:-

1. Twitter - Twitter is a text based social media site, often called the 'SMS of the Internet'. People communicate with 140 character long messages or 'tweets', which are updated during the day (think of the Facebook status bar and nothing else). It sounds like it wouldn't be too time consuming to take part in and a lot of agents and publishers appear to be using it.

2. Helium - Writers are paid for contributing articles which are then peer reviewed, the highest rated articles receiving the most money. As recently as last month a range of social networking features have been added to the existing writing and reviewing functions. I am already a member of Helium (a very absent member) and I found it quite time consuming to write and review articles that I would only get pennies for when I could be writing stories for bigger paying markets, but perhaps I missed the point and should give it another go.

3. Friendster - A social networking site focused on helping people make new friends. One of the first of these sites, it predates Myspace and Facebook (although they seem to have a lot of features in common with it). I like the idea of the fan profiles you can set up to draw more attention to yourself.

4. Ning - A place where you can make up your very own social networking site within the easy to use templates of the Ning banner. Sounds fun - but what would my social networking site be about?

5. Digg - People share stories (from the web) and vote on the ones they like (dig) or dislike (bury). The most digged (dug?) stories every day are displayed on the front page of the site.

Blog Improvement Project

I popped by the Blog Improvement Project site today and - oh dear - I really have missed a lot in my absence. There have been carnivals (social media ones, I'm not sure if they are more or less fun than ones with candy floss and geeks) and getting back to blog basics and I'm still stuck on brainstorming! Oops.

I'm going to take the next few weeks to get up to date with the project and help inject some much needed life into me and my blog. However, before then I need your help.

The latest task is to pick a social networking site and sign on. I'm not quite sure, my brain seems to have turned to spun sugar (too much thinking about carnivals), but there was mention of stalking authors and celebrities and promoting your blog on a social networking platform.

The thing is, I've tried Myspace and Facebook and I don't know, I feel as out of place on the virtual social networking scene as I do in the real life version.

This is where I need your help. Do I return to my neglected profiles on the above mentioned sites and try to promote the hec out of my blog, or do I boldly go where no Inkpot has gone before - and if so, where? Twitter? Bebo? Facespace? Ahhhh!

Thoughts and suggestions much appreciated (I might even put up a poll).

Happy Sunday.

Invisible Ink

Last year my short story 'All in the Family' was published in Invisible Ink 2. The anthology published the chosen stories anonymously and readers, when they were finished, were meant to log onto the website and vote for their favourite story. After six months, the story with the most votes would win £1000 and a publication deal with Baineth Publications (publishers of Invisible Ink).

The voting for Invisible Ink 2 closed in December 2008 and for months I've been hopping over to Baineth to see whether the winners of the competition had been announced.

Last week I received an email from the proprietor of Baineth Publications, Fiona Foster. Unfortunately, due to serious health problems, she has had to cancel the competitions and close down the publishing house.

I'm sorry to hear this, more for Fiona's sake than for mine. I don't mind not winning the £1000 and publication deal (although I could do with the money) but I am disappointed I don't know how many votes I got. Vanity, I know, but there you go. Even an inkpot isn't immune to ego. Perhaps it is better I don't know.

Iseult Murphy Dot Com

I've done some revamping to my website - streamlining and updating, that sort of thing. I'd really appreciate it if you would pop over to it (click here) and let me know what you think.

Thanks.

Inky.

Horror Writers Association

Every little girl has a dream. For some it is to own a pony or win a beauty pageant. Mine was to become a member of the Horror Writer's Association.

Finally, that day has come.

Thanks to my publications in Necrotic Tissue and the forthcoming Sonar 4 Anthology, I have qualified for associate membership in the HWA (does that make me a AMHWA?). I can't describe to you the thrill of being in the same organisation as, among others, Dean Koontz, Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson and Stephen King. I've been wriggling, giggling, squirming and jumping with delight ever since I heard the good news.

Now to get the book deal that will qualify me for full membership. Better write the book first, I guess!

Is there anybody there?

After my long absence, I know it is not very likely.

If there is anyone reading this, I want to apologise for not posting. I've been ill and, on top of that, I got eaten by my pet cloud, Fluffy. For any Futurama watchers out there, think of the horrible gelatinous blob, but with a cloud. And then, when I thought I was getting back on my feet I had a relapse!!!

Thank you Miss Panda for guest blogging. You did a great job. Pity I asked you to cut your stay short.

To my loyal followers - thank you.

To any new comers, please stick around. I hope it will be worth your while.

And while you are here (if any of you are) please let me know what you think of the little changes I've made to the space (the new header and the tweaked colour scheme). Love it or hate it, let me know.

je ne regrette pas

Dear Angels

I got an email from Inkpot today. The good news she is feeling a lot better. I’m sending lots of hugs and positive energy to you, Inkpot.

She wants to get back to blogging so this is my last post. I really enjoyed my week here. Thank you for giving me the chance to try out your blog, Angel. And thank you too, readers and commenters. It has been a blast.

Went to Watchmen last night. NOT my kind of movie. If it is going to be about real issues, I prefer a movie to be set in a real setting and not have nutcases in Lycra running about and a glowing blue naked man. Then again, I’m not into superheroes or comic books. Phil LOVED it. He said I ‘didn’t get it’ and am not ‘deep enough’ to understand Alan Moore’s genius. What? Me, not deep? I’m so deep I’m shallow!

To get him back I’m posting this picture of him. He doesn’t like me talking about him on the interweb.




I think I understand why people blog now. I’m away next week on a shoot, but when I get back I’m going to pick your brains Inkpot on how to set up my own blog.

Au revoir

Miss Panda

Let me entertain you

Work is mental at the moment. We’re organising shoots for two big commercials coming up and I’m on the phone all day to location scouts, the wardrobe department, director’s P.A’s, agent’s P.A’s, etc. I’ll probably have a cauliflower ear by this evening.

I’m eating lunch at my desk today so I thought I would write my entry while I munch. I have to be careful I don’t get mayonnaise on the keyboard. It stinks out the office for a week when I do.
I’m going to the cinema tonight. The BF has been gagging to see Watchmen. It is NOT my kind of movie, but he went to see Mamma Mia with me (the first time) so I think I owe him.

My topic today is celebrities. The job I have I occasionally get to meet some ‘celebrities’. I don’t have much to do with them because I am little more than a glorified runner, but I have shaken hands with a couple of stage and screen actors and the odd sports star.

Ireland is a very small country. Unless you have lived here you can’t appreciate how small it is, and everyone in Dublin has a celebrity story.

One night I went for drinks in the Clarence with some of the girls after work. I went up to the bar to get a round in. I find it always pays to get the first round. People remember it because they aren’t too plastered to forget and it gets your obligation out of the way.

There was this bloke sitting at the bar wearing a pair of sunglasses. I thought he might be blind or something. Anyway, he starts chatting to me, asking me what I thought of the place and where I worked, stuff like that. I’m used to being chatted up. Men take one look at my voluptuous panda curves and round black eyes and fall upon me. I suppose because I am exotic – and also very cute. This guy was not my type and I was so not interested in flirting with him. He was too old, for one thing, but he looked really familiar. I thought he might have been a friend of my dad’s. He seemed pleasant and he wasn’t being too overly friendly, more polite, so I didn’t give him the brush off.

We talked for about five minutes, and it kept niggling at the back of my furry brain pan that I knew this guy and he probably recognised me and thought how rude I was for not remembering him. Then the barman came up and took my order and I went back to the girls. They were whispering and giggling so I asked them what the joke was.

“That was Bono you were talking to.”

I thought he looked familiar! Luckily I know his music better than his face. He is a sound guy.

Love and light

Miss Panda

What's black and white and red all over?

Miss Panda after her workout.

It was a hard session tonight. I wanted nothing more than to leave work and go home to the salmon steak waiting for me in the fridge. Whisk up a nice salad, pour a cool glass of chardonnay to accompany it and who can ask for anything more? It had to wait however, and still does, because after writing this I have to shower and then, if I still have the will to live, I’ll make my dinner.

Some answers to your questions. What does BF stand for? Boy friend, as in boy (or male) who is my friend (as in romantic relationship rather than platonic). His name is Phil and he is a gorilla. Yes, you might think it strange that a panda is going out with a gorilla, but if I were to wait for a male panda to come along I’d be a skeleton before he made the first move. Do you know that male pandas don’t know the first thing about flirting? All they do is sit around and eat bamboo all day. Then again, bamboo only gives you enough energy to sit around and eat bamboo. That’s why I stick to salmon, and chardonnay.

Second question, sort of. What am I doing in Ireland; shouldn’t I be back in China? I am so sick of this question. I AM IRISH. Yes, I am a panda but my parents moved to Ireland before I was born and it says I’m an Irish citizen on my passport. So there.

Back to my workout.

One of the benefits of the (now over) economic boom in Ireland is that lots of different types of gyms have opened up. There is the gym for the beautiful people, the mirror less gym for the ugly people and the do it at home computer game gym for the person who doesn’t really want to work out at all. Most gyms come with pools these days – and they are heated, indoor pools, no more jumping in the 50ft for you. There is aqua aerobics, slimming programmes, personal trainers, Pilates, yoga, yogalates (and then there are cafe lattes, my favourite).

Like most people, I enthusiastically sign up to a gym membership in January, work out every day until my fur sticks together, and cancel my membership in March because the last time I went was before Valentine’s Day when I wanted to fit into that slinky red number. This year, because every penny has to count, I have been going religiously three times a week. I’m paying for it so by god I’m going to get my money’s worth.

But why waste your money on a gym at all, Miss Panda? Good question. You might think my cuddly physique comes naturally, but you would be wrong. It takes a lot of hard work to look this darn cute and adorable. Sure, if I sat around doing nothing but eat bamboo all day I would stay naturally rotund, but because I eat high energy foods like salmon and spend most of my day sitting at a desk making phone calls, I would soon balloon into a shape more commonly found on a Blue Whale if I didn’t exercise. That’s why I have to go to the gym.

The variety of gyms isn’t the only thing to have changed in Ireland. It used to be that health food meant you cleaned the dirt off your spud before you cooked it. Now every supermarket has a health food section with nuts and whole grains. Most large supermarkets have at least one shop selling herbal supplements and things with strange sounding names like msn that are supposed to make you feel better.

Of course it also means that now there is a Chinese herbalist and acupuncturist in every shopping centre and that is certainly a very good thing. I hope they manage to survive the downturn and that people appreciate their true value, rather than thinking of them as luxuries.

Miss Panda

Beannachtai na Feile Padraig

Happy St Patrick’s Day. I hope you had fun drowning the Shamrock. I certainly did. The BF, me and some friends watched the parade on telly and played a drinking game every time a marching band came on. Hurrah! It was fun. Of course, there was also the obligatory green Guinness. I’m not a Guinness drinker usually, but I’m a patriotic panda and make sure I have a pint (or at least a sip of the BF’s pint) on St Patrick’s Day.

Dublin city centre closes down for the day so the parade can – er – parade through the streets. I used to be involved with it when I was part of Youth Drama Ireland. It was great craic. You could make good money painting shamrocks and Irish flags onto the faces of the kids watching the floats (actually, I should have done that again this year, I’m a bit strapped for cash).

I gather I went on too much yesterday. I’m a bit like a charging rhino once I get going, so I’ll try to keep it brief this evening. I have to get ready for work tomorrow, so it is no harm if I keep this short.

As promised I’m going to talk about religion. You may have heard that Irish people are very spiritual people. We are. We love whiskey and brandy and vodka and gin. I’m very fond of Baileys myself. Baileys and ice, Baileys coffee, Baileys cheesecake (not sure if Baileys is a spirit or a liqueur).

Today being St Patrick’s Day, the Irish people filled the streets to pay homage to their national saint in the usual places of worship. In the city centre these are mainly Grafton Street (Southside, therefore a good place)

and Henry Street (Northside). In the outer reaches of the city there are places like the Dundrum Town Centre, Liffey Valley and Blanchardstown.

It is actually nice to see the shops so full of people again. Christmas it was like a ghost town. I know the recession has hit people pretty hard. A lot of my friends have been given their marching orders.

Tomorrow I am going to talk about health and fitness. I think a visit to the gym is due after all the chocolate and alcohol I indulged in today.

Slan

Miss Panda

Hello Blogosphere

Hello Angels, I’m your substitute blogger for the week and you can call me Miss Panda. My first day on the job and I barely got my post in on time. Inkpot didn’t tell you anything about me, so I better introduce myself. I’m a Dublin girl, born and bred. I work in the entertainment industry. I met Inkpot a while ago at an audition. I don’t have a blog (although I have lurked) and I’m interested to try one on for size. As far as you are concerned, I’m about 5ft 6, am covered in black and white fur and have the round cuddly body of a panda. However, don’t be taken in by my looks. I have very powerful jaws and long claws on my paws (but mostly I look cute).
I thought I would spend the week telling you a bit about life in Ireland – or more specifically Dublin. My plan is to take a different aspect of Irish life and write about it every day. Today my topic is politics.
You may or may not know that Ireland is a Republic. That means it doesn’t have a king or queen and is run by a group of ugly bullying school teachers who like to give us lots of homework (aka raise our taxes) and slap us for being naughty (aka voting against their wishes in a referendum).
The country is split into 32 counties, 6 of which don’t belong to the Republic (and therefore don’t exist). The most important county is Dublin, because that’s where all the interesting people live, especially in the Southside. The city is divided by the River Liffey into the Northside (ugh) and the Southside. The people of the Northside and the Southside have been locked in battle since the Vikings first invented Dublin about a thousand years ago, but recently efforts have been made to bring peace and reconciliation. Landsdown Road (in the Southside) used to be where all the Rugby matches and interesting concerts were staged until the Bullies (I mean Government) shut it down for “refurbishment” and forced the rugger crowd to move to the Northside and play in Croke Park (home of the GAA – you know, Gaelic football and hurling and stuff like that). It was supposed to bring the two sides of the city together in their equal love of sport. The jury is still out on whether it succeeded or not.
The headmaster of the bullies is called the Taoiseach (pronounced Tea-Shock) and is always a member of the Fianna Fail party. There used to be other political parties but Fianna Fail lackeys planted body snatcher pods in their green houses and took them over.
As well as the Tee-Shock, Ireland also has a President. This was installed by the first Tea-Shock, the devil – oops, I mean DeVelara. He loved being given a salary by the state so much that he invented the need for a president and set himself up for the rest of his life. Since then several more ugly beggars have managed to get looked after by us poor students (I mean taxpayers).
Unlike places like the U.S, our president is nothing more than a well paid puppet that has to attend show jumping festivals and occasionally gets to shake hands with real presidents and important people. Unfortunately puppets do very well in Ireland and tend to take over our TV shows as well as our cushy political positions (Google Podge and Rodge if you don’t believe me).
The president lives in a big house in Phoenix Park called Aras an Uachtarain (which roughly translates as something about ice cream).

Phoenix Park is one of the biggest enclosed parks in the world and is bigger than Hyde Park in London and Central Park in New York.
Dail Eireann is where the Tea-Shock and his minions hang out. It is located somewhere near the President’s house. Here is a picture of our current Tea-Shock, Brain Cowan.

Once a president has filled her seven score years in office she can look forward to a large pension to keep her in the comfort she has grown accustomed to for the rest of her life. Once a Tea-Shock is finished wringing the country dry and selling his soul to Europe for a handful of beans, he can look forward to a retirement full of tribunals and being asked questions like “How much exactly was in those brown envelopes people kept on handing you while you were in office?”
I hoped you enjoyed your lesson about Ireland and its political system. There will be a written exam at the end of the week to see how much you took in.
As tomorrow is St Patrick’s day I thought I would tackle the subject of religion.
Slan
Miss Panda

Guest Blogging

Dear readers, thank you for your patience over the last couple of weeks. I'm really touched by your perseverance and comments. Unfortunately I am not yet up to returning to running the Inkpot Files. Therefore, I have enlisted the help of a friend to give you something to read during the next few days. I met her recently after moving to Dublin. She doesn't have her own blog (I think she is a little afraid of the Internet) but when she heard I wasn't so well she was keen to see what it is like to be a blogger. I will let her introduce herself to you tomorrow. She has told me some of her ideas for the week and I think they sound good. I hope you like them too. This is the first time I have had someone guest blog for me so I am interested to see how it pans out.

Hopefully I will be back up to speed by next week.