Analyse your successes

On the last day of 2011 you're probably pondering your resolutions for 2012.  It's a good idea to set some clear targets and goals for what you want to achieve with your writing... and WRITE them down.  If you write down your goals then:

1. There's little excuse for forgetting them.
2. You are more likely to focus on achieving goals which have been carved in ink.
3. Ticking them off once achieved is the BEST BIT.

But before you charge off and list pages and pages of wonderful goals it may help to dissect what happened in 2011.  It's human nature (or so I've been told) to focus on what went wrong - your  FAILURES.  Yet it can be even more valuable to assess what went right - your SUCCESSES.  Try and analyse:

1. What stories sold or did well in competitions - what themes, which magazines & competitions?
2. Where did your pitches get a good reception?
3. What themes/concepts were successful for your features/articles?

The indoor writer did all of them above - she listens to me - and found some interesting facts:

• Only wrote one article in 2011 (was concentrating on fiction).  Although it was instantly rejected by The Lady (the fastest rejection ever) the same piece later won a non-fiction article competition and earned its keep.  
• Second pitch to another magazine was successful (should come out 2012).

Conclusion:  Put more effort into pitching features.  Look for ideas - EVERYWHERE.
Goal for 2012: Pitch at least one feature a month.

• Flash fiction stories had greater success in competitions.
• Comic themed short stories did well in competitions.
• Did well in competitions which were specifically targeted i.e. researched previous winners, what judges liked, what did well, wrote new stories. 

Conclusion:  Flash fiction stories tended to be comic in tone - so write more comic pieces.  Continue to target competitions and always write NEW pieces for these.  

Goal for 2012: Target new competitions.  Enter up to 4 a month - write new stories whenever possible.

Phew, I think that's enough for now.  The indoor writer used to be a Team Manager so she can go on a bit about goal setting.  I'm signing off now before she starts on SMART objectives ... OINK!

12 Days of a LitPig Christmas: 7

On the 7th day of Christmas my LitPig brought to me ...

SEVEN KATE ATKINSON'S

SIX UNSUED COOKBOOKS

FIVE CRIME FESTS

FOUR DAVID MITCHELLS

THREE MARGARET ATWOODS

TWO HOMER SAGAS

and

A BOX SET OF ROALD DAHL BOOKS

Each day I want to share the writing of an author that I read for the first time in 2011.   These are my personal choices - you may know many of them, but perhaps one or two will be new to you ... So why not try a new author in 2012.  

July 2011:
ANITA SHREVE - Light on Snow

Anita's exquisite prose is mesmerising - the quality of her writing is something we all should aspire to.  This is a gentle story of a father and daughter who find a baby in the snow.  The baby's mother arrives into their lives and slowly the history of all the three main characters unfolds.  This is told from the 13 year-old girls viewpoint and is sometimes painfully sad, yet still ends on a hopeful note.  You really do feel you are immersed in a North American winter.  A truly beautiful book.


Other novels by Anita Shreve:

Past the island, Drifting(1975)

Eden Close(1989)

Strange fits of passion(1991)

Where or when(1993)

Resistance (1995)

The weight of water (1997)

The pilot’s wife(1998)

Fortune’s rock (1999)

The last time they met (2001)

Sea glass (2002)

All he ever wanted (2003)

Light on snow (2004)

A wedding in December (2005)

Body surfing (2007)

A Change in Altitude (2009)

Rescue (2010)

12 Days of a LitPig Christmas: 6

On the 6th day of Christmas my LitPig brought to me ...

SIX UNSUED COOKBOOKS

FIVE CRIME FESTS

FOUR DAVID MITCHELLS

THREE MARGARET ATWOODS

TWO HOMER SAGAS

and

A BOX SET OF ROALD DAHL BOOKS

Each day I want to share the writing of an author that I read for the first time in 2011.   These are my personal choices - you may know many of them, but perhaps one or two will be new to you ... So why not try a new author in 2012.  

June 2011:

MARCUS SEDGWICK - White Crow

This is marketed as a modern gothic novel and it really does what it says on the cover.  Again another past paced novel targeted for the Young Adult market but equally appealing to adults.  The chapters are very short, couple of pages maximum, and encourage you to keep reading. You know it will all end tragically, but there is a clever twist and he keeps you mesmerised to the very end.  This tells of the dysfunctional relationship between two girls in a gloomy seaside town.  It's based on a real village, which is slowly inch by inch falling into the sea and weaves in the gruesome story (again based on fact) of a nineteenth century clergyman who sought to determine if there is life after death.  His methods of research leave a lot to be desired - I'm not giving anything of the plot away so you'll have to go and read it for yourself...

Another great book by Marcus is 'The Foreshadowing'.  Written in the first person this story is told by a teenage girl living through the Great War.   Her life is complicated by her special talent, she has visions. The narrative and plot draw you in - another can't put down - and intriguingly the chapter numbers count backwards until the twist ending.  A very satisfactory read.  

Other novels by Marcus Sedgwick:

Floodland (2000)

The dark horse(2001)

Witch hill (2001)

The book of dead days (2003)

A christmas wish (2003)

Cowards (2003)

The dark flight down (2005)

The foreshadowing (2005)

My swordhand is singing (2006)

Blood red, snow white (2007)

The kiss of death (2008)

Revolver (2009)

White crow (2010)

Midwinterblood (2011)

12 Days of a LitPig Christmas: 5

On the 5th day of Christmas my LitPig brought to me ...

FIVE CRIME FESTS
FOUR DAVID MITCHELLS

THREE MARGARET ATWOODS

TWO HOMER SAGAS

and

A BOX SET OF ROALD DAHL BOOKS

Each day I want to share the writing of an author that I read for the first time in 2011.   These are my personal choices - you may know many of them, but perhaps one or two will be new to you ... So why not try a new author in 2012.  

April 2011:
HELEN DUNMORE - The Siege

I learned of Helen Dunmore from Jo Derrick's blog / website for The Yellow Room Magazine, as well as numerous other excellent women writers.  'The Siege' relives the siege of Leningrad (during WW2) through the lives of ordinary Russians.  I found Helen's prose simply exquisite, and many lines read like poetry.  I don't have a copy as this was borrowed from the library and wish I'd noted some of her most beautiful passages.  The hardships of the siege are realistically portrayed - there is very little romance in this novel even though it is a love story.  The sequel is 'The Betrayal' and one book on the list to read in 2012.
I also read her short story collection 'Ice Cream', which was a tasty mixture of humour and pathos.  Highly recommended.  


Other novels by Helen Dunmore:

Zennor in Darkness (1994)

Burning Bright (1994)

A spell of winter (1996)

Talking to the Dead (1996)

Your Blue-Eyed Boy (1998)

With your Crooked Heart (1999)

The Siege (2001) 

Mourning Ruby (2003)

House of Orphans (2006)

Counting the Stars (2008)

The Betrayal (2010)

Short story collections:

Love of Fat Men (1997)

Ice Cream (2001)

Rose, 1944 (2005)

12 Days of a LitPig Christmas: 4

On the 4th day of Christmas my LitPig brought to me ...

FOUR DAVID MITCHELLS

THREE MARGARET ATWOODS

TWO HOMER SAGAS

and

A BOX SET OF ROALD DAHL BOOKS

Each day I want to share the writing of an author that I read for the first time in 2011.   These are my personal choices - you may know many of them, but perhaps one or two will be new to you ... So why not try a new author in 2012.  

April 2011:

ALI SPARKES - Frozen in Time

In March as the indoor writer was finishing the first draft of her children's novel I discovered the excellent Ali Sparkes, also writing for 9+ age group.  'Frozen in Time' was voted Blue Peter Book of the Year for 2010 by the programme's viewers and is a fast paced 'super' read.  Ali clearly confesses this book as a homage to Enid Blyton, and though it does have many references to that style of writing and the 1950's it is definitely a modern children's book.  The premise is two children were frozen in the 1950's and accidentally thawed back to life in the present day.  The delight for an adult reader are the nostalgic references and the hilarious attempts of the children adjusting to the modern world - a landscape where their 1950's sensibilities and mode of speech mark them as the aliens.

I also went on to read: Finding the Fox (Shapeshifter 1) and Wishful Thinking.  Both page turners and fun stories.  Ali mixes humour with the genuine emotions & events experienced by children (grief, exclusion, parents divorce etc) and so far I've found her  books all accessible.  Much more fun than adult novels!

Other books by Ali Sparkes:
Miganium (a prequel to The Shapeshifter), Dark Summer, Frozen in time, Wishful thinking, the  Monster Makers series, S.W.I.T.CH. series, The Shapeshifter series

12 Days of a LitPig Christmas: 3

On the 3rd day of Christmas my LitPig brought to me ...

THREE MARGARET ATWOODS

TWO HOMER SAGAS

and

A BOX SET OF ROALD DAHL BOOKS

Each day I want to share the writing of an author that I read for the first time in 2011.   These are my personal choices - you may know many of them, but perhaps one or two will be new to you ... So why not try a new author in 2012.  

March 2011:
SUSAN HILL - The Small Hand

I read this ghost novella in almost one sitting.  The prose is elegantly simple, crisp and precise.  The atmosphere builds to a revelation ending, which though not traditionally scary leaves a chilly aftertaste.  I was stirred to read more of her ghost stories: The Man in the Picture, The Woman in Black (don't read this at night).  And plan to continue reading Susan Hill as I adore her succinct narrative style.  Many of her novellas are written in the first person and they read as if someone is right there telling you the tale.  The Woman in Black reads just like a nineteenth century novel, which takes great skill to pull off.  I'd seen a stage version and several TV versions of this book and had always assumed it had been written at the time of its setting, so was surprised to learn it was a relatively modern book.


Other novels by Susan Hill:

 The enclosure (1961) •  Do me a favour (1963) • Gentleman and ladies (1968) • A change for the better (1969) • I'm the king of the castle (1970) • Strange meeting (1971) •  The bird of night (1972) • In he springtime of the year (1973) •  The woman in black (1983) •  Air and angels (1991) • The mist in the mirror (1992) •   Mrs de Winter (1993) • The service of clouds (1997) • Corruption • The Going Down of the Sun •  The man in the picture (2007) • The Beacon (2008) • The Small Hand (2010)

Simon Serrailler crime novels:

The various haunts of men (2004) • The pure in heart (2005) • The risk of darkness (2006) • The vows of silence (2008) • Shadows in the Streets (2010) • The Betrayal of Trust (2011)

Short story anthologies:

 The albatross and other stories (1970) •  A bit of singing and dancing (1973) • Listening to the Orchestra (1997) •  The boy who taught the beekeeper to read (2003)

12 Days of a LitPig Christmas: 2

On the 2nd day of Christmas my LitPig brought to me ...

TWO HOMER SAGAS
and
A BOX SET OF ROALD DAHL BOOKS

Each day I want to share the writing of an author that I read for the first time in 2011.   These are my personal choices - you may know many of them, but perhaps one or two will be new to you ... So why not try a new author in 2012.  

February 2011:

PETER JAMES - Roy Grace series of detective novels

I started with Dead Tomorrow - picking this from the local village library - which isn't the first in the series.  Immediately I was hooked, perhaps because the location and settings were so familiar to me.  The finale of the book takes place at Manor house on the South Downs, which is literally 5 mins from us!  And of course Peter James famously lives in West Sussex, near Brighton, so knows the county well.   I can vouch that his locations are genuine, even down to the roundabouts and junctions he recalls during car chases!  

You don't have to read these in order, though there is a clear timeline running through the series, and I found it easy to catch up on the characters and history.  Yes, these crime thrillers do follow a formula but the writing is intoxicating.  The chapters are short and well paced so you simply fly through the novels, even though they are usually over 400 pages long.

WARNING: these books are addictive ... one is never enough.

Other titles in the Roy Grace series are:

• Dead Simple (2005)
• Looking Good Dead (2006)
• Not Dead Enough (2007)
• Dead Man's Footsteps (2008)
• Dead Tomorrow (2009)
• Dead Like You (2010)
• Dead Man's Grip (2011)