My thoughts about books, writing, life and so many other things….Judy Leigh/ Elena Collins.
Recently an author-friend of mine said a novel she’d written had been refused by a publisher because there were four central protagonists, which they said was three too many. There is a template in romantic comedy that requires one heroine, someone with a problem that needs to be solved, one handsome male who might do …
Recently, a soap opera storyline focusing on domestic abuse had me cringing with horror. The husband threw his dinner in the bin because the wife did not put any meat in the dish. The reason for this was because he controls how much she spends on food and she didn’t have enough money; he holds …
Continue reading The one about the tortured wife, the chicken and the empathy muscle
Each novel I write seems to follow a pattern at the beginning up to the point where I decide I’ll definitely write it. If it doesn’t pass this stage, then it doesn’t happen. First of all, I have an initial idea and, for the idea to take shape, it has to grab my interest really …
Continue reading What I’m writing at the moment and the 30,000-word test
When I first began writing A Grand Old Time, I was a master’s student. A 30,000-word opening to a novel plus a 20,000-word analytical document wasn’t a great ordeal. I’ve never been troubled by a word count. However, despite researching a range of novelists and considering their advice about writing, I was a novice and …
I always write a synopsis for my novel before I write the novel itself. There are two basic reasons for this: one is to communicate what I’m doing to the people I work alongside, so that they know what I’m writing. If my agent or publisher’s response was: ‘Really? Are you mad?’ then I’d trust …
Continue reading What the book I’m currently writing is about…
Authors read a lot – it’s part of our continued professional development, if you like. But it’s more than that – reading’s an obsession. I learned to read at three years old– my mum taught me and I was a receptive learner – I would read everything from cereal boxes and advertising hoardings to any …
Continue reading Novelists and Tour de France riders have something in common…
The sun’s out. It’s got me thinking. I’m spending too much time indoors at the computer. Isolation and summer sunshine don’t go together. I need to drag myself away from the next novel. But it’s a writer’s lot, hunched at the desk, eyes on the screen, typing just one more line, just one more chapter. …
Continue reading It’s so easy to slip into the antisocial writer stereotype …
I decided to have a couple of weeks away from writing. It was a simple idea - it was summer time, so I'd write nothing, just let the summer shine in through the mind’s window and the brain bask in the warmth. After all, I have three new novels more or less completed – maybe …
Continue reading Sometimes what’s outside affects what’s inside: on nature and inspiration
Here is a short story about telegraph poles, recently read so well on Dartington Arts Radio by my friend, talented actor Julie Mullen. I wrote it as a member of a writing group, where I've met so many other brilliant writers and artists. As a writer, I think it's a real privilege to belong to …
Continue reading Short story about telegraph poles, read by Julie on the radio
Before I wrote my first novel, I used to think that ninety thousand words was quite a lot. Many people tell me that it’s a horrendous amount of work – I often hear people gasp when I say ‘I’m about half way through – I’ve done fifty thousand words…’ It isn’t that bad at all. …
Continue reading When a novel is finished, the editing starts…
That quintessence of dust 