The Day My Life Changed Direction

My post today is to commemorate the week, five years ago, when my life changed.

It was a Friday - the last day of the February half term - and, after a lovely week off, I was preparing to go back to work the following Monday. Instead, I had a message to come into the school for a meeting.

I'd been the English teacher at the small, private primary school for ten years and it was unusual to be called in on the last day of our break. I'm not sure if I had a premonition of what was to come as I drove to the school that morning and took my seat with the other teachers and support staff... but everything seemed wrong. It was too quiet, with none of the usual back to school chatter. Faces were serious. Eyes wary.

The news, when it came, was devastating. The school hadn't weathered the recession and was to close. There would be no job to go back to and no classes for the children.

I remember the following Monday as clearly as if it happened yesterday... going into school, collecting up my things, taking down children's work from the display boards and leaving them bare. Most of all, I remember saying goodbye to the children gathered in the hallway to collect their work and trying not to cry.

When I got home, I walked the dog along the river bank. It was a lovely clear day but instead of taking in the beauty of the place, the river meandering through the water meadows and the South Downs in the distance, my thoughts flicked back and forth from what had been, to what might be. I had no direction. On the one hand I felt relief at having left behind the parts of my job all teachers hate: preparing, marking, occasional challenging children, parents evenings and the dreaded OFSTED but I had also left behind my identity. I was adrift.

For those of you who know the rest of the story, I apologise. For my new readers, I will tell you what happened next in a sentence. I did a writing course, I did a second, I sent a story to magazines, I had rejections, I had acceptances, I carried on, I wrote more, I subbed more, I had rejections, I published more, I wrote a serial, I wrote another, I had rejections, I wrote articles, I wrote a novel, I had rejections, I had words of encouragement, I didn't give up, I had belief, I had hope, I have a new life opening up to me - exciting, challenging.

Five years ago, through adversity, my life took a new new direction.

I didn't find it. It found me.

I'm proud of myself.

I am a writer.

Ghost Stories Don't Need to be Scary

I always used to think that ghost stories should be scary - probably something to do with watching too much Scooby Doo as a child! It was only after I actually sat down to write one, that I realized they don’t have to be spine-chilling. In fact, ghost stories can be romances, family tales, comedy even – not necessarily something dark and gothic.

This week, in Take a Break Fiction Feast, I have a ghost story called ‘Hearts in the Sand’ and I thought I’d use it as an example of how to write a non-scary ghost story.

Feeling lonely after the death of her husband, Kevin, Julie moves to the seaside town where they had been planning to retire. It was a place Kevin had stayed as a child. A place very special to him.

While walking on the beach one day, Julie sees a child drawing hearts in the sand. The little girl, who says her name is Ella, the tries to engage her in conversation but Julie wants to be alone with her sadness. Ella tells Julie she loves the beach and asks her whether she does too. When Julie shakes her head, the little girl draws another heart and says, ‘I’ll teach you how.’

The following day, the child is on the beach again and Julie is irritated when she asks her once more if she loves the beach. Unperturbed by Julie's unfriendliness, Ella shows her a beautiful coral sea fan. The same thing happens on the following days with Ella showing Julie new things from the beach: a sea potato, a tiny velvet crab, an oystercatcher. The little girl continues to ask Julie if she loves the beach but, despite being shown all the wonderful things it has to offer, she can’t see beyond her loneliness.

Over the coming days, Julie notices the girl is looking increasingly pale and out of breath and worries she’s unwell. Ella tells Julie she lives in one of the cottages at the back of the beach. As Julie looks, a woman comes out and she presumes it’s the girl’s grandmother. She says she’ll take Ella back home but when she gets there Ella isn’t behind her.

The woman, Elizabeth, who is also widowed, invites Julie in. She tells Julie she’s seen her around town and had wondered whether she was new to the area. There is a photo on the wall with a little girl in it who Julie recognizes as Ella. She’s sitting on the beach with a boy. When Julie tells Elizabeth she’s met her granddaughter, we find out that the girl in the picture is not her granddaughter at all but Elizabeth’s sister, Ella, who died of leukemia when she was nine. The little boy is Julie’s husband, Kevin, who used to stay in the cottage with his family when it was a guesthouse. They had both loved the beach and Kevin used to show Ella all the beautiful and interesting things he found there.

At the end of the story, we realise Ella was in fact a ghost. Through her, Kevin was able to help his wife fall in love with the place - by showing her the things that were special to him. A well as that, Ella and Kevin had helped Julie find a new friend in Elizabeth.

So you see, it’s not necessary for a ghost story to be scary – this one was in fact a story about love.

Here were some techniques I used to write the story:

An interesting setting

Whether a ghost story is to be scary or not, you need to create atmosphere. I chose a beach (one of my favorite story settings). Whatever setting you use, remember to use all your senses in your descriptions.

Make sure your ghost has a reason or motive for existing

My ghost, Ella, was a vehicle for Julie’s late husband to help her to fall in love with her new home. She was also integral in helping Julie banish her loneliness..

Give the reader clues about the ghost

Obviously, we don’t want to give the game away too soon but we want the reader to look back and say ‘Oh, yes – now I see!’

These clues might be in the ghost’s appearance or maybe in something they say. Here are the clues I left in Hearts in the Sand.

• It’s a cold day when Julie first meets Ella. She is wearing gloves but the child’s hands are bare and she doesn't seem to feel the cold. Later, Julie comments on the fact that Ella's only wearing a woolen dress and no coat.
• Julie is surprised that she’s out on the beach alone.
• Julie wonders why she’s not at school.
• I mention Ella’s pale hair and the blue veins showing beneath the skin of her wrist.
• Ella climbs the rocks easily despite mention of her frailty.
• From the window of her house, Julie thinks she sees Ella on the beach despite the rain.
• When she gets to Elizabeth’s gate, Ella is no longer there.

There you have it. Ghost stories don’t need to scare. Have you written a ghost story? If so, what techniques did you use?

Spread a Little Happiness - Inspiration Behind the Story

It's a while since I wrote an 'inspiration behind the story' post so thought I'd share one with you today. I am lucky to have four stories out in magazines this week: one in The People's Friend weekly, one in Take a Break Fiction Feast and two in The People's Friend Special. Interestingly, they are all very different - one is a ghost story, one is a medieval romance set in France and one is a contemporary story about temptation.

The final story, though, is about one of my favourite things - my grandson. He is the inspiration behind Spread a Little Happiness, which you can read in this week's People's Friend.

It all began when Tyler, had an inset day from school and I agreed to look after him as my daughter was working. It wasn't a particularly nice day but I thought it would be nice for the two of us to go on an outing. It needed to be somewhere where we could shelter if the weather got worse and one which had a cafe where we could have lunch. A place sprang to mind immediately - somewhere where I used to take my daughters when they were children. Amberley Working Museum. Its set in a 36 acre site in the Sussex Downs National Park and is one of those wonderful places that looks rather random and scruffy but is actually a wonderful hotchpotch of things to look at and explore: traditional craftspeople, a printing workshop, transport exhibitions, a narrow-gauge railway and vintage buses to travel on.

Because it was out of season, a school day and rather rainy, the place was deserted when we got there. It was also midday and we were feeling rather peckish. Luckily the museum had a lovely new cafeteria called The Limeburners which we decided would be perfect. Tyler and I chose our sandwiches and settled down to enjoy them while we waited for the rain to stop. The place was practically empty - except for an elderly couple at a table nearby.

I was just taking a bite of my sandwich when Tyler pulled at my sleeve. His eyes shone with excitement. 

"There's Grandpa in My Pocket!"

"What?" I said, confused.

"That man in the raincoat. He's Grandpa in My Pocket! He's on television."

I have to confess that I'd never heard of the programme but the man's voice sounded familiar. Where had I heard it before? It came to me then - the voice was from one of The Likely Lads. Might James Bolam also be Grandpa in My Pocket? Under cover of the table I googled his name and yes, Tyler was right, Grandpa in My Pocket was sitting just a table away. 

Now my grandson is a very friendly soul and immediately wanted to introduce himself to the man himself. I, on the other hand, was conscious of the fact that James Bolam and his wife were probably wanting a nice quiet day out so I wouldn't let him go over to talk to them.

We had a lovely day but all Tyler could talk about, when we got home, was seeing Grandpa in My Pocket. I started to feel a bit guilty. What harm would it have done to have let him say hello? Too late now though. I'd have to think of another way to make amends.

"How about I write a story about you and me and Amberley Museum? It won't be real, it will be made up, but in this story, you'll get to meet Grandpa in My Pocket. I'll send it to the magazine I write for and one day, hopefully, you'll be able to read it. Would that make up for not actually meeting him."

His eyes lit up. "My own story?"

"Yes. Just for you... and over a hundred thousand other people."

"Ok," he said.

So I wrote it, subbed it and sold it. The boy in my story is called Taylor, Amberley Museum has become Tambury Open Air Museum and Grandpa in My Pocket is now Grandpa Joe. The fabulous illustration is by Mandy Dixon.

Today, Tyler went with me to the shops. We bought the magazine and he got to read his very own story... well I did promise him, didn't I? Luckily he loved it!

Do Writers Really Need Social Media? - Guest Post Anita Chapman

Today, I am very pleased to welcome onto my blog writer and Social Media Manager, Anita Chapman. As writers, it's impossible to escape social media: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and the good old blog to name but a few. Like it or hate it, social media is here to stay and it's something we need to embrace if we want to be able to engage with our readers and other writers. The only problem is, it's a minefield out there. When interviewing Anita, there were so many questions I wanted to ask her - Which social media platforms should we be on? How should we manage our time? How easy is it to upset someone by doing the wrong thing? I decided the best thing to do was to think of some questions writers new to social media might ask and see it Anita could help. Here are her answers. 

Thank you so much for inviting me to be a guest on your fantastic blog, Wendy, and for asking such great questions on behalf of your fictional friends!

You're very welcome, Anita. Can you tell us a little more about neetsmarketing and why you set it up?

I decided to become a Freelance Social Media Manager when, because I was managing the social media for the Historical Novel Society, some authors who I knew were asking me for advice online and at events. In December 2014, Ian Skillicorn asked me to manage the social media for Corazon Books for a couple of weeks, then I built a website (which I plan to have rebuilt soon), and everything else followed from there. I ran two Social Media Courses for Writers in Surrey last year and my next course will be in London on 7 May. The neetsmarketing blog was initially intended to be a place where potential clients could see if I’d be helpful to them. Posts have become inspired by questions asked by clients and course attendees, and the blog has been a useful place to direct clients to when they asked how to do something that I’d written about already. Most clients approach me via word of mouth, which is great, and I’ve been privileged to work for Eliza Redgold and Libertà Books in the past year, among others

Jill has been told that as a writer it’s essential she has a ‘social media platform’. Do you agree?

It’s important to have a social media presence to be taken seriously, and so readers can show their support if they wish to. Agents and publishers expect authors to have a social media presence, and as an unpublished writer, it’s worth getting everything set up so that when you’re published you have a head start. And if you plan to self-publish, you really will need a strong online presence to market your books.

Eddie is thinking about starting a writing blog but someone has told him that blogs have had their day. Are they correct?

When I first started my neetswriter blog in 2011, blogging did seem to be a bigger deal than it is now, but I’ve benefitted so much from starting that blog and it raised my profile. That neetswriter blog helps me to keep my writing in check and I’ve made lots of friends through blogging too (it’s how I found you, Wendy!). It’s a matter of personal taste though, and if Eddie enjoys writing blog posts, he should embrace blogging, but if he doesn’t, he could opt to keep posts short and more update-based, for example about a writing event he’s been to with a few photos. If Eddie writes historical fiction, he could write about the era which interests him. Hosting guests helps as it brings readers of other authors/blogs to you, and it takes the pressure off having to write the posts yourself. An alternative to blogging alone (or additional possibility) is to join or set up a group blog. Good examples are The Romaniacs blog, and the very successful English Historical Fiction Authors blog.

When Anne posts a tweet on Twitter with a popular hashtag she sometimes gets dozens of retweets. She doesn’t want to offend people but thanking everyone would eat into precious writing time. What should she do?

In this case, Anne can tweet a general thank you, including the hashtag. It’s worth remembering (where possible!) who retweets your stuff though, and to reciprocate where you can. If someone takes the time to compose their own tweet mentioning Anne’s blog post or link to her book on Amazon, it’s good to thank them individually if she can, and to retweet it too, which helps to raise their profile.

Jo has been told she ought to have a Facebook ‘author page’ but will anybody ever see it unless she pays?

A reason for an author to have a Facebook Page is so they don’t have to accept friend requests from everyone, which allows them to keep their personal Facebook profile for family and friends ie. it’s a place where readers can see what the author’s up to by liking the Page. A Facebook Page allows the author to post cover reveals, news of a new book deal, or the publication date for the next release; as well as content relating to their book(s). Paying for promo doesn’t have to cost that much (Jo can try it out for £1 for one day), and I’d say it’s worth the investment when releasing a new book or to raise profile generally (linking to your own website/blog/ Amazon buy link gives the most benefit). It’s a chance to get your stuff in front of the eyes of those who wouldn’t otherwise see it. Some Facebook Pages are more successful than others, and posting regularly with content which fits in with your ‘brand’ is the best way to gain any impact. Elizabeth Chadwick is an author with a fantastic Facebook Page.

Paul is new to Twitter and doesn’t want to look silly. What are the top three mistakes you would warn him about?

1. Starting a tweet intended for all your followers with @username, as only those following Paul and that person will see the tweet. Eg. ‘@fabauthor has written a new blog post about point of view’ should instead be something like ‘new blog post about point of view, by @fabauthor’.
2. Confusing hashtags with usernames. Eg @amwriting instead of #amwriting.
3. Pitching to agents.

Emma hasn’t used social media before. Can neetsmarketing help her?

My neetsmarketing blog has posts by me and guests on how to use social media as a writer. The most popular post currently is My Beginner’s Guide to Twitter for Writers which I’ve revamped for 2016.
I could help Emma as a Freelance Social Media Manager (More info on my website).
Emma could attend one of my Social Media Courses for Writers, where she’ll be able to bring her laptop and get stuck into social media for a day. I’ve just organised my next course in London for 7 May 2016 and there’s an early bird price until the end of February (the flyer is being put together at the moment, but here is the info on my Facebook Page).

Finally, if you could give one piece of marketing advice to my fictitious writers above in one sentence, what would it be?

Try not to be needy, negative or too much about you; and learn from your peers and idols.

Thank you, Anita. I've certainly learnt a lot today and I'm sure others will have too.

Anita Chapman is a Freelance Social Media Manager and she runs Social Media Courses for Writers. Anita writes historical fiction set in eighteenth century Italy and spent five years on the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s new Writers’ Scheme, before joining the RNA as an Associate Member in 2016 wearing her neetsmarketing hat. Anita is Social Media Manager for the Historical Novel Society, and Publicity Officer for the next HNS Conference in Oxford, 2-4 September 2016 #HNSOxford16.

Website

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The RNA New Writers' Scheme - My First Year

In last week's post (which you can read here) I talked about the reasons why I decided to join the Romantic Novelists' Association (RNA) New Writers' Scheme (NWS). Today I'll be looking back on my first year and thinking about what this has meant for my writing career.

A week ago, I left you with an image. I was opening the email telling me that I'd successfully been enrolled onto the scheme... yippee! After congratulating myself, I decided I needed to sit down and think carefully about the coming year. As I said in my post last week, my novel just wasn't happening: I hadn't been giving it enough time and, with no deadline, there was every likelihood that it would never get finished.. 

This was certainly no way to carry on. Did I think my novel idea was good? Yes. Did I want to complete it? Yes. Did I want others to enjoy it? Definitely. I needed to give myself a kick up the backside and what better way to do this than by giving myself a deadline. I knew the end of August was the last opportunity to submit to the NWS reader for a critique - this could be it. 

Now I'm not suggesting that waiting until the last minute to submit a novel is a good idea (the poor readers are inundated with late submissions) but I had to give myself enough time to have a reasonable amount to send. I needed to give myself a target - a concrete number of words to complete - and I needed someone who would keep me on the straight and narrow and have the stick waiting when I was slacking. Who better than lovely writing buddy, Tracy. After much discussion (and teacakes) we came up with the magic number - a minimum of 40,000 words. Of course I could have said that I should have the whole novel finished by August (which would have been much better) but I wanted my expectations to be realistic and I also wanted what I sent to be the best it could be.

With a word count to aim for, I found I had more focus and drive and, as the months went by, the novel started to take on a greater importance in my writing life. I wanted to talk about it... share the experience with others. What better way to do this than to join in some of the RNA events (you can find a list of them here). I'd already been to the Winter Party the previous year as a guest but it was time to get my teeth into something a little meatier - the RNA Conference. Last year it was held in London so, in July, I trotted along to St Mary's College in Mile End. I spent a wonderful weekend attending talks, meeting other writers and, best of all, having one to one sessions with publishing editors. To be told that the first chapter of my novel suggested it was a marketable story idea was music to my ears. (You can read my post called Ten things I've learnt from my first RNA Conference here.)

With renewed enthusiasm, I came home and wrote and wrote. By August I had written 54,00 words - more than my target. I sent it off and then I waited... and waited. I carried on writing and eventually, on September 20th, I finished it. My post The Day I Wrote The End is here.

When I eventually received my critique back from my reader, I was delighted. They'd obviously read what I'd sent them carefully and their observations were neatly labelled under 'plot', 'character' etc. The comments were thoughtful and very positive and luckily a lot of the suggestions they made were things that I'd already addressed in the final half of the novel (the problem with only sending a partial). It was the final comment that stayed with me though -  'This novel deserves to be read'. It was worth joining the NWS just for that!

So where am I now, a year on? I've researched agents and started to send the novel out. It's early days yet but one thing I do know... being in the New Writers' Scheme was what gave me the confidence to finish my novel and start the second. It you're new to the scheme this year or thinking about joining it in the future... good luck with your writing and I hope it gives you the boost you're looking for.

You can find out more about the RNA NWS here.

The RNA New Writers' Scheme - What Made Me Join?

Way back in June 2014, The lovely Karen Aldous asked whether she could guest on my blog to tell my readers a bit about her experience of being on the Romantic Novelists' Association (RNA) New Writers' Scheme (NWS). Her blog post was so interesting that I actually published it in two parts (which you can read here and here) and it quickly became one of my most popular guest posts.

So what is the RNA NWS? Well, in a nutshell, it's a scheme set up for unpublished writers of romantic fiction. It opens in January and accepts only 250 writers (unfortunately the scheme is now full for 2016). The organiser has a team of more than 60 readers who are authors with extensive publishing histories in various types of romantic novel. After joining, members of the NWS can send their script to be read by one of the readers for a critique (something that would normally be pretty expensive).

At the time of Karen's guest post, I was in the early stages of my own writing career. I had been writing fiction for magazines for about a year and the thought of writing a novel hadn't even crossed my mind - far from it. I was happy with what I was writing... Why would I want to be doing anything different?

Strangely though, over the year, things started to change. First, I noticed that my stories were beginning to get longer and more involved. This made me wonder whether I might be able to write a serial. The People's Friend certainly thought so (in fact my editor had mentioned it a while back) so I took the plunge and wrote a five-instalment serial called Charlotte's War for them. The following year, I wrote another, Life at Babcock Manor, and it made me think that maybe I could write something even longer. A novel perhaps? 

There was a short story I'd written for Woman's Weekly which had a theme I couldn't get out of my head. Might it work as something longer? There was only one way to find out. At the end of 2014, I made a start and it was about this time that a lovely writer, Deirdre Palmer (who has also written a guest post here) invited me to meet up with some other writing friends for coffee. They were all members of the RNA and were very welcoming. Deirdre had been through the scheme and had recently got her first publishing deal, why didn't I consider joining the scheme in 2015? 

I'd made a start on my novel but it wasn't progressing very well. What I needed was something to give me that push to really get stuck into it. Could the NWS be that thing?

That October, I went with Deirdre, as a guest, to the RNA Christmas party (you can read about it here) and talked to people who had been on the scheme. Should I join? The overwhelming opinion was, Yes! It was also at that party that I met my blog guest Karen Aldous in real life! It was from her that I had first heard of the New Writers' Scheme. It seemed an omen. I should go for it.

So having already written my application email, at two minutes past midnight on the second of January 2015, I hit the send button. The following day, I was thrilled to hear that I had been accepted. You can read my super-excited post about it here).

Next week, I will tell you about my first year of being an RNA NWS member and how it has helped me with my writing career... don't miss it!

Writing Targets 2016

As usual, at the beginning of the year, writing chum Tracy Fells and I sat down in our local cafe, in Cobblestone Walk, to set our writing goals and give each other a stern talking to. Unlike the previous years, I came armed with this: a lovely little book just asking to be filled with potential achievements (you see I like to stay positive!).

Last year, I realised that any goals set needed to be straightforward and not overambitious if they were to be achievable and not stressful and I think I got them about right (if you haven't already seen how I did you can read last week's post here).

So here they are (gulp) - my writing goals for 2016!

1. To have written 50,000 words of novel two by the end of August (ready to submit to the RNA New Writers' Scheme reader).

2. To write at least two short stories a month. You may have noticed this has been reduced from last year's one a week but I have to be realistic as I'll be writing them alongside the novel.

3. Publish at least one more story collection - I'm really pleased with how well Room in Your Heart and The Last Rose have done (if you fancy reading them, the link is at the side) and so many people have asked when the next one will be appearing that it would be rude not to, wouldn't it!

4. Find an agent. This probably should have been at the top of the list as it is my ultimate goal for 2016 now novel number one is complete. I've already started the process... so fingers crossed.

And there you have it - four (hopefully) realistic goals for the year. One thing I do know though is that if I don't achieve any of them I am not going to beat myself up about it. At the end of the day the most important thing is that I carry on enjoying my writing, my wonderful circle of lovely writing friends and being in the privileged position of being able to entertain readers with my work... here's my latest story in The People's Friend Special.

You can read Tracy's 2016 goals here.