More than Writers

  I am in the processing of reworking editing my manuscript. The last time my editor saw me she asked, ‘Lucy, are you a madwoman, architect, carpenter or judge right now?’ Thankfully, this was not in any way meant to insult me. ‘I am probably at all of these at the moment,’ I said. But it got me thinking. We both knew what she was talking about. Some years ago, we both attended an ACW event in London where Amy Boucher Pye had given a talk on this topic, originally taken from Betty Flowers’ famous 1981 article: ‘Madman, Architect, Carpenter, Judge: Roles and the Writing Process’. If you’ve not yet come across this theory, or missed the talk, the key points are that when you are writing you may hit a wall if you try to wear too many hats at once. The optimal order for progress is: 1.        Madwoman / Madman Ideas stage: let loose and unleash your creativity. 2.        Architect Form stage: select content and arra...

If you’ve been reading my blogs for any length of time, you’ll know I love a good metaphor. Well, I’m not sure if this is a good one or not, so please let me know in the comments! As I was considering what to write this month, I thought about offering another really practical blog, but I did that last month. And I might next month. So instead, I thought of the things I’ve been doing that don’t involved writing, or business, or cleaning, or any boring stuff. One of them is planting potatoes. Nope, I do not consider this boring stuff. Give me a spade and a bit of ground and I’m a happy girl.   We’ve got a fab garden since we moved, but in order to prepare some ground for veggies, we had to clear a huge area of brambles and self-set trees that (apparently) was the old owner’s vegetable patch. It has great soil and, most importantly, a south-facing wall. But it was an absolute mess.  We couldn't even see the wall! Now, I’ve had my seed potatoes chitting nicely on the windowsill fo...

 As much as I admire professional editors, I am still not making enough money from my writing to justify using a professional editor. Yes, I hear you, maybe if I did have a professional editor, I would make more money from my writing. Chicken and egg! I am an advocate of write, write, write, for the first draft. Just get it all down on the paper. I don’t worry about editing as I go along because I don’t want to go down the rabbit holes. Even research is left out of my writing in this first stage. I keep each piece of work in a separate folder with a label of the project on it. If I do have a genius idea I can put it on another piece of paper and just put it together with my draft for later reflection. 1.     1.    The Big Sweep   On the second draft I look at the whole piece, whether large or small and make sure the consistency and if fiction, plot development is as I want it. At this stage, I am pulling out the bits that aren’t relevant. Yes, deletin...

Beginnings can be easier than ends sometimes, can’t they, imbued as they are with connotations of hope and expectancy? Ends are sometimes harder to face, especially as it can be tricky, can’t it, to recognise when it’s time for an end that must be of your own making? On the More Than Writers blog, people, rightly, come and go. It is an amazing place to hone your writing skills, develop the discipline of regular posting and receive great encouragement for your writing journey – and then step aside to make space for others to do the same. I have been writing for More Than Writers since my first post on 18th August, 2017 , a grand total of six and a half years. I remember feeling so grateful, at the time, that a more seasoned writer had stepped aside and made way for my fledgling thoughts. Now I know it is time for me to do the same for someone else. So this is goodbye from me, and thank you. Thank you to Wendy Jones then Rosemary Johnson, for giving a total novice a chance to find her ...

'Make each day your masterpiece.'   'Well thank you, John Wooden. You surely don't mean today? I mean, look at the place. The decorators have just finished my study, the contents of which are all over the dining room chairs and floor, and my filing cabinets and bookshelf are in the sitting room. You couldn't dance if you wanted to. And there's certainly no room to ask a friend in at the moment. So, there is no possibility of today being a masterpiece in any way, shape or form!' John Wooden, I hasten to say, is not actually here. He was an American basketball player, born on 11th October 1912, and he died on 4th June 2010.  All his life he adhered to a Seven Point creed, which was passed to him by his father.   All Seven Points are very good  advice, like  • Be true to yourself, and • Make friendship a fine art, and • Pray for guidance and give thanks for your blessings every day. Yes, all Seven Points are very good advice......... mostly. But not today. Of c...

  I imagine that several More Than Writers writers have picked this topic before, so forgive me if I am being repetitious.   However, this verse has cropped up a few times recently demanding my attention.   I must have learnt it in the King James Version back in the dim and distant days of Bible Club on a Sunday morning.        The NIV(UK) says it’s the pen of a ‘skilful’ writer but I’ve been wondering what a ‘ready’ writer is.        Is it the keen bean who’s up at 6am, done a two hour quiet time, gone for a run and is showered, breakfasted and ready to create fabulous prose – fiction or otherwise –   or indeed, poetry, on their laptop from 9am sharp?   Is it the writer who settles down with a squillion fabulous ideas ready to take the reading and publishing world by storm?   Perhaps it’s the wannabe author who has all their files of ideas alphabetised and is organised to the nth degree.      Or perha...

I’m a contemporary fiction writer. In the words of a lady attending my fiction workshop, ‘You just make it all up!’ Her face expressing utter outrage that anyone could write down such lies. I remembered this while I was looking at Cambridge colleges for 16+ education. I chose all the books for my character’s English A level and read all the syllabuses for different versions of the BTEC in Performing Arts and in UAL Performance and Production. I hunted for music at A level in the same college for her friend and made a note that I needed to visit one of the further education colleges to be able to describe with some accuracy the foyer where the two characters enter the building and go to their separate courses. I found out that my guessed/imagined version of what clothes and equipment was needed for a dance and drama course is more or less accurate, but have not yet discovered whether there is a college that has courses to suit both girls, one being much more academic than the other. Doe...