Five Myths on Writing
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Authors, Books, Writing on December 19, 2023
Leafing through issue 117 of nb. magazine an article about the myths around being a writer caught my eye. What do you think about some of the ‘mistruths’ debunked in the feature?![20231217_165957[1]](https://sally-jenkins.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/20231217_1659571.jpg?w=171&h=228)
Write Every Day
Katie Doyle, author of the short story collection I Meant It Once, struggles with this. She writes only when she feels like it and when she is caught up in it. Anita Frank, author of The Good Liars, can’t write every day because she is the carer of a disabled child. But she does try to think about her novel every day so that when she gets to her laptop, the words flow.
Wait for Inspiration to Strike
Tom Mead, author of The Murder Wheel, used to waste time waiting for inspiration to come along. Over the years, he’s learned that you’ve got to actively find it yourself or you’ll forever procrastinate.
Writing is an Easy, Romantic Occupation
Linwood Barclay, author of The Lie Maker, tells it like it is. “The reality?” he says in the article, “Staring at the computer screen until blood starts beading up on your forehead.” And he talks about the worry that the next book will sink like a stone.
Perfection will Pour Out
Tony Parsons, author of Who She Was, emphasises the point that perfection NEVER arrives with the first draft and an author must write draft after draft after draft before a novel is anywhere near good enough. Writing a novel is like climbing a mountain.
There is a ‘Right’ Way to Write
Chris Merritt, author of Committed, says that while it can be helpful to know how others write, ultimately, each individual has to find what works for them. Harriet Evans, author of The Stargazers, agrees and advises trying different things to establish what time of day and what method of writing self-accountability spurs you on.
Apologies for the lack of clickable links in the above section but WordPress decided to throw a wobbly and kept removing them. Don’t ask me why!
If you’d like to read the full article (and lots more bookish stuff!) the magazine can be ordered from nb. magazine. (Fingers crossed that link stays in place!)
From a personal point of view, I find that writing as often as I can keeps my head in the story – but there’s always at least one or two days a week when I can’t get to my desk. The inspiration for a fully formed novel NEVER descends from the heavens and teasing it out of nowhere can be like pulling teeth – but it has to be done! There is nothing easy about writing – it requires time, effort and self-discipline. My first drafts are always awful but it’s easier to rewrite and edit a terrible manuscript than it is to aim for perfect paragraphs from the outset. After a lot of experimentation I’ve found something that gets my bottom on the chair to write – the daily (free!) Zoom writers’ hours organised by the London Writers’ Salon.
What works for you?
(P.S. If you’re considering of ‘going wide’ with your self-publishing in 2024, now is the time to read Kobo Writing Life Publishing for Absolute Beginners – currently only 99p or free with Kindle Unlimited.)
Novel and Flash Fiction Writing Competitions!
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Books, Competitions on December 12, 2023
I’ve received an email from the lovely people at Farnham Literary Festival about their Farnham’s First Five Thousand competition for the first 5,000 words of a novel plus a 300-word synopsis. The novel does not have to be finished but it must be unpublished. Any theme or genre is allowed. There will be 5 shortlisted submissions, and a further 15 long-listed submissions.
First Prize is £100 + a Literary Critique, the runner up receives £75 and three shortlisted entries will receive £50. Closing date is Thursday 1st of February 2024 and there is a £5 entry fee.
Don’t forget to read all the terms and conditions!
The Welkin Mini Flash Fiction Prize is also currently running and entry is FREE! Closing date is 2nd January 2024. There is no set theme but entries must be no more than 100 words. Titles are not included in the word count. Prizes are in the form of vouchers redeemable against Matt Kendrick Editorial Services: 1st place £50 voucher, 2nd place £20 voucher, Highly commended £10 voucher.
Again, do check the terms and conditions.
In other news, I’m always very grateful for positive reviews on Amazon but I’m at a loss to know what I did to earn the 4* one for Little Museum of Hope, which reads, “Not read yet building my library.” However, I do feel honoured to be part of that library and I hope the reviewer feels the book is worth 4* when she/he eventually reads it!
Finally, if you’re still searching for stocking fillers or want a treat for yourself, Waiting for a Bright New Future is now available in paperback as well as being only 99p on Kindle.
A Commercial Break
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Authors, Books, Successes on December 5, 2023
Drum roll and trumpet fanfare!
A massive thank you to everyone who has preordered Waiting for a Bright New Future – it will have landed on your kindle in the early hours of today. Hooray!
If you missed the preorder, you can buy now with instant delivery. Plus the paperback should be available very soon too.
The NetGalley advance reviewers have been busy reading Waiting for a Bright New Future and the response has been favourable (phew!)
“I loved the characters in the book and the humour thrown in amongst the sadness and how the main character was a man in his 50s discovering his life again after the death of his father and starting over again.” Helen A.
“I love that it wasn’t a simple ending but it fit perfectly with how each of the characters were set up.
Definitely a book I recommend.” Reviewer 1028737.
“This book makes you feel everything, the joy, the sadness, the anger, all the emotions you can think of, bundled up together and woven into such a perfect story.” Reviewer 810933.
According to my publisher, ChocLit (part of Joffe Books), this book will appeal to lovers of books by Jenny Colgan, Mike Gayle, Jill Mansell, Sue McDonagh, Laura Pearson or Beth Moran. I can’t believe that they’ve slotted me into such good company!
Still wondering whether it’s worth squandering the grand sum of 99p on Waiting for a Bright New Future? Here’s the blurb:
Is it ever too late to start living for the first time?
Florence is buoyant and colourful, an ageing tribute band singer who’s full of life. And the complete opposite of staid Stuart, her new landlord.
Stuart’s not sure about having a lodger. And he’s not used to the singing and dancing that now fills the house. Nor the pairs of voluminous knickers left to dry on every spare surface in the bathroom.
Florence is everything Stuart has never allowed himself to be: bold, fearless, unabashedly herself. He’s spent his life putting everyone’s needs ahead of his own, avoiding risks and hiding from chances.
Soon Florence is persuading Stuart to dance with her in the kitchen. And when his childhood sweetheart shows up again, it’s Florence who encourages him to make his move.
Florence can see how much he’s changed, even if he won’t admit it. But Stuart has changed. He’s no longer the timid man he was when they first met.
Life is about to give Stuart a second chance, if only he has enough courage to grasp it . . .
Waiting for a Bright New Future falls into the UpLit (Uplifting Literature) genre and will leave you feeling hopeful and positive for the coming of 2024.
Little Museum of Hope – FREE on Kindle!
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Books, Promotion, Successes on November 17, 2023
Just a very quick post to let you, my faithful followers (thank you – I do genuinely appreciate your loyalty) know that ‘Little Museum of Hope‘ is currently (for a limited time only) free on Kindle. Please, fill your boots while you can!
What the reviewers say:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ’Fascinating, often emotional, addictive reading. Recommended.’ Coco
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ’Something special that’s bound to intrigue.’ Isabelle D.
And don’t forget that my next book for ChocLit/Joffe Books, ‘Waiting for a Bright New Future‘ is only 99p on preorder.
If you order it now, it will drop onto your Kindle on December 5th. A paperback will be out too for those of you who love a real book to handle.
End of commercial break and I’m headed back down that Nano rabbit hole!
A Competition, Kobo and NaNoWriMo
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Competitions, Computers & Technical, Resources, Self-publishing on November 9, 2023
I’m deeply down the NaNoWriMo rabbit hole this month, trying to churn out words that don’t resemble a plate of cold, congealed spaghetti. First drafts of a novel are never easy!
(For those of you outside the writing community, November is National Novel Writing Month when we attempt to write 50,000 words of a novel in the 30 days of November i.e. 1,700 every single day for 30 days.)
In other news, I was delighted to be invited by GeniusLink to contribute to their blog on the subject of Self-publishing on the Kobo Ebook Platform, based on my book Kobo Writing Life Publishing for Absolute Beginners. Kobo is big in the Canadian market and offers worthwhile opportunities to those authors who choose not to stay exclusive to Amazon.
This free-to-enter competition popped into my Inbox this week. I seem to remember something about it last year so it may be an annual thing. THE GLENCAIRN GLASS CRIME SHORT STORY COMPETITION is looking for crime stories of up to 2,000 words based on the theme ‘A Crime Story Set In Scotland’.
First prize is a lovely £1000 plus a couple of extras! Closing date is 31st December 2023.
Don’t forget to check all the details plus the terms and conditions before starting to create your story.
Finally, don’t forget the special preorder price of just 99p for my next novel, Waiting for a Bright New Future – to be published on December 5th by ChocLit (an imprint of Joffe Books). It’s a story about family, friends and facing your fears to find love after fifty.
Now I’m going back down that rabbit hole!
Waiting for a Bright New Future
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Books, Successes on October 25, 2023
‘Waiting for a bright new future’ – does that describe you or someone you know?
We’re all guilty, at some point in our lives, of hoping that something will turn up out of the ether and improve our lives. It might be a better job, a new relationship or big win on the lottery. As we get older, we learn things like that rarely happen unless we take positive action ourselves in order to turn our lives in the direction we’d like them to go.
Stuart Borefield is the middle-aged hero of my new novel, Waiting for a Bright New Future. The death of his father and the selfish attitude of his older brothers mean that Stuart will soon be homeless – unless he takes positive action to chase after that bright new future which has eluded him for decades. As in our lives, things aren’t plain sailing for Stuart. He has to find himself a job, decide how he feels about his new lodger and take on commitments that, on the surface, he’d rather not. The most difficult thing is finding the confidence to pursue these things. Simply waiting for that bright new future isn’t going to produce results for Stuart, just as it won’t for the rest of us.
Waiting for a Bright New Future will be published by Joffe Books on December 5th 2023 and is available to preorder on Kindle now for only 99p.
I hope you grow as fond of Stuart as I did while I was writing about him and throwing obstacles in his way.
And remember: sitting back and waiting for that bright new future doesn’t work – you need to go out and grab it!
What I Learned From the Copyedit and Proofread (plus a poetry competition)
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Competitions, Poetry, Writing on October 17, 2023
My second novel for ChocLit (an imprint of Joffe Books) will be released into the big wide world in a few months. The cover design and marketing plan are underway. Structural edits, copyedit and proofreading have all been done – and each one of these stages has been an education.
On a ‘Happy Walk’ with my daughter’s dog, Sam.
I thought I was pretty good at grammar, punctuation etc. but I’ve realised: I’m not! For example:
- The school subject ‘geography’ starts with a small ‘g’ rather than a capital ‘G’.
- There is no hyphen in armpit (I have habit of putting hyphens where they’re not needed).
- The novel mentions the wedding of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson. I was asked to change this to the ‘royal wedding’ to avoid referring to Andrew.
- Monetary values, such as £30, should be written in full, e.g., thirty pounds.
- “I’m alright.” Should be: “I’m all right.”
The points above are just a few of the corrections. There were a lot more!
Then there were the continuity mistakes which got picked up (thank goodness). For example, there is a cat in the story called Tibby and halfway through I had inadvertently changed its sex from female to male. I mention that one of the characters will have a birthday in a fortnight but a far greater timespan elapses before the birthday celebration takes place.
Needless to say, I am very grateful to all these professional people who have read the manuscript and stopped me from making a public fool of myself!
I’ll say a bit more about the book’s actual story when I have a front cover to show you. For now I’ll tell you that, like Little Museum of Hope, it falls into the ‘uplit’ genre of literature, i.e., by the end of it you will (should!) feel uplifted and positive.
If positively improving your mental wellbeing appeals to you, you might fancy entering this FREE poetry competition from Happiful magazine:
The magazine is looking for “poems that explore the topic of mental health and wellbeing in relatable, original, and empowering ways”. The winner will receive £100, and four shortlisted poets will receive a £25 National Book Token. All five poems will be published in Happiful. Closing date is Monday 20 November 2023. There are some useful tips on how to get started with poetry on the Happiful website.
Stay happy and positive everyone!
Competitions and Opportunities
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Competitions on September 22, 2023
A few writing competitions and opportunities have found their way into my inbox over the last week or so and they may be of interest to some of you:
First up, Readers’ Digest is once again running its 100 Word Story Competition. It’s free to enter and, as you might expect, stories must be exactly 100 words long. There is no specified theme. Closing date is January 5th 2024 and first prize is £1000.
The next one requires slightly more words. The Women’s Prize Trust, Audible, the Curtis Brown literary agency and Curtis Brown Creative are partners in the Discoveries writing development programme. It offers practical support and encouragement to aspiring female novelists and culminates with awarding the Discoveries Prize for an unpublished novel-in-progress. Submit the first 10,000 words of a novel with a synopsis of up to 1,000 words. Closing date is January 8th 2024.
Prototype Publishing is offering another development programme for writers who have not yet published a full length novel. There are eight places, with three reserved for writers from the north of England. To apply, you must submit a sample of work of up to 20 pages. This may be poetry, fiction, non-fiction or visual work. Details of your writing experience and interest in the programme are also requested. Closing date is 23rd October 2023.
Finally, Hannah Schofield of LBA Literary Agency is offering five romance writers from underrepresented backgrounds based in the UK, feedback on their novel extracts. Submissions close 17th October 2023 and all the details are here.
And remember, you’ve got to be in it to win it!
The Positivity of Grudges
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Authors, Books, Lifestyle, Non-writing on September 8, 2023
After being inspired by Sophie Hannah’s talk at the 2023 RNA Conference on ‘How to be a Happy and Successful Writer’, I went in search of self-help books by Sophie. I found ‘How to Hold a Grudge‘. The title didn’t inspire me – I was of the mindset that grudges are all about bitterness and negativity but I started reading anyway.
Sophie writes in the same chatty, amusing way that she speaks and the book is very easy reading. And she does not advocate any bitterness or negativity! In a nutshell she advises that when someone acts badly towards us, we should:
- Recognise that a wrong has been done to us
- Acknowledge that we feel angry and/or upset and that it’s OK to feel like this
- Do not try to immediately forgive, forget and move on
- Record the grudge and learn from it. Simplistic examples of this are: accept that Fred is always late when you arrange to meet and therefore turn up a few minutes late yourself instead of waiting angrily, or learn to stop lending books to Jane because it upsets you when they come back damaged. This learning protects us from future hurt by these people.
- Having taken the above steps, we will find that the anger, bitterness, and upset we feel towards that person will diminish.
(Apologies to Sophie if I haven’t got the above spot on. There’s a lot more advice in the book than those few bullet points!)
The book is an absolute delight to read – especially the details of some of Sophie’s own grudges which, having learned from them, she keeps in her ‘grudge cabinet’. However I would say that a much better (and more realistic) title for the book would be ‘The Positivity of Grudges’.
I’ve also read (and learned from) Sophie’s more recent self-help book, ‘The Double Best Method‘, which is all about how to make decisions – great for ditherers like me!
Sally Jenkins 