Blog

writing my book and distractions?

4/20/2019

My blog is several weeks overdue but I haven't forgotten you, the reader.

A few weeks ago I was writing my book daily, in a disciplined way, but after a few weeks, my thoughts bogged down in the trivia of cliches, ideas went wonky and I knew that something radical had to happen.

In desperation, I went off for a couple of weeks to trawl through Portugal, a country populated by over 10 million people, most of whom live along the coast. Travel took me from Porto in the north to Lisbon. As I ventured further inland, I experienced problems with my iPad and phone, hence the delay in writing a blog until I returned home.

I once read a message on an aircraft from the CEO of LAN part of which read as follows:
"Dear Passengers,
I invite you to take this flight as an opportunity to journey inside yourself, to get in touch with your feelings and live in the moment . . ."

I very much identify with these words as an approach to life and when I travel I usually write in a journal-style, about new perceptions, and what the travel reflects back to me about my personal growth. Also, stretching my mind to embrace a new language, and connecting with the locals, is not only stimulating and refreshing but pleasurable as well.

Did I write several next chapters for my book while I was away? No. Did I get any fresh ideas to develop the mystery part of my book. Yes.

More significantly, what did change were the feelings towards my themes and story when I returned, and that was enough to trigger me back into writing the book from a fresh perspective, with new twists to the story and greater depth in character development.

In other words, I wrote from the heart rather than the mind and found inspiration in memories of stays in different parts of the country. I was able to free up my thinking and not worry too much about expression after all this was only my first draft. My time abroad was fuel for clarifying my writing journey as well.

I have five photos to share with you. The three photos at the top of the page are: the Belem Tower, the Porto former Stock Exchange and gardens below the magnificent Cathedral in Braga. At the bottom of the page is a part of an incredible organ located in a 16th century church and typical white and blue tiles outside a building.

LINKS TO MY BOOKS
To buy 'True to Herself' click:
http://getbook.at/TtH

To buy 'Moving from Grief in Cornwall' click:
http://getbook.at/FCttA

To buy 'South America: Under the Skin of a Foreign Country' click:
http://bookShow.me/B00Y8SY57O

To watch the VIDEO of "South America Under the Skin of a Foreign Country" click:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7P1As7ylWdU

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A Writer at Work

4/4/2019

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When I started writing my fourth book, the sequel to "True to Herself", while on holiday in Cyprus recently, I was delighted to have started the process of writing a book after a two-year break. It was also very brave  to face a pure white blank page.

It was important to establish a routine and to follow it every day: a kilometre swim, breakfast and a writing session in a lounge somewhere in the hotel away from the bustle and noise of tourists. Simple. I wrote my manuscript longhand because this way of writing frees me up to scribbling, doodling crossing out words. Later, it would help with untying the knots in the plot.

When I returned home to Cornwall, other commitments vied with my early morning routine but the writing process continued in a pot pourri manner, in other words - whenever I could slot it into the day. All went well, I talked to the orchids on my writing desk; they blossomed and I created a story. All was well. The feel good factor was present.

As background, I was still going to use West Gidding, a village near London, and Sydney, Australia but the next generation in the book was going to spend considerable time in South America to add some panache to the story. After all, I had over ten years of life experiences in Latin America, to draw from.

However, three weeks, and 20,000 words later, I was stuck with the plot. I had plenty of ideas but none held the WOW factor for me. What was I to do? I decided to go for a walk and admire the flowering azaleas; a walk to clear my mind. Was I being too disciplined with my programme of writing? I had read somewhere that routine stands in the way of creativity. It was time for a change in my approach.

In the meantime,I went to see the streaming of the opera, La Forza del Destino from the Royal Opera House. It was magnificent. Emotionally I was moved. Maybe the unblocking of my emotions would help the writing process. Next morning, my story was even more static and felt somewhat trite in comparison to the drama in the opera.

Perhaps I needed to do character studies. You know the kind of thing: hair colour, mannerisms and so on. This was easy as I already had several characters from "True to Herself". Of course, these characters had changed dramatically from the year 1985 because the new book, was set in the new millennium. A golden opportunity to stretch myself language-wise and describe the changes the passage of time had wrought in theses people's lives.

I sketched a diagram mapping the order of events in the new book, in particular, "the point of no return", and the halfway point. Dangerous ground, as ideas have to be supported by the writing and I knew instinctively that I might change my mind about the mid-point of the book. However, I'd broken through the writing block.

The sun was shining for the first time after the rains of the last few days. I was torn between needing to follow my muse and sitting in the sun. The problem was solved when I changed into sun-baking attire, opened the French windows on my balcony, set up a folding table and proceeded to write.

Switching places where I worked physically led me to new ways of working. I felt excited. Discovering that the "not knowing" what was coming next in the plot, freed up my ideas. The mental composting of the last two years was now paying off.

This morning however, I woke up with the smell of coffee strong in my bedroom. Strange - because I'd stopped drinking coffee in 1983. I was used to finding solutions to life or writing problems when I woke up; sometimes they come as dreams, sometimes as single words. So it was straight to my writing desk and orchids, and a paragraph about drinking coffee was inserted in the appropriate text

By the way, at present I only have names for the characters from "True to Herself". Would anyone like to suggest a name for a nineteen year old woman, related to Moira, who is trapped by the administration in the convolutions of south American bureaucracy?

LINKS TO MY BOOKS
To buy 'True to Herself' click:
http://getbook.at/TtH

To buy 'Moving from Grief in Cornwall' click:
http://getbook.at/FCttA

To buy 'South America: Under the Skin of a Foreign Country' click:
http://bookShow.me/B00Y8SY57O

To watch the VIDEO of "South America Under the Skin of a Foreign Country" click:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7P1As7ylWdU

The South Downs , background to much of the walks in West Sussex in Book 1 "True to Herself"

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Starting the First Draft of a Book

3/22/2019

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''The scariest moment is always just before you start. After that, things can only get better'
Stephen King, On Writing

These words are true of a writer resuming writing after a long break as much as of an artist facing a blank canvas. For me, the book writing process began 18 months after the last book - at a time when I was visiting Cyprus. No more excuses about 'to do' lists or other distractions such as socialising. No planning of meals, food shopping and cooking. I just had to turn up after my swim in the morning and write. I didn't have to write for blocks of 5 or 6 hours, after all I was on holiday! About 90 minutes every morning would suffice.

I was writing longhand rather than using a computer. At first, my thoughts flew willy-nilly on to the blank page. I'm happy to believe Stephen King or J.K. Rowling when they say that the first draft is rubbish. Therefore scribbling was fine, as recording racing thoughts required speed, and my typing wasn't fast. I could silence my over-the-shoulder editor. Later, when the draft manuscript was posted on a computer, I would have the chance of re-editing what I had written.

Of course the rest of the day was filled with watching the world go by while I had my coffee in a cafe, talking to people I 'd met in Paphos, exploring, visiting world heritage sites, doing all the fun things one does on holiday, and I could feel sanctimonious about my date with early morning manuscript writing! Life was fun. Writing was fun.

Experiencing a new culture always shifts my perspectives on life and changes me on a personal level. I'm inspired by the different tempo of the music, tasting the exotic flavours of the food, and feasting my eyes on the new environment. I find new solutions to old problems. Exploring is fun. The entire process of writing is stimulated by the word fun. Writing was fun.

When I arrived in Cyprus, I'd do some meditation and then some journal writing after my swim in the morning, and thought about starting my book. By the time I left Cyprus, my journal writing had become my meditation, and I was writing my journal, a blog and the book almost simultaneously. The shift in my writing was welcome.

The areas away from tourist spots were beginning to work their magic.. The scribbles became fewer, the thoughts flowed fluidly, and the pen skimmed across the smooth surface of the paper. Of course, living in foreign cultures, and travel feature strongly in all my books.

Now that I'm back home in Cornwall, the "busyness" of the "to do" things in life is taking over, but I hope to recapture the creativity I developed on my holiday. Let's see if I can believe Stephen King when he writes:

'. . . the first draft - even - a long one - should take no longer than three months . . .'
Stephen King, On Writing

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A New Cycle - A New Book

3/10/2019

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Hullo my dear blog readers! At last I'm back!

My blog will be posted every fortnight on a Monday, starting 11th March. You're invited to read it, respond to it, or even be a Beta reader to my next book! Join me.

I'm at the beginning of a new cycle but more about that later. This blog is going to focus on reflecting the writing journey of my new book, my fourth book.

Currently, I'm rested, relaxed in Cyprus with the sea below my balcony. It has changed its mood from rough and stormy to gently moving waves, reflecting the beaming sun and blue skies above. And the palm trees are still, instead of bending into a horizontal position.

As I said before, I'm at the beginning of a new cycle. I took the huge decision to return permanently to Cornwall in the UK after living in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, for over 10 years. Relocating from South America back to the UK created plenty of problems that were time-consuming, the least of which were health problems. As impatient as I was with the obstacles to my book writing, I had to accept that I couldn't give up on the practical aspects of living. I realised that living life fully makes for a better writer.

It was a time of reviewing my entire writing process. I turned up for morning meditation which became journal writing rather than book writing; for keeping up with social media marketing which could be interrupted easily, and to top it all, I enrolled in a life coaching course. Ironically, the latter helped me manage my topsy-turvy life. I began to notice that the external changes of intercontinental moving were reflected back by inner psychological changes.

I still travelled, writing at airports, mainly descriptions of people around me - on the back of scraps of receipts - especially, their faces, postures, body language, challenging myself to find apt descriptive words! Whenever I had my little fresh notebook with me, the pristine pages froze my mind. It's as if I was afraid to sully the white pages. As you may have gathered, I enjoy writing longhand. For me, working on a computer implies the end of my "naughty time" - of being free to say any old thing, that often hides treasures within the garbage. And I mulled the new ideas I had for my next book on planes and on trains. Good composting!

I continued to read avidly - closely following the advice of both Stephen King and J. K. Rowling!
"Read, read, and read again", they say. "That's how you learn your craft". With all this going on, I didn't have time to hound myself with guilt about not sitting every day to start writing my fourth book. I had faith in the "composting" process that precedes the "expressive" phase..

So this blog is going to reflect my writing process from the point of four years' experience, and hopefully get you involved as well.

Join me on: www.barbaramwebb.com/blog
Say yes to signing up for a newsletter. Leave your comments.

Ciao!

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HEY FOLLOWERS!

2/20/2019

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Life has a way of interrupting writing habits!
In the last year, I relocated from South America to Cornwall, and had serious health problems. So sorry for the break in my writing.
But never fear, I've recovered and hoping to start a new series of blogs starting on Monday, 11th March.
Thank you for your patience.
Barbara

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Meet Vivacious Author Lesley Wilson

5/12/2018

Four months of enforced inactivity after a motor cycle accident afforded Lesley the time to pursue her lifelong ambition of writing. That's how three books were born _ a trilogy of medieval adventure for young adults. Her motor cycling days may be over, but she continues to enjoy adventures via her computer keyboard. Currently she is engaged in the enthralling twists and turns of a thriller romance for adults.

  A Peek into the Life of an Indie Author

"Who was on the phone?" my husband asks, popping his head around the office door.
     Am I going to admit that I am conversing, out loud, with characters from my latest book? No, not likely, he might think I am losing my marbles. I cross my fingers behind my back and say, "Just a girlfriend, dear."
He gives me an old-fashioned look. "You sounded a bit het-up, is everything all right?"
I shrug and reassure him.
Upon retirement, I worried how I would fill the spare hours and days that lay ahead. Scribbling since the age of eight, I had accumulated quite a few stories, but never had the time or the wherewithal to do anything with them. Perhaps now was the time. The U3A (University of the third Age) beckoned, and I joined a creative writing group. After the first class I was hooked. That was almost twenty years ago. Since then I have worked longer hours each day than I ever did in my 'paid' occupation.
     Underpaid, overworked? You bet - but I don't care. Never in my life have I had so much fun. Writing takes me anywhere I want to go. Characters are at my fingertips (on the keyboard) and I can nurture them or kill them off at will. Such heady power. Good or evil, they become so engaging no wonder I talk to them out loud. And all this happens in the comfort of my office overlooking the garden, which thanks to my wonderful obsession, is not nearly as tidy as it used to be. Added to all this joy, other indie authors are always available on social media to encourage and advise.
     My current book, a medieval trilogy in the 'Oric' series, is almost ready to publish. I rather dread launching it as I will feel bereft for a while - a bit like watching one's child leave home. But that feeling soon passes, especially when the first delivery of books arrives on the doorstep with beautiful shiny covers, and smelling of paper and printers' ink. Who needs drugs to get high?
     Happily, my next book is written but awaits editing. Bliss, oh joy, I can look forward to many happy hours adding more colour, more suspense, because it is a thriller romance set in the 1960s, and engage in more avid conversations with my characters. The power surge I experience when they escape my control and do just what they want to do is like an adrenalin rush.
     My husband, the darling man, does the shopping, a good deal of the cooking and general household chores. I guess next time he asks who I am talking to, maybe I should 'fess up'.
As I suffer the starving artist in a garret syndrome, folk might say indie authors are crazy, but I wouldn't swap my current vocation for all the tea in China . . .Come to think of it, wouldn't that make a great title for a book? See I can't help myself!
     At every turn, ideas are in abundance for the observant: overhead snatches of conversations on a bus, watching body language, unusual happenings. Outings are a hotbed of inspiration.
     Being somewhat old-fashioned, I store ideas in shoe boxes, each with a title printed on the front. In my gloriously tactile cardboard containers are stored newspapers, nick-knacks and memorabilia, photographs, maps, and old letters. Each one contains a feast of memories and information. If I don't turn all that 'stuff' into books, there lies a wealth of entertainment to rifle through for years to come.
Am I ever bored? Not on your life.
On Sundays do I laze in bed with a newspaper and breakfast on a tray? Absolutely not. Some ungodly hour often sees me on the road to attend a market somewhere in the district. I set up my stall under a large umbrella, (lucky I live in North Queensland where the weather is beautiful one day, perfect the next) and engage with people. What a joy it is. Many shoppers buy my books, and I am honoured and thrilled when they ask me to sign a copy.
     On a final note, I would like to relate one of my most heady moments. When I was standing in a supermarket queue, a lady dashed up to me. "You are the Oric author aren't you?"
Fame at last. It doesn't get much better than that.

Links:
Amazon webpage:            www.amazon.com/author/lesleywilson
Twitter:                         www.twitter.com/OmlaLesley
Facebook:                https://www.facebook.com/lesley.wilson.3998263/about?lst=100001433482055%3A100016402861178%3A1528187078

AMAZON PROMOTION

From 8th June until 15th June 2018

99c

ORIC AND THE ALCHEMIST'S KEY (Book 1)
http://amzn.eu/cKl9XeL

Guest Author Elizabeth M. Hurst

4/17/2018

Elizabeth hails from West Cumbria in the UK. She was a voracious reader from a very young age but only started writing seriously in 2012 after a friend offered some encouragement. She lives in South Warwickshire with two crazy cats for company.

Ideas. . . Germinating and Taking Root
   I've always been fascinated by other people. I'm always curious to know what has happened in their lives, how they came to be the people they are, and why they make the decisions they do.
Perhaps this is why I enjoy going to restaurants alone. I can sit with my notebook making observations about the characters around me without upsetting anyone. (This also has the useful side-effect of making the staff think I'm some kind of restaurant critic, thereby securing excellent service in many establishments!)
At almost every visit there will be one person who stands out. Perhaps somebody will be arguing with a member of staff over the quality of food or service. Perhaps there will be a romantic couple in the corner, whispering sweet nothings to each other. Maybe somebody is wearing particularly unusual clothes or has distinctive features. It is my observations of these people that find their way into my stories as characters.
But, what of the stories themselves? I have lost count of the number of times someone has said to me, 'I have an idea for a book. . .' The urge to scream, 'Well, write it, then!' back at these poor souls is often overwhelming. This comment is frustrating for many reasons, but perhaps mostly because it implies I may be running short of my own ideas. Nothing could be further from the truth.
As a teenager, reading what was then described as New Age literature, I trained myself to remember large parts of my dreams. As a result, I now have dozens of notebooks crammed with the most surreal and bizarre scenarios you could possibly imagine.
So, the problem is now one of choosing which ideas to bring to life as a written project. Invariably, it's not one of my dream sequences, although I do sometimes use elements of them as plot points later on. No, it's the things I am drawn to in the waking world that grab my attention. Those are the ones that make it.
My latest novel came into being after a visit to my local library. I was browsing through the fiction and local history when I happened upon a tiny volume about the history of the village I moved to a few years ago. I got distracted reading a single paragraph about how one of the earliest Quakers in the village was turned in to the authorities by an informer, way back in the late seventeenth century. I was immediately hooked!
     At the time, I was halfway through writing the first novel in the series, Siren Spirit, and at the back of my mind I knew I didn't have the time to write another novel in parallel. So, I photocopied the relevant page and took it home, filing it away in the To-Do pile to gather dust until I was ready. The idea for A Friend in Need was born.
I have another writing project for the short-term future, the idea for which came about during a wine-tasting excursion in Umbria, central Italy, in July 2017. After our host, Lorenzo, had guided us through the dusty medieval cellars, we arrived at the castle's Great Hall and he told us of Beata (Blessed) Angelina di Marsciano, a fourteenth century nun and daughter of the Duke of Marsciano. That evening, I tried to find out more about this fascinating lady but found little information on the internet. Well then, I thought, I shall have to write her story myself. If nothing else, it's a great excuse to go back to Umbria and drink more wine!

FREE AMAZON PROMOTION for "A FRIEND in NEED"
From Monday 30th April to Friday, 4th May
Double click: https://www.amazon.com/Friend-Need-Lost-Souls-Book-ebook/dp/B078JPNJ2J/

Links:
Website: http://lizhurst.co.uk
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LizHurst/author
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElizabethMHurstAuthor/
Instagram: https//www,instagram.com/lizhurstauthor/

Nonfiction author Ann Richardson

3/26/2018

This month let's see how Ann Richardson finds inspiration to write in Stories from the Heart.
Ann Richardson has been a researcher and writer for many years. She is fascinated by other people's thoughts, experiences and emotions and loves to write books where they can express their views in their own words. American by birth, she lives in London as do her two children and two grandsons.

                                         Stories from the Heart

Some writers like writing crime novels. And some readers search them out. Others are more interested in romance. There is even a thriving literature on zombies, so I am told.
My interest lies elsewhere. I like trying to understand the inner heart -- the deeper feelings that arise as new joys are discovered or new challenges faced. And I like to hear the voices of people talking about their experiences -- real voices, talking honestly, in their own words. These are the books I write.

Wise Before their Time: People with AIDS and HIV talk about their lives

It started over twenty-five years ago. I had a gay friend with AIDS who was very active in that community. He was organising an international conference of people with HIV and AIDS to be held in London where I live. In a moment of inspiration, he had asked people applying for places at the conference to send 'their story' along with other information about themselves.
I was very excited to learn this because I knew such stories would make a fascinating book. But I also thought that there would be a benefit in supplementing them with interviews, as people will often tell an interviewer much more than they will write. (My working life was spent doing interviews for social research, so I was very familiar with the process).
And that is how my book, Wise Before their Time, was born. We interviewed over twenty people from all over the world, all attending the conference, used the writings of over twenty others, and put their stories into this book. The stories are staggering. All from young people experiencing stigma in many forms and facing death.
They talk about the difficulties of telling their parents, partners and friends of their diagnosis, their work to help others in the same situation, all while facing mounting health problems. Sir Ian McKellen wrote a Foreword saying 'these stories are as powerful as any great classic of fiction' What more can I say?
My friend and co-author died before the book came out.
This book sold very well when first published in 1992, but went out of print. In late 2017, I relaunched it with a new cover. It tells the human stories behind that dark period. See http://myBook.to/Wise

                                 Life in a Hospice: reflections on caring for the dying

Not long after, another man involved with HIV took me to a hospice because he had an errand to do. I was immediately captivated by the tranquil atmosphere and felt this was a place I wanted to be. I applied to work as a volunteer in a local hospice and ended up doing so for four years.
And this was the seed for Life in a Hospice, based on interviews with over thirty workers -- nurses, doctors, chaplains, managers and even a very reflective chef -- in two hospices. They talk about why they do such work and its impact on their own lives at home. Many said, whatever the difficulties, it was a 'privilege' to be with people and their families at this important time.
From their stories, one learns a lot about humanity at its very best. They gave enormous thought to how to make people's last days and hours meaningful. And to meeting people's last requests -- to give one example, one tells of a man who wanted to die under a tree and they were able to do this for him.
This book was first published in 2007 to considerable acclaim (it was Highly Commended by the British Medical Association). But I took the rights back, gave it a new cover and relaunched it in 2017. It is selling well. See http://myBook.to/Hospice

                          Celebrating Grandmothers: grandmothers talk about their lives

Time passed and I periodically wondered what to focus on next -- and then I became a grandmother of two little boys. Much to my surprise, I found this to be a fascinating role. And yes, I decided to write a book about it.
I interviewed nearly thirty grandmothers from all different walks of life and put these together into Celebrating Grandmothers. There are, of course, happy stories of the pleasures of small children in the house again. But there are also stories of difficult family relationships and sheer distance affecting the role. Being a grandmother is shown to affect women's sense of themselves and their place in the family.
This book was published in 2014, although republished in 2017. It seems to be frequently bought by young parents as a thank-you present for their mother. See http://myBook.to/Grandmothers