Dark Energies

It’s been a rather hectic week here at JFC, which unfortunately means I haven’t had the opportunity to conjure up a proper post, far less the two I was aiming for.

Every cloud, however, has a silver lining and this particular batch of cumulo-nimbus is no exception. It’s all very well me banging on about writing and marketing and suchlike, but the proof of the pudding is in the reading, if you’ll excuse the mangling of a metaphor. It’s time to put my money where my mouth is and offer up a snippet of my own writing.

So, without further ado, allow me to introduce the beginning of Chapter 1 from Dark Energies – my soon-to-be-self-published first novel:

Why am I writing this? An excellent question. Maybe to try and make sense of the events of the past few months by putting them in some kind of order. Maybe to diminish the fear and confusion by sharing them with someone else. Or maybe just to convince myself that there is still a real, mundane world out there somewhere, by picturing you, my friends, sitting with a cup of coffee or a glass of wine on a comforting sofa, calmly and rationally reading this account. By the way, I hope you’ll allow me the indulgence of calling you friends. Because, right at the moment, I need all the friends I can get.

Another question: How did this start? Before we’re through, there will be a whole lot more. This is where I could opt for the classic opening territory of “Once upon a time…” or “In a land far far way…” If only both of those were true, then my situation would be a lot easier to deal with. Knowing how this all ends would also comfort me greatly. But it isn’t once upon a time, it’s not far away and it certainly hasn’t ended yet. So I’ll go back to where it did begin and ask you to stick with me through this.

A Place To Belong

It is time for me to confess. I can hide my guilty secret behind a curtain of self-denial no longer.

I am enamoured with Google Plus. In fact, I may go out and get drunk and have “I heart Google+” tattooed on my bicep.

Now settle down, calm yourselves, please don’t carry on so! Allow me to explain before judging me, if you would.

Don’t Believe The Rumours
For a long time I, like many others, avoided Google+, believing the rumours that its user base consisted entirely of Google employees, a handful of early adopters and several sociopathically vain bon-vivants who could no more let a new social media vehicle pass untested than permit a bandwagon to roll by un-jumped-upon.

Then I saw the light…

35 Million Ways to Brighten Your Blog

Embed from Getty Images

Those very generous people at Getty Images have just done us bloggers a massive favour.

Now, we all know that adding images to a blog post increases engagement. What’s that? You didn’t? There’s always one. OK, let’s backtrack to step one for any latecomers – adding images to a blog post increases engagement.

As a species, we’re pre-conditioned to respond to visual stimuli which help us add context to our environment. If those visual stimuli include kittens, our responsiveness increases dramatically. There’s almost certainly some research which bears that out but, to be honest, I was too busy going “awwwww” at pictures of kittens to hunt it down.

The Writing Process Blog Hop

I have to confess to a moment’s hesitation when I was asked by the wonderful Vashti Quiroz-Vega to participate in a blog hop. Why, I thought to myself, would anyone care to know my seventeen favourite carnivorous mammals or the colour of sock I prefer when writing a prologue?

It swiftly transpired, however, that this is a blog hop of an entirely different calibre. Oh yes indeed ladies and gentlemen. This is the Writing Process Blog Hop which, as its name implies, forgoes the frivolity of many others and gets to the heart of a writer’s WIP, motivations and writing habits. But still in a rip-roaring, rollicking, rambunctious manner.

Queensbury rules: I have to answer 4 questions, then tag 4 other brilliant bloggers – and trust me, the folks I’ve tagged are 4 of the very best you could ever wish for – to pick up the metaphorical baton.

Ready? Splendid. Then let’s get going…

1) What are you working on?

My main work-in-progress is my first novel, Dark Energies. It’s currently in the 4^th (and hopefully final) series of edits. To be honest, I’d rather print it out and eat it than have to go through another editing round.

The book is a contemporary urban mystery, liberally spiced with romance and quantum physics. It tells the story of Dan Carter, a man in his mid-30s in search of something to fill the void in his life. When Dan is contacted via a social networking site, out of the blue, by a young woman he’s never heard of, it looks like he may have found it. But Dan learns that you should be very careful what you wish for… Cliffhanger alert!

I’m also concentrating a huge amount of time on my blog at the moment. I provide advice to indie authors to help with their marketing efforts, and the blog is my main vehicle for this. I’m lucky to have a lengthy professional background in online marketing, so being able to help out other indies and let them concentrate on their writing feels like paying something back to those from whom I’ve learned so much about the craft.

2) How does your work differ from others in the genre?

Ooh, now that‘s a cracker of a question! The voice, definitely the voice. The story is told from Dan’s POV and he’s an intriguing character, as well as a somewhat unreliable narrator. So what you read is basically what goes on in Dan’s head, which gives (I hope) a unique tone to the narrative.

3) Why do you write what you write?

I’ve been waiting for someone to ask that for ages! The novel’s actually based on a true story – and it happened to me. Much like Dan, I was minding my own business, feeling a little lost, when a mysterious stranger cyber-stalked me. Out of curiosity, I responded, we struck up a conversation and things kind of went on from there…

4) How does your writing process work?

Chaotically and via osmosis. I am, as stated elsewhere, a Sporadic Trouserist. I never find as much time to work on the novel as I’d like and I am most certainly not a plotter. I kind of jumped in at the deep end and have been learning ever since, whilst fighting my way out from the middle of the story. This means there are constantly characters and scenes and chapters and changes and story arcs and plot points whirling around in my head, with me frantically trying to keep track of what goes where. It’s bewildering, but a whole heap of fun. I’ve started work on a second (very different) novel and am plotting that from the outset, so we’ll see how that works out!

And now to pass the honours to my esteemed colleagues:

Lauren Sapala
I genuinely cannot recommend Lauren’s fantastic blog highly enough. What she doesn’t know about the art and craft of creative writing – and how not to give up when the chips are down – really isn’t worth knowing. Add to that a writing style which manages to be both concise and engaging and I can honestly say that this is one of my top must-read blogs.

J. R. Frontera
Jeni Frontera has a way with words which makes me want to dive head-first into every single blog post she writes and wallow for at least a week. Not only that, but she writes some of the most extraordinarily gripping dystopian-future fiction that I have ever read. And I don’t even usually like sci-fi! In a nutshell, just stop reading this and go there now, OK? Cool.

Andrew Toynbee
Andrew and I began blogging at around the same time and I have followed the progress of his first novel – recently re-launched – with great interest. He is one of the most supportive, most encouraging and downright entertaining bloggers I’ve encountered. His warmth and charm shine through in every post and your life will be at least 63% better for following him.

Nightwolf’s Corner
Kisa Whipkey pulls no punches – she tells it like it is with an irresistible sense of humour and I admire her greatly for that. Nightwolf’s Corner is a blog rich with sound advice, hard-won lessons and an indomitable attitude which will have you gripping your writer’s block by the throat and grappling it to the floor without a second thought. And she’s very very funny.

So there you have it. A peek into the world behind JFC and four new favourites to brighten your day. Enjoy!

Mind The Gap!

Plot holes, those devious little blighters, have a knack of popping into existence just where you least expect them.

I am not the kind of chap who outlines a novel before jumping in to the fun of writing it. Broad brush strokes, a skeleton framework of ideas and then it’s chocks away! My transatlantic friends call this being a ‘Pantser’ – flying by the seat of one’s pants as the story takes one from point to point in a free-wheeling, fast-flowing fashion. Being from the side of the pond where the cucumber sandwich still reigns supreme, the term ‘pants’ has less savoury connotations for me. No, Pantser will not do at all. Ladies and gentlemen, I am a Trouserist.

The situation is further complicated by the fact that I don’t have the luxury of writing every day. Much as I would love to, the demands of daily life and a mortgage mean that I often struggle to find the time to write. Progress on the novel is sporadic, at best.

I am a self-confessed Sporadic Trouserist.

And that is where the plot holes worm their insidious way in… (you don’t want holes in your sporadic trousers, I assure you).

Un-Friending Facebook

Debate rages as to whether up-and-coming authors (yep, that’s us!) should set up Facebook pages as part of their marketing and promotion strategy.

Until very recently, I would have said yes, they definitely should; spread oneself as widely as possible in order to reach the largest and most diverse audience possible. Then Facebook went and changed their algorithms and I changed my mind.

Tut-tut Facebook, go to your room immediately!

The Author As A Brand (Oh Yes You Are…)
It’s now vastly more difficult for small brands – and yes, you ARE a brand – to gain visibility and thereby increase the number of their fans. This is because Facebook now prioritises content posted by the people who users interact and engage with the most.

OK, even I had to read that 3 times before I got it, and I wrote it. So let’s have a look at what this means, with the help of a very pertinent example.

Fools, Horses and Writers

OK, so here’s the thing about marketing yourself as a writer on the interwebz.

It’s bloody hard work.

Hemingway famously said:

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”

And he never had to use Twitter.

So Who Made You The Expert Then?
“Ah yes,” you may be thinking sagely, “but just who are you, young whippersnapper, to deign to tell me how to promote myself or my novel online? What makes you such a guru eh?”

Show And Tell

Ah, that most vexatious of subjects – “show, don’t tell.” Advice which is bandied about liberally yet which writers, particularly those newer to the craft, often struggle to comprehend. I speak from experience – it took me years to get my head around the difference between showing and telling.

Yet, like riding a bike or juggling hamsters, it’s a skill which, once learned, will never desert you. Today I offer some examples which I hope will serve to clearly illustrate the difference and give you a handy cut-out-and-keep guide to showing versus telling.

OK, let’s start with a bit of telling shall we?

Lord Farnsworth bustled toward the Orangery. The night air was cold and a light rain was falling.

So far, so factual. A clear description of the weather, very useful if you yourself are planning to go for a walk and wondering if you need your trusty brolly. But it’s not particularly compelling is it? In fact, it’s rather dreary. Much like the weather afflicting his Lordship.

What Writers Can Learn From Facebook’s Birthday

Anyone with eyes or friends can hardly have failed to notice that this week marks Facebook’s 10th birthday.

If you’re anything like me (and I do hope you are, you lucky people you) then your timelines will have been inundated with My Facebook films. If, at this point, you’re asking “what’s Facebook and what’s a timeline?” then your Author Marketing Plan is #failing #abysmally. Much like hashtags on Facebook really.

One ring to bind them
Yes, this week we’re all awash in personal lookbacks over the past however many years we’ve been sharing our lives online. Top-rated photos, most-liked posts and sundry other reminiscences all rolled up into a one-minute-five-second film encapsulating what FB regards as our most notable assets.

So, I hear you wondering aloud, what has any of this got to do with writing?

The Secret To Motivating Yourself To Write

In my previous post, The Unicycle Of Prevarication, I explored how we indie authors often self-saboutage by “not being able to find the time” to write. This, despite the multitude of less pleasurable things we do find the time for, such as cleaning the moat or milking the peacocks.

Today, I intend to lay bare the One True Secret of how to find the time and motivation to write even when the odds seem stacked against you like handcarts against the barricades.

But first, I feel I need to issue a warning.

WARNING: You’re not going to like the answer.

You see, there genuinely is an answer to the eternal problem and it’s one that I’ve learned the hard way over the five years in which I’ve been occasionally toying with, and occasionally grafting at, my first novel. Are you ready to find out what it is? Excellent. But first, please put down any sharp objects you may be holding, as I don’t wish to find myself impaled.

Here goes then…

You have to force yourself.

I said you wouldn’t like it, didn’t I?