Category Archives: Writing

Getting things Done

Posted on by
Reply

I’ve been on tenterhooks all this week because I knew that my edits would be due in this week. And until I get the edits, I’m a bit of a nervous wreck, because I don’t know if my editor has liked the story or not.

The deadline passed, and my nerves grew even more, because what was going on. Was the story really crappy and she was taking a while to get through it? Did the storyline not come through properly? Were my characters flat?

On Friday I got a message from my editor. “Hey, I hope you’ve had a good week. Just wanted to send you a quick update that I’m nearly finished with your copyedit and expect to have it back to you mid next week. What a story! Wow!” I hope that means that she’s enjoying the story!

I’m also in the process of putting a store together to sell my books direct as well as through Kobo, Amazon, and Draft2Digital. If I do this, I will probably make the books cheaper for people to buy the books through me, and more expensive if you buy through other retailers. As a result, my website is looking a little different at the moment, but it’s a work in progress.

I’ve been writing Grace’s story, and I hope to get that finished next week or the week after. My Angel story has kind of ground to a halt, because my characters need more work. They aren’t dimensional enough. I need to make them more ‘realistic’. Hopefully it’s a small glitch that I can work on and get back writing in no time.

I’m also editing Carol’s Christmas and working my way through those. I’ve also been back to my lady friends for some more information from them about their procedures to fill in the details that I missed the first time around. The ladies have been really lovely and helpful, and I really appreciate their time.

A Moment in the life of a writer

Posted on by
Reply

My mental health has been discussed here a lot, but lately it has been on the up and up. I have the occasional day when things don’t quite go to plan, but that is normal whether you have a mental health issue or not.

Yesterday (Saturday), I had a bit of a blip. I’d written about 5000 words over various stories, and while that is normally something I’m extremely happy with, I told myself that it would probably all be deleted when it comes to editing.

I was tired and on my drive home, I managed to convince myself that I was a completely pathetic writer and that none of my stories were any good, and no wonder I didn’t have sales, etc.

By the time I got home, had dinner and ruminated some more, I was at the point of tears. I knew that it was wrong, and that I was over-reacting, but I couldn’t seem to shake myself out of the melancholy.

I was so upset and wound up about my writing. My partner, very attuned to my moods asked me if I was okay. When I told him, he told me that 5000 words was impressive, and if I wasn’t a successful writer, then I wouldn’t have so many books published (7 books) (Yes, he is a keeper). I had a cry, snuggled with him and then went to bed.

This morning (Sunday), I woke up feeling a lot brighter and happier, and able to look on yesterday’s blip and recognise it for what it was. An overtired reaction to something that my brain ruminated over. knew

Everyone has moments where they overthink something, or over react to something that happened in their day. Sometimes it’s tiredness, it might be stress, or it could be something else altogether. Just remember, it is only a blip. It isn’t the end of the world, or the end of your mental health. It is just a day where you refer back to your earlier self, before you had the tools to help you cope with situation.

Recognising that I was over-reacting was a good thing, because I knew that I would come through the other side and still have my mental health intact.

If you have a bad day, remember it is only one moment in time. And sometimes we need the bad times to remember how far we’ve come on a good day.

The Meta and AI controversy

Posted on by
Reply

The big news this week was that Meta used a pirate website to download millions of books to feed into their AI – Llama3.

My books weren’t included – I’m not a big enough author or earning enough for the pirates to warrant accessing my books, but a lot of my writing friends from around the world have had some or all of their books pirated, and then fed into Llama3 in order for it to ‘learn’.

And then people wonder why writers hate AI.

I was a fan of AI until this came out, because I find what Meta did was morally wrong. They used a pirate site, which had already ripped off hundreds of thousands of writers by taking their work and selling it (most often without the author’s knowing or receiving payments for it) and then Meta used that, along with everything else on the site, which includes doctorates and other university grade papers to make their AI ‘intelligent’, instead of approaching people and asking if they could use their resources.

Of course, Meta isn’t the only company that has probably done this, but because Meta is a social media giant (with Facebook, Instagram and Threads), it has acquired more notoriety.

While what I was doing was feeding my own books into the AI program I was using, illegally taking something that wasn’t theirs to take in the first place is just downright wrong.

But what can we do about it? Well, nothing. That’s the annoying thing. Authors could do a mass walk off of Facebook / Instagram, but where else are they going to go? There is no other popular social media out there that is like Facebook or Instagram. The closest to Threads (Metas version of Twitter, or X as it is now known) is Bluesky, but there is no other equivalent for Facebook, because it is THE social media platform. But I will be checking out some others, including Mastodon and Vero.

There is Whatsapp – but that means giving my personal phone number out to people, and I don’t want to do that. There is also Snapchat and Pinterest. And while Pinterest interests me, I’m not sure that Snapchat or Whatsapp are really places an author can use – maybe they can, but I’m not sure they’re the right places for me.

There is TikTok – but I’ve been avoiding it – not because I don’t want to do it, but because my audience isn’t there. Mostly my audience are on Facebook or Instagram, and how do you convince your followers to leave and try another social media platform?

Of course, there is my website, but until I can work out how to have more contact with people on there, like having a chat function so I can share information that can go out to all of my followers. I do weekly blogs, but that isn’t what people want. No one except my mum and a couple of other people read these posts. (If you do, leave a like on the facebook page.)

So, what do I do? Do I suck it up and stay? Or do I show Meta the middle finger and find another social media platform to share my news? You tell me.

Keeping up with Myself

Posted on by
Reply

The last couple of weeks have been hectic. Learning a new job, writing two stories, editing Finding Sam Healey…

I have officially started into my normal roster, which means I’ve worked this weekend. Some of you are probably thinking – why would you work a weekend. Easy – I do it once a fortnight, and I get paid handsomely to do it. And you know what, there is plenty of time in each shift to do my own thing. So yesterday I started editing Carol’s Christmas! If this keeps up, I’ll run out of writing before I do editing!

But I have my regular roster, so I know when I have time for writing and when I’m working, so that gives me a clear idea of where I’m heading, because the last three weeks, I didn’t know when I was working half the time. But now it’s clear, I can set some boundaries around my writing time.

Because things have been so chaotic, I decided to focus on editing instead, and after missing my deadline, (and with agreement from my editor) I was able to get the document to her on Thursday. I will know how good, bad or ugly the story is by the beginning of April.

And now that is out of the way, I can crack back into writing. Which I have been itching to do, because I haven’t done it for a few days – maybe two weeks now. It will be good to get back into writing and I hope to have at least one of the stories finished by mid-April.

With all of the mess that has been going on, it is nice to finally be coming out the other side and starting to get back into normal and routine, because I cope better with that than chaos and crazy.

Steeping Learning Curves

Posted on by
Reply

I’ve been at my new job for three weeks now, and it’s been a steep learning curve. I’m having to learn not just one CMS (Customer Management System), but also an outdated requisitions website, which I’m not allowed access too until I’ve done appropriate training.

I’m enjoying the new job; it is certainly an eye opener. I’m already aware that I’m not a keen ear when it comes to gossip, like my two cohorts are. They can tune into any conversation and follow along, no matter how noisy it is. I struggle to remember to open the door when the door chimes! Never mind answering the telephone. As a gardener, I didn’t need those skills.

I’m working in ICU (or ICCU – Intensive Coronary Care Unit), and it hasn’t been full on like it expected it to be, although that is probably a good thing because I don’t think I’m quick enough to get ahead of the eight ball if I need to be. I will be with time, but right now, not so much. I have to say that the staff are amazing, and really helpful. A couple of them have been able to answer any questions I’ve had or find answers if they can’t help. I also have the trainer on speed dial, and I might need her this week, as I am going it alone this week, on my first roster shift on my own.

As a result of the large learning curve, I haven’t had a lot of time for my writing, or editing, but I have today (Monday) off, so that will help me get ahead in my editing, because Finding Sam Healey is due to the editor at the end of today…eek!

Overfilling my Cups

Posted on by
Reply

With Intellection and Learner being high on my Gallup Strengths, work has been filling my cups to overflowing at the moment. I’m learning so much about work, my work environment, my co-workers and understanding the place that I’m working in. There is the learning also, learning the new computer systems, which are probably slightly dated, but I’m coming to grips with them.

As a result of my tumultuous timetable, I’ve had little time for writing, and on the morning’s, I haven’t been working, I’ve managed to scramble around in Finding Sam Healey which I’ve promised my editor by the 10th of March.

I haven’t had a lot of time for writing because I’ve been focused on trying to get my edits done. And I haven’t had a lot of time to edit because I’ve been working erratic hours. It will be nice to finally get into my roster so that I can settle my routine and get my new routine working. I’ve also been incredibly brain tired as my brain tries to process what I’m learning.

I have worked out something important though in my writing. I started out this year, thinking that I didn’t have a job until now. I was going to focus on writing fulltime to get my books out there. But I realise now, that isn’t really a possibility. I need to have a job in order to give my brain a break from creativity. And while there are other things I could do in that time, because my writing only takes up about two hours of my day, marketing etc wouldn’t take up much more.

Listening to the Rebel Author Podcast with Sacha Black, made me realise that it’s okay to still have a job and write. Some popular writers find they need that stimulation to keep them writing. So. I’m looking at this as a win.

Until I get into a routine, my writing is going to be out of kilter for a little while. As long as I get my editing done by the 10th…

Relator, in my writing.

Posted on by
Reply

I wrote a few weeks ago about the fact that I’, Number 1 Strength Relator in the Clifton Strengths test. You can thank Becca Syme for that, it seems to be something that most writers are buying into.

I wrote about how as a Relator, (Understanding Catherine Mede – Blog dated 12 January 2025) impacts my life. Now, I’m going to explain how it impacts my writing, because until I heard this, I didn’t realise that it was what I did in my writing.

A writer, who is a relator, will often delve into relationships without understanding why. They want to express the dynamics and the unusual aspects of relationships, that isn’t normally talked about.

And I see that in my writing. In Cursed Love, Jinny didn’t want to have a relationship because she’d lost her first love and blamed it on a family curse. It was only through perseverance that Ethan managed to convince her to give love a chance.

In Running Away, we see Larissa trying to escape a bad time in her life, so she goes on a tramp, where she runs into Harley, who is hiding out at a Lodge in the Abel Tasman National Park. Their relationship might seem to be normal, except Harley is keeping his identity a secret.

In Compromising Positions, we have Jo who has been burned in a relationship. But this story also looks at the relationship she has with man she works for, Edward, and his son, Logan as well as the relationship between Edward and Logan.

It seems that I look looking into relationships that are unusual too. Like Second-Hand Daughter, where Sylvia and Peyton have to build a relationship after Slyvia’s husband (and Peyton’s dad) is killed in a car accident.

I could keep going on all of my books and the strange relationships that they encounter and how they work to make the relationship work. Because often relationships aren’t as simple as “I love you, lets move in together.”

Relationships fascinate me, and I think that as long as I am writing, all of my stories will look at the relationships that form and where they come from and why they do things the way they do.

Being Organised

Posted on by
Reply

This is my last week of not working, as I start my new job on Monday 17th. And while I’m keen to get started and feeling relatively calm at the moment, next Sunday night I’m probably going to be a nervous wreck.

But I’m now having to plan to be organised in my daily life to make sure that I still have time for my writing and creative interests as well as working.

I know 20 hours a week doesn’t sound like a lot, but I’m a natural born procrastinater, and I can clean my house faster the more pressure I put on myself to write. It can be funny to know that I should be writing, but instead, the floor suddenly needs to be vacuumed or washed, or the toilet need to be cleaned.

It’s been over two years since I started my writing journey in earnest, knowing that I do have enough time in my day to write and do my creative interests. I managed to do it when I was working 40 hours a day, I took the twenty to thirty minutes each morning to write.

But since I’m writing two books, and spending about 45 to 60 minutes per story, I need to make sure that I spend that time actually writing. I’ll be working from 1pm until 6pm and weekends on a rostered basis, which add up to 20 hours a week. Which means that I have the morning to get my writing, editing and anything else I need to get done, and the evenings will now be relaxing and kicking back.

I’m looking forward to getting back into the workforce, and to spend time writing and getting my books out there, because I eventually want to make some money off my books. I won’t be making millions, but I want to be able to not have to work full time.

But that is in the future. And I only live day to day, so we’ll have to see what the future brings.

Encouraging Others

Posted on by
Reply

I love writing. But it can be lonely. You’re sitting at your laptop, staring at the screen, wondering where the words will come from.

It’s part of the reason why I’ve joined so many writing groups, to meet like minded people. Because we are all alone on our computers, trying to write the next best selling novel.

And I’ve met some really lovely people through this experience.

This week I’ve been in communication with a lovely lady in California who is still working her way through her first novel. It’s had several iterations, but she’s happier now with where it’s going. She just needs to finish it.

We have a deal going. If she doesn’t finish writing it by the end of February, she is going to send me a $1. And while it would be nice to have a US$1 bill, I’m going to do everything I can to encourage her to finish her novel, because I want to see her happiness at succeeding, rather than have that $1 note.

I’m that kind of person, I like to encourage others, not just with writing. Just before Christmas, we were at Rai Valley having a coffee when I saw a lady walk past with these most amazing boots. I complimented her on them. She was gruff and not very happy looking, but I smiled and told her I loved her boots. When she came out of the shop, she told me to have a lovely Christmas and smiled at me. It was a beautiful smile.

Sometimes someone needs to hear that they look good, or they did something pretty awesome, because our inner selves are telling us otherwise.

So next time you see something you like, or something that was a kind act, tell that person. They might just need to hear it.

Trying Something New

Posted on by
Reply

I hinted that I would be trying something new earlier this year (was that only three weeks ago?). I wanted to see if I could do it before I told you about it.

And I can actually do it, so what have I been doing? I’ve been writing two stories at the same time.

And it isn’t that hard either. With one exception.

I knew that I had three months to write some stories, before I had full time work for a couple of months, so I wanted to see if I could write three stories at the same time. I had a Racing Harts story to write, an Urban Fantasy story, and a fairytale.

The only reason I wanted to try this, was because I can only write for about an hour a day before my brain goes to mush. It was a gamble; would I be able to write three stories?

The answer is no. And here is why. The fairytale and the Racing Harts story were both contemporary romances, so I couldn’t switch between the two stories comfortably. But I am able to switch between a contemporary romance and an Urban Fantasy with no issues, so I have been writing two stories a day since 5th January.

It’s been an interesting experience, but it also gives me twice as much to think about and plot out before my next writing session.

And then I got news, I have a part time job, working 20 hours a week, mostly in the afternoon, which meant that my original idea of focusing on my writing this year is still happening.

I’m looking forward to my new job, I’m moving back into office work, which is somewhat scary, but also exciting. It means that I’m inside all day, even in winter, so no more finding sunny spots to start the day.

I hope to continue writing two stories at a time, with plans to write the fairytale next, then the Men in Kilts series, so there could be a few new books out next year.

My publishing plan this year is to publish Finding Sam Healey (tentatively April 2025), Carol’s Christmas (July/August 2025) and Faith’s story in Racing Harts (October/November 2025).

I’m looking forward to sharing my successes with you all.