MY WRITING WEEK #1

Forget word counts, forget signing contracts … this has been a big writing week for me. Why? I finally made the brave decision to call myself an author on my Facebook page. It’s just a word, but for me it represents a big step forward into writing fiction for publication.

I’ve always been a dabbler, scribbling down bits and pieces of stories here and there, only to wallow somewhere on my computer’s hard drive. Searching through it recently, I found some gems – including one about a farting dragon I started writing when Bear and Monkey were about 10 and 8. They are now 20 and 18 …

Over the last few months, I’ve been shifting my focus to allow more time for writing – writing for me, that is. It’s taken a lot of encouragement from some wonderful friends and an even more wonderful husband, as well as a kick up the butt that emerged from the pages of Fiona McIntosh’s How To Write Your Blockbuster. It’s meant I have to get up early to write, since it’s the only time I won’t be interrupted.

And the changes are working. Yesterday I finished a 10,000-word short story. I set myself the challenge to write a romance for an anthology being compiled by Serenity Press, a small publisher in my local area. I’ve never written a romance before – I don’t mind reading them now and again, but I wouldn’t say they’re my go-to books. Turns out it was a lot of fun to write, and now I think I’ll write a follow up. I even wrote a kissing scene! You think that’s easy? I blushed at the thought of it (heaven help me if my characters do the deed). All I could think about this kiss, and then, hanging the washing, the words came to me. I know, so romantic. Apparently it’s an OMG kiss, though.

Today I started work on another short story. It’s a mother-son relationship piece, a close-to-my-heart story about a mother trying to reconnect with her teenage son. I have 3000 words to tell this story. Driving to work, I had phrases running through my mind … the first thing I did when I got to work was write them down.

Last week I went out for morning tea with a lovely group of women from the West Coast Romance Authors group. I was nervous – several have publishing deals and a number of books under their belt. Turns out I didn’t need to worry about that – they were most welcoming and encouraging.

Finally, I joined up with fellow Perth author, Louise Allen, on a creative photography collaboration we’ve dubbed Midweek Moments. It’s our way of keeping our blogs active when we’re writing … and of sharing our love of photography. It means taking lots of photos of random things and choosing one each to highlight. Here are some from last week’s experimenting (as you can see, I like details):