Getting my act together...

As serious as I am about writing, I've also another passion I've had since the 80's: composing electronic music. And in the last two or three years, yet another passion has enveloped me, creating iPad apps.

Pulling all of these creative threads together to show in a website proved to be more difficult than I thought. But now that I've approached it with a clearer perspective, it became relatively straightforward.

So my new website is finally up and running. It still needs a few tweaks here and there; and some stuff will need updating, but it's all basically ready to fire.

I'd love you to take a look; here is the link - I hope you like it!

http://davidgriffinauthor.co.uk/

Change of title again, again

Finalised (again) the title of my second novel but don't know if you believe me or not! Now called: Infinite Rooms.

That's it. Done. Forever. (Mind you, I said that to myself last time...) ;-)

Change of title... again

Hi, I've changed the title of one of my novels yet again; I won't labour you with the reasons though! Enough to say that Spencer's Mindrooms is now called Infinite Rooms of Donadette. This'll now stay, unless I change my mind again of course.


Continuing luck and success with your writing. :-)

A tale of two novels and two hopes...

I'm preparing psychologically – and emotionally, I guess – to launch myself back into my 3rd novel WIP, which is just under a third of way there. (Intense final editing and giving a makeover to my existing two novels over the past 2 or 3 months quite took it out of me; I felt mentally exhausted for two days). While doing this, I've been typing yet more notes for a fourth novel I have started (4,000 words so far); the plot and voice I want becoming quite alive for me.


Dare I attempt to write two novels at once? The short answer (and my immediate response) is a resounding no. I'm hoping that when I get round to starting up again this 4th one, all of the ambiences I'm getting at this stage will be there waiting... sheesh, I do hope so... Enough to say the notes I have been making have been fairly descriptive.


For interest, before I add even one more word to the 3rd, I'm going to be reading the first draft of what I have written so far. It's somewhat against one of my "rules" (and against what many other authors would recommend too, including your good selves), being that one should plough to the end of the first draft before reading anything of what has been written. So my second hope is that by reading this first draft material won't "spoil the broth" in any way.

Right, the fire is not as hot as it was; I'd better pack up the tent, fit the crampons, backpack on back, ropes to the ready, and continue the climb up this particular 3rd novel mountain... soon.


:-)

Writing progress update...

Hi, after finishing the final edit of Spencer's Mindrooms two weeks ago or so, I'm thrilled to have now finished the final edit/makeover of my 35 year old novel The Unusual Possession of Alastair Stubb (gothic/magical realism, 84,500 words). Apart from one last read through today, that's it, done, finished for everrrrr. (And apart from the possibility of a publisher's editor's suggestions at some time in the future). Gives me a nice, warm, fuzzy feeling! In fact, I might go out for a meal/drink tonight with Susan to celebrate!


So I'll give myself a week or so's "breathing space" then it's back to my 3rd novel work-in-progress. It's up to 25,000 words; so only another 50,000 words to go... Much looking forward to getting stuck in and I can assure you that to complete it and the subsequent edits will NOT take 35 years...


:-)

Excellent advice from Stephen J. Cannell and Iain Broome

A few may recognize this video by Stephen J. Cannell that I posted about 6 months ago. I'm sure you'll agree it's excellent advice and so I'm reposting it for the majority of you who haven't seen it.

Great advice there, I'm sure you'll agree, but it's no use making yourself ill over it. One could say that to be obsessive with writing is fine but to be obsessed with writing isn't. To be professional and focused concerning writing is fine, but to blank out all other aspects of your life to find that focus isn't. Once again, write, write, write isn't a religious dictum but a strong concept given as advice by many writers. But some forget to add some balance and common sense.


The excellent writer and blogger Iain Broome (Write for your life and Broomeshtick) has added some balance with his blog article: Ignore anyone who tells you to write, write, write! which can be found here.

Some tweeted quotes on writing

Here's a roundup of some of my favourite writing quotes I've tweeted over the last couple of months or so (+ a couple of mine...:-). If you have any favourites that aren't here, please let me know, I'll be interested to hear them!


 "To me, the greatest pleasure of writing is not what it's about, but the inner music that words make." Truman Capote

 "Writing, for me, means humility. It's a process that involves fear and doubt, especially if you're writing honestly." KIRAN DESAI


 “If I had listened 2 the critics I'd have died drunk in the gutter.” Anton Chekhov (1860-1904)


 "Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness." George Orwell


 “One of the things that draws writers to writing is that they can get things right that they got wrong in real life." Tobias Wolff


 "You need a certain amount of nerve to be a writer." Margaret Atwood


 "One of the pleasant things those of us who write or paint do is to have the daily miracle. It does come." Gertrude Stein

 "One’s art should be the extension of oneself." Maritza Burgos


"Twenty-six letters of the alphabet and a set of punctuations marks; marvellous!" David Griffin


"Follow your inner moonlight." Allen Ginsberg


"I think plots are made up of strings of events, elaborated by description and dialogue." Stuart Wood


"I put things down on sheets of paper and stuff them in my pockets. When I have enough, I have a book." John Lennon"


"Writing itself is an act of faith, and nothing else." E. B. White



"Thank you for sending me a copy of your book – I’ll waste no time reading it." Moses Hadas


 "The misuse of language induces evil in the soul." Socrates


 "Everyone is interesting except the narrator in a first-person story." William


 "I love seeing how words turn into skills." Jamie Lavin


 "Write about it by day and dream about it by night." E. B. White


"Writing is a difficult trade which must be learned slowly by reading great authors."André Maurois


 "You'll probably write some good books. But remember, it's a horrible life." TrumanCapote to EdmundWhite


"Yes, of course I'm going to be professionally published. I'd just like to be alive when it happens" David Griffin


"The thing to go for is speed. Nothing puts the reader off more than a great slab of prose at the start." P.G. WODEHOUSE


"2000 words a day is very good going." Evelyn Waugh


"If the doctor told me I had six minutes to live, I'd type a little faster." Isaac Asimov


"Quantity produces quality. If you only write a few things, you're doomed." Ray Bradbury

Your novel is a tin of beans; get over it...

If I lose an item that's not that important, or if I complain to my wife that she hasn't put the butter away, for instance, she'll say: "Get over it!" :-)


So, our novels are tins of baked beans? There's no direct comparison, I'll grant you. What's more, there's not much reading to be had on a tin (can for my American friends); and I can bet that chewing soggy pages wouldn't taste remotely like baked beans....


And yet they are the same when it comes to one description: products. An agent has to sell your product to a publisher, the publisher has to sell your product to a customer. This description doesn't detract from the novel's contents in any way, of course. Whether it be literary, steampunk, romance, etc., (or a literary steampunk romance novel ;-) the job of selling it depends, not only on the quality of it's contents, but the look of the cover. AND THE TITLE. Whoops, I promised I wouldn't shout in my last post....


A book jacket design is so important as you know, having to compete with all other books around it for our attention to pick it up or be attracted to it over and above another jacket design shown on an ebook site.


The title, no matter how good the inside is, can even make or break a book. I'll stick my neck on the line and say that there are bound to be some pretty poor offerings (a small minority) of novels which shouldn't have left the slush pile but sold bucket loads on the title alone. The same goes for music CDs. I should know, I've bought some stinkers in the past by being swayed by an excellently designed cover and great band name, enough for me to "give it a go".


Yes, the marketing department will attempt to push your/my novel in front of the eyes of as many customers that they can, utilising all manner of marketing strategies (if you're lucky).


You knew all that, I'm certain, that your novel is a product to be sold with the same marketing energy and with parallel marketing considerations as a tin of baked beans. 


I knew this a while back but in a vague fashion. But now I'm underlining it in my mind. It is the be-all and end-all of the novel selling process, and its quality of success can make or break a novel – make or break an author even.


So it's not enough to have a wonderful story, you also need an excellent cover (including a mind-grabbing back cover blurb). But we are not all book cover designers (although I'm a graphic designer by trade, as it happens - but still can't compete with the excellent book jacket designers out there) and luckily we don't have to design our own covers if it's to be professionally published. 


But also it's not enough to have a weak, perhaps unattractive or misleading book title, which is something we can and must make sure is right. 


Which leads me to telling you about the title of my second novel. Ever since I wrote the first draft of it, way back in *mumble mumble mumble* it has been called Filbert's Mindrooms. (Actually, tell a lie, it was first called Filbert). And only today, underlining the ultimate importance of marketing, cover and title to myself, I realised that the surname Filbert is wrong, perhaps old-fashioned and unattractive, sounding almost "foggy" and "dusty". (Not "woody" as Monty Python would say ;-) Something more modern was needed. Because of that, after all of these years, I've changed the main character's name from Donald Filbert to Donald Spencer. Hence the new title of my second novel is now called Spencer's Mindrooms. Sounds fresher and modern now, do you think? When I change the name throughout my manuscript it'll be interesting if this name change has affected the writing in subtle ways.


I've redesigned the cover as well. I know that a designer who specialises in  book jackets will design it for me when I'm published but in the meantime I might still decide to try to sell copies via POD and/or ebook retailers. You can see my new cover for Spencer's Mindrooms over to the right.


Positive vibes to you all in selling your novel.


And your novel is a tin of beans, OK? Get over it. Oh, you have. 


:-)