I’m the guest blogger all week on the Random House Australia blog site: http://randomhouseaustralia.wordpress.com/ So far I’ve written about my heroine, Grace; why the North Yorkshire moors was the perfect setting for a novel; and about losing the plot (and why bad words aren’t necessarily a bad thing).col-md-2
Posts
When paramedic Bruce Pike arrives too late to save a boy found hanged in his bedroom, the unusual circumstances of the death return him to his memories of adolescence, a turbulent time of unlikely friendships and recklessness that pushed him towards the darker edges of life.
I am a little ashamed to admit that this is the first Tim Winton I’ve read, since he is perhaps the most prestigious author in my home state of WA. I have long had Cloudstreet and Dirt Music on my list as well as this one, but when a friend suddenly gave it to me all other books were cast aside. I read it in a couple of days, and while it wasn’t exactly what I was expecting, on reflection I think it was better. I am regularly disappointed by lauded, award-winning books – perhaps the hype kills them for me. Yet Tim Winton’s prose here is beautiful, stark and spare – it’s to-the-point, incisive fiction. The subject matter and the plot didn’t grab me all the way through, but the writing did – Winton absolutely lives and breathes his characters. I’m really looking forward to Cloudstreet now.
NB: At the moment, Save Our Marine Life (Australia)’s page on facebook features an open letter from Tim Winton about the importance of marine conservation. It’s well worth reading.col-md-2
Finally, after six long weeks of work, I have finished the structural edit of Beneath the Shadows. It’s lovely to put my head up again, as I’ve literally been working morning, noon and night, around my toddler’s waking hours, to get everything done. I am already thinking of things that need changing or tweaking, but I will get another chance to do that when the copy-editing begins. I have a little bit of a love-hate relationship with this side of the editing process, which is ironic since I’ve been a book editor for the last ten years. But editing someone else’s work is fun. Editing my own novels seems to be much more gruelling, since I find myself continually re-examining every aspect of plot, characters and writing, and coming up with more and more problems or weaknesses that need fixing. However, I thrive on the challenge, and so far I’ve had two great editors who have really pushed me to make my books stronger.
So, while I’ve been taking a break, I’ve been dabbling with my bookshelf on goodreads.com. I now have an author profile, which I’m still working on, and you’ll find my latest book reviews on there as well as on this website. You’ll notice they all tend to be rather positive, but I often don’t finish books I’m not enjoying, and as a result I don’t feel entirely qualified to comment on them! I’m currently reading and loving Water for Elephants, so you can expect another positive review soon!
Lately, quite a few aspiring authors have asked me for advice on what to do when you feel your novel is ready to go out into the world. So, while I have some downtime, I’ll shortly put up a blog or two with some general advice and information. Good luck to you all. Book publishing is a tough world, but it’s a very exciting and fulfilling one too, and I love being part of it.col-md-2
I’m about to start editing Beneath the Shadows, and I’m very excited about it. It is through this process that my book will gradually evolve from its raw first draft into a finely polished finished piece. With a background as an editor I feel very open to the editing process, which can be pretty daunting and confronting for a writer. Everything from characters, plot and pace, and the strength of the writing itself, is examined thoroughly during editing; and as a result the book can change quite a bit, sometimes in ways the author never envisioned. Come Back to Me was a much better book after editing, and I’m sure that it will be the same for Beneath the Shadows.
Beneath the Shadows is currently at the structural editing stage. So we’re looking at things like how the chapters work, both on their own and with one another; whether the characters are developing fully; if there are gaps that need filling, or sections that need paring back. So wish me luck, and I’ll post some updates on how it’s going.col-md-2
Pages
I am sometimes lucky enough to be allowed to write on other people’s sites or blogs. You can check out some of my previous posts by following the links below:
On Writing (10 August 2011) on The Australian Bookshelf
Writer on Tour (14 April 2011) on Adventures of an Intrepid Reader
The literary/commercial fiction divide (14 Feb 2011) on Natasha Lester’s blog http://whilethekidsaresleeping.wordpress.com/
A shifting landscape, a perfect backdrop (13 Feb 2011) on www.lisaheidke.com
Inspiration (9 Feb 2011) on The Random Blog
Mothering and writing for a living (8 Feb 2011) on http://anjwritesabout.com/
Endings: Beginnings in disguise (4 Feb 2011) on The Random Blog
Stories within stories (3 Feb 2011) on The Random Blog
Losing the plot (2 Feb 2011) on The Random Blog
The North Yorkshire moors, the perfect setting (1 Feb 2011) on The Random Blog
At long last, meet Grace (31 Jan 2011) on The Random Blog
On writing and editing (31 Jan 2011) on http://www.ahthepossibilities.com/
Sara Foster is grateful for… (31 Jan 2011) on http://anitaheissblog.blogspot.com/
Breathing Life into Landscapes (4 Nov 2010) on www.fleurmcdonald.com
On pursuing publication (9 April 2010) on The Random Blog
Finding the time to write (8 April 2010) on The Random Blog
Friends and family readers (7 April 2010) on The Random Blog
Your editor is on your side (6 April 2010) on The Random Blog
When characters get minds of their own (5 April 2010) on The Random Blogcol-md-2
