How to Hook an Agent

On Saturday I went to a Writers and Artists event at Bloomsbury Publishing in London.  There were supposed to be only eighteen of us aspiring authors (actually there were about double that number) and four agents. None-the-less the morning was really informative and quite interactive and we all had a chance to write a hook for our book.

Mine went like this:

If Judith wants to be your friend, she’ll make it happen. She’ll follow you and get to know you, whether you want her to or not.

During lunch we each disappeared from the table to have a 1:1 ‘speed dating’ session with one of the agents. I was first on the list to see Lucy Luck. She read my synopsis (even though she doesn’t like them), gave me some feedback and suggested I submit my first three chapters to her agency.  I have done it this evening.

Right before leaving I had the chance to speak to Madeleine Milburn. About six months ago I submitted three chapters to her agency and she asked to see my whole manuscript (it was a ‘no’ in the end). I was flattered that she remembered so much about it and she was VERY complimentary about my writing.   

Most importantly, she gave me some really good, specific and constructive feedback on how to improve it. That’s my job for the next week or two.

Writing rubbish

I read an article today by Michael Madden in Writing Magazine about allowing yourself to ‘write rubbish’.  A fellow-student on my MA in Creative Writing called it writing a ‘shitty first draft’ and assured us that was the correct term.

Call it what you will, one thing I know from years of study is this:

 You can’t edit a blank page.

 

Until something is written down, on paper or screen, it stays knocking around in your head and remains that (great but) elusive idea.

 

One of my New Year’s Resolutions is to get back into a routine of writing EVERY DAY.  This is today’s product, and I’ve still got time to read over my novel-in-progress so that I’m ready to write the next chapter at this time tomorrow.

 The recycling bin is there waiting should it be needed.

 

 

NaNoWriMo 2012

1st November brought with it National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). Once again I am going to try for 50 000 words of a new novel. The idea is that you knock out nearly 2000 words per day for 30 days to give the raw material from which to write the next big thing.

So far I have done 5714 words which means that I am behind the average required by 2619 already. I have caught up a bit since Saturday night so feeling confident. I am going to spend almost the whole of Thursday writing, including a NaNo-meet-up in a café in Kendal at 4.30pm. As I understand it, we won't talk to each other, we'll just sit there scribbling away for an hour.  We'll see.

Any other Cumbrian NaNos going?

Very Very Short Story

How about this as a writing exercise?

Write a very short story - a Twitter-short story of only 140 characters.

An example from @VeryShortStory is below.

'The power went out. The elevator stopped. In the dark you told me your fears and cried.  The next day you fired me to keep your secrets safe.'

My next challenge is to write one of my own.  Watch this space.

Free writing

In groups we often start with some free writing. The person leading the session will give a series of words, sometimes linked but often not, and we simply write what comes into our heads. If you can't think of anything, you simply write 'I can't think of anything' until something else comes to mind. I find it is much easier to do when being directed by someone else. At home on my own I hardly ever do it.

Today's exercise is free writing.                                       

Write a page about each of the following topics. Banish all distractions and don't worry that you don't know much about the subjects - write what comes into your mind. It isn't a test and nobody else need ever see it. In fact, you never need to read it back. It is surprising, however, what comes out when you do an exercise like this.

So, one page each on:

• Office furniture
• Marilyn Monroe
• The ozone layer
• Swallows
• Christmas decorations

What surprised you?

Did anything spark a memory that you had forgotten about?

Did you get any ideas for a longer piece of work?

Can you make any connections between the five subjects?

Now that you have 'loosened up', is it time to start on some serious writing?

The sounds around us

Writing exercise 23.10.12

I am going to try to do a writing exercise every day.  Here is today's adapted from The Creative Writing Coursebook.

• Write down 5 things you can hear right now.
• List what you associate with those sounds.

Examples:
- a car engine might remind you of being driven to school
- the door slamming might remind you of family arguments
- a dripping tap might remind you of your student days


In a group, this exercise is really interesting as people tend to hear the same things and interpret them differently. It demonstrates the variety of ways in which people relate to and react to the world around them.

Try it on your own. Look at the words you chose to use and look at your associations.
This is YOUR language.
These are YOUR stories.

Ask yourself -

•  is this YOUR unique writing voice?
• are you using cliches, and if so, is there something more original you could say?

Please, try it and let me know how you get on.


I'm going to do this writing exercise right now.

The Full Manuscript

Hello everyone

Since last time we spoke, an agent asked to see my full manuscript.  How happy I was! 

Three weeks later she said it wasn't for her.  How sad I was!

I am currently deciding what to do next. A friend at Mungrisdale Writers has self-published. Her book is called Learning to Tie a Bow by Sarah Hampton. Should I do the same?

What do you all think?

Bel x