The picture above is of Doris and me, about to go on a cruise in 2019. It was a couple of months after I was seriously ill, and Steve and I were quite nervous about going; but it had been planned quite a while, and was the honeymoon we had anticipated for 27 years. Doris… Continue reading Writing Anyway
Nicki’s Writing Blog
Redressing a balance.
This evening I have written the fifteenth post for This Place of Happiness. It is not long until it gets published, and I am naturally apprehensive about the reviews. My friend Muriel has commented on the posts, and leaves a like or a comment every day. I am very grateful to her. I am also… Continue reading Redressing a balance.
A visit to West Dean
This week I have been enjoying this writing life. If you follow me on social media you will have seen that I have started my Countdown to Publication using images and quotes from the novel, and I am trying hard to wet your appetite to read more. I’ve been to West Dean College this week… Continue reading A visit to West Dean
Countdown to Publication
Next month I am going to be published. I started writing This Place of Happiness in 2015, and seven years later I will be able to hold a copy in my hand. It is daunting and exciting, and reminds me of the day my son started school; except instead of worrying how he will interact with the… Continue reading Countdown to Publication
A novel idea.
I had a new idea for a novel yesterday. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if every idea translated itself into the sort of novel that you want to read? When I was at University we had a speaker from the Arts Council. He asked us a question. When we die what did we want our body… Continue reading A novel idea.
Writing and Process 2: Finding the Time
10/06/2021 It is one thing finding the time to write and another entirely to find the right time. I remember hearing about a woman who wrote while raising her family. She wrote one sentence at a time between bread making, cleaning the house, changing nappies and raising a large number of children. I think that… Continue reading Writing and Process 2: Finding the Time
Writing and Process 1: What is a writer?
10/06/2021 I’m a writer. There are lots of definitions about what a writer is. When I started my MA in Creative Writing and Publishing at West Dean College the students and our tutors discussed what being a writer is. There were six of us. We wrote. That was our common denominator. But were we writers?… Continue reading Writing and Process 1: What is a writer?
A Bit of Hope
21/07/2021 Today I submitted my second novel to Dark Edge Press. It’s a bit scarey. In February 2019 I suffered a brain injury. Before that, I had finished a Masters in 2017 and had been looking forward to a ‘second career’ as a writer. I was hoping to retire next year, in May 2022. I… Continue reading A Bit of Hope
What next?
So many ideas… so little time. I have so many ideas that I don’t know where to start… I need to finish my second novel and get it ready to send to the publisher. I also want to start planning a novel for Nanowrimo. I have three ideas. One of them is a novel that’s… Continue reading What next?
Procrastination.
There is a direct correlation between how clean and tidy my house is and procrastination. And the house is spotless. I had intended to have this written by Sunday evening; but it is already the early hours of Thursday morning and I am only just beginning. On Thursday last week I received an email from… Continue reading Procrastination.