• Home
  • Blog
  • Only May
  • Wild Spinning Girls
  • Snow Sisters
  • Ghostbird
  • Contact

Making it up as I go along

Making it up as I go along

Monthly Archives: June 2016

Second drafting

26 Sunday Jun 2016

Posted by Carol Lovekin in Uncategorized

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Book 2, Drafts, Editing, Writing

Island Life, Word Birds & Process #10

Writing a book – if you can pull it off – is a pretty cool trick. It happens however in layers and conjuring a second draft is part of the enchantment. It’s when the writer searches for the missing part of the spell that makes the whole thing work.

I’m here to tell you, in my case, there is no trickery. Too many of the words aren’t even there.

My tendency to edit as I go is a trait in myself I’ve settled for. Over the years I’ve tried to resist but it’s no good and that’s how it is. It does mean I’m inclined to take out rather a lot on the way. In the process I leave holes, and sometimes miss opportunities or connections.

Having killed a fair number of my darlings – before they even had time to plead extenuating circumstances – I’m now filling the spaces in between. Summoning the missing words in the hope my reader will assume they were there from the beginning.

Annex - Harlow, Jean_62

I’m taking my time with this second draft and enjoying the experience. Be that as it may, the question remains – the one that vexes all writers at this stage: how do we edit our work and know what’s good and what’s rubbish?

We do our best is the answer. Plug away, learn from our previous efforts and thank our lucky stars if we are fortunate enough to have a great editor. Someone we can hand the whole thing over to when it’s done.

The smallest writing group in Wales

19 Sunday Jun 2016

Posted by Carol Lovekin in Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Ghostbird, Janey, Photographs, Swimming, Writing Group

Island Life, Word Birds & Process #9

Those of you familiar with my Facebook status will have spotted the hashtag #WG2. It translates as Writing Group 2 and is, to my knowledge, the smallest one in Wales. For years I’d searched for a local writing group that wasn’t poetry-based (no disrespect to poets but I’m not one) and eventually gave up.

A couple of years ago I met Janey at the swimming pool and we realised we were both writers. We began meeting for lunch after our Wednesday session. Both of us were at that tentative ‘what if’ place – unsure if we had any talent, certain only of our passion for writing and the stories we were working on. Initially we talked in general terms about our work. I was still looking for a publisher for Ghostbird and Janey was deep in the scattered draft of her first book. Within a very short space of time we realised we were sharing the detail of our stories and doing so from a place of absolute trust.

And we liked what we heard. We liked one another. From here #WG2 has become the hub around which our writing revolves.

Even though we write in different genres, both of us have our roots in Wales: a sense of the place we inhabit informs our storytelling. Over time this has shaped our writing relationship. We have developed a real bond and even though I was fortunate enough to see Ghostbird published, absolutely nothing has changed. We remain a tight, supportive duo. Janey’s authentic regard for my small success is truly affecting.

WP

Nine months ago I began writing my second book. Janey has worked like a woman possessed and her book – written on a far broader canvas and with a cast of thousands! – is nearing completion. It has taken on a life of its own. She is more assured and determined, enthused and quietly excited. And so am I. I love her story; I sense something unexpected and unusual in it.

From the beginning we decided against critiquing. Neither of us has read a word the other has written yet we know everything. We are familiar with one another’s characters, the various relationships, the plot twists. We know the beginnings, the middles and the endings. Every week we talk and share and brainstorm for hours on end, offering insight and ideas. Above all, we listen. Writing my new story, I’ve lost count of the times I’ve presented my friend with a tangle and she’s come up with the answer. I know I’ve done the same for her.

I am indebted to this woman. Being part of our dynamic partnership has in no small way changed how I write and how much I write. It’s made me more disciplined; given me a level of confidence I genuinely needed. Writing a second book is a challenge. I’m still unsure about it but so long as I have Janey cheering me along, I won’t be tempted to give up.

ps: Janey is also responsible for the lovely black & white photographs of me, including the header.

Begin at the beginning … again…

12 Sunday Jun 2016

Posted by Carol Lovekin in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Birds, Drafts, Mist, Writing

Island Life, Word Birds & Process #8

In summer, mist is a vaguer, less assertive thing than its winter sister. Having little resistance to the sun it burns off quickly. And in the sun’s absence, this lethargic heat will do it. Summer mist is short-lived but no less lovely.

You do have to get up early to catch it.

This morning I was. With only one remaining chapter left to write, I joined the birds and they, bless them, flung the final words my way.

The first draft of my SisterBook is done!

Davide Benati - Frangipane, 1989 - Copy

I’ve already begun a new pass. Because I edit as I go, the earlier parts of the story in particular are in reasonable shape. I do expect to be challenged once I near the final third.

What larks though! Another story down, another milestone reached: the ‘difficult second novel’ written.

Go me.

Dealing in truth

05 Sunday Jun 2016

Posted by Carol Lovekin in Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Editor, Ghost Story, Ghostbird, SisterBook, Writing

Island Life, Word Birds & Process #7

It’s always about the process. I fear I may be in danger of overusing the word but the fact remains, it is. Any writer will tell you this. We put one foot in front of the other and follow the breadcrumbs.

Since my last post I’ve recovered my sense of proportion and more importantly, worked out whose story it is I’m writing. (Thank you, Terri-Lynne DeFino for pointing out that the person whose voice begins the story is usually the one who owns it.)

My ‘Sister’ book is another ghost story, albeit a much darker one than Ghostbird. (This ghost is angrier. She has an agenda and she deals in truth.) As do I, and once again find I’m writing about the nature of loss and redemption. These themes intrigue me, not least because they continue to shape me as a person. The various ways that women in particular deal with loss – and recover from it and find their voices – have long informed my writing.

In my prose passages I continue to weave spells. (My editor will almost certainly home in on an excess of ‘lovely’ and point me in the direction of my ‘Dead Darlings’ file. It’s why I need her.) My word spells may run away with themselves and occasionally need culling; they are still my preferred vehicle to tell my stories.

But regardless of whether or not she believes in magic per se, what I write has to feel accessible to my reader. I do my best. The magic I conjure is the kind that exists in the hesitation of twilight or a quiet dawn made soft by a lingering mist.

It hints at possibility.

My novels

Wild Spinning Girls
Wild Spinning Girls
Snow Sisters
Snow Sisters
Ghostbird
Ghostbird
Only May
Only May
Follow Making it up as I go along on WordPress.com

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 166 other subscribers

© Carol Lovekin and Making It Up As I Go Along, 2018. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Carol Lovekin and Making It Up As I Go Along with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Archives

Blogroll

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Facebook

Facebook

Tags

#NotTheBooker Authors Ballet Beach Birds Blodeuwedd Bloggers Blog Tour Book 3 Book 4 Book Fair Book Review Books Countdown Crow Drafts Dylan Thomas Editing Editor Edna O'Brien Extract Family Feminism First Lines Friends Genre Ghostbird Ghosts Ghost Story Glittering Prizes Guest Post Honno Interview Island Life IWD Janet Janey Judith Barrow Letter to America Llandeilo Lockdown Magic Mist Muse Mythology New story Not Writing Only May Photographs Process Public speaking Publishing Quotations Readers Reading Review Reviews RiverBook SisterBook Sky Snow Sisters Social Media Storyteller Structural Edits Titles Traditional Publishing Virginia Woolf Wild Spinning Girls Word Birds Workshops Writers Writing Writing Advice Writing Group Writing rituals

Archives

  • August 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • September 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • April 2021
  • February 2021
  • November 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
“The vote means nothing to women. We should be armed" ~ Edna O'Brien

Blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • Making it up as I go along
    • Join 166 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Making it up as I go along
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...