I had the great pleasure of being the first person to be interviewed by Dan Crow for his new Piece of Cake vlog series, featuring the ‘movers and shakers’ of the York Literature Scene. It was a lot of fun! If you’d like to learn more about Alfie Slider, among other things, then you can visit Piece of Cake by clicking here.

After my moderate success in the NYC Midnight Short Story contest, I was tempted to enter the screen writing challenge but as I hadn’t written a screenplay before I decided not to. Then they sent me an email telling me it was the last day to get the early bird discount and my resolve crumbled. I entered.

I was lucky; my assignment genre was Science Fiction. I had to include a character who was a maid and a theme of space tourism; all that gelled into a nice idea. I used Amazon Storywriter to work the script up and sent it off in sure and certain expectation of being eliminated in the first round.

I got through.

I placed third in my heat! My very first screenplay, entered into an international competition, and I got through!

One of the really useful things about NYC Midnight is that your work is judged by three different individuals, and they all give you feedback. It’s good feedback too, as you’ll see below.

Today I get my new assignment. I’m really looking forward to the next challenge. I don’t expect to get any further in the competition but it’s nice to dream…

”Hotel Kali Phor Nia” by Sarah Dixon

WHAT THE JUDGE(S) LIKED ABOUT YOUR SCREENPLAY

Even though the concept is one that has been used before – aliens looking in on humans – this script does a nice job of not making it feel trite or overdone because it focuses on the humans and their conversation much more than the alien analysis of it.  It also helps that Pearl and Mike are so recognizably repetitive and simple – this is not necessarily a reflection of them being “trailer trash,” but simply a fact of them being human.

Pearl and Mike’s relationship is funny. I like when they start moving in different directions. The zoo at the end is a nice reveal.

This is a really cute little script. While the space zoo story is not a new one, the characters are so strong and the twist of Pearl putting on airs and putting their position at risk is really fresh.

WHAT THE JUDGE(S) FEEL NEEDS WORK

A bit more could be added to the conversation that takes place before they make the decision.  What is the brochure like?  Why is Pearl so keen on leaving?  Is it very common for humans to make this decision?  Even if the answers to these questions were merely hinted at in the beginning, it might help setup what’s to follow a bit more strongly.

You’ve got a class Twilight Zone episode here, but I’d like to challenge you to do more. Move your ending to the middle — and let Pearl and Mike rebel against their circumstances. That will raise the stakes and draw us more deeply into the story.

I think Pearl could be a bit more “active” rather than just being passively rude. The script could use a technical polish for an easier read.

So, apparently Second Novel Syndrome is where an author who has had some success with their first book, comes to write the second and they panic, because of the weight of expectation on them from fans of the first book.

Obviously my success with Alfie Slider vs the Shape Shifter has been limited to positive reviews from beta-readers, but there was still an amount of ‘can I pull this off again?’ when I came to write the second.

I felt like it should have been easier, because so much of the world and its characters was already defined in the first book. I knew what I needed the second book to do to move Alfie’s story along, and I knew what the plot was going to be.

So I sat down, created a new scrivener project and wrote the opening chapter. It just flowed out, and it felt good. Here I was, back in the creative zone after weeks of editing and tweaking. Oh, how I love telling stories!

And then I got my report from Cornerstones Literary Consultancy, and went back to the first book for a re-work, and then it was Christmas and…

When I went back to look at the second book, it suddenly felt like work rather than pleasure. The story has a couple of distinct sections, each of which needed some thinking about, and when I got to the end of one I felt stalled. I wasn’t sure how to start the next.

I got over that by just starting, not worrying about making it perfect, just putting myself into the situation I had left Alfie in and letting the ideas flow. They did, and I liked them (I hope you do too, when the time comes) but there was still a heaviness to it. The weight of expectation from myself: Can I do it again?

I’m just a few chapters away from finishing the second book, stalled again (procrastinating by writing this blog post) because I can’t quite envisage the big, dramatic ending. I think I’m probably lucky that I’m writing the second book before the first has had any major success; but I’m not looking forward to Third Book Syndrome 🙂

As long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to be a writer. My earliest imaginings had me as a successful author, wealthy enough to live a reclusive life in a big house in the country. Back then, it wasn’t an entirely unrealistic dream; authors could make big bucks.

A few decades later, and I’m told things are very different. Less books are getting published, advances are pretty much non-existent and publishers don’t throw their marketing budgets behind a project unless they’re sure it will sell; which is why you see a lot of high profile books with celebrity names or sequels to very successful books.

When I tell people that I write for the 9-12 age group, it’s common for them to say something like, ‘Oh! You could be the next J.K. Rowling!’ I always say, ‘Well, wouldn’t that be nice!’ but the chance of achieving that kind of success is minuscule.

The reality is more as described by Jon Mayhew in the Children’s Writers and Artists Yearbook 2015, where even as an award winning author of several children’s books he still makes more than half his money from school visits, appearances and the like.

So, a few months ago I put my thinking cap on as to what I could do to enable me to keep on doing the thing that makes my soul sing, writing, whilst also bringing some money into the household budget. I’ve read Alfie Slider to 90+ school children, and am working on developing workshops that I can take to other venues.

I’ve also started working on a business idea that will launch soon – watch this space. It’s an idea that makes me want to jump up and down with excitement, and whenever I’ve explained it to other people I see their eyes light up too.

Money isn’t the measure of a successful life, happiness is. Since I started writing full time in September 2015 I’ve felt the most fulfilled from work that I ever have and each new challenge only increases that. By all the important measures, my writing career is already a success, and I’m incredibly grateful for it but I must admit I am looking forward to the first ‘paycheck’.

Back in March, I wrote an entry for Hour of Writes in response to the prompt ‘Writers without Borders’. The prompt reminded me of an idea I’d had for a story but never done anything with; so I did something with it! It was very well received, it got my highest mark to date from reviewers (89%) and was a featured entry that week. More than that, when I shared the core idea with friends, they agreed with me that it was a much bigger idea than a single, very short story.

So I worked it up, from about 1,400 words to almost 8,000. It’s the same basic idea, just fleshed out a bit more. Even as I was writing it, though, I realised that this wasn’t the end of the story and I was right; the end of the 8,000 words felt more like the end of the first chapter.

Still, I submitted it to the Luna Press Publishing Contest under the title ‘Beyond Fiction’. I’m delighted to say that today I received an email confirming that the story was shortlisted and will be included in their 2016 anthology ‘Beyond Realities, Volume II’.

What’s next for this particular story? Well, I could take it to the next stage and write another 12,000 or so words and make a novella or I could go the whole hog and work it up into my very first adult novel. Choices, choices.

It’s amazing to me that the germ of an idea can grow and grow like this; from tiny acorns written in an hour, to an anthology and way beyond that, into the hearts and minds of the people who read it.

Magic.

I’m an introvert. I consistently come out as an INFJ in Briggs Meyers’ tests; The Advocate. Basically this means that whilst I prefer my own company, I’m actually quite socially driven. I like to feel like a part of a community, not just to live in one but to contribute something to it. I also consistently test as a Hufflepuff, which means pretty much the same thing but is a lot more fun to say.

I thrive on working alone. I enjoy my own company, silence, and the studious nature of a lot of my work; researching, thinking, and of course writing. Ultimately, though, I am writing to be read, which means that I need to know what reaction other people have to the things that I’m creating.

One of, if not the best decisions I made when I started writing full time was to join York Writers. From the very first meeting I attended, it nourished me as a writer. It was a joy to spend a couple of hours a month in a room with other writers; people who understood what it was like, who had been where I was right now and could offer their advice. They were, and are, an incredibly generous and talented group who have been no end of help in the creation of Alfie Slider and everything else I’ve written since then.

Last night was a perfect example of why being a part of a group, even for an introvert like me, is such a great thing. You see, it’s been a bit of a milestone week for Alfie Slider because I have had my first personalised rejection letter. A personalised rejection may not sound like a good thing to someone outside the writing world, but when agents are getting hundreds to submissions a week, being one that they actually take the time to write a note to rather than copying and pasting a standard ‘thanks but no thanks’ is a big deal. The contents of the email was really encouraging, in spite of the fact this agent didn’t think Alfie was the right work for them. They praised the ideas and the writing, and said that saying no was a tough decision; and maybe more importantly they gave me some feedback as to why they’d said what they had.

Over the days since the email had arrived, I think it’s fair to say that I’d obsessed over it a bit. I’d read it, re-read it, tried to read between the lines and work out some hidden subtext. I’d imagined scenarios, and created a complete and complex narrative to explain everything. I’d paralysed myself with over-thinking; I couldn’t decide what to do, to move forward.

So last night I took the emails to the Novelist Support Group and read them to my colleagues, the same people who have heard me reading through Alfie Slider vs the Shape Shifter as it was created and encouraged me when my faith was flagging. They listened, they commented, and they made suggestions for how to move forward. I left the room feeling so much happier and empowered.

Today, I’ve written some of Alfie 1 for the first time in weeks. It made me happy, like it always does. I have a bit more work to do, but I’m really looking forward to cracking on and getting the MS out there again. One day soon, Alfie Slider is going to be making a lot of other people smile, too.

So yes, I’m an introvert, but I couldn’t do this alone. Thank you, colleagues. You’re amazing.

I promised a while ago that I’d blog about using a literary consultancy, and I’ve finally got some free time to do just that.

Writing is a very competitive business these days. Back when I first started looking for an agent last year, most of their websites apologised for the fact it would take them 4-6 weeks to respond; now they’re mostly saying 10-12. Some of them refer to the thousands of submissions they receive a year, or the hundreds a week, and that they can only take on a handful of new authors. A few agents suggested using a Literary Consultant to review your work prior to submission, and the most frequently mentioned name was Cornerstones so I visited their website and sent them an enquiry which included the first chapter and a synopsis of Alfie Slider at their request, they want to make sure that the writing is at a stage to benefit from feedback before going any further.

I quickly got an email back from Helen, who suggested which of their options would be best for me. Obviously there was a cost involved, but I felt that it was worth investing in my work and the fees were reasonable for the service provided. I chose to go ahead, paid my fee and was married up with a reader. I printed out and sent off my full MS, and tried not to think about it for the next few weeks!

Right on schedule I got an email which included a letter and the in-depth consultancy report I’d chosen. I was quite literally just leaving the house to go on holiday, so hurriedly printed it all out and got in the car. I read as I drove along, the covering letter was very complimentary and encouraging, there were happy tears. The full report seemed a bit more critical, there were sad tears.

When I read through it again a few days later, I noticed that what I’d thought was critical wasn’t really; it was useful. By the third read through I was feeling much more positive! I got a set of highlighters and went through the whole report again, I highlighted in pink for anything I’d done well, yellow for things to think about and green where there were issues that I could do something about right away.

Once I’d fully digested the report, I arranged a Skype call with the reader and emailed over my questions. We talked for about 45 minutes, and it was a great experience to have someone with industry experience chatting about my work. What really came across in the conversation that I hadn’t gleaned from the report, is that the publishing world has really changed. Whereas a few years ago a book like Alfie would have been snapped up quickly, in the more competitive market it had to be perfect and to fit all the marketing criteria; it had to be a money making machine. The editor suggested making Alfie a bit older, say 14, and doing a re-write to maximise my publishing potential.

At that point I cried a lot of tears. A lot. My bemused husband found me snot-sobbing on the sofa and asked me this sobering question: Are you really crying because someone wants your fictional character to grow up? I stopped crying.

I gave myself some time to think about it. I talked it over with friends. I asked myself the question: What am I prepared to do, to get published?

Ultimately, I decided to make Alfie a little older (he’s now in year 6 rather than year 4), but I didn’t feel that I knew enough about secondary schools, or the lives of teenagers to make him much older than that. 14 year olds have puberty and relationships to worry about, the structure of their school day is different and they have a lot more independence.

Whilst I understand that publishers want to maximise profit, I feel the best story that I can tell has Alfie at 10-11 years old. I know that the story has great appeal to kids in the 9-12 age group, because they’ve told me that. I know that slightly younger children love having the story read to them.

The whole exercise was really valuable in helping me identify some bad writing habits that I had, and to  look at my work more critically. It showed me how to lift it above ‘good enough’, how every word matters, how every sentence should shine. It also helped me to recognise the strong points of the work I’d done, and why I’d written the story.

I reworked the story in the light of the feedback and my own thoughts. I added in some new plot twists, I corrected mistakes and buffed even the dullest sentences to a shine. I’m now sending Alfie out to agents, it’s still a nerve wracking process but I feel much more confident doing it after getting my consultancy report.

The first piece of my writing to be published was a poem. I was 8 years old and it was called ‘My Cat’. It was chosen for an anthology of poems by children and published by the local arts centre. The next year they ran the project again and my epic ‘Actor Mouse’ was selected. This early experience of literary success encouraged me, but the story bug soon ate the poetry one.

Other that studying Wordsworth and Owen in school for English Lit, I haven’t had a lot of exposure to poetry (except Pam Ayres, when she was on TV). I didn’t really think poetry was something to be enjoyed, but rather something that you looked on as an academic exercise, performing analysis on layers of meaning. Poetry was difficult.

When I started my Creative Writing course with York Uni last year, I wasn’t really looking forward to the poetry section of the module but I could see value in studying it; I hoped it help me to give my prose a bit of a lift, a more poetic feel. I found that, actually, I quite enjoy reading poetry. We went back to it for the next module, Critical Analysis; it’s outside my comfort zone, but I’m learning a lot as a writer from reading and writing poetry.

It’s still not my natural medium, though. When ideas come to me, they come in a rush with a huge volume of words behind them. Taking that and paring it down, carefully choosing exactly the right word not just for meaning but for music, is a skill that I don’t think comes naturally to me. Still, it does mean that sometimes now, when an idea comes that feels more like a poem than a story I don’t dismiss it.

That’s what happened last month with an Hour of Writes prompt. In or Out didn’t spark any interesting story ideas in my head but there was a poem. A pantoum; a fixed form poem that repeats lines from one verse in the next:

I have to ask one thing, I’ll keep it brief
My darling are you in or are you out?
At this point either answer is relief
Can’t live with this pervading sense of doubt

My darling, are you in or are you out?
To keep me waiting is the cruelest thing
Can’t live with this pervading sense of doubt
Is it a lie to keep wearing this ring?

To keep me waiting is the cruelest thing
The Sword of Damocles over my head
Is it a lie to keep wearing this ring?
Was truth held in the vows that we both said?

The Sword of Damocles over my head
A glimmer in your eyes makes hearts hope sprout
Was truth held in the vows that we both said?
My darling, are you in or are you out?

It got an overall mark of 65%, but the feedback was that it needed more work. I’d certainly agree. I was surprised to find out, last week, that it had been chosen as one of the featured entries for that week. I’m pleased, but feel a little undeserving (much as my 8 year old self did when My Cat was chosen).

The next module on my course is ‘Developing the skills of writing poetry’ so I hope that the next poetic offering I have for you will be a bit more polished. It’s good to go out of your writing comfort zone, try new things and add new skills to your writers toolbox.

As regular readers will know, I get a lot of support in my writing journey from my colleagues at York Writers. They’re a great group of people, very generous with their time and enthusiastic about writing in general. I’ve heard horror stories of writing groups that are set up by a writer or wannabe, who then expects others to do nothing but read and discuss their own work, or other groups where internal politics takes over and the environment is quite hostile. I consider myself very lucky to have such a great group on my doorstep, particularly because of the Novelist Support Group which, as the name suggests, is a group to encourage writers of longer pieces of work.

In the year and a bit I’ve been a member, it’s been a real pleasure to see the progress made by writers in the group; to learn about their stories, and see how they deal with problems that crop up. We might all be working in different genres and with different styles, but getting another view on your work from a fellow writer is really valuable and reading someone else’s work, seeing what they do that works well and what the particular issues of their genre are, is a great learning experience.

We share our frustration with the slush pile, encourage each other through rejections and celebrate each others successes. Which is what this post is really all about! I am delighted to be able to share a link with you to S G Norris‘ latest novel, Death of a Kingdom. It’s available in paperback and Kindle edition from Amazon. If you like political conspiracy novels you’ll love Steve’s work and this latest one is set against the backdrop of the EU Referendum so is nicely topical too! It is the third in a series, but if you haven’t read the others it won’t spoil your enjoyment of this one.

I’m looking forward to reading the final draft of what I know to be a great story; I hope you enjoy it too.

Oh, and the Sarah mentioned in the acknowledgements? That’s me, that is 🙂