All this year, I'm keeping a video diary of everything that goes into writing my third novel, It Started With a Kiss, due to be published on 3rd November. This week, I'm back in the living room (they wouldn't let me stay in Cornwall, boo!) and the hard work of editing begins in earnest.
I'll tell you about one of the major changes that I've already made to the initial draft and also let you in on a bit of a challenge I'm facing with the first chapter. Plus, of course, your amazing questions - thank you so much and keep asking!!
Your fabulous questions this week include overcoming writers' block, how I've changed as a writer and an editor, how long Coffee at Kowalski's - my original novel that became Fairytale of New York - was on Authonomy.com before it was discovered and how I started writing. Big thanks as ever for your questions, especially the very lovely Joanna Cannon, who as JoannaCannon is one of my Twitter tweethearts and quite a brilliant writer to boot - make sure you go to her blogand say hi!
Oh, and hope you like the hat. I couldn't resist it in the January sales and this it its official World Premiere...
Enjoy!
p.s. This week's YouTube generated freeze frame is entitled: "(slightly scary) Easter Bunny"...
5 comments:
Miranda,
I LOVE these vlogs so much. Such a great help to us aspiring writers. Thank you!
I'm interested in these structural edits, and the idea of the first draft being a matter of getting all your ideas down. Can you tell us more about this? Does this mean the first draft is more a series of scenes and ideas than a linear book?
Another question is how does your writing process differ now that you are published? How many drafts did FONY go through before it was put onto authonomy?
Oooh, Also, what do you think are the most important elements of chick lit?
Cheers, lovely! xx
Thanks Kirsty!
Great questions - I will answer them in full next week. In terms of the first draft, it is a completed manuscript, but I don't edit it as I go along. I know that any issues will be smoothed out later. But it would be possible to read my first draft like a novel - and several of my brilliant posse of pre-publication readers have done so already! Hope that makes sense! xx
Hello Miranda
This is my first time here - I followed a tweet link from Jo and am so pleased that I did. I enjoyed your vlog, what a great idea! I have a couple of questions - I don't know much about Authonomy though I have heard the name before... I was wondering if you put your book up on there as a completed novel or before you had finished writing it. Also, when did you decide to give up working for someone else and become a full time writer?
Fabulous hat! I'm glad you mentioned the first chapter changing - I read a book recently that I knew I'd read the first chapter of in their last book...and it was totally different. I thought I'd gone mad. :-D
A couple more questions for you...When you are writing characters based on people you know, do you worry they will recognise themselves and get upset? And does the story ever get away from you? By that I mean do you ever start a story with one idea and then find as you're writing, things change - characters who were going to be nasty turn out to be nice and things like that? I hope that makes sense!
love
Donna.x
Hi Miranda!
Great vlog as usual... but I just had to comment on the hat...
I love it! It's your best one yet. Very cool!!
Question: What do you do to promote your books? Is there a lot of touring involved? Or is the majority of it online?
Can't wait til your next vlog. Keep 'em coming!!
Suzy x
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