Miranda Writes 3 - Your Questions Answered!

All this year I will be documenting the writing, editing and publishing of my fifth novel, giving you a unique, behind-the-scenes look at my life as a writer. This week, I'm well into writing the new first draft of Book 5 and have started to ask for your help...

Last time I told you I was going to invite you to get involved with the new Book 5 - and this week I asked my first question:

What is the name of the San Francisco cabbie in the story?

I had fifty awesome suggestions on Twitter - so thank you so much if you sent one! I announce the winner in this week's vlog below, so fingers crossed and enjoy! There will be more chances to get involved - watch out for the #getinvolved hashtag on my twitter profile and special requests on my facebook page. And if I use your suggestion, you will get a thank you in the acknowledgements of Book 5!

Enjoy!

p.s. This week's YouTube-nominated freeze-frame is entitled, 'La-Laaaaaaaah!'
p.p.s. I also mention some fantastic writing retreats - find out about BookCamp here

Future Stars - THE WINNERS!

I am so excited to reveal to you the winners of my Future Stars competition!

It's been amazing - over 200 entries, tons of awesome talent and one very tough decision for me. In the end, I've chosen seven Future Stars because the entries were so good and I just couldn't choose between the last three. So two of my Magnificent Seven have been offered scholarships and five regular places. I'm not sure if they'll be as excited to have to put up with me for a year as I am to work with them!

There were also a group of entrants who were so good that I wished I could take them all on. As a way of inspiring them, I will be contacting them in the next few days to offer something I hope will inspire them and encourage them to pursue their writing dream. Read on after the vlog below to see who those people are...

So, without further ado, here are my magnificent seven!


Congratulations to Dominique Hall, Emma Warburton, Ritzi Cortez, Neal Doran, Emily Glenister, Millie McGarrick and Kate Rhead, who I will be mentoring for the next twelve months!

The lovely writers I will be contacting this week are:
Mel Jordan
Gail Parnell
Anna Baker-Barnes
Catherine Meadows
Sherri Nicholds
Kate Farr
Sophie Waterfield
Alan Geoffrey Smith
Katharine D'Souza
Stephen Blower
Hillary Stevens
DJ Paterson
Julia Perry
Sarah Hughes
Helen McAnerney
Zaphinia Woods
Rachael Leo
Lisa Bambrick
Vanessa Savage
Jacqueline Sheppard
Nicole Trilivas
Laura E. James
Bethany Wheeler
Natalie Martin
Kate Scholefield
Jules Griffin
Romilly Hope
Catherine Miller
Massive congratulations to everyone and I'll be in touch soon!

The VLOGS are back! Big decisions and exciting times...

All this year I will be documenting the writing, editing and publishing of my fifth novel, giving you a unique, behind-the-scenes look at my life as a writer. This week, I've made a huge decision about Book Five...

I debated whether or not to reveal this, but I think it's something that will encourage you if you're a writer (and show you how important you are if you are a reader!) But over the past two years that I've been filming and sharing my vlogs, I've always been as honest as I can about the reality of being a writer.

So find out what my writing resolution is for 2013 and hear how my search for my FutureStars is inspiring me already...

As always, I love answering your questions in my vlogs. So if there's something you would love to know about writing, editing, publishing, my novels, or anything else, leave a comment below, or email: mirandawurdy@gmail.com, chat to me on twitter or leave me a comment on facebook. I'd love to know what you think of the first vlog of 2013 - and my big news!

Enjoy! xx

p.s. This week's YouTube-nominated freeze frame is entitled, 'Look at the beautiful butterfly!'

Could YOU be one of my Future Stars?

Are you a writer? How would you like the chance to be personally mentored by me for a whole year?
I am thrilled to launch my search for five talented writers who will embark on a year of challenge, scary adventure, huge opportunities and lots of fun!

FUTURE STARS is a one year mentoring programme where my chosen writers will have me on hand as their personal cheerleader, mentor, challenger and (hopefully) inspiration coach. I will work with each writer on their personal writing goals, offer help and advice with their work in progress, provide help with editing, give advice on promotion and social media, and will introduce them to people within the publishing industry to experience first-hand what agents and publishers are looking for. Each writer will receive a 30min phone call from me each month and there will be an exclusive networking group for all five writers and me to chat to and support one another throughout the year. There will also be opportunities to meet up!

What I'm looking for

I'm looking for writers of any genre who are committed to investing a year in their writing. Not only will talent count but also a demonstrable desire to make this year the year when things happen. Because of this, four of the chosen writers will be asked to pay a course fee of £80 (because this is an investment in your future career) - and I will choose one writer to receive a scholarship place for free. I'm asking all entrants to submit a chapter of their work, plus complete a personal statement outlining their goals for their writing. It all sounds very serious, but this way people who are really determined to be writers will stand out. I can't promise you a publishing deal (I wish I could!) but I can promise you will learn about yourself as a writer, hone your craft and put yourself in the best possible place to pursue your dream.

So, are you up for a year of awesome writing adventure?

To enter, download the application form HERE and send it with ONE chapter of your work to: mirandawurdy@gmail.com.

APPLICATIONS WILL CLOSE AT MIDNIGHT ON THURSDAY 14TH FEBRUARY. WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON SATURDAY 16TH FEB.

GO FOR IT!

Dance your cares away...

I'm writing like a crazy person to meet my deadline for submitting the first draft of Book 5, so I just wanted to share a little something with you that's made me smile in the middle of the scribbling craziness...

Because everything is better with FRAGGLES...

Writing: the ultimate act of optimism!

I love this quote which I recently came across...

Edward Albee is the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright of famous plays such as Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, A Delicate Balance and Seascape, and he also adapted Truman Capote's Breakfast At Tiffany's for the stage. You can read more about him here.

People often ask me why I write. Sometimes, I ask myself! I think every writer battles more or less constantly with the concern that their words won't matter. We worry that readers will dislike our characters, misunderstand our concepts and - worst of all - hate our created word-worlds. Confidence (both the lack of it and the battle to maintain it) is a major issue.

Over the past few years since becoming a published author, I have had to work hard to recapture the glimpses of audacious self-belief that got me writing in the first place. When it didn't matter - when the only person interested in what happened next was me - there was something strong enough within that convinced me to believe in the story and pursue it. My aim now is to grab those moments whenever I find them and hang on for dear life!

That hope, that rock-steady conviction that my ideas are worth pursuing, that seemingly ridiculous optimism in what I can create, will be the molten steel from which my stories will be moulded. Once poured into shape, that confident hope will set firm to underpin my self-belief for the next stage of my writing, the next story, or the grand unveiling of my ideas to the world.

If you're struggling to believe in your story, print out the quote above and put it somewhere you can see it. Your writing matters - so be optimistic!

BIG plans for 2013...

2012 has been a fantastic year for me... moving house, marrying my lovely Bob and launching my fourth novel When I Fall in Love. It's going to be a tough one to top, but I have some exciting news about what I have planned for 2013...

The first big bit of news is that 2013 will see the return of The New Rose Prize for unpublished writers! I'm planning to extend the competition to include separate prizes for Crime, Literary, Romantic Comedy and YA short stories, plus for the first time I'm adding a First Chapter award for the most impressive first chapter of a novel (open genre). I'm so excited to be bringing this competition back after a cracking opening year in 2011, which was won by Naomi Frisby. There will be a stellar line-up of judges and awesome prizes. Submissions will open on 1st May and close on 31st August, with the shortlist announced on 6th September and winners announced on 20th September. Keep watching this blog and my website for more details coming soon!

I've been planning this for a long time and next year will finally see the launch of my brand new Company of Dreamers Writing Inspiration Courses. I'm a big believer in the wealth of writing talent out there and I want to support and inspire writers, regardless of where they are in their writing journeys. The first course I will run (starting in February 2013) is a 4-week online course, which will feature two emails from me per week, packed with ideas, writing challenges and inspiration to get your creative juices flowing, help you out of writers' block and encourage you to love your story. I won't tell you how to write a novel (I'm still learning that myself!) but I will show you how to connect with your writing, love what you do and, most importantly, believe in yourself. The first course will be available for the introductory price of just £60 (usual price £75). To register your interest for this course, email me: mirandawurdy@gmail.com

The final bit of news is that I am planning to launch a very special programme in 2013 to inspire and encourage five new writers. My FUTURE STARS programme will see me work with the writers for a whole year. Five writers will have me on hand to advise and encourage them, with a personal 30 min phone call per month for 12 months. I'm also planning publisher and agent visits plus invites to my book launch in November. The application process for Future Stars will involve the submission of one chapter of novel, a personal statement and a firm commitment to participate for the whole 12 months. Five places are available: four for the introductory price (if accepted) of £80 for the year (normal price £100) and one applicant will be chosen to receive the course for free as a scholarship. I'm so excited about this and really believe it will be a fantastic opportunity for new writers to experience the world of publishing first-hand. I will officially launch the application process during the first week of January 2013, but if you would like to register your interest in applying, please email me: mirandawurdy@gmail.com with 'Future Stars' in the subject line.

Lots more exciting news coming soon, so keep watching!