Christmas cheer

It has been quite some time since I last updated this blog, so I thought a post was long overdue.

Since last posting, my experience of editing has not changed. I am still amazed at how easy it is for errors to enter one's work as a result of several people apparently checking it. The whole process can be quite a frustration.

However, with Christmas approaching,  I am looking forward to a rest.

And... in the spirit of Christmas I thought I would share some photographs of how other people are getting us into the Christmas mood. Enjoy!

Editing

Now that I am back writing, I got to thinking about the whole writing process and how it impacts your life and more. When you write it is part and parcel of the process that your work is edited. This is to be expected but it seems that over the years this editing process has changed. Of course it takes many forms! You can self edit your work and if you choose to do this there are a number of  books to help you in the process (Self Editing by Renni Browne is an excellent example for the fiction writer), or you can be edited by others- which is most often the case with trade publishers. My experience of editors has been varied.

The best editors help you to write at your best while maintaining the integrity of your voice and creation.
The worst editors are so intent on their own voice and their vision that they make your writing worse than when you started. Needless to say, I prefer the former.

Editing is an art form. In fact, I look upon editing like walking on a tightrope: maintaining the correct balance is essential!

Back on track

After a rather extended hiatus from writing you will be glad to hear that I am once again up and at it again.

Of course, it is summer time and what better time to stay indoors and write?? Well, no- the heat is unbearable, the glass exacerbates it and on a sunny day, the last thing you might want to do is stay trapped behind a keyboard. However, when the muse hits you, you have to go with it.

That and a writing contract for some more educational writing forces me to do so! Yes, my summer is nicely mapped out in terms of writing a number of things, including updating old and writing new.

In addition to this, after a rather protracted absence some of my fiction work will be getting much needed attention so I may invest in a DO NOT DISTURB. WRITER AT WORK sign.  Yes, these do exist in many forms, it would seem! From the rather in your face roadwork type signs to the make your own handicraft or technologically advanced signs! Can you tell I am seriously considering getting one?

And as I am intending to write more now it is summer, I hope to update my rather neglected blog more often than I have done so recently.

So this will be me. Look at those fingers and hair go. Let's hope I set a world record in speed typing.

Awards

Today I thought I would share the news that a writer friend of mine and fellow Undiscovered Voices 2010 winner has been shortlisted for an award.

The Amazing Book Awards is an award which is supported by Sussex Coast Schools and Jane Benson McLoughlin has been shortlisted for the award for her book At Yellow Lake.

The shortlist I believe comes about as a result of student votes, and given that her book is a teen book, I think it is secondary students who vote. What a brilliant initiative which encourages young people to read and I am thrilled for Jane. Fingers crossed for her!

Never give up

With it being a new year and with us all getting a little older, I found the following talk by Diane Nyad hit a chord. She really is an inspiration - to think, at 64, she achieved her dream, one which people half her age could not have done. Amazing!