I just received notification today of the CWA Debut Dagger competition. It seems to have come around so quickly! It runs from 01 November 2008 to 07 February 2009. I entered in 2007/08 (wasn't short-listed) with my NaNoWriMo novel. I think I will do the same for 2008/09, so hopefully I will keep motivated to write beyond the end of November.
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I have (foolishly) signed up for NaNoWriMo again this year. I dithered a bit because last year it was tough writing so many words each day and because I am still working on finishing the first draft of last year's novel. But I had the inspired idea to write a sequel/spin off of last year's novel, so I feel that at least I am keeping in touch with my story. My word counter to the right will keep track of my efforts. I don't think I will get anywhere near the 30,000 words I managed last year, but it can't hurt to have three novels on the go for when I get that publishing deal and they want a 3-book deal! :-) Excellent workshop with Martyn Waites at the Guildford Book Festival. He gave some great tips on how to drive a crime story forward. He also outlined a writing exercise which he called 'A crime story in five paragraphs' to help you work through some key elements of a crime story. He was really pleasant and very willing to answer any questions about all aspects of writing and getting published and his own journey into crime writing. Most illuminating! I am not sure whether it was encouraging or discouraging to find out that his first novel took five years to get published. This year I have finally managed to get organised enough to attend the Guildford Book Festival this month. I have booked myself on the crime writing workshop in an effort to gain some insight to help me move my crime novel along. I may even attend other workshops as well. We'll see what happens. I am really looking forward to it. I am starting a thread on Zamglish or Zambian English. My Zambian-themed novel has characters who speak this vibrant and unique brand of English. The idea of a collection of Zamglish phrases is borrowed from the now defunct Zambian online magazine Chrysalis. Well the site is coming along and I am almost happy with the layout. A few pages need content adding, but I am getting there. Now I need to stop procrastinating and get writing! My website is now up and running though still a work in progress. I am surprised at how additive it is and I find myself thinking about the layout and content all the time, thinking what I can change and what I can add to make it more interesting. Never mind just filling up the pages I have created so far. |
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